University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Black History Month: Kayla Buford
2/24/2020 8:43:00 AM | Volleyball
Gopher Athletics is celebrating those who made us great in honor of Black History Month. We will be highlighting the careers of 20 black, former student-athletes from various sports as they share what Black History Month means to them, their best memories as Gophers, and their advice for current student-athletes.
Kayla Buford joined the Minnesota volleyball team in 2015 as a freshman and made her collegiate debut against Texas A&M. Throughout her collegiate career, Buford was a part of a team that advanced to the NCAA Final Four two times (2015 and 2016). In 2015 and 2018, Minnesota volleyball claimed the Big Ten Championship. Buford recalls her experience of coming to Minnesota from out of state as how she met her closest friends that have become her family. Missing holidays and time with family was inevitable, and Buford misses getting to walk around Dinkytown, go to the Target Express to get treats, and be just a block or a room away from her best friends. As an alum, Buford has enjoyed getting to attend entire Gopher football games and experiencing a tailgate, as volleyball season always overlapped the football season. Her advice to current Gopher student-athletes is to not take anything for granted. She encourages student-athletes to get out of their comfort zone and meet new people.
She said, "Even when training isn't going the way you imagined, classes are kicking your butt, or you're starting to miss home, find the joy in the now. Because there will come a time when your four, five, or even six years come to an end; and you miss living down the street from your closest friends, or having the privilege to do something you love with people you care deeply for."
What does Black History Month mean to you?
Black History Month means a great deal to me. I wouldn't be able to attend the University of Minnesota if it wasn't for the activists and trailblazers that we celebrate and honor when reflecting during this month. I am not only Black, but I am a Black woman, and there are many 'disadvantages' that this world would have you focus on. But, when looking back on this month and the strides we have made, and will continue to make as a community, I am encouraged. I think it's also important to learn about all the amazing things people in the Black community have done because representation does matter. I know as a kid in elementary school, February was my favorite month in History because I got to open my text book and see people who looked like me achieve things that no one could write out or take away from them. I know there's many more people that don't get the recognition they deserve or names you'll never learn about because that is the current way of our society, but it's important to teach the past so we can try and create a better future and not repeat some of the mistakes we've made as a nation.
How have you been influenced or inspired by other black athletes, role models, or leaders in your life?
There are so many people that I look up to, especially in the Black community. Like Pat Cleveland, Dorthy Dandridge, Dapper Dan, and Annie Malone (her work has made an impact on every Black girls' life). Of course Civil Rights leaders like Rosa, Martin, and Malcolm are inspirations. But the person who has lived through the moments I don't even wish to read about in history books that inspires me would have to be my Nana. The reason why I look to her as inspiration is because she grew up in the Deep South from the 40s till the 60s. For anyone who is unaware of what that was like, the only story she would ever tell or talk about is how when she and her siblings would walk home from school (elementary to middle) these grown men would throw anything from food to glass bottles at them. And there was nothing they could do because of the laws placed by Jim Crow. Instead of letting things like this define who she and who she would be, she went to graduate high school at 16 and college by 20. Not only did she attend an HBCU, but she went on to get her masters from a predominantly White university, which as a black student, but also a woman during this time was not normal. She is my reason for pushing through any challenge I face in life. She is honestly my hero.
Give us an update on what you have been doing since leaving the University.
Since leaving the U I wasn't doing much. Just working and trying to figure out what was next for me in this thing called life. Like anyone else, I felt stuck in a rut. I went from having basically every minute of my life scheduled to not knowing what time I would eat dinner. There's so many ideas I have for myself in terms of what I want to do, but right now I'm playing volleyball professionally in Slovakia. It's very different from the U, but I'm very fortunate for this experience. I get paid to do something I love while seeing the world, plus I'm picking up a few tips on how to go about this whole life/maturity thing.
Black History Home
Kayla Buford joined the Minnesota volleyball team in 2015 as a freshman and made her collegiate debut against Texas A&M. Throughout her collegiate career, Buford was a part of a team that advanced to the NCAA Final Four two times (2015 and 2016). In 2015 and 2018, Minnesota volleyball claimed the Big Ten Championship. Buford recalls her experience of coming to Minnesota from out of state as how she met her closest friends that have become her family. Missing holidays and time with family was inevitable, and Buford misses getting to walk around Dinkytown, go to the Target Express to get treats, and be just a block or a room away from her best friends. As an alum, Buford has enjoyed getting to attend entire Gopher football games and experiencing a tailgate, as volleyball season always overlapped the football season. Her advice to current Gopher student-athletes is to not take anything for granted. She encourages student-athletes to get out of their comfort zone and meet new people.
She said, "Even when training isn't going the way you imagined, classes are kicking your butt, or you're starting to miss home, find the joy in the now. Because there will come a time when your four, five, or even six years come to an end; and you miss living down the street from your closest friends, or having the privilege to do something you love with people you care deeply for."
What does Black History Month mean to you?
Black History Month means a great deal to me. I wouldn't be able to attend the University of Minnesota if it wasn't for the activists and trailblazers that we celebrate and honor when reflecting during this month. I am not only Black, but I am a Black woman, and there are many 'disadvantages' that this world would have you focus on. But, when looking back on this month and the strides we have made, and will continue to make as a community, I am encouraged. I think it's also important to learn about all the amazing things people in the Black community have done because representation does matter. I know as a kid in elementary school, February was my favorite month in History because I got to open my text book and see people who looked like me achieve things that no one could write out or take away from them. I know there's many more people that don't get the recognition they deserve or names you'll never learn about because that is the current way of our society, but it's important to teach the past so we can try and create a better future and not repeat some of the mistakes we've made as a nation.
How have you been influenced or inspired by other black athletes, role models, or leaders in your life?
There are so many people that I look up to, especially in the Black community. Like Pat Cleveland, Dorthy Dandridge, Dapper Dan, and Annie Malone (her work has made an impact on every Black girls' life). Of course Civil Rights leaders like Rosa, Martin, and Malcolm are inspirations. But the person who has lived through the moments I don't even wish to read about in history books that inspires me would have to be my Nana. The reason why I look to her as inspiration is because she grew up in the Deep South from the 40s till the 60s. For anyone who is unaware of what that was like, the only story she would ever tell or talk about is how when she and her siblings would walk home from school (elementary to middle) these grown men would throw anything from food to glass bottles at them. And there was nothing they could do because of the laws placed by Jim Crow. Instead of letting things like this define who she and who she would be, she went to graduate high school at 16 and college by 20. Not only did she attend an HBCU, but she went on to get her masters from a predominantly White university, which as a black student, but also a woman during this time was not normal. She is my reason for pushing through any challenge I face in life. She is honestly my hero.
Give us an update on what you have been doing since leaving the University.
Since leaving the U I wasn't doing much. Just working and trying to figure out what was next for me in this thing called life. Like anyone else, I felt stuck in a rut. I went from having basically every minute of my life scheduled to not knowing what time I would eat dinner. There's so many ideas I have for myself in terms of what I want to do, but right now I'm playing volleyball professionally in Slovakia. It's very different from the U, but I'm very fortunate for this experience. I get paid to do something I love while seeing the world, plus I'm picking up a few tips on how to go about this whole life/maturity thing.
Black History Home
2025 Season Recap
Tuesday, January 27
Best of Julia Hanson
Monday, December 22
Gophers Preview NCAA Sweet Sixteen
Tuesday, December 09
Cinematic Recap: Gophers Reach Sweet Sixteen
Tuesday, December 09