-Trisha Kangas
After watching the 2012 Olympics, Mary Brown knew that she had a taste for competition. She joined gymnastics at the age of 11 and practiced for around six years. Through dedication, she emerged from her gymnastics career with a state balance beam event win in both Texas and Idaho.
“Competing has been a passion of mine for a very long time, my favorite part of gymnastics was always competing at gymnastics meets,” Brown said.
During this time, she started her first year in the public school system. The second semester of Junior year, she attended Boise High School through graduation, having previously been homeschooled up until that point.
Her fire for competition was not only fueled by traditional sports, but gaming as well.
“When I was little, I would play some video games on the family computer. As I got older, the games matured with me, and eventually, I found League of Legends. LoL quickly became my favorite game, I enjoyed every minute spent playing this game, playing with friends, winning games, and ultimately, improving.”
Brown had lofty goals on the horizon from the inception of her gaming story. She didn’t just want to play games, she wanted to compete, to see a distinct progression in her skills, and that led her to one conclusion: being a part of a varsity esports team was truly the leap she’d been waiting to take.
Although some gamers may feel intimidated at the idea of joining collegiate level esports, Brown has some advice for anyone with gaming aspirations, “Keep working hard, don’t doubt yourself because of your rank, what’s most important is your work ethic and your willingness to learn. If you want a spot on the team, keep at it, you can get there.”
To date, Brown says her most rewarding moment in esports has been reaching Platinum rank in League of Legends, “I felt such an overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment in achieving the rank,” but she doesn’t plan to stop there. Using the momentum of this achievement, she already has her next goal in mind and plans to get there with the help of the coaches, the experience of competition, and the support of her teammates.
“My biggest aspiration is to achieve Diamond at the very least, if I can get further, I’m all for it!”
However, it’s not simply about the end goal for her. She doesn’t want to squander the fulfilling lesson of growing as a player and as an individual. It’s the enrichment she gains within the Boise State Esports cohort that continues to encourage her to do better.
“I will actively make the choice to play to learn, not necessarily to rank up, but to learn and better myself.”
Her gaming journey has served as a catalyst which ignited an intensity in many other aspects of her life, “I believe this experience as a whole has made me a better person. While I desire to learn and get better at LoL, I also desire to learn in school. I think I have become more interested in learning and improving myself as a result of playing LoL.”
As for what education, socialization, and college life in general looks like for many right now, “uncertainty” is a word being thrown around the internet. Yet, Brown stays optimistic and even speaks to the closeness that video games have brought to her life.
“In my experience, gaming has strengthened many of my bonds, and given me the ability to keep in touch with friends who have moved to other states, or even other countries. Gaming can bring people together, it’s a way to “hang out” without being able to see one another in person.”
Now, eight years after she first watched the Olympics, as she logs in to League of Legends, chasing that Diamond rank, she’s reminded of what drew her to this fierce competition, the spark that helped her get here, and she looks toward the future with positivity and an appetite to win.