TicketsIn August, I found myself in a plane, 35,000 feet above ground, traveling to Portland, Oregon, the mecca for runners. I was one of six students asked to represent the University of Cincinnati, specifically the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) to companies. As an Experiential Based Learning and Career Education (ELCE) ambassador, I had the opportunity to walk headquarter halls of Nike, Adidas, Instrument, HP, Industry, and Keen Footwear. At Nike, we visited rooms solely devoted to running shoes and learned how design has influenced their function, use, and style. The University of Cincinnati is very well connected, and the alumni who support current students deserve a huge thank you. Through this trip, I was able to see firsthand how the love for my sport, cross country and track, and my major, visual communication design, transmogrify ideas into something special. I'm fascinated when unlike worlds collide such as, running and design. There is a unique beauty that blossoms when both begin to grow in harmony.
Dissimilar groups have more in common than most people realize. Both design and running revolve around speed. How fast can you run 800 meters? How fast can you design, think, and create a logo for a brand? How fast can you eat, sleep, wake up, make it to practice, then race to class? For a perfectionist, like me, this can be a challenge. How fast I do something is important and crucial to both worlds. However, a lot about being a DI student athlete is about pacing. The sooner I learned how to pace, the faster my output increased in both running and design. I like to define myself as a DAAPlete, an athlete in DAAP, or a DAAPer in sports. Neither one is more important than the other, rather both are needed for me to feel complete. I have to run in order to feel healthy, and I must design to feel happy.
I believe that design influences our feelings about one another and drives us to greater levels in life. As a former state champion in gymnastics, swimming and track, I befriended many people with different personalities and witnessed how emotions play a key role in success. This transpired in to my Girl Scout Gold Award project, where I made a coloring book that was distributed nationally and internationally to help children better understand their emotions. Emotions are the one thing that every person in the world has in common. The better we understand one another, the more success we will experience as a community. Participating in youth and outreach events through UC Athletics has given me creative ways to share my experience with others. As a recently elected UC senator for next school term, I encourage anyone to push themselves not to settle and to get involved on campus. Once one becomes comfortable, it's time to move on to something new, even if it is simply sitting in a new row of a lecture or trying something different at lunch. This idea doesn't have to be dramatic. It just has to be progress. Pace your decisions while learning from others and opportunities will present themselves. Be creative in your approach and your drive will fuel success.
Dissimilar groups have more in common than most people realize. Both design and running revolve around speed. How fast can you run 800 meters? How fast can you design, think, and create a logo for a brand? How fast can you eat, sleep, wake up, make it to practice, then race to class? For a perfectionist, like me, this can be a challenge. How fast I do something is important and crucial to both worlds. However, a lot about being a DI student athlete is about pacing. The sooner I learned how to pace, the faster my output increased in both running and design. I like to define myself as a DAAPlete, an athlete in DAAP, or a DAAPer in sports. Neither one is more important than the other, rather both are needed for me to feel complete. I have to run in order to feel healthy, and I must design to feel happy.
I believe that design influences our feelings about one another and drives us to greater levels in life. As a former state champion in gymnastics, swimming and track, I befriended many people with different personalities and witnessed how emotions play a key role in success. This transpired in to my Girl Scout Gold Award project, where I made a coloring book that was distributed nationally and internationally to help children better understand their emotions. Emotions are the one thing that every person in the world has in common. The better we understand one another, the more success we will experience as a community. Participating in youth and outreach events through UC Athletics has given me creative ways to share my experience with others. As a recently elected UC senator for next school term, I encourage anyone to push themselves not to settle and to get involved on campus. Once one becomes comfortable, it's time to move on to something new, even if it is simply sitting in a new row of a lecture or trying something different at lunch. This idea doesn't have to be dramatic. It just has to be progress. Pace your decisions while learning from others and opportunities will present themselves. Be creative in your approach and your drive will fuel success.