Before my time at TU had even really started, I was fortunate enough to be one of 150 incoming freshmen to go to Panama for a week on the Jumpstart TU trip in the summer of 2019. While there I made many connections with both faculty and other incoming freshmen that tremendously helped me get involved, make friends, and succeed at TU in ways that would never be possible at any other private college in the United States.
The benefits and relationships I formed in Panama far outweighed the relatively low cost of the trip. It was on this trip that I formed a connection with my group’s faculty leader, Colin Large, who ended up helping me get my first campus job working as a computer lab monitor. I was also able to meet the voice of the Golden Hurricane, Bruce Howard, who helped me get in touch with the athletic department when I was considering working as an intern for their operations team.
I also met his wife, Marsha, who told me about a class she teaches that I was fortunate enough to take this past summer. I also met my friend Walli, who was able to ask President Clancy if we could take photos at football and basketball games. This led to me meeting other people in the athletic department where I am now a student manager for their marketing team. The best connection I made on this trip has to be my now girlfriend, although we did not start dating until a few months later.
This trip truly jumpstarted my college experience and without it I wouldn’t be involved in half the groups I am involved in today. I believe that this experience cannot be duplicated anywhere else.