In every athlete's career, they strive to achieve the very best. Student-Athletes put an incredible amount of sweat, blood and tears working toward goals in hopes of leaving a great impact. Christine Parris not only made an impact but she also became a rare modern two-sport collegiate athlete who also earned All-America honors at two different softball positions. Parris played a vital role in the historic success of the 1991 Rebel Softball team, which tied the record for most wins in UNLV history with a record of 49-17-1. 

 

As Parris was checking off a long list of accomplishments, she did not stop there as she became a dual-sport athlete, also suiting up for the Lady Rebel basketball squad for a season. After her incredible collegiate sports career she earned the opportunity to play professionally. Parris went on to play for the Tampa Bay of the Women's Professional Softball league and also played in the 1996 Olympic Summer Games for her home nation of Canada to finish off her long and impressive softball career.

 

After becoming a big part of UNLV history, including later working and coaching at the school, she returned home to Canada. Years later, after she established her family, Parris got the call that she would be inducted into the UNLV Athletics Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2024, which also included her 1991 team.

 

"I was completely and utterly shocked, first of all, and just overwhelmed with an incredible amount of emotion," said Parris "It feels good to be honored and recognized."

 

We recently caught up with Parris ahead of the big ceremony on May 17.

What have you been up to recently? 

"Ever since moving back to Canada in 2006, I have been trying to get acclimated back into a different life in Canada after living about half of my life in the U.S. and in Vegas. I also have two amazing daughters, one is 21 and one is 18. My life mainly revolves around what they do. I also have volunteered for about 12 years on a nonprofit board for high-performance tennis and recreational tennis. In my spare time I love to play golf as well." 

 

What do you do for work? 

"I work as a specialist for a transit company, in the indigenous relations department. So I am responsible for leading all of the indigenous states of significance and educating the organization about kind of inclusivity around indigeneity. I am pretty involved in the day-to-day activities. There's always work in policy development, and various aspects of increasing our indigenous awareness throughout the organization."

 

Outside of softball, what are some things that you are passionate about?

"Some passions of mine would be photography, I just like to shoot people in their natural environments. A lot of that started when I traveled with the national team when we traveled to different countries. I also play golf and tennis. And then other than, you know, schlepping my kids around and hanging out with my mom and going to jazz concerts."

 

What do you try to teach your kids?

"I think what I try to instill in my kids is the power of making good choices. Sport always taught me that – although you're on a team, and although you have to go to school and practice and compete and do all those things, you still have a lot of choice and autonomy over your decisions."

 

How was your experience as a dual-sport athlete for UNLV?

"It was a great experience. I was lucky that I didn't have to take a redshirt year and you get five years to compete for four years in one sport. Before going into softball, I was offered a basketball scholarship but it just didn't afford me the same opportunities as softball so I sort of directed a lot of my efforts towards softball but when the opportunity came to play on the basketball team, I wanted to see if I could add some value. Basketball was the marquee UNLV sport at that time. Women's and men's basketball had a lot of attention. So that was a great experience. I made a lot of new friends there."

 

What was your favorite memory at UNLV?

"I have a lot of incredible memories, but one of them would be during my first year and we had that amazing season. We went on a phenomenal run for the school and had such a great record. We didn't win the conference that year but we had to get an at-large bid for a chance to go to the World Series. So we were kind of all on-hold, waiting to see if we were gonna get the call. And I remember being around several of them, my teammates, and just kind of waiting for the call. And when we finally got the call there was just the overwhelming feeling of being one of the teams that get an opportunity to compete to go to the World Series – just a huge moment."

 

Who are some of your biggest mentors in life?

"I would definitely say my mom. She's kind of always been there for me, she always has great advice and is willing to look at the positive for the things that I choose to do. Just always a cheerleader."

 

What was your experience like playing softball professionally? 

"There's nothing better in the world than doing something that you love and making money even if it's just a little bit of money. To be in stadiums filled with people who are coming to watch you play. When you have a bad game and the young girls are sitting there waiting for you to get your autograph, it kind of humbles you. They're just so excited and eager to get your autograph. There is nothing more proud to wear than your country on your back. It was absolutely an honor."

 

What personal motto or mantra do you live by? 

"Anything as possible. I remember during the Olympics we were signing a bunch of autographs and I said anything as possible. If you believe it and you can achieve it"

 

How do you feel as women in sports are getting increasingly more and more popular?

"It's amazing. I really thoroughly enjoyed the women's tournament this year. It's amazing the level that it is now and getting the notoriety it deserves. The dominance of female sport and this skill that has always been there, and women's sport has always been incredible. It's fun to watch."

 

What advice would you give to current student-athletes and students that want to play sports in a collegiate setting? 

"I would just really like to encourage people to follow their passion and if their passion can take them to a university to compete at the highest level in sport and get your degree, I think there's no greater opportunity than that. Athletes are the most resilient people – you learn how to lose, you learn how to be a gracious winner and you learn how to compete. It is a great opportunity to hone those skills as an athlete. I think there's nothing better and I would always encourage anyone to continue to pursue sport."

Parris will be officially inducted on Friday, May 17, at the Strip View Pavilion.