A buzzing cell phone vibrated the wood frame stirring my bear like, snuggled up body from the covers. I slowly slide from the sheets shuddering as my bare feet met the floor. On the way to the bathroom I was startled by the mopped mane in the mirror dreading the thought of combing through it to look presentable for the day. I rubbed my eyes and looked back at the girl staring back at me. My dark under eyes reminded me of the late night studying session for my constitutional law exam. Butterflies instantly fluttered in my belly with worry just thinking about the precision and accuracy required to get an A on the exam, however part of those butterflies came from the excitement stirred in my heart from the material. Constitution to one person is a beautiful declaration of right and interpretation to me. What else do you expect from a Political Science major with a concentration in American Law and Politics?

      I moved from my eyes to my lightly chapped lips. Yesterday I had talked for nearly 30 minutes in my Latin American Civilization class about the destruction of the banana industry in South America. Majoring in Spanish has taught me many things, but most importantly that I will never ever buy a banana again. I flip off the bathroom light and try to slyly grab my wallet and bag without stirring my roommate. Unsurprisingly, I hit my foot on the dresser knocking over a welcome packet from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.  Shuffling the papers back together I slip out the door rushing to work.

      Between bananas and the first amendment, my time at the University of South Carolina has been a combination of inside and outside of the classroom activities that shaped my academic and professional growth. Because of my experiences, my concentration for graduating with leadership distinction is the professional and civic engagement pathway.

Throughout my 4 years at Carolina I realized 4 key insights from my inside and outside of the classroom experiences:

• Create win-win

• Emotional Intelligence

• Self-Critique

• Lead a Horse to Water

All of these insights as well as how I will accomplish my professional goal to become an emerging attorney within the NCAA through creating stricter rules and more accountability when dealing with sexual harassment and assault in amateur and professional sports.