Growing up, July 4 was always a day full of excitement for Kamden Bigham-Tsai (11). He usually spent the day with his friends and family, waiting until dark to light off fireworks. But almost two years ago, that day was anything but a celebration.
After living in East Lansing nearly his whole life, a sudden job change meant he had to say goodbye to everything he had known and pack up to leave the next day.
That year the sounds of fireworks going off felt like a ticking time bomb, counting down the hours until he had to get in the car and leave for Des Moines, Iowa.
“I was trying not to think too much of moving,” Bigham-Tsai said. “Because the next day, I would be gone.”
After spending almost two years in Iowa, Bigham-Tsai transferred back to East Lansing for the second semester of the 2024-25 school year.
Track has always been important to him, as he has been running since the age of seven. Alongside his passion for the sport, he has also focused on obtaining a strong education in hopes of running track in college.
When given the opportunity to come back to Michigan, Bigham-Tsai took it immediately as it would give him the opportunity to fulfill his dreams.
“I came back from Iowa for college and track,” Bigham-Tsai said. “There are more connections here because the East Lansing high school track coach knows the MSU track coach.”
Leaving East Lansing was a big struggle for Bigham-Tsai as he left behind the people and community he grew up with.
“It was sad since I grew up with these people since kindergarten,” Bigham-Tsai said. “It sucked.”
Throughout his time in Iowa, Bigham-Tsai focused on maintaining his connections with friends back in East Lansing hoping that one day he would be able to come back.
“I kept in touch with some of my friends,” Bigham-Tsai said. “Every day I would be FaceTiming them or playing video games with them”
Even though he had a supportive friend group in Iowa, he was slightly disconnected, which made it much easier to leave. He knew that returning to where he grew up would be the best thing for him.
“I got there my sophomore year, and I didn’t really know anyone, so I was kind of by myself for the first month or two,” Bigham-Tsai said. “I was able to make new friends, but they were mostly upperclassmen.”
The feeling of walking back into ELHS, the home he had missed for two years, to complete his junior year was unforgettable.
“It felt good,” Bigham-Tsai said. “I was trying to be a little nonchalant, like I didn’t know anyone, but then I saw my friends and they had me smiling.”
He has had to adjust to being back at East Lansing but he is enjoying his classes and loves being surrounded by his friends again. Bigham-Tsai feels that East Lansing is different from his school in Iowa, Theodore Roosevelt High School, which had a larger class size, a different culture and community, and less challenging academics.
“I am really just focusing on grades,” Bigham-Tsai said. “Then seeing what college wants me for track”
Bigham-Tsai plans on running track this spring. His main goal is to make the most of the rest of his high school experience at East Lansing and create a foundation for his future in the sport.
“I want to break the school record for the 300-meter hurdles,” Bigham-Tsai said “I want to go to college for track, and then hopefully be in the 2028 Olympics.”