Back in 2004 the Lipscomb Lady Bisons needed a pitcher a little more than week before the start of school. They reached out to Kim Jacobson, a right-hander from Colton, California. She visited campus, liked what she saw. She decided to stay for four years and majored in finance. She lives in Michigan now where she works in human resources. With the Lipscomb softball team celebrating its 20th year this season Jacobson spent some time talking with lipscombsports.com.

What years did you play softball at Lipscomb? Who were your coaches?

"I played from 2004 through 2008. When I first started my coaches were Andy Lane and J.J. Dillingham.

"The majority of my career I was coached by Kristin Peck Ryman, Lexi Myers Shrout and Amber Wood Knickerbocker. All of their names have changed since I played for them."

How did you find your way to Lipscomb from California?

"I got recruited very last minute. My story is kind of crazy. There were some changes with the team. I literally was recruited about a week-and-a-half before school started. I took a quick visit to Nashville.

"I was going to stay in California. I was recruited by a lot of small schools. Lipscomb was looking for a pitcher. They had my name so they called and asked me if I would be interested.

"I had never been there but Tennessee was not my top state to visit. But I fell in love with the campus and Nashville. I decided I loved it in Tennessee.

"I thought I wanted a big school. I was from a very different background in California. I toured the campus, got to know the coaches, started to understand more about Lipscomb and the culture and had the chance to speak with some of the finance professors.

"Even though it was very last minute in the short time I visited there I just realized it was the right decision and it would be a good fit for me"

What is your fondest athletic memory at Lipscomb?

"I really loved our team and traveling with them and things like the late night studying on the bus. You spend a lot of time together and you really become a family.

"Coach Ryman was reminiscing on Facebook about us winning our first Atlantic Sun Conference Championship. We were rebuilding the program. That was a big deal.

"I started when we weren't on Draper Diamond yet. We were on the old field my freshman year. My sophomore year we played off site. I got to play on Draper Diamond my junior and senior years.

"It is interesting to think about the transition of the program and how well it has done. It is cool to think we were part of that foundation of the program. It is kind of cool that a lot of the girls who helped build the program were ones that I helped recruit. They stayed with me when they came on visits. You get excited to see your school do well."

Who had the biggest influence on you during your athletic career at Lipscomb? How?

"Lexi Myers. She was my pitching coach.

"My junior and senior years were kind of crazy. I broke my thumb. I went through surgery. I had to come back my senior year after surgery in the offseason. Lexi worked with me every week. For three months I couldn't pitch, but I would work out. She helped me have a great senior year."

What is your fondest non-athletic memory from your time at Lipscomb?

"I remember the `Battle of the Boulevard' and going to basketball games. We were really proud of the basketball team. When they played Belmont we would get all dressed up in our school colors and go to the games. It was a fun time to have the rivalry with Belmont. It was fun to have basketball to support. 

"I remember going to the student center after chapel or university Bible. It was fun to congregate there. That is kind of a cool thing about a small school. You get the chance to know more people. You are not just a number.

"I was in classes with a lot of the same people. I got know them pretty well. That was nice as well. You knew who you could trust."

What is the most valuable thing you gained or learned from your time at Lipscomb?

"In my business classes I remember the ethics and the values that were taught. That is what my focus is now in business.

"Lipscomb professors had such good values and they wanted the students to learn and understand those values no matter what their degree was. It was about your daily life and how you live and your journey. I got the feeling that people really cared about me and me being successful in athletics. In academics they really cared about my success. I didn't get that feeling at other places I visited.

"It was being involved in the community and giving back. You think you learn a lot in school and some of the things you learn from books you don't always remember. But that message of ethics and values was ingrained in me by all of my professors. That has helped me to be successful. I truly care about the people I work with and the people I manage. I am looking for ways to give back to the community, volunteering and being involved."

Who was your favorite professor? Why?

"Dr. Steve Potts was the athletic director when I was there but he also taught Business Law. I really liked him. I always enjoyed his classes.

"He had a way of presenting the subjects he talked about in a way that made them interesting.  Law was kind of an interest to me. He was able to bring real life examples and stories to the table.

"Steve Little taught Business Policy and Strategy. I loved his class too. That class is just interesting in itself. You really felt like you were dealing with real life applications in the business world.

"We had to run a business and take on different roles. We had to analyze businesses. He made us interact."

Where do you live now?

"I live in Livonia, Michigan, about 20 miles from Detroit."

Who is your employer? What is your occupation? What does your position entail?

"I work for 2313, Inc. in Farmington, Michigan. We are a sales and consulting company. We are contracted by Fortune 500 companies. We do all their sales and marketing for them.

"I am the Director of Human Resources. I manage human resources and operations day-to-day and work alongside the president of the company."

Tell us about your family.

"I am single."

My email address is kjacobson21@gmail.com.