Amanda Menzel
Hard work, Dedication
That’s our motto. “Hard work, dedication.” To be one hundred percent honest, I
had no idea that we even needed Learning Beyond the Classroom credit. Within my first
week of classes here at Eastern Michigan University, I was approached in the REC/IM
fitness room during one of my workouts. I was in the middle of my leg exercises, and
something caught my eye. There was a girl and a guy doing some crazy and extreme
workout next to me, but something was different about it. There was a man pushing them
through the entire thing. I honestly had never seen someone so motivating, and that is
when he approached me.
It was Andrew Slater, the EMU boxing club’s coach. I remember him asking what
sport I played and recommending that I come to practice and try out boxing. My first
thought was “Me? Amanda Menzel? A boxer? No. Way. That’s funny.” As soon as I left
the REC/IM, I called my parents—typical of any college freshman. I told them about the
coach, the team and how practice was at seven o’clock that night. They really encouraged
me to go and it took so much courage for me to show up that night. I was terribly afraid
that I was going to get punched in the nose, when deep down I knew that everything
would be okay, and I wouldn’t be fighting anyone just yet. That was one of the first steps
in my journey to becoming more confident as a student and young woman overall.
So I showed up. September 9, 2014 is the day I fell in love with this team that I
now call my “family away from home.” As short as my boxing career actually is at the
moment, is has been the most life changing experience. It takes incredible mental
strength to be a boxer and everything it entails. It is so difficult to understand until
someone actually goes through the process, but the mental strength that I have gained is
incredible. From my first sparring session, to my first bloody nose, to my first step into
the ring of an official match, I would not change any of it for the world.
Even though this club does not have anything to do with classroom experience, it
has affected my college learning experience in the best way possible. Being able to have
practice three times a week and just get away from the books for a while is such an
amazing outlet for emotion and stress most importantly. Most college students could
testify that mental stability and focus is absolutely necessary to be successful as a college
student. Overall, attending a university is stressful and being able to let that stress out in a
fun and relaxed environment has turned me into a more relaxed and focused person. I
love where I am going with this sport as the current President of the Eagles Boxing Club.