For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant for your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.
Proverbs 2:10-11
MY BACKGROUND STORY
I am Kaylynn Popp, and I am a student at Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis. I am majoring in exercise science with a track in pre-occupational therapy, and I am earning a minor in health psychology and a certificate in personal training. I wanted to study at this school because I would be able to spread my wings, be exposed to a multitude of opportunities, and have a new community of family and friends to support me.
I am looking forward to the information and experience I will gain as a student in Indianapolis. I came from a small, rural town in northwest Indiana where there were not many chances to participate in large projects or exciting community events. The closest thing I could do to feel like I was contributing in a large way was in helping my school. I raised money for my athletic teams and helped at a camping trip for the visually impaired, but that was not good enough for me. I learned that I wanted to be part of something that would make a difference in a huge way. I want to help others.
I am confident in my abilities and skills in and out of the classroom. I was a very active student in high school. Though my school did not have much, I took every chance to gain life skills from what was offered. I learned time management while balancing meetings, practices, and schoolwork. My coaches taught me how to be respectful. DECA taught me how to be professional and how to think on my feet through multiple business competitions. Because of the skill set I have, I was able to come to Indianapolis for a trip to represent my school. The school was receiving a grant, and at the award presentation, I had to be on a student panel, answering questions on how effectively the money would be used. It was an incredible experience that helped me assert who I am and what I have to offer.
COSTA RICA: MISSION TRIP 2022
In the summer of 2022, I joined a team of 16 individuals on a mission trip to San Jose, Costa Rica. Our trip lasted nine days (from July 26th to August 3rd), and we worked along side one of our sister churches in San Jose. While there was time for us to relax, experience the culture, and travel to the ocean, we had a focus and a goal to minister to the surrounding community and church. Because of the work of a previous mission trip, we were able to be the first host a vacation Bible school with various games and crafts for one of the inter city schools that have been hesitant about this happening. While majority of the team was working with the children, one of my friends and I worked alongside the kitchen staff all day by completing various tasks such as cleaning and washing multiple dishes. In addition to the work with the school, a few members of the team were helping to lead tutoring and self-defense programs that the church sponsors for members of the community. We also had the opportunity to lead out on one of their weekly picnics to help build the community and offer space for fellowship.
This is one of my most treasured experiences due to the tremendous amount of growth I went through leading up and during this trip. Prior to heading down, I assisted in one of our fundraising events by being an emcee. This was a position that I have never experienced, and it challenged by ability to be spontaneous and witty and allowed me to practice public speaking. On the first day of our trip, changed flight plans in Miami forced us to be a day late and to fly into an airport in Liberia, Costa Rica, which is five hours away from San Jose. This was a great opportunity for us all to practice patience and gratuity for the small things. Because we were immersed headfirst into the culture, I was able to practice my ability to communicate effectively, both verbally with the minimal Spanish I know and through nonverbal, physical cues. Figuring out how to communicate with the ladies I worked with in the kitchen was honestly one of my most exciting and fun memories as we did not know Spanish for the most part and they did not know English. During the trip, I reinforced my ability to be unstructured and more spontaneous, and I was given an opportunity to speak publicly by sharing my testimony through an interpreter. This entire experienced humbled me and showed me how much I appreciate serving others, and I am grateful for the chance to get out of the country, experience another culture, and broaden my view of the world and others.
ATHLETICS
I have been active in sports since I was seven years old. I have been in a variety of sports, namely soccer, cheerleading, dance, volleyball, and track and field. Because of the nature of each of these sports, I have learned multiple skill sets and have been able to work in different team environments, varying from collaborative team effort to more individualized events. All of these experiences have helped me to uncover a passion for playing sports and being active, and it has helped me tremendously in pursuing my degree.
The pursuit for my degree stemmed from my experience as an athlete. In the summer of 2018, I broke my right index finger along the epiphyseal plate, and due to the severity of this break, I had to get surgery to implant two titanium screws. I attended sessions with a local occupational therapist to regain my range of motion in the joint, and later, I shadowed the therapist because of my interest in the health field and athletics. When I started college, I initially wanted to become an occupational therapist with a focus in hand therapy, but lately my interests have expanded to research, coaching, personal training, and other rehabilitation therapies.
My background in sports have made my journey through my degree relatable and exciting, and it has helped me to make my degree personal. Going through my classes, I was able to relate my studies and projects to the sports I have played, and I am constantly applying the principles I have learned in the classroom to how I would train others and myself for these sports. My past experiences have also helped me with my social interactions with my classmates and others around me. Sports are a large part of society in today's age, so having athletic experiences are helpful in relating with others and creating and developing relationships.
THE DEATH OF A CLOSE FRIEND
During the summer of 2018, I lost of my closest friends Rhyann in a car accident. Rhyann was one of my best friends, and we have gone through schooling and many different skill-building experiences together. We were partners for our high school business competition, DECA, and she would have been the president of our chapter with myself being vice president. During our classes, we would partner with one another to learn and explore the labs and projects that our teachers presented us with. Rhyann was one of the most genuine people I knew, and she knew where she was going with her life.
Processing her death was a sobering experience for me, because it brought the reality of what life has for us into my perspective. I started to look outside the box I had lived in and explore a more holistic view on life. This started me on a pursuit to understand spirituality, mental health, and how the components of life interact. I have worked on understanding the purpose of my life and the internal factors within myself that affects how I treat others and more of my external interactions. Because of her death, I have considered and continued to pursuit the fullness of life rather than the confined sport-and-school focus I had been living in.
A WOMAN OF WISDOM
Wishing for wisdom
Discernment will lead me to
A new goal for life
