Asya Miller
2005 Female Athlete of the Year

Her athletic career spans over 15 years and includes winning more than 50 medals including a Silver and Bronze Medal in Paralympic competition. In addition, she holds 13 Powerlifting World Records and two Track and Field National Records. But by being named the 2005 Female Athlete of the Year, the accomplishments of Asya Miller are measured by what she was able to achieve over a one year period while competing as an athlete with a disability.

Miller is a native of Lapeer and enjoyed a childhood that was inspired by her parent's participation in sports. She herself was an honor roll student who played sports since the fifth grade. In 11th grade she was diagnosed with Juvenile Macular Degeneration or Stargardt's disease and as a result her whole life should have drastically changed but she preserved and continued to excel at academics and athletics.

After graduating from Lapeer East High School, she embarked in an academic career at Western Michigan University and in her first year learned about Goalball, a highly competitive sport played three-against-three, indoors on a gym floor, primarily by blind and visually impaired athletes.

For the past two years, she has helped the Kalamazoo Chaos Goalball team to first place finishes in the Montreal Invitational and the Midwest Regional. With Team USA Goalball, the team won 1st Place at the Lady Intercup in Sweden, 2nd Place Silver Medal in the 2004 Paralympic Games in Greece, and placed 4th at the DEFI in Montreal.

In addition to Goalball, Asya enjoys recreational and intramural flag football, karate, soccer, softball, and volleyball. She played Goalball for the three teams: Kalamazoo Chaos, Western Michigan University Broncos, and Team USA. She also was on the Powerlifting team for Team USA.

In addition to her winning records and medals, since 1988 she has been a volunteer for the Michigan Blind Athletic Association at their Sports Education Camp that was founded by fellow Hall of Fame alumni member, Dr. Paul Ponchillia.

She graduated from Western Michigan University with a Bachelor's of Art in Criminal Justice and is currently employed by the United States Department of Defense. She was nominated for this honor by Susan Ponchillia from the Department of Blindness and Low Vision Studies at Western Michigan University.

Congratulations Asya!