I made sure to thank Samory over and over for meeting me since I know he is bound to be one of the busiest people on campus.
“It’s really not a problem,” he said. “I’m just glad I could get to help someone.”
As the elevator doors opened, I stepped off with him and said I knew interviews could be tough for some people, but I thanked him for just sitting down and having a conversation with me.
“It’s not the first time I’ve done an interview,” he paused. “I guess people think I’m interesting or something. I don’t know why.”
Then he sheepishly laughed, scratched the back of his head and said he’d see me later before heading off to do more work in the design lab.
As a transfer student born in west Africa, living half of his life in France, being selected for France’s national team for players under 18 (and winning), to now being an art major and simultaneous athlete at his small parochial school in rural Tennessee, I’d say he’s pretty interesting.
Samory Gueye is a 6’10” sophomore graphic design major and a forward/center for Union’s basketball team. This is his second year in the U.S. after being recruited from France to play for Kilgore College in Texas and then transferring to Union. He spends his days and nights doing two things that usually don’t intermingle on Union’s campus–practicing basketball and then spending hours upon hours designing logos, pictures or magazine covers on whatever Adobe software he can get his hands on. But Gueye lives the best of both worlds.
“I’m really mixed with everybody. I don’t stereotype people.”
Having changed countries and living in different cultures, he is used to this.
“You can see me at the table with the basketball guys for dinner, lunch with artists, breakfast with the internationals. I kinda like it. Being able to switch atmospheres.”
The oldest of two siblings, Gueye comes from a creative family. Both his brother and sister draw, his mom decorates, his dad does advertising and logos, his cousin is a graphic designer and other cousins are photographers.
“In high school, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do,” he said. “I was in the technology field. I really liked the designing part on softwares and just creating something to resolve something. So I wanted to be able to create, invent stuff, design stuff.”
This is convenient because Gueye is on the road constantly with basketball. Being a graphic design major allows him to pack up his project (his laptop, actually) and do it from wherever he is.
“There are a lot of sacrifices,” he said about the time it takes to do both. “I’m just trying to find naps when I have time. Even when they’re not a basketball player, you know, you see people in the design lab until 3 [a.m.]. I don’t have free time. I have to learn the new softwares, but I have people to help me learn. There’s a lot of support.”
To be a creative, you have to be tough mentally, because you know that your work will be shredded, and it’s inevitable. As an athlete, you have to be tough physically, because you will be shredded, and it’s inevitable. Gueye literally practices every day for as long as he sleeps. So he gets hit from both sides. Motivation is already hard to muster, much less when you don’t get a break from criticism. Like, ever.
“It’s motivating knowing that when I do stuff, I’m going to get better. And I can help people. When I do projects, whether it’s a poster or a brochure, or redesigning a website, I try to do something that’s already there, like for a family member or friends. So it pushes me, but I enjoy it. I’m not bored.”
I asked if it was hard, being in the position he is in. On campus, we hear of kids who are international students or who grew up in different countries, but unless we have done it, I don’t think we realize the feat they have to endure.
“At first, it was definitely hard, but I knew I was here for a goal,” Gueye said. “I’m a hard worker, so I really wasn’t here to enjoy visiting the U.S., having friends. Of course I discovered it was nice to have all this, but at first, I was really by myself doing my stuff. I felt like people around me weren’t going to help me. We didn’t have the same goal. I’m not gonna mess up and go party or something like that. It’s not my country, if I mess up, I just go back. Everything they gave me can be stopped by any time. I’m here for a reason. But I’ve grown a lot just being by myself.”
Teachers are also what helped him gain some of the motivation to continue that hard work once he got here.
“They want to help you. They help you build your confidence and then make it a little harder … They tell you what to prepare for. Back in France it is three chapters at the same time and you have no idea what was going to come. But here, the essays were hard, and figuring out what that sheet was. I didn’t know what the thing was with A, B, C, D, or whatever…,” he said in a way that kind of made me sad.
“The scantron?” I asked.
“Yeah, the scantron! The first time I came here I was circling. The teacher said, ‘Can you please…,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, okay, that’s how it works.’ But once I figured it out, I was like, ‘This is not that hard.'”
As for the future, Gueye said he isn’t sure, but he will see what God has planned for him.
“I want to continue in both [art and basketball] if at all possible. I do what I can to do my best in both right now. But it’s just timing, like if I get injured or something. I know I can always rely on what I’m learning right now. But I really believe God has plans for me. He started all this, so I believe if every day I do what I’m supposed to, it will work out.”
This story is interesting in that many people classify being good in a sport with the lack of smart or creativity as the norm. Truth is many athletes have very successful academic lives, whether they get a master’s in physics or create furniture designs. Most of us enjoy flexibilities in talents and in careers, many people after they retire decide to pick up a canvas. It’s not un-normal, it’s just human.