8 Weeks To Graduation

My first visit to campus in 2021

As I start the final 8-weeks of my undergraduate journey, I want to take the time to reflect on all that I have been blessed to have experienced over the past 2.5 years.

I'll be honest: in my junior year of high school, I had no real clue what I wanted to do after graduation. I had actually been thinking about not even furthering my education. At that time, I was running GladeRunDesigns as a crochet business, and that was what I was going to do. I think that I was just fearful of what was to come, leaving my small little town and the same people I had been around my whole life. It wasn't until I visited Ohio Dominican University that my mind was changed. 

I first visited ODU at the beginning of my senior year of high school. At that time, I had only visited one other college and it was far from the right fit. I did not have any real interest in visiting colleges. My dad brought up the idea of visiting ODU because his childhood best friend’s sister was the cheer coach. Being that I had been involved in cheer with the school since I was five and all-star since I was eight, I was willing to give it a shot. I had heard about ODU my whole life with my cousin being the Athletic Director for many years, so it was still familiar enough to me to give it a shot. I had a great experience on my initial tour. It was so good that I immediately applied and that was the only school I applied to. 

Even before I was accepted, I knew that Ohio Dominican was the place for me. One of my most memorable moments in the decision-making process was so small at the time but is now a memory I hold so close to my heart. Sometime after my initial visit, I approached one of my past teachers, Ms. Joan Boyle, to tell her that that was where I was going to go. She was so excited for me that she hugged me and shared how excited she was for me. She was one of those teachers that not every student got along with. She would be so hard on her students, but she loved them even harder. I was lucky enough to have known her for the majority of my life since I was raised in the school with my grandparents, mom, and uncle working at the school. She had said to me in the past that she wouldn’t retire until she had our whole family in school. Life had other plans and she unfortunately passed away before she had the chance to have us all. When I talk about my journey to ODU, this is one of the moments I have to share since it is a memory I hold so close to my heart now. 

During my high school career, I had so many wonderful opportunities that I was able to learn from and take knowledge from as I furthered my education. I was a member of the National Honor Society, FCCLA, Varsity cheer, and most notably- the Social Media Manager for the Athletic Department during my senior year. I have also enrolled at Southern State Community College as well as Columbus State Community College over the last two years. After I graduated from Madison-Plains High School in 2022, I spent the next summer preparing for the next step in life, not doing much professionally other than babysitting. 

As I entered my first year at Ohio Dominican, my nerves were high. I was leaving everything I ever knew and doing something new. At the same time, I was excited but I could have never expected all that was to come. I began my first year with enough credits to be deemed a sophomore, during my first year. That being said on my first day I was a sophomore majoring in Business Administration. 

In the first couple of weeks of classes, I decided to reach out to the campus Slingshot bookstore. After interviewing with them I was hired as a Student Worker. A few months later, I also began an internship as the Social Media Manager for the bookstore. In this role, I met some of the most wonderful people from all over the world. Our team was led by our manager, Lauryn, with the rest of the team consisting of Nikki, Florida, and Faith. This position was one I looked forward to every day, going in between classes and days that I did not have class. I learned a lot here, beyond the job’s duties. Mostly about people and the world around me.

In October, I was contacted by the owners of Cheer Athletics Columbus to see if I was interested in coaching a half-year prep all-star team. I had already been helping coach HeroCats, their CheerAbilities (special needs) team. I was so excited to take the position as a coach so I could make an impact on the lives of the future of the sport as so many had done for me in the past. I was then coaching HeroCats as well as BlueCats, and tumbling classes.

In my second semester, I took some Public Relations courses and Marketing courses. These were required for my Business degree but also counted towards a Marketing & Public Relations degree. By the halfway point of that semester, I added a major. At this point, I was a sophomore double-majoring in Business Administration and Marketing & Public Relations.

At the end of that semester my professor, Dr. Kompa, shared an internship that would change the course of my life. This was an internship with Nellie’s Champions for Kids that focused on both operations and social media. I began my first real day with the nonprofit at the 2023 Gala, one of their biggest fundraising events of the year. I met so many people and had the best time. In the staff dressing room, I sent my mom a Snapchat during the night sharing how much fun I was having and how I found my place. I spent the rest of that summer driving around an hour and a half round-trip three times a week because I loved it that much. By the end of the summer, I was offered a part-time position as a Social Media & Marketing Specialist. In this role, I grew so much not only in the role but more importantly as a person. I have a deeper love of not only marketing by also doing good with whatever I am doing. I met so many amazing people but the most impactful were Mandy, Dana, Whitney, Hannah, and Holly. These five have created a lasting impact on my life. 

By the start of my junior year of college, I was now double majoring in Business Administration and Marketing & Public Relations, as well as working part-time for the campus bookstore, NC4K, and Cheer Athletics. I was doing a lot, involved in a lot. At this point I would admit that I don’t remember a lot of the other stuff I did in this time. I was doing so much at once that I did not have too much time for other extracurriculars or time with friends.

Life has a funny way of telling you when enough is enough and that we need to take time to slow down. The beginning of my second semester started similarly to how the beginning of the previous semester did. I was involved in just as much, however I was now taking all of my classes online. A few weeks after the start of the semester, my family had a life-altering shift. One of my family members whom I am incredibly close to, suffered a major medical emergency and spent an entire month in the hospital. I was now trying to balance all from before while spending every day at the hospital. Thankfully I was taking my classes online, and I was graciously given a multitude of flexibility from NC4K, which allowed me to be with my family when it mattered most. With everything going on, then adding one more thing, something had to go and that was the bookstore. I was still able to go to Cheer Athletics to coach, since it was so close to the hospital.

When my family member came home, it just so happened that I came home with them, transitioning into a caregiver role. This isn’t something that I was asked to do or something that I felt like I had to do, it’s just what we do for our family. I was now home with them, still staying on campus here and there, while coaching, working for NC4K, and taking my classes. While I wish this would have never happened, I am grateful that I was in a place where I could be there and still am. 

At the end of my junior year, I took a course that had a final project of making a business plan. For many in the course, it was done over a made-up company. I took this opportunity to see what would happen if I took my business, GladeRunDesigns, and transitioned it to being a Social Media and Marketing business. After taking all of the necessary steps of the project and talking to those closest to me, I decided to leap. Thus, GladeRunDesigns was reborn with a new focus but still with the same values.

As I began my senior year, I realized that it would make more sense for me to go back to being a Business Administration major but now with a Marketing & Public Relations emphasis and a Marketing & Public Relations minor. With everything going on, and me wanting to stay on track to graduate a year ahead of time, this made the most sense. Throughout my senior year, I have been focused on finishing my degree, working with NC4K, growing GladeRunDesigns, coaching, and being there for my family. While there have been some shifts in the dynamics and amount of work that is done for each of these roles, I am grateful to still have them all in some way, while also having the recently added work with Devoted Pros, Devoted DIrectories, Alco-Haul Mobile Bar, and Jamie M. Rapavy. 

If the past two and a half years have taught me anything, it is to be flexible and roll with the punches. I am excited to graduate this May and continue the work that I am doing. I may not know exactly where life is going to take me in the coming months or years, but I do know that I have a great support system and a wealth of knowledge that I have been honored to have gained through this experience. 

To anyone who has supported me in any way, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.