MONMOUTH, Ore. – Having put together an impressive career in a little over two-plus seasons, Ayanna Arceneaux has since transitioned from her time out on the softball field to working in the classroom as a Youth Education Advisor.
It's hard to forget the accolades that Arceneaux earned throughout her career. In her first full playing season of 2018, she tallied a .347 average, tallied a 12-game hitting streak and had 10 multi-hit contests. If that wasn't enough, her redshirt sophomore season of 2019 saw Arceneaux come away with NFCA All-American, D2CCA All-American and First Team All-GNAC honors. The outfielder collected a team-high 64 hits, tied for second in home runs with four, was third on the team in RBI with 31, led the team in stolen bases with 91, tied for the team lead in triples with four, was fourth on the team in doubles with seven and led the team in runs scored with 35.
Originally from Puyallup, Wash., Arceneaux was able to start her post collegiate career working close to home.
"Since graduation, I have been working as a Youth Education Advisor at a nearby high school in my hometown," Arceneaux said. "I have also been spending a lot of time with my family which has been great. It feels like I'm making up for the time I couldn't be with them when I was in college."
The ending to her playing career was anything but normal. Entering the 2020 season, the Wolves were starting to make noise during the early parts of the schedule when everything came to an end. Arceneaux was off to her customary strong year hitting .402 with 33 hits, five doubles, three triples and 10 RBI. WOU held a 13-10 record, having defeated No. 2 Texas A&M-Kingsville earlier in the year and had just come off of a big road split at Central Washington and a sweep of Montana State Billings. The adjustment took some time not having the normal routine of practices and weights being replaced by trying to finish school and get a career started.
"With the pandemic, the adjustment was different because I was used to always having to be somewhere at a certain time and then suddenly it was not having to worry about being late to practice or weights, just staying at home," Arceneaux said. "It was hard to find a job at first, but it allowed me to have some time to just relax from studying and school work."
While the challenges have certainly been there, Arceneaux has been able to stay in contact with several friends from WOU. One of the main adjustments has been trying to socialize in the new world as she transitions into her career outside of playing sports and school.
"I have been keeping in contact with a couple of friends from WOU, but I'm excited to do a little catching up in person once we get out of this pandemic," Arceneaux said. "I also found out how hard it is to make adult friends out of college, especially while being in a pandemic!"
It's hard to think of it, but Arceneaux played what would turn out to be her final softball game on Mar 13, 2020. A few months later, she then graduated and over a year later with school work completed, she finds herself still missing some of the routine and everything that came with being a collegiate student-athlete.
"Some days it's like "I've really been out of school for over a year," and the other days I'm missing conditioning tests, weights, and practice," Arceneaux said. "I've enjoyed working and family time the most since I graduated."
