Name: Sabrina Romero
Major: Communication Studies
Hometown: Santa Cruz, Bolivia 

Where are you from?
I am from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, in South America. Santa Cruz is a very tropical and humid location filled with tons of huge green palm trees. Unfortunately, there is a lot of poverty that is prevalent where I live.  

When you are not studying, what are you doing?
I am either with my friends or I’m exercising. I love taking walks and laying by the pool. I try to spend time outdoors as much as possible. Growing up, my dad was really hard on us about sports and being active, so I think that outdoorsy desire stems from that. I play tennis and golf, but if I had to pick an absolute favorite, it would be tennis. I used to play on a travel tennis team, and we would hop from city to city inside Bolivia to places like La Paz, Cochabamba and Tarija. 

How has COVID-19 affected you?
Every summer I go home to Bolivia and we normally do a big vacation with our family. Because of COVID-19 this year, we didn’t get to go to Europe and visit Croatia and Turkey as planned. In March, I came home from studying abroad in Spain, and my family and I just ended up staying in Bolivia because the borders were shut down. I also couldn’t work in Bolivia because businesses were closed as well, so it was a long summer!  

What extracurricular activities are you involved in on and off campus?
I work at the Brown-Lupton University Union (BLUU) where I monitor the building and do hourly head counts. My job is especially crucial right now because TCU is taking strong COVID-19 precautions and being very specific with how many people they let in at one time. Outside of TCU, I work with an organization called Operation Smile. This association provides fully-financed surgeries to kids with cleft palates. We raise money and calm the parents who are nervous about the procedures. Most of this volunteering takes place when I am home in Bolivia because the missions are more prevalent there. It’s normally a full week of mission work from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. I am typically at the hospital working as a translator for the American doctors or the patients.  

Advice to a first-year student?
Be open-minded and explore. Be willing to meet new people because you’ll end up making so many new interesting friendships. Coming from another country where people are very square and close–minded with their thoughts, I was prepared to adjust and think outside of my comfort zone. This mindset has definitely expanded my thought process and allowed me to view life through many new perspectives. 

If you could sum up your college experience in one word what would it be?
Life-changing. It gave me an entirely different perspective on life and how I should become even more open–minded in my opinions, in what I am accepting of, and of what is “normal.” Life-changing because it taught me to be adventurous and enjoy being in new places that weren’t necessarily in my comfort zone. Life-changing because I met my best friends. Life-changing because I made the best memories.   

Click here to learn more about the communication studies major at TCU.