POMONA, Calif. - Although 20 years separate her All-American and Distinguished Alumni awards, Tamara Chick accepted the two accolades with the same approach: completely humble, somewhat surprised and beyond grateful.

The reaction speaks to the strength and consistency in her character. It's this high level of character that is likely at the top of the job description for Chick, who is the sixth-highest-ranking female in the Los Angeles City Fire Department.

Her unlikely career path served as an intriguing storyline for the April 27 Distinguished Alumni Award banquet held at Kellogg West, where Chick and eight other graduates were honored. At Cal Poly Pomona, she played basketball and volleyball under the coaching of Darlene May and Rosie Wegrich.

"Tami never does anything at half-speed," Wegrich said. "When she switched from basketball to volleyball, her athletic abilities put her in the starting lineup but I think that ultimately she reached the All-American level because of her work ethic."

Chick played 92 basketball games in her collegiate career, helping the team to a national runner-up finish as a freshman. In volleyball, she appeared in 64 matches and totaled 598 kills while landing a spot in the program's record books as fifth all-time in hitting percentage.

She was two classes short of earning her degree in 1992 when she accepted the LAFD firefighter job. After fire academy and the one-year probationary period, she returned to Cal Poly Pomona to complete her biomedical kinesiology coursework and participate in the 1995 commencement. Reflecting on her time as Bronco evoked a tremendous sense of pride for Chick.

"I learned the true value and reward of discipline and what it means to be in the presence of people who support you and want the best for you," she said. "That time in my life shaped me as an individual and as a leader and was a starting block for building the confidence I needed to be successful personally, as well as on the fire department."

Chick started her Cal Poly Pomona career with a dream of being an All-American basketball player and seeing her picture on the wall of Darlene May Gym. She imagined it but the dream didn't play out.

"My picture ended up on the opposite wall in that gym as an All-American volleyball player, an honor that wasn't on my radar," she said. "It was so much fun along the way and I am so humbled and grateful. I realize that sometimes we don't get what we think we want, we get something better."

A role model who is constantly giving back to the community, Chick gave plenty of thanks at the awards banquet. To Wegrich, who Chick called one of her biggest supporters and one of the primary reasons for her success as a volleyball player. To her teammates, who Chick said had to endure so much to get her up to speed after being away from the sport of volleyball for three years.

Along the winding path between Cal Poly Pomona to her current position as the Station Commander at Fire Station 78 in Studio City, Chick has quite the collection of life lessons.

When asked if she had any advice to pass along to the current Broncos' student-athletes, Chick said: "I know of two kinds of pain in this world, the pain of regret and the pain of discipline. The pain of discipline goes away when you experience success, the pain of regret never goes away."