The ASU cross country season has now officially come to its end, concluding the final chapter in the collegiate careers of this year's seniors. The State Press spoke with six Sun Devil seniors, asking them to reflect on their time in Tempe and previewing what’s ahead for them after graduation.
Business Communication and Sports and Media Studies senior Shaina Corbin
Career highlight: “I think what would define my career the best is just overcoming obstacles. It hasn’t been the easiest career. I’ve had a lot of injuries and setbacks with that, but the past year, I’ve had one year of consistency now of not being injured and it’s starting to pay off."
One thing you’ve learned from cross country: “I think just teamwork. Coming from a small school that didn’t have a lot of girls running, I think it’s been awesome to grow into a community with these girls and focus on one common goal and then work at it every day to the best of our ability.”
What’s next after college: “I’m deciding if I’m going to be in ministry with the church or if I’m going to do non-profit work.”
Exercise science graduate student Ryan Herson
Career highlight: “Last year when I was eighth at the West Regions and made it to nationals, that was pretty special. To get to line up at nationals after years of not having a guy there was a special moment for me. Some of the experiences even at practice have been special to me. I’ve really had some great times here with this team.”
One thing you’ve learned from cross country: “I think the first thing that comes to mind is discipline. Each and every day, you come out here with consistency and that’s the way I live my life too. You got to put all the effort your have into it to get the best result. You really get what you put in. I truly believe if I’m going to do something, I have to put my best foot forward and I think cross country has really helped me. You go through ups and downs, but if you keep a consistent mindset, you really continue to get better and continue to succeed.”
What’s next after college: “Currently, I’m in my master's program on the Downtown campus. I’m going to continue to finish that up and further pursue my studies in my career and see what happens from there. One of the main reasons I came to ASU was for an education. It was a great honor last year to get to graduate and get a bachelors’ degree and it’s something that in my family is an important thing. Cross country has been a huge part of my life and being able to be a Division I athlete in college has been a great experience, but you’re lucky to have it to four or five years and then, after that, you’ve got to do a career so that’s what I’m going to be heading towards.”
General studies and aerospace engineering senior Ryan Norton
Career highlight: “I think the importance of camaraderie has really been important. I’ve seen that in myself and that’s been emphasized by coach. I would also have to say the ability to overcome challenges and obstacles, emotional and physical. That’s been something that’s been pretty hard to do, but once you learn how to do that … you can take that into other realms outside of running.”
What’s next after college: “Right now, I’m slotted to be a pilot in the Air Force. I’ll go into training after graduation and go into what’s termed ‘Undergraduate Pilot Training’ and I have a commitment. I’ll have to serve about 10 years being a pilot which is something I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve been very fortunate and very blessed to kind of retain my childhood dream of serving my country and being a pilot at the same time, so that’s the general focus of where I’m going, but that in of itself has a lot of different routes I can take.”
Math and computer systems engineering senior Daniel Wong
Career highlight: “Just going through these past five years and really building a team that is able to work together. A team where everyone feels at home with each other and establishing a strong bond between everyone on the team has made it something special here. It’s allowed us all to overcome a lot of adversity and I think it’s been the defining factor of my five years here and what’s made them great.”
One thing you’ve learned from cross country: “One thing I really learned here is to go out and really enjoy what you’re doing every day. I think if you’re able to go and do that every day, whether it’s with running, school or work, it makes it less of a job and it really allows us all to perform at our best.”
What’s next after college: “For me, I plan on continuing to run, whether it’s on a professional level or a semi-professional level. I just want to keep competing at the highest level I can. I think going through these last four years here, I’ve learned that I love to run and, whether or not I can do it solely running or have to pair it with a job in engineering, I think that’s ultimately what I want to do.”
Interdisciplinary studies senior Cristina Juan Torres
One thing you’ve learned from cross country: “I’m from Spain and I used to train alone. I didn’t have a team. So when I came here last year as a transfer, it was just such a huge opportunity to be with such a big team. This team thing that we all help each other and it’s so important.”
What’s next after college: “I’m not really sure. I guess I’m coming back to Spain because I’m done here. I would love to stay, but I don’t think I have a chance. We’ll see. And then, I still have to finish my degree over there. I’ll try to get better here because this is a good opportunity to get better and then be professional in Spain or something. I wish I could be a professional here, but I don’t know if I’m going to be able to.”
Family human development and business senior Adriana Olivas
One thing you’ve learned from cross country: “Just being positive and believing is one thing I took away from here because when I got here … it was hard to accept that I’m not the best yet and I’ve continued to believe as the years went on and now I’m getting closer and closer to what I would like to achieve.”
What’s next after college: “I’d like to become a professional runner, train, hopefully make it to the Olympics. That’s one of my goals. Just continue to believe that I can and hopefully I get sponsored by somebody to make it there.”
Reach the reporter at michael.baron@asu.edu or follow @Michael_Baron96 on Twitter.
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