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CSUN is next in the Black History Spotlight as we profile Edniesha Curry and John Parham, a couple of alums who specialize in trailblazing and heeding a call for service.
 
Edniesha Curry was one of the best players ever to suit up on the hardwood for the Matadors. In three seasons (1997-2000), she led the CSUN to its first NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament bid in 1999, was a two-time All-Big Sky selection, 1999 conference tournament MVP and was named Outstanding Freshman in 1998. Despite transferring to Oregon for her final season, Curry left the program as the all-time leader in made three-pointers with 168. That record stood until 2015 when current assistant coach Ashlee Guay topped the mark.

After earning honorable mention all-Conference accolades in her lone season with the Ducks, Curry was drafted by the Charlotte Sting in the third round of the 2002 WNBA Draft. That started a seven-year professional career both domestically and in Europe.

Her coaching career started early a way to give back to kids but then morphed into a trailblazing enterprise. She served as a player development and assistant coach for the University of Maine women’s basketball team from July 2015 to May 2017 under Coach Richard Barron. She left Maine to work with the NBA Assistant Coaches’ Program and worked with the Atlanta Classical Academy as the Women’s Athletic Program Manager. She then held various positions, including head coach, of teams in Vietnam, China, Israel and Palestine.

Barron, who was named the head coach of the Maine men's basketball program in March of 2018, brought Curry back to be an assistant on his staff. "Coach Eddy" is the only woman currenty serving as a full-time assistant coach in NCAA Division I men's basketball.

UMaine’s Edniesha Curry Tests NBA Coaching Waters With Spurs’ Summer League Team - Bangor Daily News

John Parham was a key piece of the Matador baseball team as a catcher from 2006-09. He earned honorable mention All-Big West honors in 2008 after batting .348 and sharing the team lead in hits with 72. After graduating in 2009 with a degree in marketing, Parham played professional baseball for a few seasons and also worked as a substitute teacher.

In 2015 he heeded the call of service and enlisted in the Navy, the same branch of the armed forces that his father had served. After completing training, Parham has been stationed in Newport, R.I., Everett, Wash., and the Kingdom of Bahrain. In Bahrain he was a a Logistics Planner at the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and had previously served as a Disbursing Officer on board the USS Ralph Johnson.

Parham currently works as a a Supply Corps Officer, where he is the deputy comptroller of mission funds at the Naval Information Warfare Center - Pacific in San Diego.