Major: Master of Public Service and Administration
Hometown: Portland, Oregon
Scholarship: Kathy B. ’81 and Peter D. Huddleston ’80 Endowed Fellowship
How do you overcome challenges?
Growing up, sports were a big outlet for me because they created commonality and comfort in uncomfortable spaces. I had coaches who influenced my success and helped me achieve milestones in my life. During my undergraduate years at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Texas, I had the opportunity to play basketball and find that commonality in college.
As a child, I never lived in a place where there were people of color, so having a white mom with five biracial kids led to experiences that helped me grow and shaped who I am. Providing for and helping my family gave me strength and taught me to never give up.
When I face challenges now, I try to be honest with myself as to why I’m facing them. I see them as opportunities to learn and better myself, and I focus on turning everything into a positive. It was easy to be intimidated by adversity as a child, but today I tell myself to face problems head-on. I’ve learned that everything happens for a reason and that I should never accept failure; instead, I must be resilient and bounce back.
What has your experience at Texas A&M been like?
It’s been great! Everyone is welcoming and wants to help in any way they can. Even though the university is so big, there is tremendous pride in the Aggie family. I was worried about navigating this new space as a person of color, but I feel that there is a network of support and a community for me here. Plus, the Bush School’s willingness to work with my career plan is amazing. When I visited for interviews and met the students and faculty at the Bush School, I immediately felt they wanted me here and like Aggieland was home.