Lamar Award for Personal Achievement - Masonic Lodge

This award means the most to me because it reminds me of the greatest hurdle I have ever overcome. When I was 16, I was involved in a major car wreck that put me in the hospital for a month. I spent the first 16 days of that month in the ICU in critical condition. Before March 4, 2004, I had never broken a bone. On March 4, 2004, I broke my left collarbone, five ribs and my left ankle. I also broke my pelvis in five different places and had other injuries on top of those broken bones. The doctors expected that if I ever woke up from the medically induced coma, I would be permanently brain-damaged and physically handicapped. In what has turned out to be my greatest blessing, neither of those things are true. I finished my sophomore year of high school at the same time as all of my other classmates ranked fifth in a class of over 500 students. It was the most difficult thing I've ever achieved, and the recognition given me by the Masonic Lodge meant the world to me.
   
    

Phi Beta Kappa - Delta of Texas chapter

Similarly, this award also inspires a substantial amount of pride in me. I have continued to work hard throughout my college career from my high school career, and this honor signifies that other people recognize and appreciate that hard work. Receiving this during the second semester of my senior year was the perfect way to end my undergraduate degree. I now have external validation for my belief that the work I did during my time at TCU was important and significant, which is very important to me for moving forward in life.
   
   

TCU Scholar - Fall 2008 & Spring 2009 semesters, Texas Christian University

TCU Scholar is the title and honor given to any student who earns a 4.0 for their coursework in a single semester. As many students know, that perfect 4.0 can be elusive - many miss it by just a few points in only one of their classes. Surpassing above-average grades in upper-division classes, two semesters in a row was hard work! I earned that title and am proud of it.
   
             

TCU Honors Program Associate - Texas Christian University

The TCU Honors Program is divided into two sections: upper- and lower-division honors. The lower-division honors consist of a sequence of honors classes particular to a student's chosen "track" of study. These classes are often comparable to other courses offered except that they demand more from the student. There are more homework assignments, more study time is necessary and the exams are more difficult. When, and if, a student successfully completes their lower-division work, they become an Honors Program Associate, whether they choose to continue with the upper-division honors or not. The track I chose consisted of three specific, sequential courses that we honors students would experience together over our first three semesters at TCU. I watched my class size drop from 45 students to a mere 25, and for this reason among others, I know it wasn't easy. That is why being a TCU Honors Program Associate means as much as it does to me.

(The picture at the top of my website pages correlates directly to this final honor - it's actually from the Honors Program Associate Banquet)