So what does this have to do with this edition of Student Spotlight? While the student featured in this edition doesn’t necessarily have an elongated game streak like the aforementioned, she most certainly holds the record for most consecutive classes attended without an absence…well, at least for the courses I’ve taught! As the semester comes to a close, the final edition of Student Spotlight features Candace Mosby aka Ms. Consistency!

Candace is a sport management major from Louisville, Kentucky. Currently a junior, she will commence her senior year in the fall of 2012. During the fall 2011 semester, she took my PHE 322 (Legal Issues in Sports) course. She liked my class so much that she took my PHE 327 (Sport in American Society) course in the spring of 2012.

So, what is there to know about Candace?

“Keeping my grades up and maintaining a high GPA is obviously the most important thing to me so I can graduate on time.”

As many of us know, the college experience is not complete without involving oneself in activities outside of the coursework. For Candace, this is no different, as she has continued her active participation as she did before coming to Eastern Kentucky University (EKU). She says that she’s grown accustomed to moving from one activity to the next. If not, she gets bored!

“Intramurals are something I do year round along with club sports.  I’m a member of the Women’s Club Basketball team, and also I’m President of the Women’s Rugby Club team here at EKU.  Rugby is definitely one of the craziest and most physical sports I’ve ever played, but I absolutely love it. Hopefully we get more people out in the fall so we can have a decent season. I hope to continue to play after school; the number of city leagues for men and women is increasing, so I should find somewhere to play.”

As you can see, Candace has a great passion for sports, which is partly why she is pursuing her undergraduate degree in sport management at EKU. After obtaining her undergraduate degree, she plans to pursue a Master’s degree in Sport Administration from the University of Louisville with the ultimate goal of working in college athletics and eventually the WNBA. In view of her interests in the WNBA, Candace hopes to intern with the Indiana Fever in Indianapolis during the summer of 2013.

Candace also has other ambitions…

“In the future, I would like to make some type of positive impact on women’s sports.  In addition to working with a WNBA team, being somewhat of an advocate for women’s sports would be an honor to me.  The issue of equality for women in sports and where they compare to men’s sports at this time is a huge problem for me.  Eventually, I would like to address that topic in a public setting because it is an issue that is very important to me. “

Candace is well on her way to realize her goals and aspirations. She possesses the confidence, work ethic, and drive to do so. After all, what else would you expect from Ms. Consistency? As Charles Barkley once said, “Anything less would be uncivilized.”

So how did Chelsea do it?! Well, I still ask myself that question. While it was not the prettiest of displays, Chelsea gave a footballing lesson to the world on how to defend Barca’s “tiki-taka” style. Admittedly, Chelsea was fortunate on a few occasions. Messi was not at his best; however, that is not Chelsea’s fault. There have been other games in which Messi has not been at his best, only to see the team win out in the end. Chelsea dropped deep and conceded possession to Barca. Now, a lot of teams have done this in the past and have paid dearly for it. Not Chelsea, though. We sat deep and waited for the opportunity to counter attack. All three goals in both games came on counter attacks. Once again, not pretty, but it was effective. All those who criticize Chelsea should take notes.

Next up, FC Bayern München in Munich. Could this be Chelsea’s season to finally win the “Holy Grail”, as Roman Abramovich has called it? He certainly hopes so.  Let us wait and see!

S/o to Gary Neville! Those of you who watched know what I’m talking about

“Growing up, I always thought I was going to be a pharmacist. I believed that chemistry was my favorite subject and that I would be making lots of money from being a pharmacist,” Tyler stated.

Tyler, however, had another passion that he never really explored. As evidenced by his college major, this passion was politics! Myself, a political science undergraduate major, I can certainly appreciate this passion.

“I remember sitting by the radio every year, listening to local election returns and begging my dad to put a yard sign in our yard for the local coroner. I was always amazed by the fact that people could run for a public office and it was up to their peers to decide if they would be a suitable leader.”

This passion for politics would lead one to believe that his road to choosing his current political science major would be an obvious choice. As ESPN’s Lee Corso says, “Not so fast, my friend!”

“In high school, I focused on Chemistry and forgot about politics in the academic context, although I was still active around town and debating students in the classroom.”

With his attention going to chemistry, it appeared as if a career in pharmacy was still the number one option for Tyler.

“I never got any grade below an A in my entire school career, and when I scored a 30 on the ACT, I started thinking about my college options. I settled on the University of Kentucky because they had a great pharmacy program, and I majored in chemistry.”

Things did not work out as planned, however.

“It ended up being a disaster; I hated chemistry and my grades slipped. The only classes I enjoyed were my two political science classes, so after my freshman year, I transferred to EKU and majored in political science.”

Since becoming an EKU Colonel, Tyler has yet to earn a grade lower than an A. A credit to his hard work and dedication inside and outside the classroom, internship opportunities have emanated as well.

“I just finished an internship with Alison Grimes on her Secretary of State campaign, one in which she eventually won and will be inaugurated December 13th. I just received a spring semester internship with the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, a non-partisan commission tasked with aiding state legislators with research and drafting bills.”

A great opportunity indeed, the latter is a 15-credit hour, 40-hour workweek, four-month internship at the state capitol in Frankfort, KY. Upon completion of this internship, he will then graduate and pursue his Masters of Public Administration (MPA) at his beloved EKU. He intends to focus on community health management. His plan is to work in healthcare administration, specifically within the Saint Joseph Health System, where his mom is currently a manger of Materials Management. Tyler has also been employed with this organization for four years.

What else does the future hold?

“I plan on working towards becoming a CEO or President of a hospital within the system.”

In closing, Tyler attributes much of his success to his parents and looks forward to paying them back for the sacrifices they made for him and his sister.

“Neither of my parents received a college education but have provided for my sister and me and given us every opportunity that has become available. They have sacrificed their whole life for me and I plan on returning the favor when my dreams are finally realized. Seeing all they do for me gives me the daily motivation to get up and continue to work towards my goals, even if it seems too hard or frustrating. I’ve never been a person who gives up easily and I’ve never known what it’s like to fail, and I don’t plan on starting anytime soon.”

After the 3rd one, I started to think to myself, “can I do all eight?” I do my best to keep “in shape” and workout, but I can’t even remember the last time I ran suicides..perhaps jr. high. I did finish, however. I was exhausted at the end, as you can see by the video. Let’s just say I won’t be making any bets anytime soon. S/o to Andrew Grider who was probably the only one cheering me on! Hahaha! And oh yeah, can’t forget my graduate assistant, Eryc Pittman who served as the cameraman.

So I realize it’s been a while since I’ve last posted…sorry about that! I promise to get better Anyhow, so how about the UEFA Champions League?! As some of you know, I’m a Chelsea FC supporter, so I’m quite pleased that we’ve managed to make it through to the last 4. However, a daunting task is ahead of us….BARCELONA For many Chelsea supporters, this game will be an opportunity to get revenge for the 2009 tragedy that took place at the Bridge…I still cannot believe the referee that day. Even Charles Sekyiamah knows we were robbed that evening. As Didier Drogba famously said: “It’s a disgrace!”

So what are our chances?? Honestly, I don’t think we have a chance. “And we know why!” HAHAHA! The words of Jose Mourinho. Let us wait and see, though. For whatever reason, the refs seem to favor Barca. Even the partisan football fan can see it…smh. Until then, my focus is on getting in the top 4 to qualify for next year’s CL.

Let’s go, Blues!

The goal is to blog at the very least once a week. Keep checking back. Make sure to follow me and twitter @kwamEEzy