Dr. Lisa Langston discovered a lot about herself by consistently winning sprints during her four-year tenure as a basketball player at Texas A&M University. “I can do hard things,” she said. “I can persevere.” This mindset was nothing new to her; throughout her life, she had role models who embodied perseverance, faced challenges head-on, and emerged victorious.
Her mother and grandmother faced their own trials, and a college coach whom Langston looked up to ascended to a senior position in women’s athletics within a male-dominated industry. These individuals were Dr. Langston’s role models, showing her potential paths and aspirations. 
Langston credits her achievements to teamwork and the guidance of those around her. A principle her mother instilled in her, “people help people who help themselves,” has remained with her.
“I’ve never forgotten that,” she said. “Even when you’re working hard and you’re having that struggle, you look around, there’s people that are willing and able to help you. You just need to be open, be a little vulnerable, and say, ‘hey I need help in this area.’”
With the help of others, Dr. Langston, now the Fort Worth ISD’s director of athletics, has had a distinguished career. She became an All-American hurdler in high school, the first person in her university’s history to earn first-team all-conference honors in basketball, played professional basketball in Europe, and became the first African American woman to serve as president of the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.
Over 34 years, she’s impacted the lives of young student-athletes as a Fort Worth ISD educator and administrator. Dr. Langston is building a legacy worth remembering.
“I hope that they remembered that I tried to empower others, that I was for the kids,” she said when asked how she wants to be remembered. “I wanted the very best for them… that I was someone that was a resource to others, someone who loved what they did, someone who left a legacy because a legacy is something that can carry on.”
Doing the Hard Things and Coming Out of Her Shell
A newspaper article caught Langston’s attention as a seventh grader.
The story was about a young female student-athlete from Langston’s hometown of Dallas who was headed to college on an athletic scholarship. At the time, Langston didn’t know what an athletic scholarship was, but she was now determined to earn one.
She set out to reach the goal with two major tasks in mind:
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Becoming the very best basketball player
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Becoming the very best student
As a four-sport athlete at Dallas’s H. Grady Spruce High School, she worked hard on the volleyball and basketball courts, and on the track as a hurdler, long jumper, and cross country runner. The discipline translated to her performance in the classroom, creating a work ethic where she learned how to constantly challenge herself; Langston said that the hard things become easier.
She finished high school with All-Region honors in basketball, a Texas Association of Basketball Coaches All-Star game selection, state medals in track, and she was an All-American 100-meter hurdler.
Her efforts continued at Texas A&M University, where she racked up Southwest Conference honors in basketball and track, including becoming the first Aggie earning First-Team All-Southwest Conference accolades in basketball.
Langston's transition from an introverted student to a proactive leader was necessary for her career aspirations, requiring her to embrace extroversion and risk-taking. She said this transformation began while at Texas A&M.
‘Be willing to take the risk’
After college, Dr. Langston played professional basketball in Germany and Spain for three years. When she decided to end her basketball career, she returned to the United States and accepted a job with the Fort Worth ISD as a physical education/health teacher and head girls basketball coach.
Langston says ÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏ´óÈ« reminded her of the school district she grew up in. She wanted to be with and educate students who had similar experiences to her own.
Five years after joining the district, Dr. Langston became an administrator in the district’s athletic department and has now spent several years of her career as the district’s first Black female athletic director. Throughout Dr. Langston’s career with ÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏ´óÈ«, she has been recognized nationally for her dedication to secondary school athletics.
In 2020, she took the helm as president of the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association, becoming the first Black woman to lead the 13,000-member organization. It was an honor and a blessing that would not have been possible without the support of ÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏ´óÈ«, she said.
“When I look at my career and where I am today, I’m looking at the fact that I don’t mind being the first,” says Dr. Langston. “Somebody has to take the risk, and that’s what I share with our coaches and our athletic coordinators – be willing to take the risk.”
That message doesn’t stop with her staff; it’s passed down to student-athletes.
When the district launched a pilot girls flag football program, Dr. Langston impressed upon the female student-athletes what a privilege it is to be a pioneer and that they should take pride in knowing that they are setting the stage for others to follow.
Just like others showed her, she’s now inspiring the next generation to go after being the firsts in their own respective fields. 
Dr. Langston said that when she reflects on Black History Month, she’s reminded of the people that came before her, their contributions to society and the doors they opened for so many others, including herself. It’s something she says she doesn’t take for granted.
It’s in that same spirit that Dr. Langston looks to pave the way, leaving a legacy for the student-athletes that she educates.
“What a blessing that is to be able to serve others that way,” she said. “That’s what my purpose is – to do things that will benefit others, to help them be the very best that they can be.”
She said she wants student-athletes to know that hard things in life and in sports require practice, perseverance, and perspective.
This April, Dr. Langston’s impact on sports and athletics will be on display as her alma mater, Dallas ISD, inducts her into its Athletic Hall of Fame.
Earlier this month the city of Fort Worth’s convention bureau, Visit Fort Worth, debuted “Unexpected Stories,” 17 short documentary films spotlighting local businessmen, artists, chiefs, and community leaders. One of those short stories is Dr. Langston’s. She talks about the opportunity Fort Worth gave her to start her career as an educator, the opportunity the city has afforded so many others to thrive, and her work investing in the next generation. Check it out .
Langston's journey to success was built on hard work, teamwork, and the willingness to seek and offer help. It also took multiple practice runs. That practice led to challenges, followed by growth, and successful results. Even NBA players still go to practice, Dr. Langston said with a smile.
“You’ve got to give yourself some grace, understanding that you’re not where you’re going to be [right now],” she said. “You will get better. You will improve if you put in the work … knowing that each day you’re giving yourself the opportunity to get better.”
