USD-Magazine-Spring-2025

TORERO ATHLETICS

FROM NEIGHBOR TO HONORARY TORERO

TURNING COOKIES INTO SOFTBALLS

Reggie Smith moved to Linda Vista shortly after the San Diego College for Men, College for Women and School of Law opened its doors. Smith was a trusted advisor to USD’s founders and offered guidance to its presidents. She helped apply for the grant that

Reggie Smith helped launch softball at Ashland High in Kentucky. Her principal initially refused — saying the ballfield was no place for girls. Strike one. Eventually, he changed his mind, giving players old gloves, smelly catcher’s gear, worn-out bats and lopsided bases — the baseball team’s hand-me-downs. They still needed softballs. They made chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter fudge, held a bake sale and bought five softballs — two for practice and three for games.

established what’s now known as the Karen and Tom Mulvaney Center for Community, Awareness and Social Action. She was the first board president of USD’s Manchester Family Child Development Center, reviewed thesis proposals for the school of nursing and served on the committee that created the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice. She met Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama, attended the 1996 presidential debate between President Bill Clinton and Senator Bob Dole and watched tennis, basketball, soccer and softball. The university considers Smith a Torero at heart and awarded her an honorary diploma before later naming the softball complex in her honor.

That Entrepreneurial Spirit At first glance, Neomi “Nemo” Beach

Beach, who recently turned 20 years old, speaks with the conviction of someone twice her age. When asked how she manages simultaneously being a student, athlete and entrepreneur, she shrugged. “My brain just works like that. I can’t tell you how I do it, it just gets done.” This work ethic wasn’t cultivated in business classes — Beach is majoring in communication studies, with a minor in IT management. It was instilled by her entrepreneurial mother, who runs two nonprofit organizations, BASE (Black Alliance and Social Empowerment) and AFRO SCOUTS, focused on Black empowerment and youth, as well as a branch of the fitness franchise, Body20, which utilizes electrical muscle stimulation technology. “All I knew was just to work two, three times harder than everyone else,” Beach said, reflecting on her upbringing in Mesa, Arizona. “That’s how I got to this point in

appears to be a typical college sophomore balancing classes, volleyball practice and the occasional outing with friends. But beneath her easygoing demeanor lies an entrepreneurial spirit that would impress even the most seasoned business veterans. “I had no thought about this a month ago,” Beach said casually, describing the clothing line of streetwear she launched in January. Within 24 hours, she designed a collection on her iPad, secured a business license, opened a P.O. Box obtained a business debit card and began searching for manufacturers in San Diego. Her brand, Slayin Dayz, addresses a simple but overlooked need: clothing for tall people like herself. “I’ve always wanted to wear the cute sets, but the pants were always too short,” explained Beach, who stands at 5 feet 11 inches. “It’s like half my calf. And the jackets are like, here,” she added, gesturing to her forearms.

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