Shakira Austin on GAB Fest and DMV Roots: ‘That Just Means a Lot More to Me’

Shakira Austin held her first community event at the first high school she attended. Her second, GAB Fest, was at her middle school.

Austin talked through both on the Nov. 11 episode of Post Moves with Candace Parker & Aliyah Boston, an AMP Sports Original Series. Parker described GAB Fest, short for Girls Are Beautiful, as an event for girls ages 8 to 17 in the local community, built around empowerment, mental health, a fashion show, and body positivity.

The idea came out of conversations with her mother and other family members about giving back to the community in a different way.

“My first event was hosting Beyond the Arc. It was a camp specialized for autism,” Austin said. “I think just being able to dive into the community in ways that has affected me personally, things that I’m just super passionate about. My family, we grew up just giving back all the time, holidays, whether that’s through church events. And becoming a pro, I hadn’t had time to really pour into those things.”

Beyond the Arc was held in November 2025 at James Monroe High School in Fredericksburg, Virginia, the Fredericksburg Free Press reported. Austin organized it with her mother, Jessica King, her aunt, Reedema Rock, and community partners. King’s nonprofit, Humanity Hope Initiative Inc., spearheaded the event. The day opened with breakfast and an introduction from Austin, and participants painted foam basketballs to match the event’s T-shirts. Organizers set up sensory rooms, toys, and activities for the children. Austin told the paper she is godmother to a younger cousin with autism.

Basketball camps are great, and kids love them, but professionals can reach young fans in other ways, too.

“The GAB Fest just allowed us to dive into those things,” Austin explained. “They had talks and sessions to be able to get past things that maybe are bothering them in school, how to deal with bullying or harassment, all the way to things that could be unique to just Black families growing up.”

The girls and parents who came were appreciative, Austin said, and she wants to keep holding events like it.

“At this point in my career, I’m just kind of tired of waiting for other people to help me do certain things,” Austin said. “This year we’ve just focused more on, we just want to do it for us. People who want to tag along with that eventually, and as I continue to probably get my name around, I think it’ll grow into something bigger. But right now, the fact that I was able to host a camp at my middle school, my first event was at my first high school, that just means a lot more to me.”

Austin is from Fredericksburg and graduated from Riverdale Baptist School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. She played two seasons at Maryland before transferring to Ole Miss, and the Mystics drafted her third overall in 2022.

Half of her five best friends are from the area. After the taping, she was headed to dinner in Woodbridge, Virginia.

“For me, I do consider myself from the DMV. The DMV is wherever the Metro goes,” Austin said. “It doesn’t go all the way down to Fredericksburg, Virginia, but it’s about 20 minutes from there. I went to high school in Maryland. I went to college at Maryland. I grew up playing in D.C. AAU tournaments. It’s definitely just who I embody.”

Austin did not grow up following a WNBA team. Her father introduced her to basketball at a young age, through school and the YMCA.

“Honestly, I just had players. It was Candace Parker and it was Elena Delle Donne. Those are my two,” Austin said. “I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, I just want to be like them.’”

She did not start paying attention to the teams in her area until later in high school.

“Just the fact that I was able to get drafted to my hometown team and to play with one of my favorite players, one of the only players I ever knew, it was just like a dream come true,” Austin said. “I know this opportunity, a lot of people don’t get that.”

Parker and Delle Donne are members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2026. Delle Donne last played in the WNBA in 2023. In July, she and Austin won the first WNBA Shooting Stars competition with high school standout Jezelle “GG” Banks at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, beating Seattle 31-24 in the final round.

Austin left for Ole Miss partly because she had been in the area so long and wanted to see what more she could experience. Being drafted home changed that.

“Being able to see my grandma at Sunday games, she’s missing church to come to WNBA games,” Austin said. “I never would have thought that. It’s very serious. My grandma don’t play about the Lord, but the Sunday games too, she don’t play about. She need her ticket and she need her plus-one ticket.”

Washington’s 2027 schedule has not been released. The season is expected to start May 7.