Making an Impact

Coming into my fourth semester as an undergraduate student here at Texas A&M, lots of things are changing!

This semester, I became a junior (in my sophomore year; early graduation here I come!), so I have my eyes on that Aggie bling soon.

As of this semester, I actually have a tour shift in my job as an ambassador, meaning that I get the opportunity to lead more tours and show alumni, prospective students, and visitors the beautiful College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences here at Texas A&M.

Being able to meet such a diverse pool of people is such a rewarding aspect of my job!

My favorite types of tours are those given to high schoolers. I find it easy to communicate with younger students and I connect a little more easily with them. We can always laugh and have a good time.

I love the thought that one day, my words may bring them to be one of our newest, loudest, and proudest Aggies!

I also got some exciting news this month.

Last May, I traveled to Australia for a vacation, and we went to Bondi Beach. While there, my mom and I just happened to notice a poster advertising an opportunity to model in a photoshoot empowering women.

On a whim, I decided that it would be such an amazing opportunity, and we took a couple of hours out of our vacation to do it. Those photos are being put into a book called “This Is Me,” which comes out next month in Australia.

As a promotion for the book, Marie Claire magazine AU chose 12 photos out of hundreds to be in their editorial and they picked mine!

My photo and words get to be shown to people all across Australia and the United States, and I can’t help but be so delighted about the way I can help other people through my story.

Balancing Act

It has been so exciting getting into the groove of things this semester as a sophomore biomedical sciences (BIMS) major.

I am currently taking organic chemistry, “Great Diseases of the World,” American history, women’s health, and introduction to animal science. The biggest challenge so far has been organic chemistry, as I’m sure almost every BIMS sophomore can tell you.

Learning to study for organic chemistry is a task in itself, and then you have to do the actual studying! I have learned that scheduling to study overtime before testing makes you so much less stressed once you get to the test, and that has been a lifesaver for me so far.

This has helped me to slowly start learning to balance my time between work, school, and my social life.

My favorite part of this new year has been moving into my beautiful, one-bedroom apartment with my two little buddies, Charley and Reggie. Charley has been with me since he was just a little puppy, in August 2012, and Reggie has been with us for about a month.

I have struggled a bit with worrying whether I’ve spent enough time with them or given them enough love, but I think we are getting on just fine.

In another area of my life, working as a BIMS Ambassador has been such an awesome experience. It is so great to feel like I can help those around me and show them the little world we live in here in the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences.

It is also great that I have the ability to work on my studies when I’m not helping others, which has been such a blessing. Having time where you are simply able to sit down and focus is so great.

Through the CVM Ambassador program, I also gained a great new friend. Sahana and I not only are in the ambassador program together but we also have a few of the same classes! It is so awesome that I have been able to find new people I love through this program.

Most fun of all is that I recently learned that a photoshoot I modeled for when I went to Australia back in May 2019 will be included in a book coming out in March 2020! It really makes me think about the amazing opportunities we can have if we just reach out.

The book is called “This Is Me,” by Georgie Abay and Julie Adams. I am so excited to see my photo in the book.

It isn’t my favorite photo of myself but it shows me that what I may perceive as OK can be so beautiful to those around me and that we are often too hard on ourselves as humans—we all should remember that we are all so gorgeous in our own ways.