Chico State Athletics

It was the spring and summer of 2020 and Troy Maki was back home in Monterey Park, five miles west of downtown Los Angeles. Things had not gone as planned.
 
Maki made the tough decision to move away from his tight-knit family and attend Chico State after living at home during his two seasons of baseball at East Los Angeles Community College. Despite his hesitancy to move so far away from home, Maki had thrived for those seven months in Chico. He was excelling in school, endearing himself to his roommates by mastering his mother's beloved hamburger sliders recipe, and finding his role as a right-handed pitcher on the baseball team that was off to a strong start.
 
In March, Maki's life turned upside down, as did everyone's. The season was cancelled and he headed home for a spring and summer unlike any other.
 
Maki saw the news about the Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Jacob Blake killings. He saw the news about protests, including many large ones in Los Angeles. Like so many, he was compelled to act. Like not as many, he actually did.
 
"It was tough turning on the news every night and seeing on social media all the negativity, violence and brutality," Maki said. "I didn't want to sit back and ignore what was going on just because it wasn't affecting me personally. I wanted to do something to spread awareness and show support. You can't expect that from people if you don't do it for them."
 
A thoughtful young man, Maki considered how he might make a difference, eventually teaming up with his friend Tatiana Garnett on an idea. They would sell a T-shirt for a fundraiser with all proceeds going to the organization BLD PWR.
 
The original goal was to sell 100 shirts, Maki said, and: "to help start the conversation and spread awareness. Maybe even introduce the topic to people who don't necessarily usually get involved in these kinds of things."
 
They sold 215 shirts and raised more than $4,210.

"At first it was family members and closer friends. To be honest, that's all I was expecting or anticipating," Maki said. "As time went on I was talking to Tatiana and asking if she knew all these people who were buying or donating and realized that the amount of people we knew were a small percentage. The most surprising thing was the generosity of people and how a small thing like creating a T-shirt can create such a big impact."
 
Originally stirred to do something to make a difference, Maki was now receiving inspiration from those who were supporting his efforts.
 
"As the funds were coming in, some of the messages were really inspiring," he said. "We need to stick together. If we can do that we can create change."
 
T-shirt sales are now closed, but Maki suggests giving to BLD PWR if you still want to pitch in.
 
Ever introspective, Maki sees now that there was one other, more personal, motivating factor in his efforts. His Japanese-American family had friends who had been incarcerated during World War II based on their race.
 
"This had a similar feeling to it where people were being racially profiled. Everyone should be angered by that and want to help out," he said. "If something like that does happen to us again, hopefully people will reach out and have the same support towards us."
 
Maki explains all this over the phone from his home in Monterey Park. Only two years ago, he had a hard time imagining leaving that place of safety, security, and mom's cooking. Now, Maki is anxiously awaiting the chance to return to Chico.
 
This has clearly been a time of personal growth.
 
"I was very unsure if I really wanted to go away for school. But after visiting Chico and talking with the coaches and walking around the campus and meeting all the different staff and faculty, I quickly realized it was where I wanted to be for the next two or three years," Maki said. "Living with teammates definitely helped. The guys on the team are there if you need help. There's a lot of people you can turn to. On prior teams I've been on there's been different cliques of guys. With the Chico team everyone gets along together and hangs out together. It's just a big family. Along with the whole department.
 
"It's tough not to be on campus and get that Chico State experience. I'm really excited to hopefully be back there for a whole year this time."
 
A winner of two California Collegiate Athletic Association All-Academic Awards and the Division II Athletic Directors Association Academic Achievement Award, Maki expects to graduate in the spring of 2022 with bachelor's degree exercise physiology. He then plans to attend to graduate school and become a physical therapist.