February 3, 2021, marked the annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day. DMAE’s very own soccer star Aliyah Beckford was recognized as Outstanding Female Athlete by both the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association ( NJSIAA) and the New Jersey Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (NJAIAW). 

“Aliyah Beckford is a tremendous student-athlete,” DMAE Director of Athletics Joe Armental praised. “She is a model of consistency and dependability. She never complains and simply puts in the work necessary to help the team,” he added.

Aliyah is a senior and she has been playing soccer throughout her high school career. She is proud of her achievements as both a stellar student and athlete.

“I’m really happy that my hard work has paid off. I was definitely very hard on myself and pushed myself to my utmost limits, but in the end, I’m satisfied with my progress as a student and as an athlete,” she commented.

Even though her high school career may be coming to an end, Aliyah has big dreams for both herself and the future of sports.

“As a student-athlete, I want to champion for a widespread acceptance of female involvement in sports,” she emphasized. “I hope to join an initiative in college that challenges stigmas around women. I’d love to see more admiration for women in sports, even in male-dominated sports like football. It’s time that women are shown the same appreciation and admiration in sports that men receive,” she added.

Moreover, Aliyah wants to encourage her fellow underclassmen to be successful student-athletes.

“Weakness is just a mentality. If you believe you can succeed and you fight to succeed, you can persevere through nearly anything. Stay on top of your work and have high expectations for yourself,” she stressed. “You can’t expect change if you are not willing to put the work in. You got this!” she concluded.