Katie Paschal ponders joining the Pirate Nation

As the first day of summer session arrived, I was so excited and nervous at the same time. Luckily, I was greeted by Coach Macy and the rest of the coaching staff to help me with my transition. They even helped me move in! That put a big smile on my face and it was a great to know how much they care.

I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but I really enjoyed my first summer school session at ECU. It was very stress-free and a good start to my career. I took Theatre and English, and had great professors that made learning easy. Study hall really helped me out with managing my two classes. My advisor, Jamie Quinn, was good about keeping up with our classes. We had to print our grades off every week and give her a copy. It felt good to stay on top of it all! I usually just finished my homework for both classes in study hall.

After going to class and doing my homework, fellow rookie Alana Beroth and I would go to the Murphy Center to work out with our strength coach, Coach Wheel. We would alternate between circuits and weights every day. My body was pretty sore the first week, but after that I got used to it. The strength coaches made us work hard but I feel like I got a lot better over the summer. Also, at night, I loved going to the rec center to work on my basketball skills.

I am so excited to come back and go full steam ahead! I am very glad I attended the summer session because I now feel prepared for the fall after getting a head start. I am ready to move into Pirate Nation full time!