Life is full of twists and turns. Jack Barron, a senior at Arizona State University, has used these changes to shape his life into his own.
Growing up in Kansas City, Missouri, sports has always had an impact on Barron’s life. He worked his way up the baseball ladder, starting in T-Ball and going all the way to travel ball. He dreamt of being a baseball player from a young age, but the added stress of high level competition wore out on a young Barron.
“I got burnt out, honestly,” Barron said. “I took it a bit too far and did travel ball, which was a lot harder.”
Despite trying a variety of other sports, nothing felt the same. Golf and tennis never had the same team aspect that brought him joy like baseball did. While he played doubles tennis for a few years, it just wasn’t the same.
In college, Barron found his way into the student newspaper. This was a new experience for him, as he had never written for a newspaper before. This didn’t stop him from devoting his life, or at least career, to sports journalism. He transferred to Arizona State soon after and began his tenure at The State Press.
This was another big change for Barron. He had only been to Arizona once before and changing his career path for something new takes a lot of guts. But that’s what he did and it benefitted him greatly.
It wasn’t the journalism, or even State Press that benefitted Barron the most. During his time with the university, Barron completed two internships and took classes in Argentina. It was his time in the southern hemisphere that had the biggest impact on him.
“It was a really great experience seeing a different culture,” Barron said. “I ended up meeting my girlfriend down there and it was meant to be, that’s the way I see it.”
These experiences led Barron to another change. After all the time spent working on his career at Arizona State, he realized that journalism wasn’t his path.
There isn’t one clear path for Barron right now, and that’s okay. One option that sticks out to him is social media marketing. It helps combine the storytelling aspect of journalism with the flexibility of working anywhere, not just in sports.
This is just the next step in Barron’s life, one that has seen so many twists and turns that have shown him a different path each time. Embracing each new opportunity has led Barron to where he is today, in a position to continue paving his own path and taking advantage of each new opportunity that life throws at him.
I believe that is crucial to a successful and happy life. So many people can feel pigeon-holed into one specific career path, forced to take the road paved at a young age. Baron’s ability to not only embrace the different lives that are shown to him but to succeed at a high level each time has given him the opportunity to thrive throughout his college years and put him into the position he’s in today.
