As a senior at the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center, Sierra Williams has her sights set on applying to graduate programs to pursue her doctorate in audiology. With four more years of school ahead, Sierra’s definitely appreciative of being awarded one of five $5,000 “College Cash” prizes from TFCU. “When I told my mom, she was crying,” said Sierra. “It was a relief financially.”
Sierra became interested in audiology when volunteering as a special needs mentor in high school. “People think audiology is just about hearing loss,” said Sierra. “There are lots of diagnoses in audiology. And I can work with everyone from newborns to seniors.”
In fact, the self-described “type-A” student is already working part-time as a newborn screener with Hearts for Hearing. The Tulsa native is experienced in juggling lots of responsibilities. For three years she competed in track and field at the University of Oklahoma – competing in 800-meter and one-mile races.
“I love running. I do half marathons today,” said Sierra. “But [running at OU] was definitely the most challenging and rewarding thing I’ve ever done. The time management of balancing school, work and being an athlete is so hard. It requires a lot of reliability and accountability with 6 a.m. practices and weekends traveling to compete at meets. You have to be on-the-dot or you can’t be an athlete.”
Sierra was “on-the-dot” and entered the TFCU “College Cash” contest when her friend’s mom, a TFCU member, told her about the promotion. Today, Sierra has joined the TFCU membership of more than 450,000 people strong as she hits her stride with school, work and life.