Coming into college, students are prepared for the workload, greek life, and many other social opportunities on and around campus. With a student coming to college, the connections and traction one could gain can be very beneficial in and after graduation.

Ashton Smith, from Schertz Texas, gave great insight into what his student life consists of when he was on campus and when he had moved to Washington D.C. for an internship. Smith states back to when he was preparing to come into college, he came in with the intention of joining a black student fraternity but realized that TLU did not have that, in the process of searching for something that he was interested in joining, Smith was introduced to the black student union from a TLU alumni.

Becoming Involved:

I heard we had BSU, and my brother who also went to TLU and graduated in the class of ’23 told me about it. One of his friends used to be on the E-Board.

Ashton Smith

With Smith knowing this information, he began to follow BSU’s Instagram and all of the E-Board members; he then realized that the people involved through active organizations were the people he wanted to get to know and partake with. With a full schedule with football and classes during his freshman year, he attended as many BSU meetings as he could.

I would really go every other week instead of consistently every week; that’s when I met some of the board members, like Jason, who used to be the old social media chair. Then Jason couldn’t do the job anymore- he didn’t tell me, so I had no clue.

Ashton Smith

With Jason leaving the chair position, BSU presented the opportunity to the members, and Smith gave thought to taking that role; considering that football season had ended, Smith would use that as a way to get more involved.

My friend Julia put my name on the thing to run, and I was like, ‘Oh sure, why not. Even if I don’t like it, it’ll be a nice and fun thing to do.’

Ashton Smith

Smith submitted his SGA headshot and was told that he needed to prepare for a speech- voting would take place after for the chair position. When preparing for this speech, Smith planned on reflecting on his involvement, experiences, and abilities involving campus engagement and social media specialties.

I told him about my experience, like how I have run social media accounts in high school and how I like to be very social. I love interacting with people.

Ashton Smith

Before Smith joined BSU, he was in SGA, the Student Government Association at TLU; Smith then met the current president, Emily, at the career fair. Smith also had previous relations with the old president and vice president, so he was invited to participate and join SGA.

The president of SGA was also secretary for BSU, as well as the whole E-board, including Trinity, Ja’keia, Chase, and Jason- at the time, they were all senators. It was a lot easier for me to make that connection because I already knew them and worked with them every single week.

Ashton Smith

An Opportunity:

SGA was Smiths’ first leadership position at TLU. In the spring of 2023, Smith gave a tour of TLU’s campus to Monica De La Cruz and Josh Cortez. Smith states that he was unfamiliar with policies but was able to have a one-on-one conversation with Senator Josh Cortez in TLU’s chapel. Cortez brought up Smiths involvement with the SGA, and then sparked conversation over policies within the SGA organization between not only Cortez and Smith, but De La Cruz as well.

We had gone over a three-day closure policy that we had to vote on and recently went over the tobacco policy for campus. From that initial clear sign that I showed interest in politics, they claimed they really liked my manners and how polite I was… It was me making a connection.

Ashton Smith

With that conversation alone, Smith landed an internship position in Washington, DC, this spring 2024 semester.

If you want to continue past that, you truly have to meet people in the right place at the right time.

Ashton Smith

Building a network and creating connections on campus or off can build beneficial situations a college student could continue to dream of and eventually complete. As Smith said, you must meet the right people at the right time.