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“I knew right away. It was just rec’ ball, but the way I felt when I played was like a gift given to me – not necessarily playing well and scoring points, but by the way it made me feel in my heart.” For 22-year-old Minnesota Lynx guard Candice Wiggins, this gift has created opportunities to accomplish her academic, professional and personal goals.

At La Jolla Country Day High School in San Diego, California, she was a star on the basketball and volleyball courts. The highly recruited athlete accepted a scholarship to play both sports at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. In her freshman year, she earned a national championship ring for volleyball but soon had to make a choice between the two sports.

Candice says, “It was right after the volleyball team had won the national championship. I was playing basketball in Tennessee – we lost at the buzzer. I’m walking to the bus and Pat Summitt, Tennessee’s Hall of Fame coach, stops me and says, ‘I want to talk to you, I have to ask you a question.’” Candice had long admired and respected the legendary coach and thought she was going to ask her a question about the game. Instead Ms. Summit asked her, “You’re playing volleyball right?” Candice says, “I told her I was and she asked me, ‘Do you want to be good at basketball or do you want to be great? What do you want?’”

“I knew I wanted to play basketball and it was time to grow up. Part of growing up is figuring out what you have to hold on to and what you have to let go. I ended up quitting the volleyball team.”

She went on to be the all-time leading scorer in Stanford women’s basketball history and on April 5, 2008, was awarded the prestigious Wade trophy as the best women’s basketball player in NCAA Division I. The next day, Candice was chosen by the Minnesota Lynx as the third overall pick in the WNBA draft.

“The draft was a special, special day in my life. I was in Tampa at the Final Four. We played Tennessee in the finals and the draft was the next day. My mom was there – and she had told me that someday I would play women’s professional basketball even before there was a WNBA. I believed her just because she was my mom – but part of me thought it would never happen. And the day of the draft, it just felt like everything was being put in place and then to be drafted, here I am. I have literally worked all my life for this moment.”

Playing and Paying it Forward

For Candice, playing for the Lynx offers more than a career as a professional athlete. It now provides her with the opportunity to fulfill a deeply personal goal. Shortly before Candice’s fourth birthday, her father Alan Wiggins, a major league baseball player, lost his life due to complications from AIDS. His death occurred in 1991, the same year Magic Johnson publicly announced that he had tested positive for HIV, bringing the epidemic out of the shadows and into greater public consciousness.

Of losing her father, Candice says, “It’s one thing to have that type of personal tragedy happen in your family but when it’s so public, it adds another dimension and makes it even worse. When I was younger, I didn’t really realize what was going on. At that time, it wasn’t something that children were exposed to.” Wisely, Candice’s mother, Angela Wiggins, waited until she was old enough to understand what had happened and had the ability to process the information. “She always told me that I was going to take all this negative and make it into a positive and she was so sure about it. I didn’t know what she meant by negative. Obviously my mom knew a lot more and protected or sheltered me. Nobody wanted to talk about AIDS.”

When Candice was young her mother told her, “People are going to see your father through you.” The prediction is coming true, both on and off the court.

In June, 2008, Candice became a spokesman for Until There’s A Cure® (UTAC), a non-profit organization that raises awareness and funds to combat AIDS. UTAC was created by two California mothers who joined the fight against AIDS outof concern and commitment to their children and community. Their goal is to fund prevention education, care services and vaccine development using The Bracelet as a tool.

The Bracelet is a simple, yet elegant, symbol of the fight against HIV/AIDS designed by Isabella Geddes Marquise da Filacaia and is a 1/4 – inch style band with a raised AIDS ribbon on the side. Inside is a small plaque inscribed with “Until There’s A Cure.” The Bracelet serves not only as a bridge to unite people to fight HIV/AIDS, but helps increase awareness, compassion, understanding and responsibility.

In addition to her work with UTAC, Candice recently partnered with the San Francisco Foundation to establish the Candice Wiggins Foundation. She also works with the Minnesota AIDS Project, the state’s largest and longest standing AIDS organization, to promote AIDS/HIV advocacy through appearances designed to educate youth and young adults on this ongoing epidemic.

Working within the framework of existing non-profit organizations is the most practical and effective way of utilizing her time and efforts, “I’m proud to be a part of these organizations. I still have so much to learn. Balancing my work with AIDS education and playing basketball is a challenge, but we need to talk about this. AIDS and complications from AIDS are still the leading cause of death in some communities.”

With confidence and determination in her voice she shares, “My ultimate vision is to write a children’s book – it’s my biggest passion. The psychology and research needs to be solid behind it, but based on my experience growing up, it could be my greatest contribution to the new generation growing up with HIV/AIDS.”

Expanding Experiences

In the off-season, like many other professional athletes, Candice plays basketball in Europe and says, “Playing overseas is structured to maximize playing time and also gives WNBA players a financial opportunity. I went to Spain last year.” She was thrilled to be on the same team as 11-year WNBA veteran Delisha Milton-Jones, “I’ve always idolized Milton-Jones, who plays for the Los Angeles Sparks. I had my picture taken with her when I was 11 years old. There I was in braces wearing her number eight jersey and this winter I actually played with her.”

“I was nervous about leaving the United States but my experience of seeing the world has completely changed my perception of life and deepened my appreciation of what it means to be an American.” She describes a moment that impacted her deeply, “When I was in Spain, they had some kids playing at half time. We finished our meeting early so I had a chance to watch them play. There were both boys and girls and they were really young and they can’t shoot very well. At the very end, a girl shoots a layup and makes it. The kids on her team swarm her, pick her up and end up in a dog pile. That’s how excited they were to win.”

She continues, “I’ve already achieved many milestones in life, but I could never, ever, ever imagine playing basketball and not having that same joy every single time I am on the court. Honestly, if you asked people who saw me playing when I was eight years old, I play the same way. I don’t know what it is. No matter where I am, whether I’m playing a lot or not, I love the sport.”

Dreaming Big

Candice enjoys Minneapolis, especially the downtown, but still calls California home. She loves to write and laughs as she admits to having an opinion on “just about everything – even stuff I don’t know about.” She says, “I would love to write about women’s basketball and make it relevant, but in a big way, like in a male-dominated venue.” She dreams of playing basketball in the 2012 Olympics.

She sees Lynx head coach Jen Gillom as a role model, “Our whole team is so proud of Jen. To be a woman coach in the WNBA is a real accomplishment. This is her first coaching job – and she is a black woman. That’s huge and an inspiration for all the players.” Candice credits her mom for helping her achieve her dreams, “My mom believed in me – she was sure of me – when I didn’t really believe in myself, she did.”

The walls of the Target Center practice court are covered with motivational reminders for the players about the value of teamwork including: I’ve got your back; Players win games, teams win championships and Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, working together is success. These same principles apply to Candice whether she is on the boards of the basketball court or in the board room of her foundation. From her personal loss has emerged a young woman on a mission who will not give up “Until There’s a Cure.”