Who Am I? How do I define myself?
Whenever walking into a new space and meeting new people, you’re asked many different questions. “Who are you?” “What’s your name?” Sometimes even, “Tell me a little about yourself.” We often sit and ponder, wanting to avoid these types of tedious conversations. Often this happens on the first day of school. Fun Fact: these types of conversations matter. You might ask ‘Why?’ Well, because you matter! Where you come from, your name, and even some things that define you or even shape you into the person you are today MATTER.
Let me introduce myself; my name is Asia Yates, and I am a Junior, c/o 2023, here at the Mount. I major in Criminal Justice with minors in Sociology, Theology, and Cyber Criminology. Those are the basics, but I really want you to get to know me beyond that and beyond being just a student. I am also an athlete/captain of the Mount Track & Field team. I am a ROTC Cadet as well. Upon graduation I will be a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. I am the President of Black Student Union (BSU), CSES Peer Leader, Mount Ambassador, Mount 101 TA, amongst various other positions on campus. You might be saying, "That’s still school related Asia." Well, okay you’re right. I also am a 6x self-published author from Hughesville, MD. I have two amazing twin siblings China Yates and Paris Yates, Jr. Maybe you have made the connection: Asia, China, and Paris... yes, we are all named after different places just like our parents Paris Yates, Sr. and India Yates.
How did I even end up at the Mount? During my senior year in high school, I began taking several visits to all the schools I was interested in. The Mount of course was one of them; I knew I wanted to study Criminal Justice and continue Track & Field. The Mount had a high ranking when it came to the best Universities for Criminal Justice. I was always used to going to diverse, medium sized schools where I was involved, and had close relationships with my faculty. I wanted to keep this same atmosphere in my future endeavors when pursuing my bachelor’s degree. This was important because I grew close to my faculty and that helped with the development of the woman I am today.
During my first visit at the Mount, once stepping out the car, I felt a sense of peace. After walking around campus and listening to different presentations I was almost certain that I would be more than capable of being successful at the Mount. Following my tour, I visited my freshman and sophomore year Track Coach Jay Phillips.Coach Phillips was a breath of fresh air, upfront, honest, and dedicated to helping me succeed. He, amongst the rest of the staff, cared about me more than just being an athlete; he cared about the development of me as a person. I was able to see the team practice, and I knew then that team was going to be my family and The Mount was the place for me.
Over the course of my 3 years here at The Mount, I was right! I have been very successful here, received incredible opportunities, been pushed outside my box, but most importantly I have seen the development in who I am as a person. This year I decided to take on COMM 301 (Blogging: Writing and Production). Many of my friends call me crazy for enjoying writing papers for my courses. I felt this was a great opportunity to not only write and share my experience, but an opportunity for me to connect and inspire/help my fellow peers by sharing my experiences. I want to not only discuss my journey, but also share tools and knowledge on how students can truly grow here at The Mount. We must go out and seek opportunities to reach our dreams.
I promise nothing will just be handed to you, but it feels so good to know you put in the work to get to where you want to be 5-10 years from now. I want to showcase how we can use The Mount as a mini scale of what the real world is like and how to properly navigate and learn from our encounters. Over the next few weeks, I want to use this opportunity to broaden the minds of my peers and especially women on campus. I want you to understand that we don’t have to compete against one another: We can work together. We can look out for one another and reach our goals and future aspirations.