Drey Mingo was preparing to travel to a game with her Purdue teammates in the fall of 2010 when she suddenly got sick.
Soon Mingo, a former Marist basketball star, was in the hospital with a severe case of bacterial meningitis. She recovered days later, but discovered she had lost all of her hearing.
Mingo eventually regained most of her ability to hear, but she says the episode changed her in a profound way. She started a non-for-profit organization, Sounds of Serenity, to assist children with hearing loss.
“I just wanted to turn a negative situation into a positive for other people,” Mingo said before a ceremony to honor her as a finalist for the Coach Wooden Citizen Award on Tuesday night at the Atlanta History Center.
That kind of spirit made Mingo one of five collegiate finalists for the Wooden Award. Arkansas track athlete Nathanael Franks was chosen as the collegiate winner, and golf legend Jack Nicklaus received the professional award.
The Wooden Award was inaugurated in 2005 after former UCLA coach John Wooden gave permission to Athletes for a Better World to honor recipients in his name. ABW seeks to honor athletes athletes who have demonstrated “the highest level of character and leadership off and on the field and for their contributions to sport and society.”
Past winners include legendary former Tennessee basketball coach Pat Summitt and former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow.
“I knew about the award and all of the other people who have gotten it, so I felt very, very honored to be a finalist,” Mingo said.
Mingo said doctors had no explanation for why she contracted bacterial meningitis, a disease that causes inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Doctors told Mingo they didn’t think she would hear again, but she now has 90 percent hearing in her right ear and about 30 percent in her left.
Mingo missed only four games after her hospital stay, but the next year, she suffered an ACL tear during a scrimmage and missed the entire 2011-12 season. The NCAA granted Mingo a sixth season of eligibility (she played one season at Maryland before transferring and sitting out a season), and she played 34 games during the 2012-13 season.
Does she ever wonder why she had such awful luck?
“There’s always that thought, but I am a very strong believer in everything happens for a reason,” Mingo said. “It’s really humbled me in more ways than I could describe.”
Mingo will begin her professional basketball career by going to training camp with the WNBA’s Washington Mystics on May 5.
In addition to Franks and Mingo, the collegiate finalists were North Carolina field-hockey player Meghan Lyons, Arizona track athlete Brigetta Barrett and Texas-San Antonio football player Eric Soza.
Nicklaus won a record 18 major championships during his career on the PGA Tour. Among his charitable work is the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation, which supports access to quality health care for all children.
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