The Cameron Collegian - September 11th, 2023

CU in the workforce Cameron's workforce readiness program

Brittney Payette Managing Editor

Cameron’s Student Enrichment Center (SEC) is ready to help Aggies succeed in their careers — even after students graduate.

The workforce readiness program in the SEC has recently expanded and now includes more resources as part of the CU Advance Initiative’s Learn to Earn Program. The CU Advance Initiative is the university’s career pathway project that helps students network and advance their careers.

Work-Based Learning Experience Coordinator Isabella Myers said that the program offers a variety of resources to students that can help them prepare to enter the workforce.

“The expansion came after some changes internally,” Myers said. “We have acquired some of those (resources) that were previously under career services, and so we’ve opened up our services to help there not be a lag in things that are offered to students.”

According to a press release on the Cameron website, the SEC is under a five-year 2.1 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Strengthening Institutions program.

“Originally, it (the CU Learn to Earn program) was started to help students get more experience aside from just on-campus jobs and internships,” Myers said. “We also wanted to offer job shadowing because that wasn’t … previously offered at Cameron too much.”

Myers said the program also helps students prepare for both off-campus and on-campus jobs.

“They wanted to expand that and give students a better way to do some job shadowing in the community,” she said. “Some students hadn’t had experience applying before, so we wanted to help with a little bit of resume help, a little bit of cover writing help to help supplement some of the things that student development was doing.”

Moreover, Myers said there are places in the community where students were welcome to do some job shadowing in the past, such as at the Comanche Medical Center and the Southwestern Medical Center in Lawton. She said SEC’s workers offer oneon-one meetings with students, so they can focus on helping individual students with their unique career paths. One way that the workers help students prepare for jobs is to teach them professional skills.

“So, helping build those sort of skills through either workshops or one-on-one training,” Myers said. “A big part of it is SkillsFirst, which helps students build their resumes.”

She said that SkillsFirst is a good tool that can help students do cover letters, create their resumes and even practice interview questions and elevator pitches.

“We work a lot with Focus2,” Myers said. “Focus2 helps students maybe narrow down their search, especially if they haven’t decided on a major or if they’ve decided on a major, but don’t know what to do with it.”

An additional resource is the College Central Network, where people can post jobs locally, on the state level and even worldwide. Myers said she wishes more students knew that the workforce readiness center in the SEC is there to assist students.

“We are here for them to use these resources and not be afraid,” she said. “We have great stuff here. We have the student success coaches (and) they can help with a variety of things. They even help with some advising now.”

Myers said that the SEC has a Financial Resource Specialist who can help with financial coaching.

“He can help with budgeting or talking to them about how to apply for certain things,” she said. “(Such as) certain scholarships that students may not know about that are connected with Cameron that they can apply for … Also, helping students know how important filling out their FAFSA is, and we help with community resources. A lot of students don’t know that we can help with food insecurities, housing insecurities, those sorts of things.”

Myers said she hopes more students will take advantage of what the SEC has to offer and that she is really excited to help more students get connected to their career paths.

For more information, go to the SEC website at https://www. cameron.edu/office-of-teaching-andlearning/student-enrichment-center/ workforce-readiness or contact the SEC at sec@cameron.edu

Graphic courtesy of Adobe Photoshop

Photo by Brittney Payette

"A lot of students don’t know that we can help with food insecurities, housing insecurities, those sorts of things."

Isabella Myers Work-Based Learning Experience Coordinator

Making moves

CU’s new tutoring location

Staff Writer

Cameron University tutoring centers have a new location on campus but offer the same quality of service. The tutoring center can help students with any class including, but not limited to, English, history, Spanish and math.

Freshman Computer Science major Daijah WatsonKyser decided to go to the tutoring center because she needed help in college algebra.

Watson-Kyser likes the new spot for tutoring and believes it is more convenient.

“When I went to tutoring before, I had gone to Burch Hall,” Watson-Kyser said. “I never even knew there was another tutoring center in Nance Boyer. Now all the tutoring is located together.”

As a student, WatsonKyser said she looks for the ability to explain the work and friendliness in her tutors.

“I feel like tutoring can be kinda overwhelming for people who have never

gone before,” Watson-Kyser said. “My experience at the tutoring center so far has been really good, mainly probably because I know most of the people that are tutors, but also the other people I don’t know are still pretty friendly to me and non-judgmental.”

Junior Computer Science major Sidney Dollar decided to work in the tutoring center when searching for an oncampus job.

“From the time I got an email mentioning becoming a tutor to actually starting was

about a month,” Dollar said.

Dollar originally intended to tutor business classes but lately works more with English Comp I and II students. Dollar said he enjoys tutoring English.

“I like writing papers, seeing people research stuff, and whenever I am helping them, I can learn something pretty often, so I think that’s pretty cool,” Dollar said.

Since the location change, Dollar finds the tutoring center is more spacious and much busier, especially in the first

couple of weeks.

“We’ve already passed like 150 tutoring sessions for this semester,” Dollar said, “I think it’s because we are in the library now, and people, you know, see us by accident pretty often, and it’s a little bit more talked about because we just made a big move from Nance Boyer.”

For more information about tutoring in the library, contact the Office of Teaching and Learning at tutoring@ cameron.edu or call 580-5812932.

Around the World in 80 edays

Applying classroom knowledge to real world experiences is something that Dr. Edris Montalvo, a geography professor at Cameron said he enjoys seeing students do.

One of his students is Information Technology major senior Richard Routon, who decided to apply what he learned in one of his classes to outside the classroom.

“In one of my classes (called) Economic Geography,” Montalvo said. “We talked about outsourcing and why certain products are built overseas versus within the United States and how companies make that decision … It’s a concept that we talk about nomadic capital, in addition to other reasons.”

Montalvo said that in class he discussed how many companies will outsource overseas to try to increase their profits and decrease their costs.

“Part of the thing that peaked his (Routon’s) interest with this story is the connection of Lawton to Goodyear,” Montalvo said. “And then, with his exploration, Goodyear making tires for certain electric vehicles and the fact that these are made in the United States.”

Routon said he learned of the tour titled “Around the World in 80 edays” through an article he read online. He said he read that the driver was looking for people to help him on his promotional tour.

“So, that’s when, like, I

put two and two together,” he said. “Purchase the cars directly there (at Goodyear) and buy local. Everything just kind of came together.”

He said that he went to the Goodyear on Cache Road in Lawton and ordered the tires there because, for the past 10 years, his family has gone to Goodyear.

“You go in and you order them,” Routon said. “They usually have it shipped to their Goodyear Auto Service Center, but instead, this time I told them to send it to Seattle, Washington, cause that’s where the Roadster was. So, there’s a Goodyear Auto Service Center in Seattle, Washington, cause obviously it’s a huge company.”

Montalvo said that any good business looks for opportunities to increase their profits and market shares.

“I think that what Richard found is a good demonstration of that,” Montalvo said. “Goodyear is growing with the growing EV (electric vehicle) market.”

Routon said that one reason why he wanted to sponsor Rafael de Mestre, who was the first person to drive around the world in an electric car, was because

he considers himself to be an inspiring environmentalist, and he has a strong interest in electric vehicles.

“I’m actually wanting to work for a(n) electric car company after I graduate,” Routon said. “Because I believe that … in the future they’ll hire more computer engineers than they do mechanics because it has so much computers in it.”

He said that he likes to keep track of the driver’s journey through social media and so far, Mestre has traveled from Florida to Seattle.

“I would recommend this to, mainly to Engineering students and Computing and Technology students,” Routon said. “Cause this is like … working on the advancements of those two fields. The whole point of this is … sending a message to the industry about the stigma of technology.”

Montalvo said that when he was a student, he liked applying what he learned in school to his interests in the

real world.

“I think that’s really cool,” he said. “That’s one of the biggest pluses and, honestly, the reason for being in college: to take what you learned and tie it to what you’re passionate about.”

Routon said this project was his biggest follow-up to what he had learned in the classroom throughout his college career thus far.

“Basically, we studied it in class and then I came back and did a followup on what we studied,” he said.

Montalvo said he thinks Routon’s real-world application was great to see.

“I think there’s two cool things that happened here,” he said. “One is Richard’s inspiration and what he’s found just from what really is really just … a one- or two-day lecture in the course. Cause we talk about a lot of topics.”

He said the second thing that he thought was great about this situation was that it proved that any student in any class can find inspiration in a topic that is discussed in the classroom and apply it to what they are interested in.

For more information about the Around the World in 80 edays tour, follow their Facebook account at https://www.facebook. com/80eDays, or the Instagram account called 80edays_official.

Ramona Villegas

Brittney Payette Managing Editor

Photo by Ramona Villegas

Photo by Brittney Payette

Graphic courtesy of Adobe Photoshop

LIFE AS A COLLEGE MOM

Haylee Key Sports Editor

The college experience is fun, adventurous, exciting and educational. College is also one of the hardest parts of your life, especially as a young mom.

I had my first daughter at 17-years-old. When I began my first semester of college, my daughter was seven weeks old.

It was not only my first time living on my own, but now I have a baby, a job and I’m starting college. I was terrified.

The first few weeks of college, my baby couldn’t go to daycare due to health issues, so my only option was to bring her with me. I will never forget walking into my first day of class with this tiny baby girl.

I’m fortunate for my very accepting professors who allowed me to have her in class and who helped me with her. My math professor would hold her every class while I would do my work and take notes.

I began reading my textbooks to her as bedtime stories to help incorporate my study time into my time with my baby, a trick I use to this day.

As my baby grew, I learned how to involve her more in my college experience. I learned the library offered study rooms, so I would rent them out and make “homework” for my daughter to do while I did mine.

My daughter loved it. I would get baby books for textbooks and coloring sheets for her assignments. She worked hard with me for several hours. It helped develop her attention span as well as allow me the chance to focus.

I learned a lot about balance too. I worked on top of going to school and parenting. I learned to make parenting a part of my college experience to make it work, and that’s exactly what I did.

I wanted to be involved on campus, so I would take my daughter to events. Movie nights, comedy nights, and even when I run events on campus, she’s right there with me. As she grew, she became more excited about learning and school.

My little college buddy started kindergarten this year and loves school. She still looks forward to doing homework together and her bedtime textbook stories. She comes to school with me any chance she gets and loves to tell me about her school.

I love seeing the way my daughter embraces education and her excitement about learning.

If you’re wondering if I’m lonely now that she started school, I just got a brandnew study buddy. My youngest daughter, who is 3 months old, accompanies me while her big sister is in school.

This is my last semester of undergrad, and I’m excited to have my girls see me walk across the stage in May.

As a mother in college, I have seen a different side of the student experience. A lot of people expect failure from student mothers. At times, It can be one of the biggest challenges you face.

There have been times when I missed just hanging out with my daughter because I had homework, or missed class because my daughter was sick.

It isn’t easy but it is possible. That’s exactly what I want to show my girls.

I want them to know anything is possible. It may have been a little harder, but we made it work. College is different when you have a baby on your hip, but it’s possible. Most of all, it’s worth it.

Long roads and sad songs

Adapting to little, ever-changing moments

While driving last week, I had a peculiar thing happen.

I was driving on a long stretch of highway out in Western Oklahoma.

Many of my days at work are consumed by driving, so I get a lot of time to reflect on things.

Sometimes, I’m on the phone for long

Scott Smith Voices Editor Tribune Content Agency

stretches at a time, but when I’m not, I usually listen to classic rock to pass the time.

This day was different.

Due to a conversation that some younger students were having about new music, I decided to acclimate myself to some different entertainment and go outside my comfort zone.

I have artists that I love to listen to from time to time such as Kelly

Clarkson, Rob Thomas, Train and others.

In the past, I was always on top of new music. I was faster than Shazam at naming song titles, but at some point, I just stopped listening to new pop music.

I decided that this day, I would catch up on some Taylor Swift music. I’ve listened to her before, but really couldn’t name too many of her songs.

I opened up Spotify and hit play on “The Best of Taylor Swift.” The Spotify app shuffled through songs like, “Wildest Dreams,” “Style,” “White Horse,” and “Back to December.” The app also played a lot of new songs, several that I had never heard before. What happened next went beyond what is natural for me.

Now, I’ve heard songs that make me a bit emotional before. This is dating myself, but I used to listen to Van Halen every morning while drinking coffee and getting ready for work. It really pumped me up and put me in a good mood for the rest of the day. I’ve also heard songs that made me reminisce about past times, people I knew, or important times in my life.

Songs can be powerful.

I found that out when Spotify shuffled to a song called, “Ronan.”

The music and lyrics from the song hit me like freight train. The song is about a boy named Ronan Thompson

that was diagnosed with stage-four neuroblastoma and died just days before his fourth birthday. Normally, Taylor Swift sings pretty lighthearted songs about relationships and break-ups — that is what I expected anyway.

Little did I know what was coming. This was the first time that I had heard “Ronan,” a very emotional song. As Swift sang the words to the chorus, “Come on, baby, with me. We’re gonna fly away from here. You were my best four years,” I tried to hold back what was rapidly coming. It was useless and the tears rolled.

I thought to myself that the tears were silly. I was silly. I’m a pretty emotional person sometimes, but this was ridiculous. I attributed the ugly crying to getting older and something I heard on TV once about estrogen levels increasing in men as they get older. Yeah, that has to be it.

The truth is, it’s just a really sad song.

As the song ended, I thought about how quickly things in life can change. One minute, I’m totally happy listening to “Shake it off,” the next minute, I hear “Ronan,” and I’m a blubbering fool.

I think life is a lot like the songs we listen to. It’s chopped up in little, everchanging moments, some happy, some sad. It’s moving on to the next song after the sad song, never forgetting, but moving on nonetheless.

Photo Courtesy of Haylee Key

KING OF THE PIRATES An Amazing Netflix Adaptation to ‘One Piece’

This review contains minor spoilers for the “One Piece” live-action.

At the end of August Netflix released a live-action adaptation of the popular long-running comic series One Piece.

“One Piece” is a series that has been around for over twenty years, with the earliest forms of the manga starting serialization in 1997. Very popular globally, the manga is one of the top 5 most-selling comics up there with the likes of Superman, Spiderman, etc.

“One Piece” is a story about Monkey D. Luffy, a character who dreams of being the king of the pirates, a title given to the one who can find the greatest treasure, by the previous king of the pirates, Gol D. Roger.

During his journey to become the king, Luffy visits various islands with various social constructs, mysteries and treasures, while finding clues and amassing a crew to help him. While fighting his way through the sea and saving the occasional kingdom from the corrupted members of the world government or pirates, he continues his journey with his friends to find the “One Piece.”

The live-action adaptation made many changes to make the story easier to follow and more immersive for the average enjoyer.

The first season of “One Piece” introduced us to a few of Luffy’s crew members, later known as the Straw Hat Pirates. The members include Zoro (swordsman), Sanji (cook), Usopp (sniper) and Nami (navigator). We are also introduced to Koby, a soon-to-be marine. The show gave every one of these characters depth and meaning throughout the first season.

In the first episode, we are shown how it all begins over twenty years before the current story takes place, with Gol D. Roger making his speech, jumpstarting the pirate era. The majority of the first episode takes place on Shell Island after Luffy saves Koby from the tyrant pirate, Alvida.

While on the island, Luffy meets Zoro and Nami. Zoro’s actor, Mackenyu, completely nails his role, whether in fight choreography or standing. Our soonto-be crew has some conflicts with the marines on this island, who seem to be corrupt.

After a heated battle, the Straw Hats grab their treasure and sail out. Koby, on the other hand, chooses to stay. Koby’s dream is to be a Marine, and after finally coming to terms with the fact that there are both good and bad spectrums to pirates and marines, he can steel his resolve.

The episode ends with Luffy’s crew being captured by Buggy the Clown to steal the map the Straw Hats stole to the Grand Line.

The show introduced newer plot threads like Buggy

the Clown being more active with the Straw Hats, added and altered scenes with Shanks and more.

With a series like “One Piece” that has been going on for decades and has many fans from each corner of the globe, a live-action adaptation is something people had little faith in. Most fans greeted the announcement of the “One Piece” live-action adaptation with skepticism due to Netflix’s track record for anime adaptations.

“One Piece” series creator, Eichiro Oda, gave fans faith by being involved in the show’s making as an executive producer.

The series surpassed people’s expectations and became even more popular than most expected. In just a few days, it became Netflix’s number one in 86 countries, beating the likes of “Stranger Things” Season 4 or the “Addams Family” spin-off “Wednesday.”

Rotten Tomato Critics also had many positive things to say about the series’ first season.

“The series is a sprawling, elegant work, one that carefully crafts its world and characters to ease newcomers into the ‘One Piece’ lore while never losing the spirit of its original anime artform,” Daily Beast’s Coleman Spilde said in a statement.

The first season of “One Piece” is available on Netflix and has eight episodes to its name. I may have a recency bias, or maybe it is because I am familiar with the source material, but I recommend that everyone try this show.

I rate it as a solid 9/10.

GAMESCON’S 2023 SHOWCASE A SNEAK PEEK OF UPCOMING GAMING AND ENTERTAINMENT

Gamescom has just finished hosting its annual trade fair that ran from Aug 23rd to the 27th, and there were many unveilings for new games and announcements for new PC parts.

Gamescom is the largest gaming convention that happens in Europe, attracting over 100,000 annual visitors. Game developers and publishers use the convention to showcase their upcoming projects in a different venue.

Gamescom gained massive global publicity, and since the cancelation of E3 by expo, the number of attendees will continue to grow. Gamescom has continued to expand since its official start in 2010 and is known as the “E3” for PC gaming.

The 2023 opening night host was Geoff Keighley, who showcased many game trailers and made announcements. During this night, there were many announcements for game updates and other trailers like Zenless Zero, Diablo IV and more.

Games like Project Mugen, Little Nightmare 3, and Black Myth: Wukong were some of the most notable games that were on the roster up until the fifth day. The other games announced included Tekken 8, Alan Wake 2, Mortal Kombat 1, Akatori and more.

This event allows companies to promote their games and build

more hype around each game’s launch. There were more than just games announced, though. Bethesda announced that their popular game, Fallout IV, would get an Amazon Prime Video series in 2024. Bethesda originally announced the series back in 2020, but there was little news about it until this year.

Many indie developers also announced their games.

Gamescom is one of the best places for small developing companies to get

in the spotlight and showcase what they can bring to the table. Over 95% of games on Steam are indie games, so they make up a ton of the market.

The most noteworthy mentions were Dustborn, Bulwark, and Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior. Each of these games previewed unique trailers showcasing the games they had in the works in an impressive fashion to draw any and everyone interested.

Throughout the event, many other things happened outside of the game

announcements. There were shows, festivals, cosplay tournaments and more. Most notably, the event included a tech announcement.

AMD, a company that develops computer processors, announced that they will add two new GPUs to the Radeon Rx 7000 series. The company also announced they have another project in the works that would be coming soon.

Gamescom 2024 will take place Aug. 21-25 in Cologne, Germany.

Kemar Noel A&E Editor

Kemar Noel A&E Editor

Photo: Koelnmesse / gamescom / Author

& CEFL MEET

Kaley Muse Student Life Editor

At 3:30 p.m., Aug. 31, in Nance Boyer 2005, the Department of Communication, English, and Foreign Languages (CEFL) held a student and faculty meet and greet.

This event let CEFL majors and professors mingle and get to know each other through games and food.

Nance Boyer 2005 houses a few professor’s offices while many CEFL majors use the lab to study, do homework and relax.

Alyssa Martinez, a junior strategic communication major, is new to the department and attended the event to get

to know other CEFL majors.

“I switched majors last spring, and I feel like I fit in better as a Strategic Communication major, it’s a very good department in general,” Martinez said.

The meet and greet gave students an opportunity to interact with professors and peers in a more relaxed setting.

Many students and professors played a game called Ransom Notes with their professors.

The object of this game is to make an original sentence, or sentences, with two or three handfuls of magnetic words that correspond with the prompt card.

CEFL professors also prepared and bought most of the food for the event including salsa, coleslaw, egg rolls, bean salad and more.

“I really liked the little umbrellas and getting to know

people over nachos,” Martinez said.

On top of the festive drink umbrellas at every table, CEFL professors gave out free Cameron merchandise like pens, temporary tattoos, flying discs, beach balls and glow sticks for students to take on their way out.

Even though this event is advertised for CEFL majors, anyone from any major could attend.

Sophomore history major, Samantha Towell attended the Meet and Greet and enjoyed everything the event offered.

“I socialized and talked to a few people,” Towell said. “It was interesting, and I had a lot of fun.”

Be on the lookout for many more exciting events around campus as the semester progresses.

MAD HAPPY FOR ALPHA PHI ALPHA PHI BID DAY 2023

Hannah Owens Staff Writer

At 10 a.m., Sept. 2, the Cameron University sorority, Alpha Phi, celebrated Bid Day in the McMahon Centennial Complex (MCC) McCasland Ballroom.

Bid Day is the final day of a formal recruitment period when new members officially join a sorority or fraternity.

Bid Day is always a highly anticipated event for Greek Life on campus, and Alpha Phi welcomed six new sisters with open arms this semester.

Recruitment week, commonly known as Rush Week, lasted four days for Cameron Alpha Phi. This time is for potential new members (PNM) to learn about the sorority they are interested in and for the sorority leadership to get to know the PNMs, respectfully.

Alpha Phi hosted various social events and informational sessions throughout the four days leading up to Bid Day. PNMs got the opportunity to meet new people, experience sisterhood and learn about the sorority’s history and philanthropy focus.

The morning of Bid Day, Alpha Phi members were buzzing with anticipation while preparing to welcome the new members. The day started with setting up their Greek letters outside of the MCC. When the time came, they served as a guide for new members to run home to their sorority.

Decked out in colorful attire, as per the theme

“Mad Happy for Alpha Phi,” current members anxiously awaited the arrival of their new

sisters with gift bags in hand. New Members came rushing down the stairs, eager to join their new home away from home.

Alpha Phi’s Vice President of New Member Education and New Member Experience, Sierra McKinnon, worked hard with her sisters to ensure a wonderful experience during Rush Week and Bid Day.

“There’s been lots of great times; it’s been stressful, but I mean it’s been worth it. I think probably my favorite was probably today – seeing the girls run down to us is a great experience,” McKinnon said.

The celebration continued inside of the MCC. Alpha Phi provided snacks and drinks and allowed time for the new and old members to socialize.

There were also many creative backdrops set up for photo opportunities, so new members could immortalize the day.

Alpha Phi President Zoey Dean closed the event with a finance presentation.

This is Dean’s third year with Alpha Phi. During this period, she has witnessed the organization undergo numerous transformations, which have included the establishment of fresh objectives.

Dean said, “But our goals for this year, like, our own chapter, is to just grow and just try to get as many new members as we can to just share in this bond and just raise money for the foundation.”

Sisterhood is an integral part of sorority life, but there are many other aspects such as building a sense of community and pursuing philanthropy.

The Alpha Phi Foundation was established in 1956 with the mission of awarding scholarships and investing in the advancement in women’s heart health.

Members are highly encouraged to pursue leadership opportunities. Whether it be interest in planning events, philanthropy or community service, Alpha Phi offers a platform for members to shine and make a positive impact.

New member Elaina Puente is particularly excited about future leadership opportunities. Being a junior, she looks forward to creating lasting memories that she will cherish beyond her college years.

“I don’t have too much longer here, but I feel like it’s never too late to get involved on campus and make friends,” Puente said.

This serves as a

reminder that there are always opportunities to become more engaged on campus. For students interested in joining Alpha Phi, but who missed formal recruitment week, there is still a way to be involved.

Dean wants to remind students of Alpha Phi’s Continuous Open Bidding (COB) opportunity; COB permits the sorority to offer membership invitations to join their organization throughout the academic year, extending beyond the

official recruitment period. For more information message Dean on instagram @ zoeydeannn or email her at zoeydean24@gmail. com. To learn more and stay up to date with Alpha Phi, follow the sorority’s instagram @ cameronalphaphi.

Bid Day Bites! (Left to right) Kamryn Burt, Payton Ortega, Lacy Ross, Kimberly Bennett and Emma Shepherd prepare plates on Alpha Phi Bid Day in the McCasland Ballroom of the McMahon Centennial Complex.

Besties! Makenna Hill (left) and Scotlyn Koehler (right) attend the CEFL Meet and Greet. They join in on the food and games.

Happy Hugs! (Left) Cierra McKinnon welcomes Lacy Ross to Alpha Phi. (Right) Trinity Hoffman hugs Kimberly Bennett on Alpha Phi’s Bid Day.

rAnSoM nOtEs: Samantha Towell gets ready to play Ransom Notes. This game is popular among attendees of the Meet and Greet.

Photos by Ryn Swinson

Photos by Hannah Owens

Starting Strong

Kaman begins first year as head coach

Kaman spoke about the opportunity to grow together.

Kaman said one player, in particular, stood out: team captain Hunter Drotts.

“He has been nothing but respectful,” Kaman said, “He has been a real leader, and that’s why he’s our team captain.”

Kaman knows he’s doing the right thing by making sure his players are good people.

Kaman said he’s not the first coach in his family; he comes from a long line of coaches. His grandfather coached his father, and growing up, his father coached him.

By Haylee Key Sports Editor

Former student and athlete of Cameron University, Tyler Kaman, starts his career strong making Head Men’s Golf Coach his first year of professional coaching. Kaman saw an opportunity and went for it, starting his career with a hole-in-one.

“The job opened up, so I figured why not throw my hat in the ring,” Kaman said.

Kaman hopes to make a name for

himself, and where better to start than with his team? Kaman brings organization and sportsmanship to the table like never before, stating his biggest goal for himself is to not only make his team better players but also better people.

Through his time on the team,

trust with his team in what he teaches them.

Kaman said his coaching can be a little unorthodox, but it’s for a reason.

“You gotta rule with an iron fist but wear your heart on your sleeve at the same time,” Kaman said.

Kaman was in his team’s shoes just a few years ago on the same team he coaches today.

Tyler Kaman Head Coach, Men’s Golf

Kaman’s family history isn’t his only reason for coaching. Kaman was a golfer himself at Cameron University.

He remembers what being coached was like.

“I never really liked doing something unless I know there’s a good reason behind it,” Kaman said.

Kaman has integrated his experiences into his coaching. He knows that he must build

Kaman’s time as coach taught him more than about coaching; it taught him about life. He found that being in a career is a lot different than being a college student.

“This is a grownup job,” Kaman said. “It’s made me grow up.”

Kaman is fond of this new chapter in his life. He expressed gratitude for the job and how it shaped him into an adult.

Kaman looks forward to this year’s golfing season and hopes to see plenty of Aggies out there, supporting the golf team.

“It is good for the team to see their friends out there supporting them,” Kaman said. “I encourage a lot of students to come out and see what the golf team is all about.”

Kaman is very grateful for his position and plans to stay around for as long as Cameron will have him.

“You gotta rule with an iron fist but wear your heart on your sleeve at the same time.”

Photo by: Haylee Key