Kaylea Bowers
Class of 2019
Communication Major
Giving a Chance
Heidelberg wasn鈥檛 really on my radar of schools, but I decided I may as well come for Scholars Day 鈥渏ust to see.鈥 I came to Scholars Day and I fell in love! Everyone was so friendly and nice and the campus was beautiful. It just felt right. I鈥檓 glad I gave the Berg a chance. It truly is my home away from home.
Endless Support
The professors at Heidelberg are second to none. I could go on for hours and hours about this, seriously. I have been constantly amazed at the amount of support and encouragement that I have received as a student at Heidelberg from my professors. Many will put their cell-phone number on the syllabus, and they say to call or text if we have questions. They know us each by name and want us to succeed both in their class and in life. Some will even invite us into their homes for dinner. A lot of schools say their professors are the best 鈥 but ours REALLY ARE the best!
Looking Ahead
I love working with and helping people. When choosing a major I had no idea what I wanted to do, but it just seemed to make sense to study Communication when it came down to what I enjoyed. I haven鈥檛 second guessed myself even for a minute. Combining Communication with the PlusOneAdvantage Free MBA Program, I鈥檓 thinking about either working with non-profits or in the hospitality field. I鈥檝e always thought it would be cool to work on a cruise ship or at a resort, or possibly even owning a unique themed restaurant or hotel of my own!
A Love for the Arts
I鈥檝e been on stage since I started dancing at age 4. My love for the arts has grown through dance, orchestra, choir, theatre and more. I was nervous to audition for college shows, because the idea of competing against people who were studying to become professionals seemed a little scary. I decided to give it a shot and rest is history!
Stephen (Svoboda) and David (Cotter) have been such a blessing to our theatre family. I feel so lucky to be given such advanced opportunities such as working with professional actors, costume designers, light techs and more. It鈥檚 awesome that I can be a part of the program even though I鈥檓 not a theatre major, and even more awesome that they welcomed me with open arms!
Loving Without Limits
Something I am very passionate about is traveling. I love to experience new cultures and learn about how others live. When I found out about a trip to the Dominican Republic, I was all in right away. We went into the schools and helped preschool-8th graders learn to speak English. This was such an amazing experience. It鈥檚 pretty ironic, though. I think I learned more from the kids we were teaching than they learned from us. I learned to love without limits. The kids in the schools were so excited to see us -- even the students who didn鈥檛 speak English at all! We walked into the school for the very first time and students were yelling 鈥淭EACHER TEACHER HI!!!鈥 The next thing we knew, we had three 6-year-olds running up to us, clinging onto our legs. These were kids that we had never met before. They were so full of love and joy, and they were so excited to share their lives and their school and their playground with us. It didn鈥檛 matter if we knew each other鈥檚 name, where we were from, what color our skin was, if we were a boy or a girl, if we spoke different languages -- they loved us, no questions asked.
Personal Growth
I fell asleep last May wondering why I didn鈥檛 get out of my hometown for the summer and really take some time to focus on myself. I鈥檓 adventurous; I wanted to GO and DO something. The next morning, I woke up with a text on my phone from a random number, a random person I had never met before. Little did I know, this would be my future boss. She reached out to tell me about Bluebird Cafe, a new restaurant she and her husband were opening in Lakeside, Ohio, where I had spent part of my summer, every summer, since elementary school. She wanted to know if I would be interested in working for them for the summer. It was too perfect to be a coincidence. I thought to myself, 鈥淗ow can I say no? This has got to be for me.鈥 I packed up and moved about a week later.
This was a summer full of stepping outside of my comfort zone and jumping into new opportunities. What a blessing it was! I learned how to be truly independent by living completely on my own and working 40-50 hours a week to pay for rent and living expenses. Yes, it was fun -- living on the lake and working at a waterfront cafe. It was so much more than that, though. Every new person I met touched my life in an impactful way. It was the first time I have seen my life truly grow and blossom before my very eyes.
Fun Facts
Hometown: Bryan, OH (home of the Dum Dum sucker)
Favorite place in Tiffin: 骋奥鈥檚
Hobbies/Free time activity: Singing and taking naps
Celebrity Crush: Demi Lovato
Favorite Food: Moose tracks ice cream and cheese
Dream Job as a Kid: a 鈥減icture taker鈥 or a ballerina
Favorite social media platform: Instagram @kayleabowers
Favorite campus events: Greek Sing
Favorite quote: 鈥淐omfort - the enemy of progress.鈥
Read more in the Humans of Heidelberg series.