Biography: 1st Weight Meet

At my first OU Powerlifting weight meet I knew that we would test our maxes in squat, bench, and deadlift, but I didn't know what else to expect. The team atmosphere was amazing! Everyone cheered each other on, and it felt much more intense than me lifting alone. At one point, I had to hit a squat successfully in order to continue competing in the meet. Someone videoed it, and watching the video was equaling exciting to being in the moment. I could hear the whole team cheering me on with intensity. They truly wanted me to be successful. It was a great team experience.

OU PL

Note: I wanted to talk about my first meet and how thankful I am to such a great experience.

Biography: My Workout Partner

 I once had a friend who wanted to workout with me. I frequent the gym often, so I am in pretty good shape. My muscles are used to the demand I put them through. They have built up endurance, and they do not typically get too sore after my daily workouts. Well my friend, Josh, does not typically workout. However he wanted to make a change and be more active with me. I warned him that he would be very sore throughout week one. Luckily, he listened to my warning and prepared himself. He survived week one, and to this day, I still have Josh as my workout partner.

Note: I am thankful to have a buddy that enjoys working out with me and staying in shape. It is truly beneficial to both of us.

Bench press

Biography: Night Driving

I once had a friend that was had a blindness when night driving. After dinner, they asked one of us to drive us all back home. Apparently, they claimed to be blind when night driving. Unfortunately, we didn't believe them, and we made them drive. They went to make a turn, and they told me they took a mental note that they usually turn too wide. So in this instance, they intentionally made a sharper angle for the left turn. Unfortunately, there was a median, so they needed to take it wider. We immediately are looking at oncoming traffic, and my friend swerves right and hits a street sign in the median. That's was the last time we made them drive at night!

Note: I wanted to tell the scary story of crashing with my friend driving at night. I never knew they had night blindness, but I will never underestimate that again!

Night Driving

Major Trouble Biography

I started college wanting to become an engineer. I didn't really know if I truly wanted to do engineering, but my academic strengths were in math and science. So I originally majored in biomedical engineering and enjoyed my course work. During the fall of my sophomore year, I was made aware that the biomedical engineering degree program was not yet ABET accredited. ABET is a national engineering association that approves degree plans to ensure they meet national standards and produce competent engineers. Without an ABET degree, it is difficult to get internships and a professional engineering license. I met with the director of the chemical engineering department, and he allowed me to switch majors without falling behind in my coursework. This allowed me to keep my graduation date on time with an ABET accredited chemical engineering degree!

Choosing Majors

Author's Note:
I like telling people this story. I think it illustrates to people that you can still change your major if need be even into your sophomore year! I had some fortunate help from the director, but I was still able to keep the same graduation date without delays.

Biography: My First Home Run

I stepped up to the plate with the game on the line. We were down one run with a runner on first base. The pitcher wound up and released a high and tight fast ball. I did not think. I just reacted. I trusted my hands, and they did not steer me wrong. I connected with the pitch and followed through with my swing. It was a deep fly ball to left field. I began my jog to first base, but realized the ball travelled over the fence. I had hit my first homerun, and it helped my team win by one run.

Author's Note:
I wanted to give a step by step perspective of my first homerun. It was a great moment for my team and I, and I wanted to share it with you.

Homerun

Biography: Squatting Struggles

Shortly before I left for a summer internship a couple years ago, I maxed out on squat with my lifting friends. I finally hit a personal goal of squatting 365 lbs. I then moved halfway across the country for my internship. I continued lifting throughout the summer and attempted 365 many times on squat to replicate my success. Every time I tried, I failed the lift. I could not understand why I couldn't do it again! The last week I was in D.C., I intentionally skipped legs for a week and then maxed out again. I was experimenting with my body. As I built up the weight, I ended up blowing up 355 lbs, which was the most I successfully lifted all summer. So I decided to skip 365 and put 375 lbs on the bar instead. I blew it up and set a new personal record!

Author's Note:
I wanted to tell a story about my summer internship in Washington D.C. and my struggles with strength training over that summer. I learned to give my body rest as it asks for it, and my body will return the favor!

Squat Rack from Wikipedia

Biography: The Kick

My senior year of high school football we played Weatherford for one of our biggest wins of the season. It was a close game, and our offensive drive stalled out on the opponent's 31-yard-line. My long-time friend, Hunter, was a pretty solid kicker, so coach called out the field goal unit. We rushed out onto the field to set up for a field goal as the play clock winded down. I was the holder so I was in charge of setting the ball for Hunter to kick it through the uprights. You could tell we were all nervous because a 48-yard field goal would be our longest attempt that season. The ball was snapped, and the kick was away! The ball sailed right through the uprights, but it didn't look pretty. It looked like a knuckleball with a sideways rotation. I asked Hunter how he managed to kick it that way, and he replied with, "I closed my eyes." I laughed and thought about how he always jokes to me saying that he won't ever kick my hands. We ended up winning by 3 points, so that field goal came up big in the grand scheme of things.

Author's Note:
Holding for a kicker is a fun experience. Besides the fear of them kicking your hands as they hold the football, you have to worry about catching the ball from the snapper, setting the ball correctly, and spinning the laces out. It can be pretty stressful, but you feel awesome when the kick is good. That is one of the funnier memories I have from high school football, and I am still good friends with Hunter today.

Holder and Kicker in a field goal situation from Wikipedia