Name: Brooke Ames
Hometown: Prospect, Kentucky/Goshen, Kentucky
Year: Sophomore
Majors/ Minors: Biology major with minors in environmental studies and Spanish
What activities are you involved with at Xavier?
I am co-president of In The Loop and I’m a member of an Alternative Breaks group.
What is In The Loop?
In The Loop, by technicality, is a fiber arts club where we can do crocheting, knitting, weaving, etc. We take plastic bags and we turn them into yarn. Then, we turn those into sleeping mats for people experiencing homelessness. We also make baby hats and we’re trying to expand what we do as an organization and our community outreach. We’re more than than just getting together and learning something, you really do just hangout with the members in the club and become friends with them. In The Loop is really a place where you make friends and everything that happens is very natural. We also watch movies, eat food together, drink non-alcoholic beverages together and just spend time with one another. It’s a place where you can relieve your stress.
What did you do this summer?
I studied abroad in Spain, where I just spent four weeks in Madrid and a little town called Comillas. The primary part was that you learned about a lot of the culture of Northern Spain. I also hung out with friends and worked a little.
What is a quote you live by and why?
“My true potential had more to do with my willingness to struggle than with my past and present circumstances.” – Hope Jahren. I was reading Hope’s book and this quote stuck out to me so much. Starting in high school, the idea of this quote has been told to me so many times. In high school, I started to take more challenging classes and the people around me were understanding the material but I was struggling by myself. Therefore, I would have these breakdowns and my mother would just comfort me with these simple words “you know what, these people get it naturally, but one day they won’t. You know how to do things for you and once you get to college, you’re going to know what you’re doing and that will lead to your success.” Ever since my freshman year of high school, I’ve constantly been trying to work on and better myself. If you’re willing to put in the time and effort to better yourself, you will exceed what you thought you could do. Like it says, my true potential. It doesn’t matter what you did in your past, it matters what you’re willing to do in order to make things better.
If you were a food, what would you be and why?
I would be a banana because I think they’re pretty cool. They’re neat because bananas release these secondary metabolites that will cause other fruits around them to decay faster than the banana decays.
What are your favorite things to do when you’re not in class?
I love to sleep. In my free time, I love to get on the computer and browse around on the internet. I’ll play video games and read when I can. Sometimes I draw, go on walks, or workout.
What is your favorite thing about Xavier?
It’s how close of a community we are. Every time I go somewhere around campus, there’s always someone I know.