I would say I am very involved on campus. Besides being a student, which is my top priority, I am an athlete on our cross country and track and field teams, so I am in season from the time I move in for cross country preseason in August until we wrap up our outdoor track season in May.
During the year, this can be difficult at times to balance homework and study time for upcoming classes between practices, team lifts and meets on the weekend. Taking the time to set aside one or two hours in your day for homework and studying is something that I felt has helped me a lot in my year and a half on campus.
I also like to work ahead. For example, I have no classes on Friday. I use that time to either complete assignments due that week or work ahead so I don’t get behind on homework. Also, so you don’t burden yourself, don’t feel rushed to get it done that day. Some projects and homework can be put on hold for the next day.
Even though being a student athlete takes up most of my days and weeks, another passion of mine is writing for The 1851 Chronicle. This year I have taken on a bigger role as digital editor for the paper. I have loved working with my fellow editors to help put out a great issue every month. As a writer last year, I walked on and started taking stories that interested me, and devoted my time by interviewing important people, causes, organizations and clubs on campus.
With my writing, telling others stories bares a sense of responsibility on me to share that message to the best of my ability and have the person or organization that the story is written about feel proud that I conveyed their feelings, emotions and message clearly and effectively.
I also want to inform and educate readers about something or someone on campus they didn’t know before, learn more about the person in the story, or possibly get involved with a certain activity on campus.
My curiosity in news and journalism started from a very young age. I was always asking questions and being curious about the world. I also remember watching the local or national news when I was young, and thinking to myself how cool having that job is. Then while researching for college and figuring out what I wanted to do, becoming a television news reporter and journalist was an obvious choice that became a full circle moment for me.
Between being an athlete, writer, Blue Key Society Ambassador and Orientation Leader, I think that being involved and busy is a good thing. It can be time consuming, and feel like you don’t have time, but I think once I look back at my time on campus, I am going to say I would have rather been busy and involved than not involved at all.