Anthony Lain is a junior political science major at the University of Tennessee at Martin from Pegram. His career goal is to become an attorney, but his college career began with a different kind of court.
Lain grew up in a family of lawyers and local politicians, and his father, Scott Lain, graduated from UT Martin in 1994. So, early on, his ambition was to follow in his father’s footsteps to go to UT Martin and eventually go to law school.
During high school, Lain attended the Governor’s School for the Humanities at UT Martin, taking political science classes and cementing himself as a future UT Martin student.
“I really fell in love with this campus,” he said. “I loved the classes, the faculty and how much they care for the students.”
Lain is on the College of Business and Global Affairs Student Advisory Council and the Student Alumni Council and previously took part in the Student Government Association.
In his freshman year, he branched out of his course of study to pursue an interesting extracurricular activity.
Lain grew up playing basketball, starting when he was 6 or 7 years old. He was on the Nashville Christian School’s basketball team from seventh grade up to his senior year.
Right before he came to UTM, he emailed the men’s basketball coach and asked if there was any way for him to become involved. They told him there was a position open for the team manager, and that they would love to interview him.
“What started as love for the game turned into this great appreciation and pride for being able to represent the university and wear those UTM colors on a national stage,” Lain said.
As the team manager, Lain’s responsibilities included making sure practices would start smoothly, prepping for games, making sure there was water and Gatorade for the players and making sure everything was packed for travel games. Lain described it as “behind-the-scenes” work, the things that often go unnoticed if done correctly.
“I always took great pride in making sure my work was done, and everything I did was done with excellence,” he said. “It’s a position that doesn’t get a lot of recognition, but it’s super important.”
Even though Lain took his responsibilities with the team seriously, he didn’t let that negatively affect his performance in the classroom, letting his experience with the basketball team guide him to be a better student. He said that this position helped him with skills like time management and improved his work ethic.
He no longer works as the men’s basketball team manager, but he remembers the 2½ years he spent with the team fondly. Before leaving the team, he helped the new manager learn the ropes so the team would be in the best hands for the next season.
“It’s really tough not being out there,” Lain said. “It took a lot of wisdom and discernment to be able to know I needed to take a step back.”
Now Lain is working toward his next step, law school. He is an intern at the Weakley County district attorney’s office, an opportunity that will be very important for his career. He is thankful for the time he got to spend with the team and is looking forward to the Skyhawks’ next win.
PHOTO: UTM junior Anthony Lain is shown on the left side of the photo with the UT Martin men’s basketball team at a game in a previous season. Lain is pursuing a degree in political science with hopes of going to law school.
