I have never considered myself an overachiever. Sure, I played several sports when I was younger, but the number dwindled as I got older until it fell to just 1. I was smart, but I only took a few advanced classes, and half of them didn’t even transfer to my college. I didn’t figure out what I wanted to major in until my senior year of high school (and it’s changed a few times since then). It took me until halfway through my last semester of high school to commit to a school to play golf. Compared to my peers, who seemed to have their futures perfectly mapped out, I always felt slightly behind.
Unfortunately, when I did decide on a university to attend, it was not the right choice for me. The environment made me feel like an underachiever, dare I say even a failure. That is not how I wanted my college experience to play out. I ended up transferring to the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy (UHSP) in St. Louis after my freshman year, which was incredibly difficult as someone who despises change. However, this leap of faith enabled me to get out of my comfort zone and achieve something I’ve wanted to do for years: starting a Her Campus Chapter!
I know this sounds cliché, but as soon as I arrived on campus, I felt a shift. I quickly fell in love with UHSP. Settled in the Central West End of St. Louis, surrounded by some of the largest hospital systems and most prestigious medical schools in the country, I started to wonder how a person could attend this school and not become an overachiever of some sort.
As soon as the fall semester started, I threw myself into just about every activity possible. I took three STEM classes and one elective, and I obtained A’s in classes I would’ve never thought possible at my previous institution. I joined the Pre-Health club, attended Lunch and Learn sessions, and volunteered my time during Founders Day. During the busiest month of my life, I decided to rush our professional pharmacy fraternity, Kappa Epsilon (KE), which was the most stressful but rewarding experience of my life. Golf-wise, I was playing the best I had in years, and I finished out the season with a second-place finish, my personal best!
After golf season was over for the semester, I finally had enough time to commit to my next project, Her Campus, fully. I had been a part of the Her Campus Media Community since high school, and known about the Chapter Network since I started college. At my previous school, I never felt that I had the community or support behind me to create an organization such as this one. Luckily, at UHSP, I had my wonderful best friends, teammates, and peers ready to get to work! One late October night, I offhandedly pitched the idea of starting a Her Campus Chapter to my best friend and teammate, Addie, and from that moment on, we were all in.
Like any meaningful process, the creation of this Chapter was not without its setbacks. We struggled to balance rigorous pre-pharmacy coursework, as well as daily practices and weekly exams. It felt as if there wasn’t enough time in the day to do everything that I wanted. By December, with finals approaching and the anxiety of knee surgery looming, my goals felt unattainable. That was when we received our final interview invitation with Her Campus HQ. I think I actually jumped for joy reading that email. Just knowing that we were in the final stages of the application process was enough to push me through.
In the process of starting this Chapter, I have gone through golf tournaments, practices, finals week, a knee surgery, relearning how to walk after said surgery, and so much more. Through it all, I can proudly say that I am an overachiever. I love being involved on campus through student organizations, my sport, and staying present in my classes. I am the busiest, happiest, and most fulfilled I have been in my entire college experience, and I am finally on the right path for myself and my future. This environment has helped me realize my dream to become a doctor, and I know it will continue to nurture that dream until it becomes a reality.
If there is one thing that I have learned over the past few months, it is that overachieving is not about packing your schedule and doing everything, everywhere, all at once. It is about pursuing what truly matters to you, as genuinely as you can. I want to encourage you to become an overachiever when it comes to your passions. Get out of your comfort zone, meet new people, and experience new things. While this may sound like old advice, it is good advice. Now I know that I wasn’t behind everybody else; I was just carving my own path. By stepping out of my comfort zone and not being scared to overachieve, I have a clear path ahead, with a wonderful HC support system behind me.