Mr. TCU: Clayton Simons
Year: Senior
Major: Entrepreneurial management and marketing
Hometown: San Antonio
Biggest Strength: Being open minded
Biggest Weakness: Taking on too much and getting overwhelmed
Motto: “Life is not about finding yourself. It’s about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw
Q: What got you interested in entrepreneurial management and marketing as majors?
A: I like the creative side of business, and these majors focus on interaction with people. I like that about my majors.
Q; What would be your dream job?
A: Owning my own business, but no specific field jumps out at me.
Q: What do you consider your top priorities right now?
A: Graduating, finding my first job and getting off on the right foot are my priorities right now.
Q: What do you consider your biggest learning experience in college?
A: My time working on the executive committee of my fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon, and my time on orientation staff taught me the importance of keeping everyone on the same page, setting a direction and sticking to it.
Q: What advice would you give to someone just now entering college?
A: Get involved in an organization early and find your niche. It not only gives you a foundation at TCU, but also shows you what is out there.
Q: What is your best memory or experience at TCU?
A: The BYU game was a good memory because there were so many students and such a sense of the TCU spirit.
Q: If you had to lose one of your five senses, which would you rather lose? Why?
A: I would probably rather lose taste because then I could finally eat fried okra.
If you could eat dinner with any five people, who would they be?
1. Thom Yorke, lead singer of Radiohead
2. Winston Churchill
3. Mahatma Gandhi
4. Ben Harper, singer-songwriter
5. Joey Parr
Ms. TCU: Alexis Branaman
Year: Junior
Major: International communications with an advertising/public relations emphasis
Hometown: Grand Rapids, Mich.
Biggest Strength: Being a communicator
Biggest Weakness: Knowing when to say “no”
Motto: “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” – Chinese Proverb
What got you interested in international communications as a major?
I actually came in as broadcast journalism. I wanted to be a sports anchor. But, the more I looked at the things that made me happy and made me feel fulfilled the more I realized I wanted to do some kind of work with a nonprofit and that I wanted to work with refugees. International communications just worked for that.
What would be your dream job?
If I could hand-pick a job as of right now, I’d love to work with advertising and public relations for the International Rescue Committee, and I’d like to be living in Africa part-time and Europe for the other half. They work specifically with refugees all over the world.
What do you consider your top priorities right now?
My top priorities right now are that I need to stay motivated with my classes. I need try and to figure out what other leadership positions I want to hold before I leave. And right now one of my main priorities is getting set up for Ghana next fall because I am hoping to study abroad.
What advice would you give to someone just now entering college?
Find what you love and go after it. Choose something you love because if you choose something that you’re doing just for the financial benefits or because someone else told you to, you’re not going to enjoy your classes. And if you don’t enjoy your classes, it is really hard to go. And then when you graduate, you set yourself up for a career that you didn’t even want.
What is your best memory or experience at TCU?
I think one of my favorites was this summer. I was a facilitator for Frog Camp Alpine and the memories I made with those campers and with my fellow facilitators was probably one of the best times I have ever had at TCU. Specifically, there was a morning that one of the directors, Caroline Nixon, had suggested that we go on a hike. And we went up and hiked to the highest point we could get to with enough time to get back for breakfast. And we just kind of stood up there and talked about what it has meant to us to be a part of Frog Camp and what it has meant to us to be at TCU.
If you had to lose one of your five senses, which would you rather lose? Why?
I think taste because when you smell things you still get some of the experience. I wouldn’t want to lose the ability to smell because taste is worthless without smell.
If you could travel anywhere on Earth, where would you go? Why?
The Democratic Republic of Congo. I know that sounds like cheesy human rights activist of me, but I’ve been wanting to go there since I was in the seventh grade. That’s where I want to work. Those are the people and that’s the place that has been my passion since I was a kid.
If you could eat dinner with any five people, who would they be?
1. Aladdin
2. Don Cheadle, actor
3. Brad Pitt
4. Martin Luther King, Jr.
5. James Taylor, musician