to like radio, marketing and social media.
Right now, I love just about everything in
journalism.”
As the personality for ASU’s family
video series, and as a member of the
new student orientation team, Talyn has
advice for parents and students about the
transition to college.
“From my experience, I would say
it’s better for parents to coach from
the sidelines because it gives students
a chance to explore and figure out who
they are,” she says. “If you have parents
stepping in every time there’s any type of
a hardship, I don’t think students grow
as easily. Every student is different, but
my parents let me figure it out to give me
space and allow me to grow. And when I
did need that help, they were right there
for me.”
As for new students, Talyn advises
them to get involved. Even though she
grew up in “a basketball family”
(her father is a coach and her two
brothers both played in
high school), she decided
to start attending Sun
Devil football games in
her first semester.
“I really love the atmosphere
of college football,” she says. “I
made a point to learn the game, and my
friend and I would get to the student
section hours early to claim our spot in
the front row...since we’re both so short.
That’s definitely one of the highlights of
my involvement outside class.”
Getting involved is especially
important for out-of-state students, Talyn
says, because it gets your mind working
and helps pass the time, and keeps you
from dwelling on missing your family
back home. And while she recommends
students get a good academic planner to
avoid getting overloaded with last-minute
projects, she says it’s equally important to
create free time for yourself.
“I think I struggled with that a little
freshman year, because I was like ‘school,
school, school’ and drove myself crazy
until I figured out that I can’t do work all
the time,” she recalls. “Finally I was like,
‘Where’s my fun?’ You have to remember
that everything isn’t due right that
second.”e
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PHOTOGRAPHY Courtesy of ASU V9 - FALL maskmatters.org 81
and their families during New Student
Orientation programs. This year, she was
promoted to a leadership position as
the Orientation Event Lead, where she
helps plan orientation programs while
doing presentations in front of students
and family members—something the
journalist-to-be particularly enjoys.
In addition, Talyn served as the
moderator for ASU’s Maroon and Gold
Family Connection chats, a series of
college parenting videos on ASU’s family
website. Filming the videos for families
was an opportunity to indulge a passion
she hopes will turn into a career someday:
being on camera.
“My dream job is definitely to be
on ‘Good Morning America’ because
I love that show,” she says. “But, lately,
I’ve been experiencing different things
in the journalism world and some of my
dreams have shifted a little. I’ve started