Professional basketball player Travante Williams says that everything in his life started with the environment he grew up in, in East Anchorage. There was good and there was bad. However, at times, the bad seemed to overshadow the good. His family, and many other people he grew up around and even looked up to, struggled with addiction and were in and out of prison. So, he had a fear of falling into that same cycle. A few people took him out of that mindset though. One was his mom. She always instilled in him a sense of his potential. Even throughout her own troubles, she made sure he knew he was loved and meant for better things. The other person was his grandmother. She was the most instrumental part of his life, Travante says. Every moment he was around her, she made him feel at home. To this day, her love and influence reminds him of all the work you need to put in to have anything that’s worth having.
His path to playing pro basketball has been one of perseverance, luck and opportunity. He tells this story from his college days that encapsulates all of this. He was working at a 24-Hour Fitness and he noticed these guys running the court during his lunch break. So he got in there and started showing everyone up. Meanwhile, a scout for San Francisco City Junior College was watching him. So, afterwards the scout approached Travante and got his number. Six or seven months later, Travante was offered a position on the team.
For the last seven years, he’s been living overseas and playing pro ball. He started his career in Tskaltubo, a city in the country of Georgia. Then he moved to Portugal, first playing for U.D. Oliveirense and then Sporting de Portugal. He says that, as a teammate, he has what he calls a dishwasher mindset. He likes to do the dirty jobs and he likes to work hard. That’s his way of leading by example. He tries to connect with all his teammates because, at the end of the day, this is a job and when one of them succeeds, they all succeed.
EP 85 Furniture, basketball and family with Buddy Bailey
EP 84 Human trafficking in Alaska and decolonizing data with Josie Heyano
EP 83 Moving home, revitalizing a language and the magic of radio with Shyanne Beatty
EP 82 A chip on my shoulder with Mario Chalmers
EP 81 Life lessons from fish camp with Angela Gonzalez
EP 80 Searching for understanding and forgiveness with Robert Stark
EP 79 There is no excuse with Andrew Kurka
EP 78 Deconstructing the myth of The Last Frontier with Kaitlin Armstrong
EP 77 The history of slime with Christopher Michlig
EP 75 From middle school teacher to pro wrestler with Freya the Slaya
EP 74 Embracing the variance of poker with Adam Hendrix
Museums in a Climate of Change: EP 73 Futures thinking, perseverance and climate change with Kristin Alford of the Museum of Discovery at the University of South Australia
Museums in a Climate of Change: EP 72 Creating sustainable exhibitions with Lizzy Bakker of NEMO Science Museum in Amsterdam
Museums in a Climate of Change: EP 71 How climate change is affecting the traditional Sámi way of life with Anne May Olii of the Sámi Museum in Norway
Museums in a Climate of Change: EP 70 The myth of climate indifference with Miranda Massie of the Climate Museum
Museums in a Climate of Change: EP 69 Imagining the future with Lath Carlson of the Museum of the Future in Dubai
EP 68 Frances changed my life with John Gourley
Ep 67 Culture comes from our environment with Cordelia Qiġñaaq Kellie
EP 66 Inuit soul music with Qacung
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