“Welcome to Missouri State University!”

“Thanks! I’m terrified.”

Unlike most of my team, I’m fresh meat here at MSU. I moved to campus last fall in 2019 to double major in marketing and chemistry.

I haven’t thought about chemistry since I dropped the major in early October. Instead, I spend my days running around like a chicken with my head cut off throughout Glass Hall.

What led me here?

My planner hardly has enough room for all the ink I fill it with. I’m used to this lifestyle. I began college coursework in the fall of my sophomore year of high school. I walked the aisle at Mineral Area College with my associate’s degree in hand a week before I did the same with my Farmington High School diploma. (Yes, I really am from a place called Farmington.)

College seemed impossible to imagine when I was younger. I grew up with a single mother, raising tigers in our off time. Once I reached middle school, I became my grandmother’s full-time caretaker. We believe that when she left us in the fall of 2017, she sent us a parting gift. My adopted brother Craig came into our lives.

Scholarships were the name of the game. If I wanted to go somewhere, I needed help. Luckily, some amazing people saw something in the hundreds of essays and worksheets I submitted. The experiences that followed were nothing short of unbelievable. I had the chance to travel the country with other bright scholars. Some modern legends let me pick their brains about how to navigate college.

I also looked back to my family for support. It would be impossible to count all the scholarship pieces I sent to my aunt Kathryn for review. She’s an independent author and editor, and a ’93 Missouri State graduate. I often hope that some of her bachelor’s in electronic media filtered through to me.

So why was I so scared to start here? Simple. I knew there was a bigger chance that I could fail.

Instead of retreating inward, I followed the advice of my mentor, Kim Rodriguez. I introduced myself, sat in the front row, and ate with people at lunch. My new place in the world was out there, and only I could find it.

Now, I’m interning with the university I love. I’m going out into the campus community to connect what students are doing in the world beyond Springfield.

Why the College of Business?

I’ve discovered that I enjoy marketing and economics. The global market plays a role in everything we do. The world changes every day, and even if we can’t keep up with it, we can study it. We can learn so much from watching the way that money and products impact our lives. Yet, the most important lesson to learn from these lectures is about our own nature.

I want to find success and financial stability the right way, as all these role models did. That’s why I put my all into my studies. This is my personal brand, as my marketing 350 instructor Carly Pierson would say. I run towards my goals until I can’t hear the terror behind me. I put everything I have into making my Missouri Statement.