Sophomore Year

Me and my roommate on the first day of Fall 2025

I am officially halfway done with college. Honestly it has been a whirl wind, and I cannot believe I am already this far into my college career. I think this year has really allowed me to expand and grow. I got my first job, started shadowing, tried so many new things and had many successes and some failures but all of it is part of the journey.

I think two years into my college career I have really found my groove when it comes to academics. I feel that I know how to navigate college courses and especially courses at TAMU, with large class sizes and their expectations for our academics. I took some difficult courses this year, but I have learned to listen to not only the professor but other people who have taken the class. For instance, my anatomy lab is generally considered pretty difficult, and everyone warned me to study early and a ton. So, I did and while I am constantly hard on myself and maybe did not do quite as well as I wanted, overall, everything worked out and I did well in the class. I am finally hitting the point where most of my courses are directly applicable to my major and future career. I now get to really explore the things I am truly interested in. For example, wanting to become a physical therapist taking anatomy is so interesting. I love learning about the human body and even more so in my kinesiology classes with how movement works. In my kinesiology classes I also get to learn so much about the career I want to pursue but also the many job options that many of my coworkers and peers will have within my major. 

My job

Last year I talked about wanting to be a resident advisor or a RA, but when I did not receive that position, I started to look for other jobs on campus for the time being. I eventually started working at the memorial student center or MSC with a job moving tables and chairs for different events. I'll be honest it was not necessarily my first choice because from the outside moving furniture does not sound too appealing, but I took it and ended up really enjoying it. I found some really cool people who make the job feel fun. I work hard and I put effort into my job but from my coworkers and bosses who make what I do really pleasant, to how the job fits into my academics and allows me to hold a job and still be focused on my academics. I really learned to love this job and so I never reapplied to become an RA. In addition, over the summer I am not able to work but I plan to return in the fall, and I cannot wait to see where I go with this career.

Bannering for FLAKE

I have continued in most of the organizations I was in my freshman year. However, I did decide to hone in on the ones that meant the most to me and that I felt I could grow the most in. In FLAKE I really got to test my leadership skills this year. I was a counselor and I already had more responsibilities than last year but mid-way through the year the executive for my committee needed to step away from the role and in that time me and the other counselors picked up her jobs and did our best to help her out as much as we could. We knew what events were going to be happening in the rest of the semester and we tried to take over some of her jobs by talking during the meetings and explaining to the members what events we were holding. We also planned the events by communicating with the coordinators for our road cleanups and we went to go get the supplies for the road cleanup, which was typically her job. In addition, we kept in communication with the members of our committee about what was happening and any jobs or tasks that they needed to do. We also planned meetings within the Service Committee to make sure that nothing fell through the cracks. Through this experience I learned a lot about what it means to be a leader and how to step up and be an active member of a team. All of this experience will carry me into next year being a counselor again. Within Physical Therapy Society I also had the chance to improve my leadership skills and take on new roles and responsibilities. I tried out for a leadership position got to talk about what skills I have in the application and took on the interview process which these skills are important for many jobs and especially for physical therapy school. I did not get the position, but I still learned a ton, and I am super grateful to have had the opportunity regardless.

I also had the opportunity to shadow at a clinic on campus. Here I watched how the physical therapist and the assistants helped and treated the patients. I got to see some of the ins and outs of what a typical clinic setting for physical therapy looks like. Shadowing is important for most careers it not only proves to you but your future employers or schools that not only do you know what the profession actually looks like it also gives you experience and solidifies that this is actually something you want to do as a career. Getting this experience this year has really helped me realize that this is exactly what I want to do. I got to see patients over their time working with the physical therapists and how they healed and the impact that physical therapy has on their lives. They got to go back to simple things like walking but also sports and being around friends and family. Physical therapy can seriously change people’s life, and I want nothing more than to be able to be part of that journey for others.

My First Aggie Football Game!

This year had many ups and downs, but I know that I learned so much. I had opportunities to grow and get out of my comfort zone; I grew my leadership skills and my teamwork abilities, but I also grew as a person. I believe that I am on the right path and I am confident in always choosing the things that I love and that will help me grow.