Categories
Campus Life General

Training for a Dallas Marathon – Staying Active at SMU

courteney-damoreI’ve always prioritized living a healthy, balanced lifestyle. Whether its playing lacrosse in the Spring or training at the gym in the off-season, I love to sweat it out and keep my body active. This summer however, I decided to switch my routine up and begin training for the BMW Dallas Marathon.

In July, I mapped out my 5-month plan to success. I started off slow. My plan was to run 3 miles every other day for 2 weeks, then merge onto my official training program with three, 4 mile sessions throughout the week and one long run on Saturdays. My first week of training happened to be my sorority’s 5K run, which was a great way to push myself with friends and start off my program to a great start. To put additional motivation on myself, I also joined the Dallas chapter of Team-in-Training. Team-in-Training is an organization that raises money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. They manage all race registration through their website, and even provide a team of regional coaches to run with and keep you on track to success. By December 11, race date, I have set a goal to raise $1,200.

What is also great about my training is I’ve had the opportunity to take advantage of all the trails and neighborhoods in Dallas. My favorite trail to run is the Katy Trail which begins right of campus and leads all the way downtown. On the weekends, I usually opt for a more scenic route and run the trails along the Trinity River and White Rock Lake. Growing up near the ocean, I find the lakes and rivers around Dallas the perfect substitute! Even though Dallas has a myriad of running options, the great thing about training on campus is when I have limited time, I can head over to the SMU gym. Open 6am to midnight each night, no matter my workout schedule, Dedman Rec Center will be open to accommodate my training requirements.

Today, I am in week 8 of training feel better than ever! I begin my days with the routine morning miles, then head off to class feeling awake and energized. I am stronger, more alert, and overall happier than I ever have been, even with my previous workout routine. I’ve grown to love running and am excited to finally achieve my both my personal fitness and fundraising goals this upcoming December.

-Courteney Damore

Categories
General Spirit and Traditions

SMU Family Weekend 2016

10-16-evan-giacomini-1 This past weekend, SMU had their yearly Family Weekend, which included a game against our cross-town rival, TCU. My parents flew in from California around 2:00 pm on Friday, and I got a chance to meet up with them shortly afterwards. After exchanging hugs and hellos, I got my parents settled in at their hotel and we made it out to the Boulevard. Boulevard’s are SMU’s version of tailgating; our entire boulevard is covered in white tents where people serve food to stopperbys. As a senior, most of my friends know my parents well, and got a chance to say hello to them. At tents, we ate of tacos, listened to loud country and rock music, and had fun. Even my fourteen year old sister was having a great time, even though she hardly knew a single person there. There are two first years at SMU that are from my hometown and it was really nice for us all to meet up on the boulevard and have our parents visit with one another. The Los Alamitos crew (where I am from) then left for Ford Stadium to cheer on the Mustangs. After the game, we left the stadium to go grab a bite at Torchy’s tacos down the street (hands down my favorite place to eat around campus).

The next day, my family and cousin from Fort Worth met up at my fraternity house for a paired open house event. Our chapter just got the opportunity to move into a new house on campus, so I was excited to show them the upgrade we’d received. One of our alumni owns a BBQ restaurant here in the DFW area and he was kind enough to cater the event for us, and the meal was fantastic. Shortly afterwards, the six of us headed to the Dallas Arboretum, a place that I had heard was really cool, but hadn’t explored during my first three years as a student.

The Dallas Arboretum continuously changes their scenery based upon seasons or holidays, and they just added a pumpkin patch for fall. The gardens host over 90,000 pumpkins and gourds, in every size, shape, and color you could imagine. I was amazed and interested in all the different kinds of pumpkins that exist; I even spent a solid half hour trying to memorize the different names of all the unique or abnormal types. The gardens were beautiful, and we spent at least two hours exploring all the different trails, probably walking close to three or four miles. My favorite view included an overlook into Whiterock Lake, with downtown Dallas sitting on the horizon.10-16-evan-giacomini-2

After exhausting my sister and seeing a good majority of the grounds, my parents headed back to the hotel to change and quickly shower so we could head to dinner shortly afterwards. My dad always tries to take me out to dinner at least once when he comes to town and this time, we went to a restaurant I’d never heard of, but certainly plan to go back to. We ate at a place called the Dallas Fish Market, which is a small, nice seafood restaurant right in the heart of downtown Dallas. The place was unbelievably good, and I was so confused why I’d never heard of it before.

Afterwards, we had a fraternity catered reception at a place off campus. My mom finally met my best friend’s mom, even though I’ve known him since I was a first year student and had spent four or five weekends at his house in Austin. Not surprisingly, my mom and his became best friends in a single night talking together. The reception ran from around 8:00-11:00 pm and then we headed home for th10-16-evan-giacomini-3e night.

The next morning, my dad dropped off my sister and mom at DFW and met me at the Rustic, a live concert venue in Uptown. We decided to go because I had several friends that were going to perform live there that day. We got a chance to see SMU’s Belle Tones, our female a cappella group, and Southern Gentlemen, the male a cappella group. After they put on two amazing performances, we got to see two of my best friends Nikki and Chance perform together at their first gig since forming a band. All three performances were absolutely fantastic, and were made even better because I knew someone on stage during all three. Lastly, Blue Apollo, another SMU band played and the concert was over. My dad had to head out, so I decided to go to the Greek Food Festival at the Greek Orthodox church slightly north of campus with some of the people in Belle Tones, and other friends that had also attended their performance. I got to have probably the best gyro I’ve ever eaten and saw some traditional Greek dancing.

All in all, this was one of the more jam-packed weekends I’ve had at SMU and truly shows what living in a city like Dallas can offer a person on a single weekend. I loved seeing my parents and watching them connect with my friends and their parents. It certainly was the best family weekend I’ve had here at school!

– Evan Giacomini

Categories
Academics SMU Abroad

Abroad in Copenhagen

10-16-nikki-carenzaHello prospective Mustangs! I can’t believe I’m writing my first blog as a senior here at SMU – The time has flown by way too quickly and I’m so sad I’ll be leaving the Hilltop in just a few short months. I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you all about my wonderful experience studying abroad this past semester (Spring 2016) in Copenhagen, Denmark. As everyone who goes abroad says, this experience completely shaped me as an SMU student event though I was thousands of miles away from Dallas.

During my time in Copenhagen, I had the opportunity to take classes that completed my Environmental Studies major: Sustainable Development in Northern Europe, Renewable Energy Systems, and Business Strategies in Green Industries. I would honestly say this experience was unbelievable because every day in class involved something new and exciting whether we were going to climb a wind turbine or visiting a wastewater treatment facility. My semester was jam packed with weekend trips to Scotland, Germany, Greece, and more, which made the time I was away fly by.

For me, the best part of my abroad experience was being exposed to so many new cultures and types of people. I traveled all across Europe and some of my favorite memories are just wandering the streets of cities soaking in the unique vibes of each one. Whether it was eating baked feta overlooking the Aegean Sea in Santorini or drinking sangria on the beach in Barcelona, each place I went is so vivid in my mind and will forever be filled with unforgettable experiences.

All in all, I wouldn’t change one part of my abroad experience whatsoever from meeting all new friends in Copenhagen to even getting lost repeatedly on the metro system of Berlin. I will say that I did miss my friends and being on campus at SMU (my Einstein bagels withdrawal was very real) so I’m thrilled to be back for my last semester and celebrating with long walks on the Katy trail, Thursday nights at Homebar, and of course fall Boulevard season!

-Nikki Carenza

Categories
General

A Growing University

10-16-jack-murphyI like to say that while SMU’s main mascot is the Mustang, our unofficial mascot is the crane. No, not the long necked birds, but tall construction equipment. At your time at SMU, you might see your fair share of cranes, bulldozers, excavators, and the red and blue fences that try to mask the work behind them. Mid semester, you may find that your usual route to class is now under construction, challenging you to get creative and find a new path.
The crane is a symbol of our university. It represents SMU’s constant improvement with multiple projects completed ever year. After my four undergraduate years with SMU, we opened the Mustang Band Hall, expanded our Simmons School of Education with another building facility, adopted the residential commons system, built 5 new residential buildings, built a center to house our new $6.5 million supercomputer, renovated Moody Coliseum to be a state of the art facility for our championship basketball and volleyball teams, upgraded Fondren Library, built a 12-court state-of-the-art tennis complex, a two story dining hall, a brand new health center and the George W. Bush presidential library bringing tons of visitors scholars to campus every year.
As SMU continues to change, so will the students. This school will continue break milestones, set records, top rankings, and amaze you. I challenge you when looking for your future university to look for cranes and fences. Find a university that strives to improve itself because a school that is always growing will see its students grow as well. Use SMU and its resources to construct a better you. I have and I hope you will too!
-Jack Murphy

Categories
Athletics Spirit and Traditions

Mustangs Take to the Road

austin-brown-picOne wonderful aspect of going to school in Dallas is that Dallas is relatively close to other major cities. For example, Ft. Worth is 45 mins away, Austin is 2.5 hours away, and Houston is still only a 4 hour drive away. Regardless if one would consider Waco a major city, it is only 1.5 hours away making it was a no-brainer to travel to the SMU-Baylor game to support coach Chad Morris and the football team.
The Mustangs looked good in their first game of the season against University of North Texas, but Baylor would prove to be a tough test for the undefeated Mustangs. Without going into too much detail, the Mustangs, despite their youth, played well and showed flashes of their potential. While they unfortunately came up short in the second half, I was still proud of their determination and excited about their future.
The team wasn’t the only group Mustangs to venture down to Waco. There was a strong group of current students and alumni who were there to support the team. The SMU Mustang Club hosted a large tent for tailgating before the game, which was well attended, and then the fans and the band made their presence known in the stadium. I ended up getting a seat in the Baylor section since I knew the SMU section would be in the sun, but even though I was on the opposite side of the field I could still clearly hear the SMU fans chanting “S-M-U!!!” after each big play. Baylor fans took notice and tried to drown out our fans with their own chants, but I was still able to hear the Mustang spirit. Even though getting to watch the Mustangs down in Waco was a lot of fun, nothing beats Boulevarding at SMU and watching the Mustangs at home in Ford Stadium. Pony Up!

-Austin Brown

Categories
Student Organizations

My Experience in the Best A Cappella Group Ever

09-16-nadine-kakishOver the last four years, I’ve had the pleasure to be a part of the most amazing organization on campus: the SMU Belle Tones. Belle Tones is a female a cappella group that has given me lifelong friends and amazing experiences. In the past, we’ve been able to sing for former President George W. Bush as well as in the home of Dallas Mavericks coach, Rick Carlisle. We rehearse twice a week and prepare for our concerts each semester, as well as other gigs, and are supported so well by our friends and family!

This week in particular has been quite the busy week for our group. We have the honor of performing in the SMU Family Weekend Talent Show as well as at a separate gig at The Rustic, which features a variety of SMU-based artists. For the Talent Show, we have the pleasure of performing alongside 8 other student groups or individual performers at the university, so I’m looking forward to participating in the event on Saturday! On Sunday, we’re ecstatic to be one of several groups from SMU performing for our friends and family at one of Dallas’ hotspots: The Rustic. We have been working all semester on putting on our best performances for our loved ones and I think it’s so cool that SMU provides us with the opportunity to share our talents with the community! It will be a busy weekend, but I can’t wait to perform for SMU families and show off an organization that has given me so much!

-Nadine Kakish

Categories
Residence Life and Student Housing

What I love About Being an RA

09-16-vafaIt’s move-in day. You’ve prepared all week for 40 new residents to move into your hall. The anticipation awaits of what your floor dynamic will be this year. Will you have a quiet floor? A rowdy floor? Or, worst of all, a messy floor? No one knows, but the one thing I did know was that being responsible for the 40 people moving in on my floor during move-in day gave me a sense of joy and responsibility.

This is my third year being an RA, and I can solemnly say my favorite part is the relationships I get to build with my new residents. Each year it is an opportunity to make 40 new friendships that will last a life time. While my residents think they rely on me for a majority of their unknown thoughts and concerns regarding college, I equally rely on them for the experience and adventure they bring me. While at times you feel like you have cleaned up someone’s mess one too many times, you have to remember the perks of the job.

All in all, the RA experience has shaped my time at college. Over the course of the past three years, I have had countless stories and memories I can share; most of which people will doubted by people questioning if something that ridiculous could actually ever occur. But at the end of the day, I’ve made and developed over 120 friendships that I am forever thankful for.

-Vafa Behzadpour

Categories
Campus Life Life Around Dallas Residence Life and Student Housing Student Organizations Uncategorized

Raising the Bar from the Ordinary to the Extraordinary

Enjoying Night at the Mavs with Mary Hay-Peyton-Shuttles Residential Commons
06.16 Jessica Mitchell 4
Corral Guides preparing for Corral Kickoff Festivities

College is a magical time. Pretty much anyone you meet who has been will say that for a number of different reasons: the classes, the personal development, the freedom, etc. For me, what’s made SMU most magical is the people. When I put down my deposit in April, I knew that I would be attending a world-class institution with caring faculty and beautiful campus facilities. What I did not know was that I was about to join a community of the most amazing people I had ever met. From a Junior Olympic gold medalist in my Wellness class to a girl who had started her own non-profit that raised over $20,000 during her senior year of high school living next door in McElvaney, everywhere I looked there was another inspirational person to meet.

06.16 Jessica Mitchell 2
Just a normal day in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center

But even beyond the accomplishments of our student body, there’s a certain quality to SMU students that makes them so enjoyable to be around, even doing the most mundane activities. My friends and I have spent countless nights chilling in someone’s room, playing cards and laughing ourselves to tears. We’ve started a brunch club (@thedallasbrunchclub on Instagram) and explored the Dallas food scene, one Sunday morning meal at a time. We’ve gone with residential commons on excursions to movie theaters and Mavericks games (even made it on to the Jumbotron during halftime). We’ve taken the DART into downtown for arts festivals and pretended to know the meaning of abstract art installations (some things aren’t meant to be understood). We’ve dressed up in crazy SMU spirit swag to greet new students at Mustang Corral and basically spend three days being as silly and spirited as possible (appreciate your Corral Guides; they work really hard to make the experience awesome). Some days we just sit around Hughes-Trigg and have intellectual discussions about politics, pop culture, and any other topic under the sun.

Through all these random adventures, I’ve laughed, cried, and made memories that will last a lifetime. But it wasn’t always the activities themselves that were so impactful, but the people I was doing them with. Every single person at SMU has something they bring to the table that brings an experience to life, makes it worthwhile. Once you get to the Hilltop, I encourage you to find the people that can help you take the ordinary to the extraordinary.

-Jessica Mitchell

Categories
Campus Life

Meet Peruna and His Handlers

SMU Peruna Mascot

SMU Peruna MascotIn 1932, SMU found its mascot in a 150-pound Shetland Pony who we named Peruna. Since then, SMU has had nine Peruna’s and the current Peruna turned nine on April 15th. Many stories surround this small mascot. Peruna is the most deadly macot in the NCAA after he kicked the Fordham ram in the head many years ago. Peruna’s name is also derived from Perunatonic, a medicine that contained alcohol in it and was popular during the prohibition era. But here are some stories and facts about Peruna and his Handlers that you might not know.
There are currently seven Peruna Handlers. All of them are current undergraduate students who have a wide variety of majors. Two of the Handlers (Captain Adam Price and Charlie Albright) are graduating at the end of this semester after three years on the team, so there will be two spots open for incoming students this fall. Every Handler has been bitten multiple times by Peruna, and most have been kicked. Over the past two years, no Peruna Handler has fallen while running Peruna across the field, but it has happened many times before. Tryouts are held annually at the beginning of the fall semester, so if you are interested in becoming a Handler, keep an eye out for an email giving location and a time.
The best-kept secret on SMU’s campus is the location of where Peruna lives. The Handlers are the only students on campus who have knowledge of his stable. It is kept secret after the University of Texas at Austin claimed to have stolen and shaved Peruna. This ended up just being a random Shetland Pony, but ever since then, Peruna has been under high security.
When coming to the Hilltop, the chances are still high that you will see Peruna. He attends convocation, special events, football games, and more. He runs the length of the football field after every touchdown and boulevards for at least 2 hours prior to every game. If you see him, come up and say hi, he loves taking photos.

See you on the Hilltop and Pony Up!

-David Shirzad

Categories
Life Around Dallas

Dallas Marathon

Mary Parker JohnstonWant to know the best study break during finals week? The Dallas Marathon. This past semester, right in the middle of finals week, I found a very unusual way to procrastinate on my studying. Instead of waking up early to study, I woke up early to run 26.2 long, rainy miles. I have to be honest though, the marathon was a bit of a final itself. Let me give you a little background.

Last semester, I took a PRW (Personal Responsibility and Wellness) class called Beginning Marathon Training. The class was for “beginner” runners, and aimed to help students train for the Dallas Marathon, which was at the end of the semester. See? Kind of like a final. I had always dreamed of being able to run a marathon, but had never been able to find the motivation to do it by myself, so when I heard about the class, I thought, “Hey it’s now or never.”

Admittedly, there were times when I wondered what I got myself into, but after finishing, I would highly recommend the class to anyone even slightly interested. The class was an absolute blast! There was an awesome teacher and several fellow students to help motivate me. It kind of brought me back to my high school cross country days; it was like being on a little team!

Honestly, it is a fair amount of work. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. (Using that phrase literally and figuratively here), but let me just say, even though my legs may have felt like spaghetti the day after the race and physically walking to my Genetics final was pretty tough, nothing had made me feel more confident going into an exam than knowing I had finished a marathon the day before.

All that to say, SMU helped push me to do something I never thought I could do. I know that never could’ve accomplished this if I wasn’t at SMU, and I can’t wait to see what other amazing opportunities I find these next few years!

-Mary Parker Johnstone

Categories
Campus Life Life Around Dallas

Two-Steps Ahead of the Game

Jack StudentBeing from California, I was at first unsure of how Texas culture would differ from my own personal experience. However, I came into college knowing that if I wasn’t failing, I wasn’t trying many new things and stretching myself. At first, I auditioned for the a-capella team, Southern Gentlemen. I unfortunately didn’t make the team, but I was not going to let this singular defeat dishearten me in my quest for assimilation. So I kept looking for a club or group to join. Then, I thought to myself, what would be the most Texan thing I could do… I know; I’ll join the country two-stepping team the Mustang Mavericks. I knew that it was going to be a challenge, as I have never danced competitively before, and certainly not two-stepped before. I show up to the auditions and I was very nervous. First of all, I had to dance with girls I don’t know in a partner setting. As a freshman, this can be a little daunting. I would like to say that I was super suave and cool but, of you have seen the scene form “Inside Out” where the boy’s head is freaking out when he has to talk to a girl, it was probably a lot like that.

At the tryouts, there were people who danced competitively in high school and were very familiar with two-stepping. This clearly did not relieve any anxiousness as I was already nervous about making the team, it didn’t help that I had stiff competition. Although I was nervous, the team couldn’t have been nicer to me throughout the entire tryouts, reassuring me that many of them never had any experience before either. Although it was a bit unbelievable because they were doing flips and all sorts of dance stunts, it was encouraging to know that I might be able to do this one day, too.

By the end of that day, I had made the team and was making new friends. It has been by far one of the most life changing experiences as I have made life long friends from Mavericks; I even was a groomsmen for a member’s wedding in Austin this year. I am so glad that I put myself out there and was not afraid to fail and because of that courage I have bettered my collegiate experience and made lasting friendships.

-Jack Student

Categories
Campus Life Meadows School of the Arts

My Visit to the Meadows Museum

Taylor NickensWhenever I give a tour to students, I tell them that the Meadows School of the Arts is my favorite building on campus. As a Pre-Med student majoring in Health and Society and minoring in Spanish and Photography, I have an extremely busy schedule. My studies allow me to use both the left and the right sides of my brain and think both logically and creatively. I find so much comfort and happiness in the professors and classes I take in Meadows. From my background, it must be shocking to hear that despite my love for the Meadows School of the Arts, I had never visited SMU’s very own Meadows Museum until this semester. As a class trip, my Spanish class received a tour of the museum to get a real-life look at our studies of the history of art in Spain.

The entire museum is breathtaking. As I walked up the stairs to the entrance of the museum, I was greeted by one of the most impressive sculptures of a human face that I have ever seen. On its own, the sculpture has the ability to draw an audience into the museum due to its intricate design and impressive 3D form. Inside the museum, I got to see even more beautiful artwork, from very famous artists!

Having studied art for four years, it was extremely exciting to see the work of some of the most renown Spanish artists, such as Salvador Dali, El Greco, and Gaudi. Each original piece of work holds so much history and culture, and was only thirty steps from my classroom. SMU provides its students with the ability to learn about a topic, culture, and the importance of art in the world while in the classroom, and then provides tangible examples in our very own Meadows Museum.

After my initial with my Spanish class, I have returned to the museum three times. Two out of the three times I visited were to complete my original tour of the museum. The third time, however, was to appreciate the beauty and work along its perimeter. Along the outskirts of the museum is a beautiful garden filled with flowers and statues of a variety of materials with a variety of meanings. From the outside in, I can guarantee that SMU’s Meadows Museum has something to catch and hold everyone’s attention.

-Taylor Nickens

Categories
Campus Life General

A Friend in Every State

Emma Barr (2)“A friend in every state.” Although this is a slight exaggeration, it was a main selling point for me that SMU attracted students from all 50 states. When I stepped on campus my freshman year, the only people I knew were my roommate and the few friends I made at the Bay Area accepted students event. Many of my high school friends were going to school close to each other or even to the same university so I was nervous about making friends. I soon learned that many of my fellow SMU Freshmen were also far from home and didn’t come to college with a ton of high school friends. This evened the playing field and I can honestly say that the friends I’ve made at SMU have made me redefine friendship. Hailing from all over the country, I’ve loved learning about the regional differences in food preference, sports team heroes, slang and lifestyle. These are the people that bring me medicine when I’m sick, whom I study with until the early morning and explore Dallas with. I love getting to see where my best friends call home and the geographic diversity of the campus.Emma Barr (3)

I’ve had so many experiences with my friends here from all around the country. My roommate is from Plano and it’s nice to be able to occasionally drive twenty minutes from campus to go to her house to make cookies. This past summer, I went to Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco with my friend, Alex. She flew from Dallas and I was able to show her my high school and favorite restaurants at home. One of my best friends is from Oklahoma City and in September, three of my friends stayed at her house and visited the state of Oklahoma for the first time. This past spring break, I stayed at a friend’s house in Park City, Utah. We spent the weekend skiing and trying her favorite restaurants where we coincidentally ran into more SMU students. I’m already planning to visit one of my friends in Charleston this summer. Whether we live near or far, my friends and I have had so much fun visiting each other over breaks and during the summer. As cliché as it sounds, I love knowing I have a fellow Mustang to visit in every state.

-Emma Barr

Categories
General Student Organizations

Civil Rights Pilgrimage

Kencell NixonAh, Spring Break. A time to kick back with your best friends on an exotic beach! Well usually. However this year I decided to spend my time in a more meaningful manner. I looked at potentially participating in a variety of service trips, and was almost all set to spend a week volunteering in New Orleans until I was contacted about an annual SMU trip called the “Civil Rights Pilgrimage!” The pilgrimage sounded like exactly what I needed to push myself outside of my comfort zone and learn more about American history.

The trip was eight days in length, visiting different cities throughout the Deep South and fully immersing ourselves in the history of the Civil Rights Movement. We chartered a bus for the journey, and on March 4th we left the comfort of Dallas and traveled 7 hours to Little Rock, Arkansas to begin learning about “The Little Rock 9,” a group of 9 high school students who integrated Central High School in 1957, causing a national controversy. From Little Rock, we traveled to Selma, Alabama, home of the famous Voting Rights marches in 1965 led by Martin Luther King Jr. We ended up visiting a plethora of sights, museums, and exhibits in Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee throughout the pilgrimage.

We visited a variety of museums and historical sites on the pilgrimage, but the most incredible part of the journey was definitely getting to interact with people who were actively involved in the Civil Rights Movement. Considering the events occurred in the 1950s and 1960s, many participants in the movement are still alive today and those we met were more than willing to share their stories with us. One incomparable woman we encountered in Selma was Joanne Bland, who marched with Dr. King and was beaten and jailed for seeking the right to vote when she was 11 years old! Another incredible man we met was 87 year old Robert Graetz, the only white minister to participate in the Montgomery Bus Boycott! Learning from people that were instrumental in creating positive social change was an absolutely invaluable experience!

My Spring Break was filled with 8 days of happiness, tears, education, passion, and a call to create a world of equality and love for all of Earth’s inhabitants. I may have missed out on the beach sun, but I certainly believe my decision was the right one!

-Kencell Nixon

Categories
Student Organizations

A Breakdown of SMU Sports: Division I to Intramural

Lauren ZabaletaIf you’re someone that has been super involved in sports in high school, it may be difficult to decide whether or not to pursue them on the Hilltop. As someone who was in a similar spot as you just three years ago, I can give you an inside scoop on all the incredible options available to you here at SMU.

Division 1 Teams: When I first came to SMU, I became a member of the Women’s Varsity Cross Country and Track and Field teams. If you are someone that is considering participating in Division 1 athletics even a little bit, I would highly recommend giving it a shot. Being a member of these teams remains one of the highlights of my college career, and it certainly helped to define the person that I am today. I had a blast, was challenged daily, and had the opportunity to become best friends with an incredibly driven and talented group of teammates from all over the world.

Club Teams: If you’re looking for something a little less intense than Division 1, club teams are perfect for you. While still competitive, the time commitment is significantly less. I joined the SMU Women’s Club Soccer team this fall and I loved getting an opportunity to play a sport I love again on a competitive stage.

Intramural Sports: If you have played sports somewhat in your life or are interested in playing a sport that you have never played before, intramural sports are the way to go. Intramural sports are a great way to bond with people from throughout the SMU community. It doesn’t matter if you are a veteran flag football player or have never held a basketball in your life- intramurals has a place for everyone! From sand volleyball to ping pong, there are so many ways to get involved and have fun.

As you can see, opportunities in sports are plentiful at SMU, and it’s just one way that I have chosen to get involved. Pony up!

-Lauren Zabaleta