On Thursday, September 28th Normal West Alum and 2024 Wall of Fame inductee, Mandy Garner Leaux, returned to West talk to current student athletes.
You could have heard a pin drop in the auditorium as Garner-Leaux reminisced on the impact that Normal West has had on her thriving career.
Currently the Chief of Staff at Mercury GSE, Garner-Leaux directs strategic initiatives and projects. Before her current position, she worked at/with Riot Games, Mercedes-Benz, Spotify, and State Farm.
“I had a successful high school career, and I was able to do great things here [at West] but also in college and in my career because of the people at West–the teachers, the staff, my teammates– and you can see that culture of family and support and helping one another still exists today,” Garner Leaux boasts.
Graduating in 2001, Garner-Leaux accomplished many things during her time at West, like being a scholar-athlete, attaining a 5.0 GPA, and receiving multiple leadership awards on the field and court.
Garner was also a member of many extracurriculars: Mu Alpha Theta, National Honor Society, and served as Treasurer on the Student Council.
In addition, she amazingly earned nine varsity letters in three sports. Some of her athletic achievements include setting the school record in basketball, with 1,625 career points, holding multiple school records in her career in softball, and being named a Pantagraph All-Star.
Through it all, she still credits her success in high school for setting her up for success not only in college but beyond.
“Most places are not like Bloomington-Normal and when you do leave these walls or this community, you realize how special it is and you realize the opportunities here.You go out and like when I went to Illinois State, I had such an edge and a great confidence to me because I got experiences here that students coming from other schools didn’t have ya know…I had opportunities to take two years of Accounting and Web Design classes as well as play for great coaches,” Garner-Leaux notes of the pride she feels for her roots.
After West, she attended Illinois State University, where Garner-Leaux continued in softball and obtained a degree in Accounting after graduating Cum Laude.
Although her career speaks for itself, hearing someone like Garner-Leaux speak is always impactful for students to hear.
“She’s very successful and you can tell she impacted a lot of people so it was really cool to hear her story and like maybe we can a legacy like that tone day when we leave West,” Sophomore basketball player Avery Dodge notes.
“I think it was kind of cool how she shared how she played and how she was talking about mental strength, and that is what my softball coach preaches. So, it was cool to see how it is still important to her to this day and how it can carry on with her life,” Junior basketball and softball player Hayley Upton adds.
Speaking to all Normal West students, Garner-Leaux wants all Wildcats to realize just how lucky they are to walk the halls of Normal West.
“Every program here really breeds excellence…like I got to hear a lot about Ms. P last night inducted into the Wall of Fame, as well, and there was a lot I did know about her because I was here when she was here, and a lot of my very close friends were a part of the band under her leadership, but just hearing some of her stories and how she impacted her students, your mind is just blown,” Garner-Leaux recalls.
“And you can just tell that that is something that is just instilled into every aspect of this school.”
