Sports scholarships have been crucial to the development of many athletes. It is still a prevalent part of the American education system. While football and basketball are the most lucrative sports to apply for scholarships, students can be funded for a brilliant aptitude for practically any sport. So, it is beyond surprising that the first female student to get a football scholarship received hers just this year.

With college tuition being virtually unaffordable to a large majority of families, sports scholarships to go to college have become a beacon of light for many children to get a quality education. Antoinette ‘Toni’ Harris, a 22-year-old Black woman, was the student picked for this massive honor.

Hardships For Harris

Harris has lived through a life of hardship and unbeatable odds. The Detroit native has been following football since she was a 4-year-old. However, despite the challenges associated with her gender, build and what people say, she remained unphased and overcame every hurdle to live her dreams. Still, this is only the beginning. This overachieving 22-year-old dreams of being the first-ever woman to play in the NFL.

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Even outside of football, Harris is the full package. She is a very adept cheerleader as well as a track-and-field competitor. Harris’s journey with football started when she saw her cousins playing around her. Soon enough, by grade school, she was a footballer herself, playing at every available opportunity. Somehow, by high school, her teammates initially were not as accepting of her. However, eventually, they warmed up to her and provided her with the love and support that she needed.

Harris was as popular as she was talented, becoming the Homecoming Queen in her senior year. However, she still had her doubts. Despite lacking in size and age, Harris decided that those were issues that she just had to learn to live with.

What Comes After The Scholarship

“At the end of the day, I told myself, ‘I cannot allow myself to live in fear.’ You don’t really live if you live in fear,” she said. Still, life had more in store for the bombshell athlete. At the age of 18, Harris was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Despite losing half her body weight, Harris went through remission. Despite everyone’s advice to her, she e entered East Los Angeles College to be able to play free safety with the community college team. Just two years in, she has received dozens of scholarship offers to play. Ultimately, she accepted a scholarship with Central Methodist University to continue studying while playing football.

Harris has also caught the attention of some very influential companies. Earlier this year, she was featured in a Super Bowl commercial for Toyota with an RAV4 Hybrid. Once college is done, Harris dreams of playing for her favorite team – the Seattle Seahawks. She doesn’t mind playing for “any other team in the NFL — as long as I got my chance,” she said. She also plans on becoming a “homicide detective with a background in forensics.”