By: Jade Barkett
Describe your time at KSU?
"I've been here for a long time. I've been here for five years. With COVID-19, I got an extra year too for me to be able to compete. Obviously freshman year was very rocky after the first semester and the second semester when COVID hit, and I couldn't come back. After that it went smoothly. I enjoyed very much every minute of being here and competing.
Going through all different teammates over the years, a lot of girls are similar from my sophomore year. New freshmen coming in and meeting new girls has been really a pleasure. We had three different head coaches and four different assistant coaching changes, so that was a lot in the last five years. But I feel like there were some positive changes, in that and there were also some tough times. Overall, I really enjoyed the last five years I had here."
What do you feel like you uniquely bring to this team, and overall being a Kennesaw State women's golfer?
"I think just different cultures and different perspectives on the team in any case. Obviously, our team is very international, and we do not have any American players on our team. So, it's just not me, but as a team, I think we bring a lot of diversity and I love that our time is from everywhere. I get to hear 'Oh my golf course is like this' and 'Oh I have coaches like this' and trying the food and culture, that's always fun. I can go to different countries and stay there for free sometimes, too!"
How would you describe your leadership style to those newer players that come through the program?
I obviously always welcome them, but also at the same time you tell them who we are and what our expectations are. Sometimes it can be tough if you don't meet those expectations. It's always hard to be a freshman, but I think it's just like a balancing board, both of harshness and being nice and telling them. Yes, you have made a mistake, but you need to overcome this and then after they're obviously recognizing it and trying. That's a big part of me."
If you could wrap up your time here in a sentence or phrase, what would it be?
Putting in hard work and it's not easy, the transition from junior golf to college golf is very different. You may think you're a really good golfer in junior golf, and you've come to college and realize,'Oh, wow, this is whole different level, and you just can't rely on how good you were in junior golf.'
You have to forget about that and just put your perspective into now I have to step up and just put hard work in. Just put hard work in and you can find your path into being a better player."
What's one more thing you want to achieve before leaving KSU?
"I don't want to really put a big expectation, but I would love to earn ASUN Player of the Year. Obviously, our season is more in the spring, so I have to continue the hard work until then. But I would love to be Player of the Year. I think that would be a great achievement before I leave and obviously as a team, I'd love us to win conference again and move on to regionals."
You are graduating this year, what are your future plans?
"I have so many thoughts. Turning pro is just kind of on the border, I'm seeing if I want to turn pro or not. That's not my main goal currently. My main goal that I'd love to work in the golf industry, hopefully working in PGA or LPGA, or any golf company like Mizuno, in general. One thought I had was hopefully to help those companies to produce better college golf athlete wear. Sometimes it may not be what we need, sometimes it's missing stuff. I think being a player and moving into what we need in our uniforms, I could go into."
Bella Kil has had an exceptional career here at Kennesaw State. Her accolades include, ASUN All-Conference first team, ASUN Golfer of the Week, two-time ASUN All-Tournament Team, and ASUN All-Conference second team. She has impacted the women's golf team, and the university, as a whole.
