Riverdale, N.Y. — Women’s basketball alum Kayla Grimme ’17 ’18 earned a championship ring following the Boston Celtics’ triumph over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on June 17. After the final buzzer sounded, Grimme watched confetti fall over TD Garden, soaking in all the emotions of the triumphant ending to her first season as a Membership Experience Executive for the Celtics, her favorite team while growing up in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
While at Manhattan, Grimme earned a bachelor’s degree in communication and a masters in organizational leadership. Grimme played five seasons on the Manhattan women’s basketball team, tallying 1,433 points (5th all-time) and 961 rebounds (3rd all-time). She joined Sheila Tighe ’84 as the only players in program history to record at least 1,400 points and 900 rebounds.
Grimme first began working for the Celtics part-time as a Jr. Celtics Academy Coach and later transitioned to her current role in June 2023. GoJaspers spoke with Grimme following her latest achievement.
GoJaspers: Talk about your current role as a Membership Experience Executive for the Boston Celtics.
Kayla Grimme: My day today responsibilities on a non-game day involve a lot of communication back-and-forth with my designated book of season-ticket members. I am constantly reaching out to them to invite them to events, to answer any questions or respond to feedback that they might provide, etc. On a game day these responsibilities look a bit different. I still go into the office during the day and communicate with members and their needs but then I also work every home game at a designated STM headquarters station to be a direct contact for our members. I am fortunate enough to get paid to forge positive and strong relationships with people whom I share the same passion with.
GJ: At Manhattan, you studied communication and played basketball. Now you combine both in your professional career. What’s that like?
KG: It took me a few roles to really figure out what my long term career looked like and what I really wanted to do and what made me excited about going to work in the morning. Using my passion of working with people led me to study communication, and joining that with athletics has been a fulfilling experience.
GJ: Do you have any favorite memories from playing for the Jaspers?
KG: We had a coaching change in my third year on the team and I think those women made such an impact in my life. They were very helpful with the growth of us not only on the court, but outside of the court. To this day, I’m very grateful for that and I look back and that I kind of see as a pivotal moment for me.
GJ: What was it like playing professional basketball in Portugal right out of college?
KG: That was a very exciting and intimidating time. The exciting part was that I got to continue doing something that I love at that point. Those five years of playing at Manhattan… you just sleep, eat and breathe basketball. So I was very grateful I didn’t need to quit that after graduating. Then, moving to a different country where I didn’t speak the same language as most people there and learning an entirely new culture was very intimidating, but also so exciting at the same time.
GJ: What was it like transitioning from being a professional athlete to a more traditional full-time job?
KG: I was excited to jump into ‘adulting.’ After basketball was over, I kind of was just ready for the next step. It was like a light switch… I just shut off basketball and went into the real world.
GJ: What was going through your mind during the Celtics’ playoff run? Where were you seated for Game 5 of the NBA Finals?
KG: There was a lot of pressure this season. The team was so good that there was pressure to make it to the finals. So, in a sense, that part was a bit scary because it’s like ‘okay, if we don’t make it to the finals, everyone will be extremely disappointed.’ As far as where I was seated, my job for the evening was helping to escort the Dallas Mavericks’ family and personnel. I had a very quick moment of being able to experience the confetti on the fifth level, which is the suite level.
GJ: How does it feel now to hold that championship ring?
KG: I have to say it all felt very surreal. I’m just extremely grateful. I can’t believe that this happened my first year being with the Celtics. I keep reminding myself this is not normal and I need to be fully present in every single moment.
GJ: How did your time at Manhattan College influence your career both as an athlete and as a professional?
KG: The biggest takeaway from being at Manhattan for me is all of the people that helped mold me professionally and personally. They helped teach me how to excel within my career. It’s a really high growth environment that sets you up for success. I just want to say how grateful I am for everything and everyone in the athletics department at Manhattan. They were all so amazing and very supportive of me.