Edwards Airman finds success, sense of family in softball, AF career

  • Published
  • By Kate Blais
  • 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  For Staff Sgt. Schameka White, at seven years old, the two-mile walk through her tough Montgomery, Ala. neighborhood to meet her team for softball practice every week was worth the risk.

And the odd jobs she took to fund her passion were worth the effort.

"They didn't pay much, but they covered what I needed to pay for," said White of the small jobs she took, like taking out people's trash, to pay for her uniforms and equipment.

Today White, who works at 412th Operations Support Squadron Aviation Resource Management, continues to work hard at her Air Force career and at softball. She travels to Florida this month to try out for the Air Force softball team, a team she's been a part of every year since 2005.

When she was a child tee-ball wasn't challenging enough, so White moved herself up to a community softball league for adults.

"I was the youngest one on the team," recalled White. "Everyone was in their 20s and 30s," she laughed. "But I could pass as a 13- or 14-year-old, so I was allowed to play."

From a young age, White learned to depend on the sport she was good at, which also kept her out of trouble. Softball became a comforting and stabilizing activity that provided a release from her family environment.

"Softball was like a release for me," she said. "It's something that I could depend on and that's going to always be there. It was more like softball and school were what I depended on more than family."

She continued to play softball through high school, was asked to play at a junior college in Florida and eventually at Columbus State University in Columbus, Ga. She attended both schools on a scholarship, "I got scholarships everywhere."

Although White finished at the junior college to receive her associate's degree, she took a break from a full-time schedule at Columbus State to care for her diabetic grandmother.

Out of school and working two jobs, White turned to the Air Force to begin her career.

"I joined the Air Force at that time because I was low on money and I needed to finish school," she said. "And my grandmother was really sick, so we didn't have anything to fall back on at that time."

Seven years later, White has been able to excel in softball and her Air Force career.

"Although I haven't seen her on the field personally, my understanding is that she takes the same approach on the field that she does at work," said Senior Master Sgt. Ray Sneed, 412th Operations Support Squadron Host Aviation Resource Management superintendent and White's supervisor. "She has an unquestionable thirst for knowledge and she uses the lessons learned, along with her leadership ability, to help make her teammates better."

White first tried out for the Air Force women's softball team in 2005 and hasn't sat out a season since.

She plans on reporting to Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. for camp once again this month to try out for the Air Force team. She also hopes to be asked to join the All-Armed Forces softball team at the end of camp, which has happened all but one year she's competed. White also hopes that news of opportunities like this for female athletes will spread more thoroughly around base.

The biggest parallels White notices between her softball and Air Force careers are the discipline each demands, as well as the camaraderie and positivity they promote.

"Both the Air Force and softball saved me," she said. "You become a tight-knit family and that's sort of what I missed with my real family. So I've stuck with it so I could have that comfort zone and be with people I've become accustomed to."

"Edwards and the Air Force need leaders like that," Sneed said. "In the short time that I have worked with Staff Sergeant White, it's easy to see what she brings to the fight, and that is dedication, drive and willingness to learn, and that will carry her far in her career."