Indiana University Athletics
Student-Athlete Spotlight: Malia Fujisawa
8/28/2016 11:07:00 PM | Field Hockey, General, Student-Athlete Services
BLOOMINGTON – When Rita Fujisawa was pregnant with her daughter Malia, she craved one thing and one thing only.
A hot fudge sundae.
This, IU senior Malia Fujisawa jokes, is the reason for her powerful sweet tooth.
As a defender on the IU field hockey team, Malia is known on the field for making saves and preserving shutouts. But around the athletics department, she's known as something of a resident baker.
"It's what I like to do on birthdays or special occasions," she said. "Celebrate extra with something home made."
Majoring in human development and family studies with minors in counseling and gerontology, Malia is a woman of many talents. In addition to serving up freshly baked cookies and brownies, she serves the IU athletics community as a Hoosier HEROES peer mentor, an Emerging Leaders program participant and a representative of SHIELD, IU student athletes for mental health awareness.
In the spring, Malia earned the top GPA out of any student-athlete. She then went on to spend the duration of the summer interning for the IU Athletics Department as an Excellence Academy Intern in Leadership and Life Skills.
Between juggling all these hats, Malia finds her Zen in the kitchen. She enjoys the structure of following step-by-step recipes and the challenge of creating fun and flavorful dishes on a college budget. One of her favorite "tricks" is to combine premade mixes with homemade fixtures, such as brownies with cheesecake topping.
True to her sweet tooth, some of Malia's signature dishes include baked donuts, crème puffs, cookies and cupcakes. But much of what she learned comes from cooking and tasting the exotic cuisines of her ancestral culture.
Growing up, Malia lived in the kitchen with her grandmother, who taught her how to make homemade dumplings, noodles and Chinese scallion pancakes. She also frequented the beaches of Hawaii, her father's boyhood home, where she sampled local cookery such as kalua slow roasted shredded pork, squid luau and lomi lomi salmon.
"Just try it," her father always encouraged her. "If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it."
Little did he know how influential that advice would turn out to be.
***
"There's too many trees."
That was Malia's first impression of the IU Bloomington campus.
As a high school junior, the California native was "shipped out" to the Midwest at the suggestion of coach Sandie Marotti-Huckins, who recommended Malia to participate in the camp at IU.
When told that his daughter had a chance to play Division-I field hockey, Glenn Fujisawa's response was, "Really? You think?"
Malia, in turn, approached the camp—more or less a college tryout—with the same attitude. She didn't feel any pressure or fear of making a mistake, she said, because she had no expectation of being extended an offer.
She returned home with talk of "too many trees" and how she couldn't possibly envision herself living in Indiana. She'll never forget the day when all of that changed.
She just happened to be wearing an olive green field hockey shirt.
Gathered with her teammates at the home of her high school coach, she stepped outside to take a phone call. On the other end was Indiana's coaching staff and they wanted her to come to Indiana.
When Malia returned to share the news, coach Marotti-Huckins echoed the advice Malia had been told throughout her youth.
"It's four years. Go and do something that only 3 percent of other high school field hockey players in the country get to do."
In other words, just try it.
***
Malia did try it. And she hasn't regretted it a day since.
"I tell all the freshman that these have been the best years of my life," she said. "The people I've met are beyond amazing. I honestly would not trade this experience for anything else."
The move from California to Indiana has taught Malia to think more globally, said Marotti-Huckins, whom Malia considers to be her second mom. Field hockey isn't offered at the high school level in Indiana, so the IU team is comprised of athletes hailing from across Midwest, East Coast and now — thanks to Malia — the West Coast.
Being a six-hour flight away from home isn't easy, but Malia has made a new family among her teammates, coaches and the IU athletics support staff.
And when Malia does have a chance to return to her parents' Davis, California, the first question is always a given.
"What would you like to eat?"
Malia's Simple Five-Step Recipe for Pre- and Post-Workout Protein Pancakes:
Step One: Mash up a ripe banana.
Step Two: Mix in one egg.
Step Three: Mix in one scoop protein powder (Malia's favorite is chocolate).
Step Four: Add cinnamon, vanilla, chopped almonds (optional: add 1/3 cup oats).
Step Five: Top with yogurt "whipped cream" and fresh fruit and serve!
A hot fudge sundae.
This, IU senior Malia Fujisawa jokes, is the reason for her powerful sweet tooth.
As a defender on the IU field hockey team, Malia is known on the field for making saves and preserving shutouts. But around the athletics department, she's known as something of a resident baker.
"It's what I like to do on birthdays or special occasions," she said. "Celebrate extra with something home made."
Majoring in human development and family studies with minors in counseling and gerontology, Malia is a woman of many talents. In addition to serving up freshly baked cookies and brownies, she serves the IU athletics community as a Hoosier HEROES peer mentor, an Emerging Leaders program participant and a representative of SHIELD, IU student athletes for mental health awareness.
In the spring, Malia earned the top GPA out of any student-athlete. She then went on to spend the duration of the summer interning for the IU Athletics Department as an Excellence Academy Intern in Leadership and Life Skills.
Between juggling all these hats, Malia finds her Zen in the kitchen. She enjoys the structure of following step-by-step recipes and the challenge of creating fun and flavorful dishes on a college budget. One of her favorite "tricks" is to combine premade mixes with homemade fixtures, such as brownies with cheesecake topping.
True to her sweet tooth, some of Malia's signature dishes include baked donuts, crème puffs, cookies and cupcakes. But much of what she learned comes from cooking and tasting the exotic cuisines of her ancestral culture.
Growing up, Malia lived in the kitchen with her grandmother, who taught her how to make homemade dumplings, noodles and Chinese scallion pancakes. She also frequented the beaches of Hawaii, her father's boyhood home, where she sampled local cookery such as kalua slow roasted shredded pork, squid luau and lomi lomi salmon.
"Just try it," her father always encouraged her. "If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it."
Little did he know how influential that advice would turn out to be.
***
"There's too many trees."
That was Malia's first impression of the IU Bloomington campus.
As a high school junior, the California native was "shipped out" to the Midwest at the suggestion of coach Sandie Marotti-Huckins, who recommended Malia to participate in the camp at IU.
When told that his daughter had a chance to play Division-I field hockey, Glenn Fujisawa's response was, "Really? You think?"
Malia, in turn, approached the camp—more or less a college tryout—with the same attitude. She didn't feel any pressure or fear of making a mistake, she said, because she had no expectation of being extended an offer.
She returned home with talk of "too many trees" and how she couldn't possibly envision herself living in Indiana. She'll never forget the day when all of that changed.
She just happened to be wearing an olive green field hockey shirt.
Gathered with her teammates at the home of her high school coach, she stepped outside to take a phone call. On the other end was Indiana's coaching staff and they wanted her to come to Indiana.
When Malia returned to share the news, coach Marotti-Huckins echoed the advice Malia had been told throughout her youth.
"It's four years. Go and do something that only 3 percent of other high school field hockey players in the country get to do."
In other words, just try it.
***
Malia did try it. And she hasn't regretted it a day since.
"I tell all the freshman that these have been the best years of my life," she said. "The people I've met are beyond amazing. I honestly would not trade this experience for anything else."
The move from California to Indiana has taught Malia to think more globally, said Marotti-Huckins, whom Malia considers to be her second mom. Field hockey isn't offered at the high school level in Indiana, so the IU team is comprised of athletes hailing from across Midwest, East Coast and now — thanks to Malia — the West Coast.
Being a six-hour flight away from home isn't easy, but Malia has made a new family among her teammates, coaches and the IU athletics support staff.
And when Malia does have a chance to return to her parents' Davis, California, the first question is always a given.
"What would you like to eat?"
Malia's Simple Five-Step Recipe for Pre- and Post-Workout Protein Pancakes:
Step One: Mash up a ripe banana.
Step Two: Mix in one egg.
Step Three: Mix in one scoop protein powder (Malia's favorite is chocolate).
Step Four: Add cinnamon, vanilla, chopped almonds (optional: add 1/3 cup oats).
Step Five: Top with yogurt "whipped cream" and fresh fruit and serve!
Players Mentioned
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