The competition to get the top spot on the family refrigerator door outside display gave LaPorscha Wells motivation to do her best. She dominated that top spot for report cards with her two sisters and went on to become valedictorian of her senior class at Josey High School in Augusta, Ga.
“I wanted to set an example for my little sisters of how to achieve, so I had the pride and gave the effort in the AP classes to get good grades,” Wells said. “Yes, I once got a C in seventh grade. But, I cried for at least a week and it really hurt my feelings.”
That education bar is set high for a sophomore biology major who aspires to go on to become a pharmacist.
In high school, a motivated Wells was a state Class AA champion in the shot put and an all-region pick in both basketball and volleyball.
As a thrower on Georgia State's track and field team, the 20-year old Wells is putting her name at the top of the GSU record books too.
In the 2015 indoor season, Wells set school records in both the shot put and the weight throw. At the Sun Belt Indoor Championships, Wells was runner-up in both events and walked away with silver medals around her neck and 16 points scored for the team. But, by being second by two inches in one event and one foot in the other, her sights are set on collecting gold medals in the future.
In the 2015 outdoor season, Wells keeps breaking her own records in the hammer throw, with the top throw in the Sun Belt and on pace to qualify for the NCAA East preliminaries. In the shot put, her best throw is second in the school record books to teammate Alysiah Whittaker, who set that record last year, making for good competition in practice and meets. Wells' best shot put this year is also the best in the Sun Belt as the team prepares for the Sun Belt Outdoor Championships in May.
When Tami Wells parks her three above-average daughters around the kitchen table, she calls them by names of classy cars she knew she wouldn't have parked in her garage. “Yes, my mom figured she might never be rich enough to own fancy cars, so she named us girls LaPorscha, Alexus and Mercedes,” Wells said.
Her family is always with her and her source of inspiration, Wells said as she pulled a photo of her grandmother, mother and sisters out of her book bag.
“Mom's advice was always put your mind to it first, then go figure out how to do it,” Wells said. “My family is in my corner and the photo just pushes me on every day to do better.”
This Porscha is blazing down life's highways as a finely-tuned Georgia State student-athlete.
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