I chose my major because I think communication is the most important thing in the world. If I can help people express themselves better, then I think my career will be very satisfying. I am returning to Miami as a graduate student to earn a master's degree in speech pathology.

I always thought I wanted to work with kids but then I took a gerontology class and also got involved in Opening Minds Through Art, OMA, which is a service-learning program where students work with senior citizens on art projects. While volunteering with OMA, I met the most amazing 86-year-old man. He was so positive and interesting. His great passion was baseball. He told me about how he played professionally for a Cincinnati Red's farm team and how he was in the Navy and grew up on a farm. He always greeted me with a wink and a smile, and his art projects were simply exquisite. He passed away toward the end of the second semester that we worked together, but he made a lasting impact on me.

One of the things that I love about the gerontology program is that the professors really do get to know their students. They know my name, and they greet me in the hallways. One of my favorite classes so far has been Sociology 318, The Sociology of Aging. It basically traced the process of aging from children through senior citizens. I wrote a research paper for the class about how older adults are often portrayed unfavorably in children's literature.

I've been a synchronized swimmer for 11 years now. I joined the Miami Marlins, a club team at Miami, when I came here. We are completely student-run. I'm both the president and the coach. I'm really proud that I've been able to get a nationally known synchro coach and Olympic judge, who lives in Cincinnati, to come help with the team. I also got a grant for the team from USA Synchro, which helped us buy nicer competition swimsuits and paid for some travel expenses.

Last May, I traveled to Europe and did my senior capstone class, "Comparing Selected U.S. and European Schools." We went to Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and France. I got to observe speech pathology, special education, and deaf education in three different schools in three different countries. Later, I wrote a paper, discussing how speech services are given to students in those countries versus in the United States. It was a great experience, one that I never would have imagined I could have had in college.