DALLAS, TX - Junior
Michaela Rasmussen spent last weekend at the NCAA Women's Final Four® in Dallas as part of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's Allstate Good Works Team.
The WBCA Good Works Team honors women's basketball players that have dedicated themselves to improving the lives of others through giving back to their communities.
A native of Chaska, MN, Rasmussen was one of five Division I women's basketball players named to the prestigious squad, along with five student-athletes from NCAA Divisions II, III and NAIA.
The first Rocket to be chosen to the Good Works Team, Rasmussen was recognized on the court during Friday's second national semifinal game in American Airlines Arena.
The following afternoon, Rasmussen and the Good Works Team put on a basketball clinic and interacted with patients at the Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth.
To wrap up the weekend, Rasmussen and the Good Works Team took part in a series of interviews and panels on Sunday.
In the classroom, Rasmussen has posted a perfect 4.0 GPA in biology with a minor in chemistry and Spanish and has aspirations to become a doctor. She is currently interested in neurology, but has interests in other areas as well.
On the court, Rasmussen has started 22 of 82 games over the past three seasons wearing the Midnight Blue & Gold. She is averaging 2.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in 12.4 minutes per contest as a member of the Midnight Blue & Gold.
Even with those impressive statistics in the classroom and on the court, it is in the community where Rasmussen shines the most. She volunteers regularly for the Sunshine Therapeutic Riding Program, which offers therapeutic horseback riding for individuals of all ages with developmental disabilities.
Rasmussen's passion for helping those with special needs or disabilities hits close to home. Her older brother Nathan has an underdeveloped corpus callosum and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at an early age. He suffers from poor muscle function and can say very few words. Rasmussen began accompanying him to his therapeutic horseback riding sessions four years ago and saw the joy riding horses brought him. She continued to go with Nathan to his sessions, and two years later decided to organize a Special Olympics Unified Basketball Tournament at her high school, Holy Family Catholic. Her goal was to provide another tournament for the teams in the conference, and enlisted the help of her high school teammates. After the tournament was finished, her teammates said they were inspired and that the way the teams competed and cheered each other on at the same time was extremely impactful.
Since arriving in Toledo, Rasmussen has been extremely active in the community volunteering for many organizations. Not only does she participate in UT's team organized community service events, but she also participates in as many other events as possible. Along with the Sunshine Therapeutic Horseback Riding Program, Rasmussen has volunteered for Toledo Sister Cities International Festival as a Spanish translator, companion walker for the Sunshine Walk, 5k Run & Roll, and handed out water at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in downtown Toledo.
She has also coached basketball to middle school age children at the Padua Center and Our Lady of Perpetual Health Camp, as well as volunteered at Habitat for Humanity, ALS Walk, Make-a-Wish, and the Glass City Marathon.
To say that Rasmussen is a model student-athlete is an understatement. She is the triple-threat that all coaches hope to find for her ability to impact others in the classroom, on the court, and in the community.
