TEMPE, Ariz. – It's a term that is used and referenced daily inside Sun Devil Athletics – #SunDevil4Life.
But what does it mean to live this mantra and embody all that it encompasses? For these five current SDA employees who are working for their alma mater, it signifies pride, gratitude and passion for the Sun Devils.
Each Labor Day, we like to highlight the more than 90 ASU alumni who now work for Sun Devil Athletics, shining a light on the individuals making a difference for the university that shaped them.
Sun Devil Alumni Working in SDA /// Sun Devil Alumni Working in Sun Devil Athletics Through The Years
Denzel Burrell, Zach Owens, Kyla Roy, Debbie Tomah and Amira Van Buren pull the curtain back on what it truly means to be a #SunDevil4Life.
WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT ROLE, AND HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN AT SDA?
Denzel Burrell: I currently serve as associate director of academics within Sun Devil athletics and I am going on my 13th year at SDA.
Zach Owens: I am a Ticket Service & Retention Consultant, which is a fancy way of saying I get to work with our Season Ticket Holders. I've been with SDA since the end of November 2023.
Kyla Roy: I am the Women's Triathlon Assistant Coach and I have been in this role since August of 2023. Prior to starting full-time, I was a volunteer assistant coach for the '22-23 season.
Debbie Tomah: I am a Coordinator of Athletic Operations and Facilities Services. I have been in SDA for three years.
Amira Van Buren: I'm the assistant women's water polo coach and just recently started in June.
Just can't stay away ??
— Sun Devil Water Polo (@SunDevilWP) June 11, 2024
Join us in welcoming alumna Amira Van Buren to the Sun Devil Water Polo family as an assistant coach! pic.twitter.com/L5Fdv7svA5
HOW DID YOU END UP WORKING AT SDA? DESCRIBE YOUR PATH TO GETTING HERE.
Burrell: Jean Boyd. I was a former student-athlete myself and once my playing career ended, I quickly realized how much I missed college athletics. After networking with a handful of my support staff from college, I was alerted of a possible path through ASU. My old mentor from college knew and previously worked with Jean Boyd so he suggested I reach out and I didn't even give it two hours. I immediately blew up his phone looking for the opportunity. As a New Jersey native, I had never considered any life west of the Mississippi River, but after some great initial conversations with Jean, an interview with a dynamic staff that was clearly spearheading academic development of students and acceptance into graduate school…the car was packed!
Owens: Before working at SDA, I spent one season working for the Stockton Ports, the Single A affiliate for the Oakland A's. After that, I spent six months working for Salt River Fields, the spring training home of the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies until COVID shut everything down in the middle of Spring Training. I spent the next four years with the G League affiliate of the Golden State Warriors in Santa Cruz. I started with the Warriors in April of 2020, so I did not meet anyone I worked with in person for my first seven months on the job. While working for the Warriors, I was able to be a part of the 2022 NBA Championship run and joined in on the victory parade through the streets of San Francisco. I had not been back to Tempe since the beginning of the pandemic, but after a wedding last September between two of my old 942 Crew friends (shout out Marissa & Benji), I thought about how cool it would be to come back and work for Sun Devil Athletics at some point down the line. When I got back to Santa Cruz, I saw an open position in the Ticket Sales & Service department and that was the biggest sign in the world that it was time to come back to Tempe.
Roy: I ended up working at SDA and with Triathlon because I had previously been a student-athlete on the team. I started my freshman year in 2017 after moving down here from Canada to continue my academic and athletic career at ASU. I completed my four years of undergrad and graduated with a bachelors in social work. My senior year season was cut short due to COVID, but I received the option to do a fifth-year on the team. I completed my master's degree in social work during that time. During my master's degree, I did an internship at Banner University Medical Center with the Palliative medicine team. I had always thought I would move back to Canada, but I got the opportunity to continue my internship and get a full-time job there. I worked there for about a year and then [head coach] Cliff [English] reached out to me that he needed an assistant coach. The rest is history, and here I am!
Tomah: I was a student worker in SDA in 1991–1993. Years later, I was working in Facilities Management and my current position was posted. I have come full circle.
Van Buren: After graduating, I went on to work as a hospital social worker here in Arizona, and then moved to Austin, Texas, where I worked as a dialysis social worker. Both jobs were extremely rewarding but proved to have their challenges and I frequently found myself missing water polo and being around the sport. [Head coach] Petra [Pardi] and I kept in close touch the past two years, so when the position opened up, I was excited to pursue the opportunity of being able to come back!
We are excited to welcome back former Sun Devil national champion Kyla Roy as our new assistant coach.
— Sun Devil Triathlon (@sundeviltri) August 9, 2023
??: https://t.co/oz7MfLHYPD#ForksUp /// #O2V pic.twitter.com/uYDjs0maL9
WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT YOUR CURRENT ROLE/POSITION?
Burrell: My interaction with the student-athletes on the day-to-day basis. I get to see them grow and mature and learn from their own mistakes over time. It is great to see our young athletes transition into juniors and seniors and become leaders on the field of play, but also towards their younger teammates. The passion and energy of college athletics is unrivaled in my opinion so it's hard to wake up and come to this place and have a bad day.
Owens: My favorite part about working in Ticket Services is that I get paid to talk about Sun Devil Athletics all day! I had been doing that for free for years so I'm happy I finally found a way to get paid for it.
Roy: In my current position I really enjoy watching the girls push themselves to be their best in sport and in school. Although I have only been here for a year, I have already seen how much our freshmen from last year have matured and grown. I don't do triathlon at a high level anymore, but I really enjoy riding my bike with the girls still.
Tomah: The people that I work with are the best. Each day is a new adventure.
Van Buren: My time at ASU helped me grow so much not only in my sport, but also as a person. I love having the opportunity to be a positive impact in the lives of such talented young women. I'm happy that I have the chance to help provide guidance and support while they're navigating all that comes with being a student-athlete.
Proud of the team this semester for putting the work in the classroom!????
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) January 4, 2021
Shoutout to Denzel Burrell and @SunDevil_OSAD for all the support!?? #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/8xSu7mGmQr
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SUN DEVIL MEMORY?
Burrell: Tied between the home football win over Wisconsin that literally came down to the last play and botched time management by Wisconsin. The crowd was electric and it was a great weekend to be in Tempe. Wisconsin travels well so to send so many people home unhappy was a sight to see. Secondly would be our dual vs. Penn State in wrestling which came down to the final match (go figure). We broke up an undefeated record in front of an attendance record in the desert; another great night in Tempe, AZ!
Owens: Beating #1 Kansas at Desert Financial Arena my last year as a student.
Roy: One of my favorite Sun Devil memories is the 2019 nationals when my teammate and friend Audrey Ernst attacked off the front of the pack on the bike and really broke up the race. It was so fun to try and chase her down and then work with her on the bike. We had such a fun team that year and I loved every minute of it. I also reminisce on the friends I made outside of my own sport. One of my greatest friends, Amira Van Buren, and I did our entire five years of school together and graduating with her after all that was amazing! She's now the water polo assistant coach and we get to spend time together on the pool deck coaching now, which is super fun.
Tomah: Traveling to Pasadena to watch [Sun Devil Football] in the Rose Bowl in 1997.
Van Buren: My favorite Sun Devil memory is all the volleyball games we went to! Not only volleyball, but any games that we had the opportunity to watch. I loved sitting in the stands getting to support other athletes.
WHO/WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SUN DEVIL ATHLETE/TEAM OF ALL-TIME?
Burrell: Turner Washington because he was a student whom I actually worked with. He was a tremendous athlete evident by his numerous athletics accolades and national titles but even more than that he was a great person. He was a leader and as tireless a worker in the classroom as he was on the field. He went on to earn his BS and MA from ASU and make it look fairly easy in the process.
Owens: Pat Tillman.
Roy: I may be biased, but my favorite team of all time is the women's triathlon team. I've made my closest friends on that team and now coaching and seeing new generations of student-athletes come in is the best! My freshman year roommates and teammates, Hannah Henry and Cat Giuseffi, made that year and the four others a blast! Sarah Quintero is also one of my closest friends and truly showed me what it was like to be a Sun Devil when I arrived on campus.
Tomah: Léon Marchand.
Van Buren: I love to watch the volleyball games/team! When I was playing, my teammates and I never missed a home game and we were always the loudest ones in the stands.
WHAT IS A QUICK SUN DEVIL FACT ABOUT YOURSELF?
Burrell: I have visited and toured each of the 4 main ASU campuses.
Owens: I helped run the Curtain of Distraction during my time as a student.
Roy: Not about me, but at races my Dad would get talked about more than I did due to his Sun Devil super spirit. He was always out there with two foam fingers as a headband and the biggest Sun Devil flag he could find. Even though I graduated, he still has Sun Devil stickers on his car and loves the Sun Devils. On my official visit, he temporary-tattooed a big pitchfork on his bald head and made it on the jumbo screen at the football game we were watching.
Tomah: I met my husband, Mike, while working in SDA in the early 1990s. Three of our four children have degrees from ASU – Molly, BS '21, MS, '22; Stephen, BS '22; Matthew, BS '22 & MPA '24. Our youngest, Katie, is a junior here at ASU.
Van Buren: I'm a little superstitious and I ate the same breakfast before every home game – oatmeal with peanut butter, apples and cinnamon.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO WORK FOR YOUR ALMA MATER?
Burrell: This place is unique and has a family atmosphere like no other. From Graham Rossini on the 6th floor to Mike and the rest of the front desk security staff, the people around here make me excited for work each day. It's a place where you get texts and calls when you are out of the office for consecutive days so people can just check on you and it's becoming even more electric in Tempe than when I got here in 2012. The growth of this city is amazing and as an east coast guy, that is what keeps me out here. Go Devils and O2V!!
Owens: Even nine months in, I still have to pinch myself that I get to come in to work here every day. ASU has felt like home to me since I stepped foot on campus as a transfer student eight years ago. There's something magical about this place and to get to wear Maroon and Gold as we go into this new era of Sun Devil Athletics is pretty awesome.
Roy: It's really rewarding to work for a school that has given me so much. I've gotten not only a great education but made my closest friends here. It's very familiar and I don't feel like I need to be anyone but myself here. I know the resources that can be offered and feel very comfortable to help others come to school here and see why so many of us have stayed.
Tomah: Maroon and Gold runs deep in the Tomah house. My family is very entwined with Arizona State University and Sun Devil Athletics. It is a point of pride to work at a place where my husband and I graduated and now our children.
Van Buren: It's truly an honor to be able to come back and work for ASU. I spent five years here and have so many amazing memories that I'll carry with me forever. I also love that I get to work with other alumni everyday. I completed my Master's program with my good friend Kyla Roy, who's now the assistant coach for triathlon. It's a great feeling being able to give back to a place that means so much to me.
DID YOU KNOW?The Sun Devils have nine alumni who are head coaches of the 26 sports on campus. Here is a look at each of them and the degree earned.
Herbie Behm, Swim & Dive -- '13 BS (PSYCHOLOGY)
Matt Thurmond, Men's Golf -- '22 MALM (MASTER OF APPLIED LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT)
Petra Pardi, Water Polo -- '18 MEd HIGHER AND POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION; '15 BA PSYCHOLOGY
Kenny Dillingham, Football -- '13 BA INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES
Marc Briggs, Diving -- '02 BAE SECONDARY EDUCATION (PHYSICAL EDUCATION)
Willie Bloomquist, Baseball -- '01 BS MANAGEMENT
Greg Powers, Hockey -- '99 BS BROADCAST JOURNALISM
Missy Farr-Kaye, Women's Golf -- -- '90 BA ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION
Zeke Jones, Wrestling -- '90 BS CORPORATE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
Happy first day of class! ????
— Arizona State Sun Devils (@TheSunDevils) August 17, 2023
Here's a little #tbt of some of our coaches when they were student-athletes at ASU!
?? https://t.co/fgaRbmNcMW#ForksUp /// #O2V /// #SunDevil4Life pic.twitter.com/4ntgAW6jFE