After five years, I’ve finally earned my degree in civil engineering and that didn’t come without some hard times. I knew I wasn’t going to be a full-time professional track athlete, so I knew the reason why I’m here: To get a degree that will allow me to take the next step in my life.
As a student-athlete at the University of Arkansas, there’s several academic support staff that are always around to help you. Several workshops that we’re asked to attend – career development, leadership academy and financial literacy – all help and motivate us toward graduation.
We have coaches and staff to help keep track of how we’re doing athletically, but there’s even more people making sure we’re doing well academically. This journey and all the people I’ve met have propelled me to this point and it’s paid off – I’ve recently received and accepted a job offer that’s related to my degree.
As thrilling as my athletic achievements have been for me, the cheers I got from the athletics academic staff after I told them about my job offer topped the excitement I got from fans during our meets – and we have some pretty loud Hogs fans at track.
During my interview process, employers asked me several questions about teamwork and leadership and I was able to transfer just about all of their questions to an experience I had athletically or through my work with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). That allowed me to associate all of their questions to things I’ve already been through in my life and during my time as an Arkansas student-athlete.
Along with being able to secure a job after graduation, I hope I’m remembered for my community service and my leadership both on-and-off the track.
