Q: “What is your major?”

“I’m going for a sports management degree. It’s Sport, Event and Tourism Management — that’s the official title. I think it would be really cool to work for a sports organization.”

Q: “Are you involved in clubs or organizations?”

“Baseball. I really didn’t have time to do anything else. Most of our workouts were at eight, nine and 11 [a.m.] – so depending on your classes – you would fall into one of those time frames. We would work out in the mornings, [attend] class, go straight to practice then [attend] night classes if we had them. We would have our baseball games from Friday through Sunday and take Mondays off. It would get busy.”

Q: “How is your final semester going; did you set it up to be easy?”

“I did kind of set the semester up to be easier for me because I didn’t have enough classes to finish earlier [this year] in the spring. My advisor gave me the option to take five classes during baseball season, then one [class] in the summer to finish with two classes in the fall. I decided to go with eighteen hours instead, skip the summer class so I could work and just do three classes this semester. Coach Marshall [head coach of the UTSA baseball program] invited me to join them again in the fall to be on the field and help out. That put a little bit more of a work load on me, but it’s been an easier transition sticking with the baseball team. They’ve given me a lot of structure.”

Q: “Why UTSA, and how were you accepted?”

“I was recruited by UTSA [for baseball] out of a junior college. I’m from Corpus [Christi]. My high school coach met with the coach from Angelina [Junior] College; he watched some video of me playing and offered me a visit to their school. I went on the visit and he made me an offer [to play]. I spent two years there, then transferred here as a junior. I got a call from UTSA saying they wanted to check me out, so they came down and watched me practice. Afterwards, they offered me a visit to this campus. I committed a couple weeks later.”

Q: “What does an education represent to you?”

“Well, my dad graduated from St. Edward’s University, but education is meaningful in a different way to me. There is only one other person in my family to play at a division one school. My dad pushed me in [the direction of] baseball, and now I have three younger cousins who play sports looking up to me. I’ve been talking to them about school and sports and anything they want advice on really. I found myself playing baseball, not so much for me anymore, but for them since they look up to me so much. It has been more meaningful that way. Education gave me the opportunity to keep playing.”

Q: “What was your favorite class or subject?”

“The course was called Sports Management and my professor was Dr. Susan Blackwood. She was the coolest professor. I had it at night, so after practice I’d go straight to that class. I didn’t enjoy my night classes before this one, so when practice would end, I really looked forward to this class. It was so interesting. She worked with me really well; I had her the following semester too. We got an opportunity to volunteer for the [NCAA Men’s] Final Four basketball tournament in that class.”

Q: “How would you describe your ideal job moving forward?”

“I was thinking about the idea of being a statistician; I think that would be pretty interesting. I’ve also thought about being a game operations manager, it doesn’t matter what sport [basketball or baseball]. I could work my way into that. I don’t really know what I want to do, but I know the direction I want to go.”

Q: “How was your overall experience at UTSA?”

“I wish it was longer to be honest, because two years goes by fast. I put it in comparison to my relationship with the guys on the baseball team; you get so close. I wish I had a couple more seasons with them because its such little time. My time at UTSA was fun, I’ll never forget it. Once I move on, I’ll miss being around here every day.”

Q: Do you plan to pursue further higher education?

“If I go for my master’s [degree], I’d be a grad assistant here. I could get back with the team if I wanted to, which would be cool. I want to start my career and get out in the work force. It would be in my best interest to not go back to school [initially] but to start working on my experience. UTSA would be my choice; I’d stay here.”

Q: Do you have recommendations for freshman entering their second semester?

“I would probably say enjoy your first year. Grades are important. Take school seriously, but don’t be too hard pressed to not have fun. Start thinking about what you actually want to do. Have fun this year, but start focusing on what you do well and what your interests are. You want to do something that you’re interested in. Start thinking about what you do well and what you like, they’ll go hand in hand to help you love what you do. Don’t procrastinate on your career. Prioritize your goals early.”