I have grown up playing soccer. I started when I was five years old in Raymore, Missouri a suburb of the bustling Kansas City, MO streets. I remember my first game as a five-year-old, running around without a care in the world and my parents cheering me on the sidelines to just "kick the ball!" Those are some of the times I cherish the most in the beginning stages of my soccer career. Now, I play soccer at Nebraska Wesleyan University where I am a Communication Studies major with a French minor. I was recruited by my past coach to play at Nebraska Wesleyan as a forward/midfielder. I remember that I was sort of nervous and I wasn't sure if I would live up to truly playing college-level soccer. As the season went on during my freshman year, I sprained my ankle on the grass in Minnesota against one of our conference teams during warm-ups. I remember feeling scared because I had never had an injury this bad in my whole soccer career. The most I had was an inflamed knee, but I wore a knee sleeve to help compress it and it healed quickly. I got my ankle taped by one of our athletic trainers and I felt good going into the game. As I was playing, I felt off physically. My right ankle felt heavy and every time I would plant my right foot, my ankle was feel a lot of pressure, but I kept going and pushed through the pain. My past coaches used to always say you can play hurt, but you cannot play injuried, and as I thought about that, I knew they were right. After the game, we drove back on the travel bus back to campus. I had to carry a lot of things including my two bags, blanket, pillow, etc. This put much weight on my ankle again, and by this time it was swollen and had a little bit of bruising. My ankle was the size of a golf ball! I iced and iced my ankle every day and the swelling slowly went down. It felt defeated missing out on one of our conference games. I hated it. I wanted to be a part of the team, and I felt that if I didn't get to play I was not only letting myself, but the team down. So, I devoted myself to getting better so I can play again and help my team. My ankle eventually healed and I was able to finish out the season with some good stats for my first year. I scored one goal during the game I hurt my ankle! I learned that you should never give up when you feel like you can't get back up. Keep going strong and you will see how strong you truly are! Mentally and physically.

I have always wanted to be a professional soccer player since I was growing up in the suburbs of Kansas City. When I got to high school that all changed! My next dream was to become a famous journalist, traveling the world to discover the next amazing story and experience different cultures, races, ethnicities, nationalities, religions, etc. I wanted to change the world one word at a time through journalism. Now, I am studying at Nebraska Wesleyan University. A big city girl in a more suburban area. My dream now is to change the world through social media. Big change, right? I started getting into the social media realm as a sophomore at Nebraska Wesleyan. I went from being a Public Relations Assistant to a Social Media Intern at the Daughetery Food and Water Institute. I love my internship and it allows me to explore different variations in the Communication Studies world. This is an exciting new journey for me. My father is a veteran and he has always told me to reach as far as I can climb. The sky is OUR limit! My father pushes me every day to be better than I was yesterday. His being a veteran allowed him to be open-minded and turn his excuses into determination. I have followed in the same footsteps of my father, by using this same mindset. Every day I look to make each day better than it was yesterday. We always say that if you can't do that, then what are you doing? My upbringing has affected my future goals because growing up in the suburbs has allowed me to have educational privileges. I went to a predominantly white school and thus I was able to have updated books and teachers with a lot of experience. However, with this, there was a severe lack of diversity and I had to face many racial and discriminatory battles. Those battles turned into positive affirmations that no matter the color of MY skin I am capable of doing anything! Nothing is impossible in my mind, there are solutions to everything. I grew up surrounded by go-getters and blunt family members. We all encourage each other to be better people and create a better family dynamic. I would like to leave you with a quote I saw while watching a video in one of my communication classes, "Motivate your mind and your body will follow."

If you went up to someone and asked them to provide you with the definition of public relations they would say, "Isn't it about just communication?" or "That's like the news and stuff, right?" Public Relations is more than what the naked eye sees on television or in interviews. Public Relations encompasses the practice of managing and disseminating information to the public to influence their perception of a particular situation or event. This can be a good or bad thing it just depends on the execution. If a man commits a crime in Floria, you may see the headline named, "Florida man robs a jewelry store" which now gives the audience the perception that Florida men are criminals and enjoy robbing stores. When this message continues to play out, it misconstrues the viewers' perception of Flordia men from positive to negative. Labels matter! Headlines target groups of people to create a negative narrative that was never there, to begin with. Having diverse voices in public relations will help shape public narratives in a positive direction. It is extremely important to have people from different backgrounds, cultures, races, ethnicities, nationalities etc because it helps promote a diverse range of mindsets and thinking processes. The more diversity in people you have the more diversity in creative thinking and ideas that will help change the public narrative. Public Relations relies on the truth rather than false accusations, so what media outlets display on the news matters! Through striving to include more independent and diverse voices we can better understand what facilitates acceptance and inclusion and what hinders it from blossoming in our modern world. Stereotypical and derogatory labels only confirm negative perceptions, and when these labels are put out there to confirm a certain narrative, then the purpose of improving our behaviors is suddenly useless. For example, compare this headline, "Black man shoots white officer during a traffic stop" to this headline "Man enters elementary school and shoots 9, killing 3" Do you see the difference? The race label in the first headline is the first thing the viewer sees, it conforms to a narrative that black men shoot cops while on traffic stops. The second label does not mention the race of the man, which creates curiosity in the viewer. So, which type of headline should the media use? First, we need to decide if labels are harmful to a particular type of group, and they are! It solidifies years of racism and taxonomy when race is at the forefront of the headline, it plays into peoples' minds. So what can we do to fix these narratives? Learn from each other and grow from each other. We all grow up in different childhoods, so it is extremely important to encourage dialogue and uncomfortable topics, but people go through these negative narratives every day. It starts with one person to lead the way, and that person can be a Public Relations Specialist.

I'm originally from Kansas City, Missouri where diversity is splurging with different, unique individuals from a multitude of different countries and states. When I came to Nebraska it was a culture shock, but I was used to being surrounded by culture and minorities. At Nebraska Wesleyan, I did not get what I had back home. I spent my entire freshman year sulking in my room with only one black friend. We did everything together, and we always talked about the lack of diversity at our college. I didn't want to sulk anymore and I decided to do something about it. I became a member of our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee as a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion representative for the women's soccer team. The lack of minority presence on the soccer field encouraged me to become a voice for the women and men in our conference. This year I saw a huge increase in black representation on campus, and I rejoiced. I started the black Student Union on our campus with a couple of freshmen and upperclassmen. We want to create a safe space for black and brown students to congregate as well as build positive relationships with each other. I have always gone to predominantly white institutions growing up in the small town of Raymore, Missouri. Going into college I wanted to see more individuals who looked like me, so I always asked myself why I went to Nebraska Wesleyan. The opportunities I was promised influenced me to give it a shot and make a change to develop more black representation on campus. You can't fix something by running away. I am currently the Activities Officer for the Black Student Union on campus. I have made great efforts with our President and another faculty member to implement a Diversity training course for all students when they come to Nebraska Wesleyan. This is essential for developing a sense of unity on campus. There are a lot of white students who come to a predominantly white institution with stereotypical, racist, discriminatory, prejudiced and ignorant thoughts and ideologies. Sometimes this ignorance is not by choice, but by their experiences and the teachings of their parents. I enjoy writing a lot and a current social issue that I have been obsessed about is the current climate in which Florida public schools are denied access to critical race theory and the truth in textbooks. There is an undeniable need for discussion of racial disparities in the United States. The lack of access to these conversations in school is limiting the ability for constructive dialogue. I want to change this by reporting on social issues that prevent young black and brown students from telling their truth and their experiences.

What inspires me to get involved in my community is seeing an increase in representation of black and brown women and men as well as boys and girls entering college or university. It is very important to me that there are multiple routes for those young girls and boys who look like me to be able to have opportunities for high education. Whether that be an HBCU, a private institution, a public institution or a community college. When I was younger I had that support from my family to reach higher than the stars and I want the younger generation to feel that feeling I once felt. I love volunteering at the Malone Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. It is a center that works with underprivileged students in the Lincoln area as an after-school program. I planned a service project event to give away free Halloween bags to the children as an early Halloween present. I got to interact with the kids and interact with the staff who share the same values as I plan on doing more service projects at the Malone Center. For example, adopting a soccer program for 8 weeks! I plan to contact them again in the summer or in the fall to begin the work. My passion for soccer has encouraged me to spread the joy of shooting the ball into the back of the net. I have coached little league soccer clubs at elementary schools as well as official soccer clubs. The amusement on their faces brightens my day because I can see how soccer is making a positive influence on them. The loud yells of children screaming "YESSS!" lets me know that I'm doing something right. I am currently coaching a club soccer program at Hartley Elementary School in Lincoln, Nebraska. I have been able to teach them penalty kicks, how to properly kick the soccer ball, and how to score a goal! The best thing about volunteering is knowing that I am making a positive influence in these children's lives one step at a time. It allows me to create connections with the kids as well as the staff to develop more new, unique ideas! As a volunteer, it helps me improve my social skills as well as my intercultural relationships. I get to meet individuals from different parts of the country and the world and learn about their cultures. I will definitely recommend that everyone volunteers at service projects.

Money. I never knew money could be such a significant piece in my life until I entered college. I will admit, I wasn’t good at money management my first semester of college. However, now that I have fully experienced my first semester I would like to make some changes for my sophomore year. Firstly, I would like to not spend my money on random items I find attractive. It’s going to be difficult, but I think I can manage. Even now, with the gas prices increased and the supply and demand chain having difficulties. I have learned that I don’t need to spend my money on intrusive thoughts. I need to balance between myself and what I actually need. I learned that I can serve myself financially, while also serving myself mentally , emotionally, and spiritually. Nevertheless, I am happy my parents taught me this now rather than later. It helps me get a good look at what my life will be like when I am out of college. I want to pass this mindset down to my siblings as well, so they always know that you can treat yourself, just don’t cheat yourself.

I always thought I had privilege in my life from growing up in the suburbs. As I got older, I realized this was not the case. I was discriminated and insulted as a young elementary student. I was getting name-called a lot, and receiving unimpressed looks. I realized that me, a black suburban girl, is not privileged. Living in the suburbs does not alienate me from racial discrimination; it just made it easier for them to degrade me. I did not let their vulgar words get to me. My mom always told me, “Aniaya, you are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen.” That kept me going. Those words allowed me to strive forward, and not look back. In high school, I became everything I ever dreamed up. I was the editor for my high school’s newspaper. I was a varisty soccer player, and I collaborated with my friend to create GAWSY Magazine. In college, I can finally reflect. Words can hurt, but success restores. I restored my hurt with achievements and accomplishments. I couldn’t succumb to their hurtful words, or else I would have failed. Now that, is the importance of self-love.