Coming Into Her Own

By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications

Former women's basketball point guard Kayla Burton '17 is thankful for the life lessons learned from her Lehigh student-athlete experience.

Today, she's reaping the benefits.

It wasn't always easy. In fact, hardships are what Burton is most grateful for.

"I very much identified myself as a ballplayer," said Burton, who started 22 games as a freshman, but just once over her final three seasons. "When you identify yourself with your minutes and that goes down, your confidence is completely affected. It was a rollercoaster. I remember that affecting my everyday life.

"I was so set on basketball that I wasn't really focused on the bigger picture," she continued. "It's exciting to be so passionate about something, but I learned you can't identify yourself with any one thing you do.

"I learned that lesson in a hard way, but little did I know that God was preparing me for something bigger."

The something bigger was Burton's path after Lehigh. Today, the vibrant Burton is working in television at Western Mass News (ABC 40, Fox 6 and CBS 3), with a role in both news and sports.

"I have a pretty early schedule," she said. "I'm reporting live from around 5 to 9 a.m. then I work on a story later in the afternoon. I'm a multimedia journalist, so I'm like a one-man band – behind and in front of the camera...

"Everything."

Destined for Journalism
Burton is grateful for the opportunity to do everything. Her interest in journalism began at a young age.

Kayla's father is Steve Burton, a longtime television personality in the Boston area.

"My dad helped set the tone," said Kayla. "There were six in our family and we all played sports. Sometimes, my dad would bring us to work. He would have us in-studio and I would watch."

The seed was planted for Kayla's journalism career.

Many years later, Burton ended up at Lehigh to pursue a pair of passions – journalism and basketball.

"Lehigh had multimedia journalism, which I'm very thankful for. But in the end, I wanted to do more with broadcasting," said Burton. "My dad said to go interview coaches. (Former Mountain Hawks' head football coach) Andy Coen was the first coach I interviewed. I eventually started doing that more regularly and created a reel."

That reel helped Burton take her talents back home to Boston after graduating. As an intern on the Celtics Late Night Show, the 2017 Lehigh graduate interviewed Boston Celtics players.

She was enjoying the experience, but knew she wanted more.

"I realized I really wanted to excel with what I was doing," said Burton. "That's when graduate school came into the picture.

"I wanted to write scripts and know how to talk about all sports, not just basketball," she continued. "News honestly wasn't really even on mind."

Burton applied to a few grad schools, ending up at Syracuse's well-regarded Newhouse program with a Sports Communications emphasis.

"It's a one-year program, which absolutely sharpened me up," she said. "It was definitely by far the hardest education I have ever done in my life. I think I'd rather run Coach (Sue) Troyan's suicides than do some of the work there. It was brand new and felt like a different language."

Burton ran into plenty of adversity at Syracuse, but because she had been through the rigors of being a collegiate student-athlete, she was ready to tackle any challenge sent her way.

"There were times I was bawling my eyes out," she said. "I didn't know if I could do it. I remember being on camera and absolutely tanking, not knowing what I was saying."

At that point, Kayla's father stepped in with helpful advice.

"My dad asked me how I got good at basketball; it was by waking up in the morning before school and shooting every day," said Kayla. "He said just because I'm not playing basketball doesn't mean I can miss the extra work."

So, Kayla began getting in extra work every morning. Along the way, she received help from her number one fan – and greatest critic at the same time – her dad.

"Before class in the mornings, I would look in the mirror and my dad would talk into my ear as if I was on set," said Kayla. "We would cue each other and do 10 reps every single day. We'd pick a topic to talk about; I would write a script and talk in the mirror, tossing it back and forth to each other.

"I started to get better and more comfortable."

Burton was focused on sports. Never did she expect to be as comfortable as she's become with news, either.

"Western Mass News was the on-air opportunity I thought would most benefit me for what I wanted to do," she said. "It turns out I am so thankful to be doing news."

A "Gift" of Coaching
Along with her television career, Burton has found a love for coaching, which began the year she interned in Boston.

"A local athletic director reached out to me who needed help coaching a middle school and varsity team," she said. "Graduating Lehigh, I was so grateful for Coach Troyan and our team, but in a way, there was also the slice of me that just felt ready to move on."

However, Burton wound up falling in love with coaching. Now, while based near Springfield, she has continued with the Minnechaug Girls varsity basketball team.

"Coaching is freeing for me," said Burton. "It's a way I can give back to all the coaches and people who have given to me in my life. I believe God put me in this position. You're going to help out these children and you're not even going to realize how much you're going to love it."
Kayla Burton Coaching

As a coach, Burton understands the power she owns.

"Coaching is a gift," she said. "It's about not only training them as basketball players, but more importantly, helping them as people. It's giving them that confidence I didn't always have and connecting with them on that level. It's not only about coaching the game itself, but also life."

Today, another part of Burton's life is serving as color analyst for Yale University basketball, down the road in Connecticut.

"I was color analyst for some Syracuse basketball games, mainly the women's games," said Burton. "Yale asked me for my reel and they hired me to be the color analyst for men's and women's basketball games."

Lehigh Paving the Way
Burton had a very enjoyable experience at Lehigh, but like for all student-athletes, there was certainly a learning curve featuring many bumps in the road.

"My freshman year at Lehigh, playing ball meant everything to me," she said. "After playing a lot as a freshman, that wasn't the case sophomore, junior and senior year. I would still be working. Nothing ever changed about my work ethic, so I began questioning if I was good enough."

When thinking about the dynamic of any team, there are a number of variables at play. When thinking back to her college days, Burton wishes she had focused only on what she could control. She began worrying too much about what she couldn't.

It's a lesson that's stayed with her to this day in her role at Western Mass News, a position she's held since last August.
Kayla Burton

"I didn't know then what I know now," said Burton. "Because of my experience at Lehigh, now I'm confident. Don't get me wrong, my road right after college wasn't smooth. There was a lot of pressure on me and a lot of criticisms. But instead of breaking down like maybe I would have before, I realized I had been in this situation and pushed forward."

Lehigh head coach Sue Troyan can attest to Burton's growth over the years, including post graduation.

"Kayla's Lehigh experience was a challenging one as she came into the program and experienced immediate personal success as a freshman. As the program and our recruiting grew, Kayla had to serve our program in a different role as an upperclassman," said Troyan. "I believe this experience taught Kayla the importance of valuing herself much beyond that of a basketball player.

"Upon graduating from Lehigh, she found her passion in the broadcasting industry and also found the value of her self-worth."

Using her Platform for Good
As a news reporter who's also biracial, Burton is taking advantage of her platform outside of athletics and doing great things amidst racial injustice and inequalities in the country.

"Growing up, I struggled with my identity. Am I white, Black or can I be both?" she said. "Can I combine friend groups? I remember, even growing up, sitting with my white friends at lunch tables and having to make time to go over to my Black friends. It was almost like two worlds in one and it was hard for me to figure out how to just be me."

While at Lehigh, Burton was still trying to find her identity.

"My Lehigh teammates are my best friends still to this day, but I was trying to figure out who I was," she said. "Now, with everything going on in the country and world, I like to use my platform as a voice for people of color.

"Don't get me wrong, we're reporting facts and what's going on in the world. In my community in Western Massachusetts, there are many people of color, so it's about telling those stories just as much as any other story."

Burton has also not been afraid to navigate some difficult conversations.

"I'm one of very few people of color at my station, not to mention there aren't a lot of people of color in the industry," she said. "I'm blessed to be in this position and want to use that to help others.

"Everything that's been happening has sparked a lot of conversation, even in my news room," Burton continued. "My colleagues understand that I'm mixed and I love when they ask questions because I know a lot of people are trying to learn. I also connect with a lot of the people of color at my station, just checking in with them."

While at Lehigh, Burton was very focused on journalism, but is grateful she minored in Africana Studies, which taught her about her own culture.

"Not only did I educate myself at Lehigh because I took classes on Africana Studies with a lot of people of color teachers and classmates, but now I'm able to help educate my coworkers and the people around me," she said.

One small positive of the racial injustice and inequalities playing out in the country has been a more open conversation.

For Burton, that includes with her family.

"Even though it seems like very tough, difficult times, it's a blessing for my family because we're able to have conversations that we would've never had if it weren't for these issues right now," she said. "My mom is white and she's trying to figure out how to vouch for her husband and kids."

Whether it's the Burton family having a few more conversations, or another family talking about the topic for the first time, progress is made through things like communication and education.

"When you're white in this situation, it's also confusing," said Burton. "What do you do? If you want to help, how do you? That's where people of color need to come in, teach and really show and have that conversation, rather than ignoring it because it's awkward."

Reaping the Benefits of her Past
You often hear the story of a student-athlete learning and growing over her four years, graduating as someone ready to tackle the world. Burton did that, but her biggest growth came after Lehigh.

And that's arguably even more rewarding.

"What keeps me going is looking back where I came from," said Burton. "What gets me excited about my future is knowing my past and what God has brought me through then to lead me here."

"I have always known what a special person Kayla is, and her ability to impact people and our society," said Troyan. "She is an intelligent and thoughtful young woman who possesses an engaging and energizing personality. It's rewarding to see her self-awareness grow to the point where she understands the impact she can have on people, on our society and on creating change in an important time in our country."

Seeing herself get through tough times – in basketball and life – has inspired Burton to use her platform to help create change.

And she's living in the moment.

"I don't know where I'm going next," said Burton. "I do have goals, don't get me wrong, but I have such a confidence in my faith in God. That faith allowed me to keep moving and keep going, even when hitting rock bottom, which I did at times."

Burton is beyond thankful for hitting rock bottom, because she was learning about herself and learning about life.

Today, she is undoubtedly reaping the benefits.

"I learned when you step on that court, make plays happen," said Burton. "In the same situation in life, I had to make plays happen. I had to realize my weaknesses and improve on them.

"I brought what I learned at Lehigh to my new platform in life."

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