Photo by Matt Crow/Undergraduate Admissions
Hometown
Hugoton, KS
Degree received
Forensic Science with minors in Chemistry, Biology, History, Honors and Organizational
Leadership & Learning
Which organizations were you involved in?
Phi Delta Theta, Cheer Team, Shocker Sound Machine, ROTC, the Student Ambassador Society
and Student Government Association.
Why did you choose Wichita State University?
I chose Wichita State because it was the first university where the staff and faculty
asked me what I wanted for myself. It felt less like a pitch and more like they truly
cared about me and who I wanted to become. When I learned I was a recipient of the
Rudd Foundation Scholarship, it just sealed the deal for me.
How did being involved with the Student Ambassador Society impact your time at WSU?
I completely credit SAS with everything I have done during my time at Wichita State.
It connected me with staff who not only offered me on-campus jobs and university representation
opportunities but also connected me to key figures on campus. The friends I made allowed
me to get connections to join organizations and ask for advice when times were hard.
The countless opportunities and self-motivation I kept throughout my collegiate career
all started with one application for the Student Ambassador Society.
Which Wichita State faculty or staff member impacted you the most during your time
here?
During my time here, the Wichita State faculty member who impacted me the most during
my time was Dr. Chelsea Redger-Marquardt. She was my professor for all of my leadership-based
honors courses and the one who helped push me to graduate with five minors. Everything
I have learned about myself and how I want to leave my mark on others is thanks to
Dr. Chelsea and her amazing classes.
How do you feel about graduating?
I honestly feel a little heartbroken about graduating. I have been excited to travel,
continue learning and go out into the world for the last couple of months. It was
not until April hit, and all of my commitments and clubs/organizations began to wind
down, that I realized how truly lucky I was to make multiple families that are as
strong as the ones I made here in Wichita. I knew it was going to be a large step
to leave, but I was not expecting it to be as hard as it feels right now.
Which experience at Wichita State challenged you the most and what did you take away
from that challenge?
The experiences that challenged me the most were balancing my clubs/organizations
with schoolwork, military service and my personal life. I wanted to experience every
part of college, so I did everything I could. What I learned quickly was that it is
easy to fall into a cycle of giving everyone pieces of you without filling your own
cup. Being stretched thin from Greek Life, to being a student-athlete, and having
military service, showed me just how important it is to take care of oneself before
taking care of others.
What are your post-grad plans?
Acquiring a Master’s Degree in Forensic Science at the University of Central Oklahoma.
What advice would you give to incoming students?
The biggest advice I can give to incoming students is to live in the present. Looking
back from senior year to freshman year, there were so many times where I let the past
hold onto me, or I was so worried about the future that I couldn't enjoy where I was
at. It took me until junior year at NCA Nationals when the cheer team and I became
National Champions to fully live in the moment. All senior year, I have been trying
to remind myself to take a breath, live in the present, and just feel whatever I needed
to feel at that exact moment. If I did that starting freshman year, I would have had
a lot less stress and made my regrets in life go from minimal to virtually none.