Kiki To Fulfill Dreams in Cali
April 19, 2022 | Softball, Joel Coleman
Bulldog softball player Kiki Edwards to work with Los Angeles Dodgers this summer.
STARKVILLE – Kiki Edwards is putting down her maroon and white for a few weeks this summer in order to pick up a little Dodger blue.
Edwards, a junior outfielder for Mississippi State, has been selected for an internship with the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion department of the Los Angeles Dodgers. For someone who says she always wanted to be involved in the professional sports industry, it's a dream come true for Edwards.
"I'm just grateful," Edwards said. "I know a lot of people don't get the chance in life to get an internship like this, this big. It hasn't really hit me yet. It won't hit me until I actually get out there."
Edwards is slated to be in Los Angeles for around 12 weeks. Orientation for the internship is May 23, however Edwards might be a bit delayed in heading west as that date falls right in the middle of softball postseason action.
Whenever Edwards joins the Dodgers, it'll be a celebrated moment – for her, for those who support her and for those who might one day wish to be in her shoes.
"I think it's a great opportunity for Kiki and for women in athletics especially," MSU head softball coach Samantha Ricketts said. "I know [Edwards] was excited about going through the interview process with the Dodgers and getting an opportunity to learn and take what she's learned as a student-athlete and student at Mississippi State in her major and apply it out in the real world. It's really what it's all about for us and what we're hoping to help teach these young women is life lessons that they can take and go out and be successful. I think she's got a great opportunity she's worked hard for, and we're excited to see what she does out there."
Once in California, Edwards will help enhance the Dodgers' DE&I programs. She'll be working alongside a team of four other interns.
"We'll have little tasks throughout the whole 12 weeks," Edwards said. "At the end, we'll have to present what we gathered to the CEO."
Just like that, Edwards will have gone from the MSU softball diamond to the ear of the man running the defending National League West champs. It's been quite the ride for Edwards.
Edwards' journey towards this moment was somewhat accelerated a couple of years ago. She was early in her academic career when she realized she wanted to make a change to something that aligned more closely to her goals.
Edwards was pursuing a kinesiology degree with an emphasis on clinical exercise physiology, but altered her route.
"I was like, 'This isn't for me. All these science classes are not it,'" Edwards recalled. "So, I was like, 'Oh, sports management. That can't be bad.' So, the more classes I took, it was like, 'This is interesting.' I was pretty good at them, too. So, I was like, 'Oh, why not this?'"
A couple of years later, "Why not this?" has sent Edwards from State to The Show.
After applying for the internship a couple of months back, Edwards got word she'd been accepted while traveling with her MSU softball teammates. Only moments before Ricketts gathered up her players' phones for a period of bonding time, the news Edwards had been hoping to receive arrived.
"I got a phone call and then 10 minutes later, Ricketts took our phones, so I was like, 'Thank you for giving me that phone call right now,'" Edwards said with a chuckle. "It was a call from an LA number, and it was, 'Hi, this is Lori Luna [of the Dodgers]. We just want to offer you a position.' I was like, 'Oh.' I couldn't be too excited because everyone was quiet on our bus."
Edwards' Bulldog teammates soon learned the news as well. For some of them, it was possibly a moment of realization, too.
Edwards likely isn't the only Bulldog with eyes on one day working in pro sports. Now, Edwards can be walking proof those goals are within reach for everyone.
It's fitting. Edwards heads to LA for an internship focusing on inclusion and at the same time, here she is herself helping show how all Bulldogs can dream big.
"I think the more and more we're getting women into the professional sports world, whether it's at the MLB level or any other sport, it's exciting," Ricketts said. "Allison Florian had an opportunity this year as well with the sabermetrics conference with MLB. It's fun. And it shows it's not a one-time thing. It's something that can be done. And I think it gives future young ladies the opportunity to look for that goal."
