As my graduation draws near and my completion of this Master’s program from Texas A&M Commerce comes to an end, I reflect back on the time and effort that went into papers, studying, reading, and homework and I am blessed. When I first started this journey I was hesitant, my mother was going through chemotherapy and radiation, which was a full time job on top of my full time job. I decided to take a year off from coaching to assist with my mother who has breast cancer and my younger brother, who has suffered from a brain injury since he was a child and my mom is his legal guardian. With a strong heart and heavy eye lids I embarked on this journey, not knowing what the journey would consist of, but I did have an end date in sight. I knew it would not be easy, but when completed it would be worth it. I look back and remember days I would drive my mom to Bastrop for her chemotherapy appointments and watch as the medication took its course and would write or study chapters while she slept. Taking my little brother to different appointments and feeling like there was not enough hours in a day. I continued to work in the special education behavioral unit, dealing with the stress of work, students, parents, and coworkers. In layman’s terms I was experiencing LIFE!
I am at the position I am in because of the grace of God and the prayers from family and friends. At times I felt like papers would not be completed or test would be failed, somewhere somehow my faith and what I studied was brought to my memory. I never thought I would compare receiving my Master’s degree to combat, but I am and can. Completing my degree took the same strategic planning as being deployed. Before every mission, we would lay out our plan of action, how we would complete different objectives, and what to do if/when the mission took a turn for the worst. Apply those strategies to completing my papers and quizzes unit by unit, is the approach I used. Before every unit I would map out dates, times, and locations of availability to complete the assignments. Proper planning became detrimental to accomplishing the projects and essays. Organization and the use of my surrounding team (mother, brothers, fiancé, friends) helped keep me leveled and grounded. Scheduling when to study, when to take test, setting reminders, and canceling my cable all propelled me to be successful.
Using the case studies, reading over laws, and journal articles on leadership will assist me in leading employee’s and student-athletes in my program as an Athletic Director on the collegiate level. Reviewing past case studies on how leadership ineffectively managed insubordinate student-athlete’s violations and how they carried out consequences will be noted and constantly reviewed, so past mistakes are not revisited. I will also continue to look into athletic psychology and the different research conclusions from different studies. Sports psychology was my favorite course this year and the most interesting reading that I felt personally that will help contribute to my success and an Athletic Director. Another course I appreciated was my Govern and Ethics course, being able to use my morals and values and understanding what is morally right my go against what my pride may say is right can change how my team, parents, and coworkers view me. Reading comments from other coaches and how they handled conflicts previously will be used as tools when approached with similar problems.
Overall, I am looking forward to progressing my athletic career, earning more accolades, and achievements. I appreciate the time and effort each professor gave to me and appreciate all the positive comments and emails I received. Being a veteran and continuing to accomplish different goals I set for myself when I was 21 years old makes me feel those days in the heat were not for granted. I have brothers I deployed with that did not make it back and told me to stay educated and not quit before I even started school and their voice and words of encouragement continue to echo in my mind as I move forward. Thank you, it was a blessing and a honor.
