COD sophomore starting goal keeper Maranda Palmer (Twentynine Palms H.S.) was presented with the 2018 3C4A Achievement Award at the 21st Annual CCCAA Convention in Concord on March 28.

The California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Convention welcomed honorees from around the state for their Celebration of Scholar-Athletes Luncheon. Award recipients included the 2018 Female Scholar-Athlete Award, the 2018 Male Scholar-Athlete Award, along with a female and male honoree for the California College Counselors Advisors Academic Association for Athletics (3C4A) Achievement Award.

Palmer, who logged 1433 minutes in net starting 19 of 21 games for the 2017 Roadrunners, was a two way player for Desert in the 2016 and 2017 seasons. If she wasn't in net, Palmer was playing midfield.

She was nominated for this award by Desert Athletic Counselor, Angel Meraz, and received word that Palmer had won the award on February 26.

Below is an excerpt from the luncheon pamphlet regarding Palmer's award:

"The number '2' has been a significant number in the life of Maranda Palmer. Her two parents welcomed Maranda and her twin brother into the world as they grew up in the city of Twentynine Palms, located in Southern California. A few years later, her parents increased the Palmer family by '2' again as another set of twins were born into the growing family. With two sets of twins in the household, life was hectic.

Her father enlisted in the Marines and was deployed twice. His first deployment was a long tour to Iraq and the second was an equally long deployment to Afghanistan. The long tours took a toll on the family, her parents parted ways, and her mother moved out of state. Maranda was thrust into the role of being 'mother' in the household as her father was given responsibility of raising all four children on his own.

Maranda's natural leadership instincts and skills immediately became apparent when she embraced this new role. She made sure that her siblings were taken care of every day. She made sure they were fed, bathed, and had clean clothes. Maranda also made certain that everyone arrived at school on time and was picked up afterwards. Doctor's appointments, sporting events, practices, and games were all part of the daily schedule for Maranda. It should be noted that Maranda was doing all this while still in high school. So, once again, the number '2' was a significant part of her life as she took on two roles; one as a high school student and the other as a responsible 'parent' for her siblings.

The second chapter of her young life involved her decision to enroll at the College of the Desert which was located 90 minutes from her house. College of the Desert had a women's soccer program, a sport in which she had immense passion. Maranda would embark on a long road trip twice a day. The first began at 3:30 a.m. so that she would be ready for practice at 5:30 and then classes where she fulfilled prerequisites for her chemistry major. The second was the long road back to Twentynine Palms to take care of her siblings.

Maranda's father made some unfortunate decisions and lost much of the family's money. Her car was far from reliable and after a year and a half of this travel, her car could no longer make the trips back and forth. With no money to fix the car and losing the only means of transportation, Maranda had to make a difficult decision to drop the two things she loved and had a passion for: school and soccer. Amazingly, two people who believed in her came to her support; her counselor Angel Meraz and her soccer coach Garrett Estrin.

They quickly put together an action plan that would allow Maranda to continue to be a student-athlete. However, she had to move away from her own family and moved in with the family of one of her teammates. Still without a car, she was forced to bike to school every day. This 13-mile round trip bike ride lasted the rest of her season.

For all her hard work, dedication to her team, commitment to her academics and a devotion to her family, she was ranked as one of the top five goalies in the state for saves and will be continuing her studies at UC Merced. Upon completion of her bachelor's degree, Maranda plans on enlisting in the United States Air Force. Maranda did not ask to be put in her role as a 'mother,' however, she took the challenge head-on. She has been, and will continue to be, the greatest role model for her family."

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