I have a lot of regrets. They are mostly small regrets that don’t matter too much, but I do have one big regret. I regret not making Wichita State my home sooner. My first year of college I went to William Jewell, a small college in Missouri, and then I attended Friends University for a hot second. I thought I wanted a small college experience.

Despite growing up in Wichita I was originally very opposed to attending Wichita State — I thought it was way too big for me. But after not finding my place at two other schools I thought I should finally give Wichita State a try.

From the outside, the Communication degree with the Electronic Media emphasis intrigued me, it seemed to be exactly what I was looking for.

But once I got in my first class here at Wichita State I realized this was the place for me. I didn’t have the sinking feeling in my stomach or the anxiety that I had at the other schools, don’t get me wrong they are amazing schools they just weren’t for me, I felt at home. I felt that this was the perfect place for me to get my education. I only got to spend three semesters here at Wichita State, I wish it could have been more, but I am also very excited that I am getting to graduate on time after all the bouncing around and major changing that I did.

You won’t see my name in many bylines or photo credits in The Sunflower. I’ve been behind the scenes as The Sunflower’s Social Media Coordinator for just the past semester. I wish that I had applied sooner to spend more than one semester on this wonderful staff. I have really enjoyed my short time here.

While I am sad to leave Wichita State I am really excited for the next chapter of my life. My plan is to move to Los Angeles to work in television production. People ask me specifically what I want to do and I honestly don’t care at this point, as long as I am helping to create television. I feel very prepared to embark on this journey because of my experience in the Elliott School of Communication. I have contacts and friends in Los Angeles already because the Elliott School encouraged me to pursue an internship with the Tallgrass Film Festival. I had a blast and learned a lot and I am so excited to see the filmmakers I met during the festival again and to hopefully work with them in the future.

I have a lot of people to thank that helped me get where I am today. First I would like to thank Lela Meadow-Connor, Nick Pope and Gretchen Mitchell of the Tallgrass Film Festival for believing in me and giving me the chance to help make the festival a success. In the Elliott School, I would like to thank Kevin Hager and Eric Zoller for teaching me the skills I will need for my career and Amy DeVault and Madeline McCullough for believing in me and helping me to gain real world experience in my field. Finally, I would like to thank my parents and my brother for always being by my side and supporting me while I tried to find the school that I could call home, I love you guys.

To all my fellow Shockers out there, thank you for reading, be kind to each other and good luck. I am proud to be a Shocker Alum and to carry the Shocker colors with me to California.