History appeals to Tata's desire to under‑
stand how things work — be that a nation, a
culture or a field hockey stick.
Some of that love of history may have
come from her grandfather. Robert "Bob"
Tata served in the Virginia House of Dele‑
gates from 1984‑2014, representing the 85th
district in Virginia Beach. His granddaugh‑
ter was actively involved in his campaigns.
"I worked on the campaigns going door
to door back in those days," Tata recalled.
"It is so cool to see how it works. He's re‑
tired and I think he's happy with that, but he
did work in politics for a really long time.
"I loved going and watching him do his
thing."
While the governing process certainly
intrigued young Riley, she said she has no
interest following her grandfather's foot‑
steps into the political fray.
"I try to stay out of that," Tata admitted.
"I had enough of it going door to door."
While her grandfather encouraged her
pursuit of history and its analytic nuances,
the mission field fed her interest in learning
about people and different cultures.
"I went on a lot of mission trips in high
school," Tata said. "I would go through my
church and we would play sports with the
kids. I always played soccer. We would
teach English in the schools and we did a
lot of construction.
"We also got to work with tribes in Africa
in some of the poorer parts of the Tanza‑
nia and visited some of the most beautiful
places."
Through 10 games, Tata ranked second on the team with four goals.
PHOTO BY MATT RILEY/COURTESY UVA
