Page 51 - South Mississippi Living - April, 2022

girl partner. That’s exactly what we did. It’s pretty cool to be a groundbreaker.”
“Everyone on the team treats us well,” Redding echoes. “We are all like brothers and sisters. We’re just part of the team.” Redding faces more serious problems than learning how to
catch the biggest bass. About two years ago, she was diagnosed
with thyroid cancer and endured surgery on her neck.
“I noticed that I had a little bump on my neck and went to the
doctor to get it removed,” she elaborates. “They tested it and it came back as thyroid cancer. I had to get my thyroid removed. I have to take medicine every day for the rest of my life to control my hormones, my weight gain and weight loss.”
Her illness doesn’t stop Redding from fishing and competing. However, her medical condition did force her out of one tournament.
“Leslie wasn’t feeling well, so we had to bring her back,” Hokamp recalls. “I had to get someone else on the team to fill in for her. It hurt not to have her in the boat.”
Schools offered both girls scholarships to fish on their college teams. Redding plans to continue fishing on the D’Iberville team until she graduates. She’s considering accepting a scholarship
to attend Simpson University, a Christian school in Redding, California.
Hokamp visited and researched some universities, but decided to go a different way, at least for now. She wanted to keep a promise she made to her grandfather, a veteran.
“I made a promise to my grandpa before he passed away that I would keep Air Force in the family,” Hokamp proclaims. “After graduation, I’m going to enlist in the Air Force for four years and then go into the Air Force Reserve. I’d like to do something in the medical field. I’ve had physical therapy in mind, but I’m leaning toward becoming a flight medic now. After four years,
I might go to college and return as an Air Force officer. I might fish for a college team then.”
When asked what advice she would give any girls reading their story who might want to follow the path they blazed, Hokamp recommends, “Just put your mind to it. Just live up to your dream and know you can do anything if you put your mind to it. Don’t let boys get to you.”
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