Mikaela Sousounis – October 2017
Texas A&M Department of Economics Amazing Student
October, 2018
Name: Mikaela Sousounis
Hometown: Lampasas, Texas
High School: Lampasas High School
Degree objective: Bachelor of Science in Economics
Expected graduation: May 2018
University highlights, awards, scholarships: I’ve been on the Dean’s List throughout college and have had the honor of receiving the Professor Svetozar Pejovich Scholarship Award from the Economics Department.
Current employment: Student worker with the Department of Economics.
Family ties to Texas A&M: My dad is an Aggie and he never lets me forget it.
I chose to attend Texas A&M because… I didn’t know what I wanted to study, so the main reason why I chose A&M was the atmosphere. Out of all the universities l visited in high school, I’ve never felt more welcomed, celebrated, challenged or encouraged like I did the day I visited A&M.
My favorite things to do on campus are… I lead a once-a-week Lifegroup through Antioch Community Church on Monday nights at 7 in the MSC (Room L427 if anyone is interested)! It’s a time to come together as community and grow in what it looks like to follow Jesus and see the ends of the earth know His name, loo! Best two hours spent on campus by far.
When I have free time, I like… Ask any of my roommates and they’ll tell you I like to bake. I also love going for long walks with my friends, sounds cliche, but go on a long walk during finals week and tell me it was not an amazing stress relief.
The craziest thing I’ve done is… Hiked a mountain in India wilh a group of friends when it was unknown to us that we would be hiking any sort of mountain that day. A couple of donuts, one bottle of water and 4 hours later, we reached the top and somehow forgot about the blood (literally), sweat and tears it took to do that when we looked out across India and realized how blessed we were lo gel lo sec something so beautiful.
My favorite place to study is… Gogh Gogh Coffee is definitely my favorite place to study right now. It’s so open and peaceful it reminds me of a spa. l also love Sweet Eugene’s when I want to study but I also want to hang out with friends.
My favorite ECON professor is… Going lo such a renowned school like Texas A&M, I’ve had amazing professors every semester. That said, my favorite professor is definitely Dr. George Naufal. I haven’t met a more compassionate professor that genuinely cares for his students’ success. He has encouraged me to pursue my passions and even helped in doing so by writing me a letter of recommendation for law school with the most sincere desire to make it the best letter he could write on my behalf. If you ever get the chance to take one of his courses, do yourself a favor and sign up for it.
My favorite part of being an Economics student is… The thing I love about Econ is that it is such a wide area of study. I really enjoy the flexibility of being able to learn about a breadth of topics through the unique lens of economics.
If I could share an afternoon with anyone, I would love to share it with… President Franklin D. Roosevelt. I’m fascinated by wars, specifically the battle of Pearl Harbor. I’d love to know the joint effort that took place between him and the rest of the military leaders to overcome such a devastating hit to the pacific PAGE 2 Heel. I also admire his truth and wisdom that is so simply captured by this quote of his “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
If I knew I could not fail, I would… Audition for the part of Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. Bonus: that’s my favorite movie.
If money was not a consideration, I would love to… I would have homes built for refugees fleeing terror in the Middle East.
What is your passion and how are you committed to pursuing it? My dream is to fight human trafficking and religious persecution globally. I’m currently in the process of applying to law school for the fall of 2018 where I plan to specialize in international and comparative law. Another huge part of pursuing this is prayer. I believe it’s through Jesus I receive these desires, and it’s through him that they will be fulfilled
After graduation, I plan to… I plan to go to law school after graduating, and after law school, who knows. I hope to be working overseas! I also plan to go skydiving the summer following graduation. I’ve been all talk my entire college career, it’s time I actually follow through.
The one Texas A&M experience I will always remember is… I’ll always remember the first exam I look al Texas A&M. I failed it. It was definitely not how things went in high school. I thought about giving up right then, that I was doomed and nothing l could do would make it better. (We have all been there). But I decided to persevere, work harder, and learn, maybe for the first time, what grace towards myself looked like. I ended up making an A in the class. Going forward, I’ll always have that experience to remind myself that being challenged isn’t a bad thing, but possibly the best thing that helps us grow. Thanks, and Gig ‘Em