Most people are ready to graduate and move on to bigger and better things. I am the person that is dreading graduation, and that is because I have loved my time here at Trinity so much — I don’t want it to end. I have learned more than I ever thought I would. I learned a lot from my textbooks, but I also learned a lot about myself. Thanks to Jennifer Jacobs Henderson, I learned how to write a paper and give presentations. I also learned about my personality type in Jacob Tingle’s class, along with how to work with different types of people. When I think about my studies, I have taken away something from each of my classes and professors. I am so incredibly thankful for that.

What most people do not realize is that I come from a line of Tigers. When my Dad remarried, I gained an entire new family. This family had two generations of Trinity grads and, truth be told, I never thought I would be the third. When I tell the story of how I ended up here, I tell people that I never wanted to look but my Dad made me. He said, “Trinity has everything you want,” so I said I would give it a look. Who would have thought that I would walk off campus knowing that I found what I was looking for. Parents really do know best.

When I told people I was going to Trinity, my family was ecstatic. I would be the third generation coming to Trinity and, let me tell you, I had some big shoes to fill. My grandpa graduated with high honors and later went to medical school. In August, he will have been practicing medicine for 50 years. My uncle graduated from the accounting program and is now a chief financial officer. He was one of the founders of one of our local fraternities. For me, well, all I knew was I wanted to play golf and get an education.

My first year was filled with lots of trials and errors. I tried a class in so many different departments to attempt to find my place. It was not until the end of my sophomore year that I wanted to major in communication. I then figured out I wanted to do the sports management minor. I wanted to combine my love of sports and communication into one. Very different from what my family did, but this is my book to write.

College is just another small chapter in my life. There is so much more ahead of me that I cannot even begin to think about what it will contain. After Trinity, my grandpa and uncle wrote several new chapters in their own lives. They are a constant reminder that my life is just now beginning. They both talk about how Trinity set them up for success, and I hope that is true because now it is my turn to test it out.

There are so many people that helped me get to where I am today. Thank you to my friends from golf, campus publications, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, intramurals, classes and everyone else. Thank you to Katharine Martin for always pushing me to be my very best. Thank you to my coach, Carla Spenkoch, for never giving up on me. Thank you to my professors for putting so much time into your teachings and guiding me throughout my time here. Most importantly, thank you to my family for giving me the opportunity to attend this amazing school. And, as sad as I am to turn the page on Trinity, I am excited to see what the following pages will hold.