Invigorating. Exasperating. Inspirational. Those are the three words that I’d use to describe the last six months. My university’s Up to Us team has been hitting the ground running since August of 2015, trying to host the best debt awareness campaign ever. While we all joined this group for various reasons, I soon realized that this competition provided an awesome learning experience working with a team of uniquely driven minds, ready to ignite change within our communities. I knew I would ultimately be doing myself a disservice by not allowing myself to develop within this think-tank.

It’s true that this experience has taught us a lot about our campus community; however, it has also taught us a lot about ourselves. Today, college coursework has almost become completely synonymous with team projects. Never before had my team or I been part of a group or organization that was as active and challenging as ours. From the various nationalities amongst our group to the colorful personalities of each member, it’s safe to say that we are an interesting group. But nevertheless, it works. I don’t know how, but it does.

Within our team, we’d like to think that we have had the most informative campaign there is of all the teams this year. From the innumerable class presentations, tabling events, and of course, our recent debt panel featuring Jackson State’s own business professors, we believe that you could ask almost any student on our campus if they’ve heard of “Up to Us”, I’m sure they’d say, “Yes”. They’d probably go on to say that they’ve seen our comical videos, endless posts on social media, or one of our members within their classrooms. At this point, many might even remember the national debt figure we’ve professed throughout Tiger nation. Granted, as a university we are much smaller than most state schools, but nonetheless, we’ve been putting in some work as a team.

To say the least, our team has come to conquer this challenge to increase national debt awareness on Jackson State University’s campus. But most importantly, we’ve become a cohesive team wherein everyone contributes and every member matters. In our group, our opinions really count. Being in college is not only about your academic track and overall G.P.A. It’s about the experiences you create, the bonds you form, and ultimately, the everlasting memories you’ll carry throughout your lifetime.

During the course of this competition, our team has overcome illness, stress, homesickness, endless frustration, and even burnout. Despite these, here at JSU, I’m truly grateful that there’s a sense of lasting unity within our team and a freshly conjured friendship which has allowed us to endure throughout this seemingly long academic year. Whether we win this competition or not, JSU’s “Up to Us” team has already found success in our teamwork, organization, and leadership development, which has been driven through this competition. A true winner is not measured by a title or their countless accolades. A real champion is measured by the adversity they have overcome. By this standard of success, we’ve already taken home the prize.