Name, age, interesting fact about you and plans after graduation.

Name: Kayla Burt

Age: 21

After graduation, I will be attending SUNY Upstate Medical University for my Doctorate in Physical Therapy. I am currently a senior at Le Moyne College, and I am very involved on campus. I have been on the Women’s Golf team during my four years at Le Moyne, and one of my long term goals is to diversify the sport of golf and make it more accessible for kids who may do not have the resources to play the sport.

What are some hardships you've faced while in college?

One of the biggest hardships that I have faced are microaggressions. People come from all different backgrounds, and in many cases, they do not have a lot of friends who are minorities. They may ask questions or make comments that are not necessarily appropriate. Instead of getting upset, I try my best to educate them. It can be very annoying to ask people to stop putting their hands in my hair or other unwanted gestures, but I have found that one of the most beneficial ways for me to deal with it is by staying focused on my goals. I try not to let it distract me because I have so many things that I would like to accomplish.

Another hardship that I am currently dealing with is loss. Back in January, I lost six people in a matter of nine days, and it really did not make sense to me. That was all happening right around the time that I had to return to school for the spring semester, so it was very difficult for me to focus on club related tasks, sports, or school work, etc.

People experience losses all of the time. Some of those losses are more difficult to overcome, and they can come in all forms. We deal with the loss of friends and family members, the loss of confidence, the loss of strength, and many other forms. It is perfectly normal, and in fact, healthy to take time to come to terms with these losses, but the strongest people are the ones that can turn those trials and tribulations into triumph.

Where do you receive your strength from?

My strength comes from a plethora of sources. Ultimately, my strength comes from my religion. I have found a tremendous amount of strength in God, and it is comforting to know that I do not have to figure out the direction of my life on my own. I have absolute faith that I am exactly where I need to be at all times.

My other sources of strength comes from the several groups of people that I have the privilege of working with each day. I have awesome residents, teammates, club members. Now that I am a senior, I notice that those people often look to me as an example. There are times when I really want to give up or I want to doubt my own abilities, but I think about what I would want for them. I always want my residents and teammates to do the very best that they can do, and I believe that they have the ability to do some amazing things. It always bothers me when they doubt themselves, so I better practice what I preach. I cannot preach confidence and strength if I am not setting an example for them.

Who has motivated you to continue to push forward?
There are way too many people who motivate me every single day, but I guess the biggest motivators are my parents. They always held me to a higher standard than a lot of my peers.. They closely monitored my study habits, my health, and even the things that I watched and listened to. They always told me to give 110% when everyone else was giving 100%. To be honest, it was quite annoying to me when I was younger because I did not want to push myself as hard, but now I am incredibly grateful for them. They instilled in me the will to be the very best that I can be, and it is a mindset that I continue to carry with me daily.

There have also been mentors at Le Moyne who continue to motivate and inspire me. These people have degrees, families, full time jobs, and other side projects that they work on, so I am just amazed and thankful that they have time for students like myself. They have all of these other responsibilities, but they have an amazing ability to just LISTEN. We have so many distractions today with the various forms of social media and technology, and it has made it more difficult for us to truly listen to each other. It is so motivating to know that people truly care and that they want to see me succeed. I’m currently working on being a better listener because I would love to motivate others in the same ways that these people have motivated me.

What is something you wish someone would have told you while applying to graduate schools?

I am very happy that I started looking at grad schools during my Sophomore year. It gave me an opportunity to look at graduate programs and career options that I would not have known about. You do not want to limit your opportunities simply because you have not looked at the options. There are so many other stressful things that occur during your senior year, so you definitely want to get a head start and apply to jobs and graduate programs early.

I do wish that someone would have told me about scholarship options. I started looking at those a little too late, so that is something that I plan to do next year. I also wish that someone would have told me to utilize the career advising office much sooner. Most colleges have an office like this where they help with resumes, cover letters, mock interview, and other career planning tips. I definitely wish that I would have visited the office sooner and more frequently because it is an amazing resource.

What are some things that you will miss the most about these past 4 years?

The greatest part about my experience at Le Moyne has been the people. I would not be who I am today without all of the professors, coaches, faculty members, and friends that I have made here. I can’t believe that I had the honor of going to a school where the President wants to meet with student leaders to talk about the campus climate or where several faculty members reach out to students personally during difficult times just to make sure that they are okay. That is something that I definitely need because I have a hard time reaching out to others.

When I first visited Le Moyne, I noticed that everyone was friendly, and it seemed like they actually cared. It scared me at first because I could not tell if they were genuine or not, but after four years, I am so full of gratitude for the people that I have had the opportunity to meet and work with. Le Moyne is a very caring community. To be quite honest, I am a little nervous to get out into the real world because I know that it will not be as kind and caring as the Le Moyne community. It has definitely become my home away from home, and I have made very valuable bonds and friendships.

How does one balance multiple responsibilities and maintain physical and mental health?

Instead of thinking about responsibilities and health as two separate things, I believe that they go hand-in-hand.

My freshman year was not great, and I was not really involved in campus activities. Over time, I realized that I needed to put my mental health first, and I found that getting more involved was quite beneficial. While it became very tiring at times, I also found great joy in those activities. I chose to be involved in different clubs and organizations that I truly believed in. Through all of the meetings, events, networking opportunities, etc., I get to work with some truly amazing people who come from all different backgrounds. They teach me so much about myself and the world around me. We laugh together, study together, and push each other to be the best we can be in different aspects of our lives. Through all of the embarrassing snapchats, ridiculous memes, and the awesome experiences that we have together, I have found that laughter is the best way to maintain my mental health. Physical health is also very important. I understand that everyone is not going to go to the gym or take long walks as often as I do, so I invite different teammates or other friends to work out with me. It gives us a chance to spend time together while also focusing on our physical health.

What are some words of advice you have for incoming freshmen and outgoing seniors?

People often encourage freshmen to relax during their first year, but I actually think it’s better to get involved early. This is the best way to make connections and meet people. You can meet other students and faculty members. Also, I’m not going to pretend like everything's perfect during freshman year. The reality is WHEN you experience disappointments during your freshman year, do not give up. Realize that you will go through difficult times, but that just comes with the process of being in a new place and trying to figure out a new routine.

Even though I am a senior myself, I guess the best advice that I have for other seniors is to breathe, follow your own path, and then believe in yourself. There really is no way to fully prepare for everything that happens during senior year. We deal with decisions, filling out looooong applications, and then having no money in our bank accounts because applications actually cost A FORTUNE. It is a very fun year, but it can also be a very stressful year. Just breathe, and realize that you are not alone in the struggle. People are constantly telling you what you should and should not do. There’s also this misconception that you need to quickly go out into the world and immediately do extravagant things, but honestly, those things really only happen in the movies. It’s perfectly alright, it’s actually very normal to dream big, start small, grow, and eventually accomplish everything that you have wanted to do. Stay positive, and enjoy the beauty in the road that will eventually lead you where you need to go.

What is something you've had to overcome within yourself to move forward?

Most of the obstacles that I have faced have been internal. I came into college with the mindset that I had something to prove to the world whether it was in the classroom or on the golf course. I felt like I did not need anybody to help me with anything, and I was under the impression that I had to be cold and completely independent to be a “successful” college student.

To be honest, my freshman year was a complete disaster because of this terrible mindset. I carried past issues with me from high school, and it clouded my judgement of what success is supposed to look like. I knew that I needed a change after my freshman year, and I decided that I was going to reach out to others. I had to learn how to share parts of myself with others, and I quickly learned that you can help so many people by being vulnerable and honest with yourself instead of portraying an unrealistic image.

I also had to learn the importance of gratitude and finding God in all things. Life is full of so many disappointments, and things can go wrong at any time. I used to allow myself to get easily disappointed or angry when life did not go the way I expected it to go or when people did not believe in me the way that I wanted them to. I had to learn how to find gratitude in every situation whether it was good or bad. Anyone can be thankful during the good times, but it takes a lot of strength to be thankful during the most difficult times. I cannot really say that I believe that anything is a complete failure because good things can always come from an unfortunate situation. You have to remember that your absolute worst day can be someone’s very best day. For example, when I am on the golf course, and I am playing like a pile or trash, I have to remind myself that only 7% of female high school golfers make it to play in college. Sometimes I just have to be thankful that I have fully functioning limbs to even play the sport. The college experience has been filled with many highs and lows, but the experience has been an absolute blessing.

Lada: I met Kayla (affectionately known as Katie) her freshmen year. She has been one of the funniest, most humble, smartest people Ive ever known and one of the greatest friends I've ever had. She is driven, God fearing and an amazing role model for so many people. I am so happy that she agreed to share with all of us and and so excited to see her future unfold. Thanks for sharing Kate!