Get to Know a Graduate Assistant: Alexis Akin-Otiko

Photo courtesy of Concordia Athletic Department.

by Jordan McCoy

Alexis Akin-Otiko is a first-year graduate assistant for Concordia women’s basketball. She is on staff with coach Drew Olson and coach Tae’lor Purdy-Korell. Akin-Otiko is originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, but moved to Nebraska in her first year of high school where she then attended Bellevue West High School. She then moved on to play basketball and obtain a degree in Psychology at Creighton University in Omaha.

Before she came to Concordia, Akin-Otiko was a  junior varsity and varsity basketball coach at her alma mater Bellevue West. For Akin-Otiko, Concordia offered a great prospect to enhance her degree while still participating in the game she loves.

“I loved the strong, Christian values that the school and staff had,” Akin-Otiko said. “I wanted to still be involved with  basketball (in) some way and to have the opportunity to do this and get my master’s degree, (which) is a huge blessing. It just seemed like the perfect fit for this time in my life.”

Akin-Otiko has many roles on the Concordia women’s basketball team. She works with both the varsity and the junior varsity team whether it be in practice, the weight room, or film sessions. She embraces whatever Coach Olson  needs done and feels grateful for each challenge a new day brings.

Since she has been a part of a team for the majority of her life, Akin-Otiko feels lucky to now be a part of the Bulldog family.

“My favorite part about this team is that the people are amazing. It is nice to have a feeling of a home away from home and to feel a part of something bigger than myself again,” Akin-Otiko said.

Upon completion of her masters of public health degree, Akin-Otiko plans on applying to medical school and seeing where life takes her from there.