PEOPLE

The Bike Girl

While not being able to go back to Nairobi in East Africa, Lamar University student Christine Kitaru found many new ways to entertain herself and keep her creativity in Coffeyville, Kansas, during the pandemic. During her summer in Coffeyville, she found herself surrounded by international students without cars while needing a quick way to transport to places. “When there is a will there is a way,” Christine says. “We needed a way to get food, and as we all know the bike is the easiest way to move around while also exercising.” Instead of buying a new bike Christine and her soccer teammates decided to get creative and make one for themselves out of parts. “The bikes had been outside for years, the tires torn, and some parts rusted,” she says. “In Kenya we learn how to fix things, so we put our skills to the test. We bought new tires, found grease, and dismantled the whole bike and put it back together again with the new parts we found.” After assembling three bikes, Christine and her friends used them to get to places nearby. “We would ride to Walmart, which was a pretty far ride, but instead of having to depend on other people, we decided to have the power in our hands,” she says.

Story by Abby Gemza Photo by Tim Cohrs

The Survivor

Through faith and competitive drive, Anderson Kopp has been able to overcome injuries and setbacks leading him to his second year as a shooting guard for the Lamar men’s basketball team. A no-contact injury left the Houston sophomore sidelined during his junior year of high school. The injury caused bone fragments to spur in his ankle, with surgery being a must. It left him sidelined for eight months. “While sidelined, I grew stronger in my faith and ability to come back as a stronger athlete,” Anderson says. “Before being injured, I had a Division 1 scholarship offer from Texas A&M University.” Through a large family support system, Anderson knew he could not give up on his dream of playing college basketball. “I was playing pickup basketball one afternoon when our coaches from Lamar showed up and offered me a scholarship to pursue my dream,” he says. “I committed right away and have not looked back since.” While Anderson says he is grateful to be able to play basketball for Lamar, one of his favorite parts about attending the university, is being able to stay close to his family in Houston. Kopp is the second oldest of four all-state Division 1 athletes. His oldest brother is a graduate of Vanderbilt University. The third brother was on the Houston Christian High School State Championship team and currently plays for Northwestern University, and his final brother will attend the University of Houston next fall. Anderson says this season is different because of COVID-19. “We have to wear masks while we work out and play and we are also tested three times a week for COVID-19,” he says. But when the games resume, Anderson wil be ready to pull on the No. 11 jersey and hit the court.

Story by Tommy Byers

PEOPLE

The Influencer

Tumise Onalaja, known by her friends as Tumi, has been practicing her makeup skills to keep busy during COVID-19. The sophomore communications major first started doing makeup after she joined the dance team her freshman year of high school and had to do her makeup every week for football games and dance competitions. “My parents were strict and I wasn’t allowed to wear makeup until I joined the dance team, so when my mom saw how good I was she let me wear it to church,” Tumi says. “Eventually, I started posting my makeup looks on Instagram and a lot of people liked how I did my makeup.” Tumi realized she had a talent in makeup after people she went to church with complimented her on her looks. “I want to become a beauty influencer,” the Houston native says. “I feel like if I can do it and also make an income off of it, and teach others how to do makeup, I would love to do that.” Tumi’s advice for others wanting to get into makeup or improve their makeup skills is to go on YouTube, find a makeup look they like, and then try to recreate it. “Practice a lot, practice all the time,” she says. “If you’re just starting out do not waste your money on high end products, I feel like you should start off with drug store products.” Tumi can be found on Instagram, Tik Tok, and Twitter @tumise_onalaja. Tumi can also be found on her YouTube channel – Tumi Onalaja.

Story and photo by Aliya Robertson

PEOPLE

The Journaler

During the unique period the world is going through with the coronavirus pandemic, Dulce Rodriguez says her stress has not only doubled, but quadrupled since the semester started. The 21-year-old human resources major had had bouts of anxiety where she worried about the future, particularly her future in school. Dulce says she eases her stress by journaling and planning. The Beaumont native is even able to get creative while doing it. “I decided to color code by classes, adding stickers, and instead of checking off what I had done I decided to highlight it,” she says. The more important things are written on sticky notes and stuck to her mirror. Journaling became a hobby as well and she journals every day. The topics she writes about vary. “Instead of just writing down my feelings, I would also write down any thoughts, ideas, or even dreams and nightmares that I would have,” she says. Dulce has even splurged and bought herself a new “fashionable” notebook to replace her basic school notebook. The new notebook is colorful and has feathers on it.

Story and photo by Gabby Gaspard

The Swiftie

Scott Sayre is a “Swiftie.” The San Antonio senior is an upbeat, obsessive fan who knows everything about Taylor Swift and always shakes the haters off. “Love of my life — she’s everything. She makes me so, so happy,” he says. A fan since 2009, Scott says Swift’s music has been a source of comfort growing up. “She sings a lot about pain and heartbreak that she’s gone through, and, personally, I’ve never experienced the kind of heartbreak she sings about, but she always finds a way in her songs to relate it to any circumstance I can be in,” the corporate communication major says. “That, through the years, has really helped me to cope with pain and hardships.” As Swift and her musical content has matured, it has influenced Scott to have a broader perspective on love. “I was raised in a Christian background,” he says. “I was raised like, ‘Love is a man and a woman, marriage, thing. That was something I believed all the way up until a few years ago, when she started opening up more about it. She actually shifted my perspective on love and acceptance.” Scott, who will graduate this semester, wants his diploma to include his Swiftie status. “Who do I talk to about that?” he says. “I want them to say, ‘Graduating with their degree, Scott Sayre, Swiftie.”

Story and photo by Christina Segura