AUBURN, Ala. – On Friday morning, Ruthie Bolton woke up and drove from her hometown in Mississippi to Auburn to speak at the annual Women's Leadership Conference where she shared stories and encouragement to a ballroom full of women.
"With the women here, there's so much power in this room," Bolton said. "It feels almost like I'm getting ready for a game. This is not just an event. It's a movement."
Twenty-eight years ago, Bolton made a similar trip from Mississippi to Auburn.
Bolton, a senior in high school, wanted to play college basketball at Auburn. The women's basketball staff at the time could not pay to fly her to campus, so instead, they offered her a 10-hour bus ride with no promise of a scholarship or even a spot on the team.
"If a door closes, get to a window," Bolton told the room full of women Friday.
Ultimately, Bolton got on that bus and came to Auburn. She wound up starting her freshman year and helped the Tigers make the Sweet 16. She later played in back-to-back national championships before continuing her career with the Sacramento Monarchs in the WNBA. She also won two gold medals playing for Team USA.
"Twenty-eight years ago, I was riding a bus here in fear and didn't know what was going to be next," Bolton said. "Because I believed, it propelled me into the highest level of basketball. For that, I'm thankful. This place is a foundation. Even though it was a scary thing, this is where the pedigree of who I became started."
Among those in attendance Friday was Hannah Houde, a third-year doctoral student at Auburn who currently serves as the strength and conditioning coach for the Auburn wheelchair basketball team.
Like Bolton, Houde had her own doors closed as she pursued her dream of working at the Paralympic level. She was told strength and conditioning wasn't a job.
But like Bolton, Houde found a window. She transferred to Auburn and began working with the wheelchair basketball team. Now she's wrapping up her PhD in hopes of not only working at the Paralympic level but also developing sports science and sports performance for Paralympic athletes.
"Her story was very applicable to my life because that is how I got here in Auburn," Houde said. "There were doors that were closed. People told me that what I wanted to do wasn't an option. So, I just kept pushing and kept pushing for my dreams. That's what Ruthie did. I really enjoyed listening to her speak. It was really refreshing.
"This whole event was really refreshing, hearing all these wonderful women and their stories and where they're coming from, various backgrounds. The story is just to stay authentic, stay true to who you are, to continue to pursue your path."
Bolton, now a motivational speaker who travels around the world, carved out her own path. More than anything, she believed in herself. Whether it was a bus ride from Mississippi to Auburn or paying her own way to the Team USA tryouts in Colorado, she bet on herself time and time again. That was the message Friday.
"This is your time to shine," she proclaimed as she finished her speech.
Afterwards, Bolton answered questions from the audience in a Q&A session and then stayed after to take pictures and sign autographs of her new book.
"I'm just thankful to even be asked to be a part of this space, and every time I do, I try to be accountable for that and try to really bestow upon them something positive," she said. "The feedback, the energy, it was great. I felt like I met some sisters for life."