Collegiate Cross Country and Track

I am a collegiate student athlete, running for Mary Washington’s cross country and track teams. I race many events including the 5k, 6k, 3k, and my primary focus, the 10k. I have qualified for the NCAA DIII XC National Championships twice, and have placed All Region and All Conference in multiple races in both XC and track. On average, I run about 50 miles a week throughout the entire year in addition to strength training. My busy practice schedule has taught me how to balance tasks and how to properly manage my time. Being part of a team has been a very positive experience that has helped me develop my cooperation, leadership, and resilience skills.

Reading, Reading, and More Reading

I am an avid reader, reading between 30 – 70 books a year. My favorite genres are classics, literary fiction, and science books. I particularly love reading stories from diverse and international perspectives such as Almond by Sohn Won-pyung and the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Additionally, I love nonfiction books as well especially any books that can teach me more about environmentalism, sustainability, and resolving the climate crisis.

Greenhouse Attendant

For two summers I worked in a local Greenhouse taking care of the plants. Through this job I learned much knowledge of plants and team coordination. I learned many different things from plant identification to individual plants watering needs. Additionally, on the job I developed my problem solving skills both from dealing with difficult customers and from handling the plants. This experience inspired me to accumulate many houseplants of my own.

Member of UMW Honors Program

I am in the Honors Program at Mary Washington, and my first experience in the program was an 8 week course called City as Text. This course is for incoming honors freshman as a way to get to know Mary Washington and Fredericksburg from a fresh lens. You get to explore the rich history, geography, and culture of the city through an exploration and through connecting with other local perspectives. In my junior year, I decided to take on the role of a city as text leader where I served as a mentor for a group of freshman honors students. In my role, I guided them on their exploration and facilitated discussion and ideas for their group project.

Another experience I had with Honors was my service learning course. This class prompted me to serve my community in some capacity, and I took on a project transcribing historic documents for the Smithsonian. Lastly, another influential part of honors was the honors designated coursework. I took Honors General Chemistry II, Honors GIS and Cartography, Honors Research and Writing in Political Science, and Honors Earth’s Climate. These classes expanded the way I learned through more hands on self guided experiences and through promoting elevated ways of thinking including cross cultural, technological, and investigative projects.