2 Minutes With … Kenya Earl: Records on the basketball court, research in the lab

2 Minutes With … is a series of short features to introduce us to the passions and interests of Lawrence students on and off campus.

In pairing an impressive basketball career with research and study as part of her biochemistry major, Kenya Earl ’21 is forging a path at Lawrence that is anything but ordinary.

The junior from Iowa City, Iowa, is setting scoring records for the Vikings on the basketball court—she surpassed the 1,000-point mark earlier this season, the fifth player in Lawrence history to do so—while also carving a path on the academic side as she eyes a career in the pharmaceutical field.

She hopes to go on to pharmacy school after getting her degree at Lawrence.

Trailblazer on the court

In her freshman year, Earl set the single-season scoring record for women’s basketball at Lawrence with 433 points. Now, she’s on track to become the highest scoring player in Lawrence history, a milestone she could reach during her final season.

“It feels pretty good,” Earl said. “In freshman year, I didn’t know about any of these records.”

Earl has had her eye on the ball for as long as she can remember; she first started playing basketball at age 6—perhaps not surprising, considering her father, Acie Earl, starred at the University of Iowa before moving on to play four years in the NBA and then overseas. When he wasn’t playing, he was coaching his daughter in the sport they both loved.

The big picture

Earl also puts a lot of focus on what she and other student athletes do off the court. She’s a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), which seeks to improve the student-athlete experience at Lawrence by strengthening ties with university administration and the community. Volunteering is a big part of that. Over D-Term, for example, Earl and her teammates held a fitness boot camp at Alexander Gym for families of cancer patients to promote fitness and wellness.

“It was pretty fun to see that and be a part of that,” Earl said.

Public wellness is familiar territory for Earl. Until she heads off to a pharmacy school, she continues to put in work on her major. Last summer, she did research with Associate Professor of Chemistry Stefan Debbert, where she worked on finding new pathways for medications for a parasitic disease that has similarities to malaria. The medication on the market has not been effective, so the search is on for alternatives. Her compounds were sent to a researcher in Switzerland for further testing.

That’s all part of the student journey for Earl. With her third basketball season now over, and winter term of her junior year winding down, she is looking forward to her next steps as a Lawrentian. That includes finishing a basketball career that will place her among the most accomplished student athletes in Lawrence history.

“It’s meant a lot,” she said of her time at Lawrence. “It’s been great to accomplish the things I have. I’m inspired by great coaches and teammates who help me along the way.”