HELENA, Mont. -- What would you ask one of your idols? 

Take a moment to think about it. 

Bailey Pasta pondered the question, sitting in the Carroll College Athletics offices a week before her trip to New York, New York. The small-college basketball player-turned-assistant coach received the prestigious Women's Sports Foundation's Tara VanDerveer Fund for the Advancement of Women in Coaching Fellowship, a grant given to 10 women annually, to be awarded this fall.  

Pasta will attend the Athlete Leadership Connection as well as the Women's Sports Foundation's 40th Annual Salute. By Thursday, when she returns to Montana, she'll be wiser for it and perhaps have a few new highly connected friends. And, sure, the money is nice, too. 

Pasta beamed speaking about the opportunity to be in the vicinity of the U.S. women's national soccer team, to highlight one of the elite groups of the company she'll keep.  

"Going to this thing is an honor, I don't think I'll ever be able to experience it again," Pasta said last week. "I'm going to try to not only network and meet as many people as I can and see how they got to where they are, but really enjoy it. I want to sit at the table."

Pasta has a fancy hotel room in lower Manhattan where she'll room with one of the other award recipients. Her itinerary is packed with the conference, on-camera interviews with bigwig media, meetings and, oh yeah, a cocktail hour. What more could a 24-year-old want?

"I'm super excited to promote female athletes and learn how to promote women in sports and be successful," Pasta said. 

Which goes back to the original question: if Pasta gets to meet these powerful women, what will she ask them? What would a former college point guard ask the MVP of the WNBA, Elena Delle Donne? 


She thinks. She pauses to collect a few thoughts. She imagines her excitement seeing one of her favorite players and role models. 

"Geeze," Pasta said. "I'd be starstruck. I'd ask you how she stays motivated as a player and a mentor. How does she keep motivating herself as a person? How does she learn?" 

Sure, the money is a blessing in itself for a new coach breaking into the scene, but the chance to attend a convention with some of the most influential women professionals is a once in a lifetime opportunity. The chances to have conversations that can lead to lifelong betterment and arm herself with the toolset to impact people beyond the walls of Carroll College is a truly unique opportunity. 

When Pasta returned to Carroll College to serve as coach Rachelle Sayers' lead assistant, it meant familiarity within the confines of the PE Center, while adding on a new workload as a basketball coach. There's no one-stop manual for each hurdle that lies ahead. Staying motivated during the slog of a season, or for the rest of us, the grind of some 9-to-5s, is something we all grapple with. 

It's part of the reason Pasta received a quiz prior to attending the conference. The leadership quiz posed various scenarios and asked Pasta how she would respond to them. She'll learn more about what her results mean at the conference, a prospect she's giddy about.

"Things like, it's raining outside, your car broke down and you're late for work. How do you stay motivated? How do you react to certain scenarios," Pasta said. 

A conference representative also asked her to do a little more homework, too. Pasta rounded up 10 people's descriptions of her, using only five words, a personal word cloud from her peers. Those perceptions will also be a key element of the convention.

While she's ready for anything and excited for everything, she knows women still have a long way to go, especially in college athletics. She's excited to continue empowering her peers. 

Pasta -- decked out with her professional wardrobe, her business cards and an updated resume -- is making the most of an incredible opportunity. 

And here's five more words for Pasta: Driven. Humble. Energetic. Unwavering. Fearless.