Kendyll Ferrall
kferral1@uwyo.edu
Sport:
Golf
Class Standing:
Sophmore
Hometown:
Cheyenne, Wyo.
Major Achievements:
2013 MW Scholar Athlete
Very tall, very blonde – very smart.
Ask Emily Woodard what she thinks the perception of her is and she will spout off the first two descriptors very quickly. The last one, however, might take her a second longer to say.
Woodard is blatantly aware that the first things that people notice about her are her height and hair color, but first impressions are often wrong.
Yes, Woodard is very tall and very blonde, but there is a lot more going on inside her head than people may realize. The 5’11” Mountain West Scholar golfer is working her way through her undergraduate and on to medical school, one stroke at a time.
“I’m blonde and I’m tall, so people have always judged me as not being very smart,” said Woodard, “But, I like being the underdog and proving people wrong.”
Woodard has been proving people wrong for a long time. Beginning at Central High School, she excelled in golf and indoor track all while maintaining her honor roll student status.
“I’ve always been really good about making time for school,” said the four-year letter winner, “I’m very school oriented, so are my parents. They really helped me get my head on straight.”
The combination of her scholarly habits and her outstanding athletic achievements caught the attention on the University of Wyoming’s golf program. Making the 45-minute move over the summit from the Capital City to the Gem City was an easy decision for Woodard.
“It was pretty much always Wyoming,” Woodard explained, “It’s a great advantage. People know me from all around the state because of what I did in high school and what I’m doing now in college. I get to be a part of a community I’ve been a part of my whole life.”
Redshirting her freshman year, Woodard made her first collegiate appearance during the 2013-2014 season. Taking the transition from high school to college seemingly in stride, Woodard golfed in four of the spring’s seven tournaments. She ended her first season averaging 92.4 strokes in 12 rounds.
Her accomplishments on the green mirrored her accomplishments in the classroom, receiving the Mountain West Scholar Athlete Award in 2013.
“I was very surprised, but very excited to receive that honor,” Woodard humbly recalled, “I worked very hard and it was nice to be recognized for that. Academics are a really big part of my life.”
Being so academically minded, Woodard decided to major in chemistry upon her arrival at Wyoming. Aspiring to go to medical school, she hopes to specialize in the brain, specifically working with Parkinson’s disease. The disease with no known cause affects the central nervous system and is especially close to Woodard; two of her grandparents suffer from the illness.
Studying such a time-consuming and difficult subject takes motivation and determination, something Woodard is definitely not lacking.
“It’s been difficult, but I have to force myself to go out and study and to go out and practice,” explained Woodard.
Sometimes, she needs a little extra incentive to help straighten out her priorities.
“I buy myself Starbucks a lot, that really motivates me,” added Woodard.
Along with her strong work ethic and venti-sized motivation, Woodard’s teammates provide a strong support system.
“We’re all very close and we sincerely care about each other, individually and as a team,” said the Wyoming-native, “I think a lot of other teams forget that they are actually apart of a team.”
Woodard and her teammates are working hard to prove that Wyoming is golf state. In a state where the greens are usually covered in white, it takes that much more skill to out-putt opponents.
“We always try to visualize that we’re on a golf course,” Woodard explained, “We have to create a competitive atmosphere, so when we see perfect conditions, it’s almost easier because we’re used to winds and not very good greens.”
With less than two months left in her sophomore season, Woodard is already beginning to plan her retirement from the sport she has played since she was a child. Deciding to pursue medical school and not a professional golf career, Woodard is making the most of the next two seasons.
“I love it, but I don’t want to play it professionally because I am so academically minded” Woodard stated, “It pushes me to work harder, knowing I’ll be done in two years, so I have to use my time wisely. It’s bittersweet, but it will be a new change and a new direction.”
After living in Wyoming for her whole life, Woodard hopes to venture to Oregon or Washington where she can practice medicine and maybe casually play 18 rounds without the threat of a high-wind warning. Woodard may end up on the west coast with a Ph.D. or the east coast in the PGA, but for now everything seems to be par for the course.
