McMahon, Catherine
I was born in Las Vegas, Nevada but moved to Iowa when I was 8 years old. It was a bit of a culture shock but I learned to make meaningful relationships even when I didn’t know a single person. My sister passed away when I was 12 years old, I grew up extremely fast and learned a lot about myself and the love my family has for each other that year. My dad is my biggest role model and source of influence in my life and always has been. He has taught me how to be hardworking in every aspect of my life through everything he does for my family. My parents are extremely generous people in life and I completely get that aspect of my personality from them. My parents have instilled a strong sense of morality in me and I believe it is the reason everything has happened in my life, good or bad. I chose to come to the University of Arkansas and take on a job my freshman year managing the women’s the track and cross country team. I work directly under the head coach and director of operations and the leadership skills I have witnessed and picked up on in 4 years is so valuable. I find myself taking on leadership responsibilities because I enjoy them and I truly respect people that I look up to as a leader. Having a job that requires a lot of responsibility during the school year was something that I feared I would have to give up when I started studio. I’ve been through a lot of hardships in my life that have taught me to be mentally tough and have grit and still manage to balance my studies and the jobs I am currently working because of these developed qualities. I want to pursue a career after college that further challenges me to be non-fearing of life’s uncertainties. I work hard in all aspects of my life and would consider my success to be self-made, another aspect I hope will apply to my future career. 154
