This post is going to be about student athletes, but most importantly the grades of those student athletes and how they compare to those of students who do not participate in athletes. This is a big deal in today’s world because the popularity trend of athletes is on the rise, as noted by all of the media focus on famous sports and athletes around the world.

Athletes are recognized by sports fanatics who want to be them.Athletics are the most popular of extracurricular activities for students. Because of this we need to take a closer look and see what the impact will be on  not only athletic careers, but more importantly, academic careers and the life of athletes after their athletic careers are over.

A very common theme across the research provided by authors who have examined the correlation between academic success and participation in athletics deals with student-athletes’ grades and their success or lack thereof while being a student-athlete.  One challenge, that of having inconsistent research findings as previously mentioned, must be continuously considered as this topic is examines as it is important to identify that there numerous perceptions when it comes to agreement upon what is interpreted to be seen as positive and negative outcomes of being a student-athlete.

Some positive outcomes  come from the availability to access extra help if needed, and the inherent motivation for student-athletes to do good in the classroom in order to be eligible. (Adler, 1985). On the other side of things a negative effect is that researchers  have found that some student athletes do not care about their academic career and are just attending college in order to play intercollegiate athletics (Adler, 1985). It was also found that although the student athletes may have lower overall grades, they will have still have a high chance of graduation due to all of the extra help and resources that they are offered.

Shulman and  Bowen (2011) discusses how incoming college athletes were, on average less prepared for college academically often because of differences in acceptance rates and other special conditions. This is because, on occasion  some student-athletes, that would not usually be admitted into a certain university or a certain program within a university are sometimes given acceptance, in disregard of their comparative qualifications, because of some other unique situational conditions.

Some athletes typically receive lower grades than non-athletes. This is partially the result of having an academic skill-set that was not strong enough to get them accepted into a certain university.  There is debate on whether or not athletics help or harm academics details how hard it is to determine for certain any findings due to all of the different intervening factors like their major and academic background.(Maloney & McCormick, 1993).  Athletes are more likely to be talked about and “stories about the academic successes and failures of athletes so far outweigh similar stories about nonathletes.” (Maloney & McCormick, 1993, p.555). This attention puts added pressure on student athletes to succeed as much as possible because they are being watched and constantly examined, a viewpoint that reinforces the sources cited earlier about athletes’ grades.

In the past there was a strong trend that college athletes got lower grades and had a lower graduation rates. As time goes on there certainly seems to be a change occuring in that trend. There is a wide variety of studies going on there is a lot of  data and agreement upon what data is relevant but among the most popular of their conclusions is that over the years student-athlete grades on average are becoming closer and closer to the averages of all students. Some studies also have shown that athletes are not as prepared or as qualified for college.

Athletes may receive help if needed.(Melendez, 2006) Another source that had very similar findings was Purdy, Eitzen and  Hufnagel (1982) their findings suggest that that the student-athletes did not exceed as well as non-athletes in the classroom. However the results changed when they broke their study down by studying each specific sport. Although their overall findings are the same, they found that not all student-athletes were even necessarily similar in the classroom setting. It showed that men’s basketball and football had the lowest GPAs and had the worst overall academic standing in college athletics.  

Aries (2004) held a study at an ivy league school and looked at their  student-athletes entering academic standing and compared their collegiate academic standings. Although they found that they had lower incoming grades they did not show that trend as much as expected during their time at the University. Perhaps the narrowing gap in that study can be explained by Adlers’ (1985) study cited earlier which stated that student athletes receive extra help in their academic studies when they need it. To compare Aries (2004) findings  to Purdy, Eitzen and Hufnagel (1982) also found that student-athletes’ grades are lower on average than the rest of the student population. With multiple sources agreeing, there seems to be a trend although there is other research that has been done that shows that student-athletes perform just as well and actually have higher graduation rates(Purdy, Eitzen, & Hufnagel, 1982).

In conclusion there is an impact on individuals who participate in athletics and make it a part of their lifestyle. The grades of individuals vary from those who are athletes when compared with the grades of those who are not. However the findings on this topic of research has not been consistent so far and there will continue to do  more research in the future. Through their involvement of athletics, athletes are often given opportunities to gain individual life lessons and acquired learning and social skills.

The name of the restaurant that I went to for my restaurant review was names Sidetrack Bar & Grill. The location of this restaurant is 56 E Cross Street Ypsilanti , Michigan. This is located in depot town in Ypsilanti right next to the railroad tracks. This is why the name of the restaurant is sidetrack. Inside the building it has a railroad themed look along with multiple taxidermy animals.

This is your typical bar and grill it has handmade burgers that they are known for. As stated on their menu”Our Famous Handcrafted Burger” Rated one of the nation’s 20 BEST BURGERS by GQ Magazine. However they also serve a wide variety of  food like sandwiches, soups, salads, and desserts.

The physical appearance of the restaurant from the outside is a old multi-story  building that is connected to other business. This type of building is very common for the area in which the restaurant is located. When I went to sidetrack the parking that was available is either behind the building. However when I went all of that parking was full and someone was outside to direct us and tell us to park across the street. This made it slightly inconvenient to get to the restaurant because of the busy road that it is located on.

The first impression that I got when I walked into the building was that is was very busy and crowded. There was decent spacing between the tables, but there was a lot of people in there so it made it not seem as open.I was surprised with the amount of tables in the restaurant because there was multiple part of the restaurants. There were three separate rooms that part of the restaurant, but were separated by big glass windows that could be used for larger parties or reservations

There was not a waiting area for people who had came in if you could not be seated instantly.They would have to stand in or near the doorway or outside. The restrooms were nice considering the fact that it was a old building. They were very clean and seemed to be well taken care of.

The decor of the building was very unique appealing. The decor included multiple train track crossing signs and lights, which added to the theme. Besides those it also had a lot of taxidermy deer, bears and other animals.

Where I ended up sitting was upstairs in the building, it was its own smaller room that overlooked the lower part of the restaurants from very large antique windows which where cool looking. Since I was upstairs with a large group I was with the noise volume was nice where I was because I could hear the people that I came with.

The general population that went to this restaurant that I noticed were almost all Caucasians, with a few exceptions. The age group was mostly people ranging from 20-50 years old or middle aged people. The restaurant was not real high class and it was affordable so there appears to be a lot of middle class people.

The menu of the restaurant  had a older look to it by the fonts used and theme of it. The menu was very easy to understand because the sections and categories of food were in a different colorand in a larger font. The price range on the menu for most meals was between $7 and $10. This was very reasonable for the amount of food that you get.

 

For dinner I ordered the BBQ Pork Sandwich plate. The sandwich had a very good amount of pork in it and was very full. There was a good BBQ flavor to the pork. However some of the bites that I took didn’t fall apart like I would hope for it to. The fries that I got that came with them were very good and were cooked good and had good seasoning. The serving size of the fries was also pretty large. I  went with a group of nine people and I felt as though the food did not take long to prepare. I say this because usually when you go someplace it takes longer to make a order for a large group.

Since I went in a group of nine, we called ahead and got a reservation.However when we got there they sent us to the wrong room and then ended up seating us in a different area. I believe that they forgot about our reservation because they seemed to be confused about what our reservation name was. However even with this mix up we still got seated almost instantly. The waitress we had was very friendly and on top of everything the whole night

The webpage for sidetrack is very helpful and has a lot of tabs to all sorts of information that you may need if you are interested in attending sidetrack anytime in the future.

 

The first influential person  that I am going to talk about is someone that I personally know and am super close with. This person is my older sister Ashley. It is common for younger siblings to want to be like their older siblings and do exactly what they do. Lucky enough for me my sister is someone that almost anyone would want to be like and copy as a younger sibling. She has influenced my life in so many ways.

The first way in which she has influenced my life is in my hobbies that we share. Since she is older than me she often had the opportunity to do things that I could not participate in yet. When we were younger we both played volleyball, basketball and softball. Seeing her playing these sports it made me want to do them as well. Even though she did not continue to play these sports through high school like I did she had a  great influence on me. If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t of been so active in sports. Being in sports year round since middle school has had a bigger influence on my life than almost anything else that I have done. It has gotten me to where I am today competing at a Division 1 level. I personally believe that none of this would have been possible without her and her push to always make me better.

She also has had an influence on my life in her drive that she has had in school. Being younger than her she set the standards for me and what I felt was necessary to achieve in school. Being the competitive person that I am if she achieved something you can bet that I was right there with her trying to do the same thing if not something better. In school she has always been a great student and smart individual so I’m just trying to do the same thing. Ashley makes me strive for the best and to not accept anything less, even if I’m not as smart as her. She completed and graduation from college with a degree in accounting with a GPA of 3.92, which sets high standards for me and will only make me want to strive for the best.

The second person that I see as an influential person is my Sociology professor here at Eastern Michigan University Denise Reiling, Ph.D.  I chose her as an influential person who has impacted several people. I say this because just during the half of semester I have had her as a professor she has had such an influence on me and how I view a lot of topics differently now. So this being said I know she has had to of had a influence on other student along with her family, friends and others.

Part of her being so influential to others may be because of her profession in sociology. Sociology is everywhere and she makes such deep connections to the real world and really helps student open their eyes on today’s problems and how we should approach them differently. Her classroom is a place where I feel as though all students are given the information in which we need to learn and to apply it to real life making it influential. Unlike other classes where you wonder if you will ever need this information again.

Another aspect of her class is that she talks frequently about her life story. Her main focus that it has to deal with is upward social mobility, which means moving up a social status. She talks about how she came from a very poor family and all of the struggles that she has gone though to get to where she is now. Her life story is by far one of the most life changing and inspiring ones that I have ever heard. It influences people by making others realize that achieving what you want won’t always be easy, but it is possible. This makes students feel hope for themselves and others around them which Is really influential of her.

The third influential person I am going to talk about Martin Luther King Jr. He is an influential person who has gone down in history and has affected a very large group of people in a positive way. I chose him because I see him as someone who has had the greatest influence on others throughout history. Martin Luther King Jr. is very influential because he was one of the leaders of a movement for racial equality. During this movement he preached to others to help them see what the problem was during the time and spoke about it being resolved in the future. He  lead silent protest and other events that changed others beliefs and views of racial discrimination. His influence on racial discrimination is one of the most important in history and without him racial discrimination would not have been ended when it was.

His actions were so influential that he is still talked about to this day and almost everyone knows who he is and what he has done to end racial discrimination in the United States. His influence is held onto by celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. day as a federal holiday every year on the third monday of january. What he envisioned the world to be changed it and made possibly one of the biggest impacts in history. By acting out in nonviolent protest it shows a good example on how there are multiple ways to solve a problem and that violence is not the answer.  His role was very influential on how people view african americans today and how they used to be viewed. By comparing these you can see how his hard work has caused advancements that were needed in order to get where we are in today’s society. Being the influential person he was has changed how others act towards the topic of race as a whole.

 

 

1.Buy a lake house

This is on my bucket list because it is something that I have wanted ever since I was a little kid. I Grew up always being on the lake or around the water. My favorite place to go camping was up north to Burt Lake. My family would go there every summer and we would spend hours out on the lake. Whenever people ask me what one of my goals are in life I usually skip right over the part about what I want to be career wise and right to the part where I tell people that I am going to own a lake house. It’s probably my number one priority once I get out of college. Even though they are more expensive than normal houses I am going to try my best to make it happen.

2. Own a boat

Owning a boat to me is seen as another thing you should own  if you have a lake house. While growing up every summer I spent a decent amount of time out on my families boat, and I know how much I enjoyed it and still do so I want to own one of my own in the future.

3. Ride a bull

If you go a step back before I wanted a lake house the most consistent thing on my bucket list that has never gone away is to ride a bull. I feel like this more unique than some other things on the bucket list because of the reason why it’s on my bucket list. 

 

Growing up I Lived on a small farm were we constantly had cows, so naturally enough I enjoy watching rodeos and almost anything to do with livestock. Riding a bull has been on my bucket list for probably the past 8 years now. Although I am going to have to put it off for now until after college I know it is something that I want to do before the age of 25.

4. Go to the super bowl

Going to a super bowl was never on my bucket list until this assignment  just like a lot of the things that are next on my list. This came to my mind because it’s football season, and I just recently bought tickets to the lions and panthers for my boyfriend and I two year anniversary.

He wasn’t really the reason I bought them to be completely honest i’ll probably be more excited to go then he is. He is a college freshman also and plays football at his college. So lucky me I get to watch even more football.

5. Leave the country

Leaving the country would be something to add to my bucket list because it is something that I’ve obviously never done and because it’s something that everyone says is a great experience.

I have no idea where I want to go but i have a feeling that it will definitely be someplace tropical most likely an island of some sort like the Bahamas. This is also on my list because of the water side of things. I don’t think I would show much interest in going someplace in Europe like a lot of people do.

6. Get married

On a simpler side of things and something that almost all people want to do in their life is to find the one for them and to get married. This is on my bucket list for the same reason it is on others peoples bucket list because they want to be happy and to be with their life long best friend.

 I know most things on a bucket list is usually just something to do before you die. However  I prefer that this one happens sooner than later because of he next thing on my bucket list.

7.Have a Family

This one is on my bucket list for another obvious reason is that I want to have children. However the word family doesn’t just contain children, but also dogs.

 

This is also on my bucket list because growing up I was always super busy being involved with all sorts of different things. So when i am older I’ going to need something to keep me busy whether it is kids or a dog or two. I am currently undecided on what breed of dog I want but I am thinking either a Australian Shepard or a Golden Retriever.

8. Go to Las Vegas.

This is also something that was  never on my bucket list before, mostly because my bucket list before was barely even existent.

This is on my list because I have never been on the west side of the United States, but also because I know many people that have been to Las Vegas and have had a great time so it makes me want to go.

 

My first number I chose is one, not because it's the first number that you can truly start physically counting things, but because I have one sister. That may not be much to say but she is also my number one fan, supporter and best friend.

With those qualifications if I were to rank her on a scale of my favorite people on this earth she would be number one. The number one correlates with being first, since being sisters I didn't really have a choice of her being my first friend in life but I'm happy she was. 

Along with that she is  usually the first one I tell anything to not just my secrets, but the stuff that my parents probably wouldn't be to happy about if they found out. In matter of fact there probably isn't one thing that she doesn't know about me.
Next I would like to follow up with the number nine.The number nine is important to me through dates. Starting off with the fact that my birthday is February Ninth, but that isn't really the special part. 

I take so much pride in the number nine because it was also my grandpa's birthday on February ninth. I always Called him my birthday buddy, sadly he passed away of cancer in the spring of 2016.

 

 

Reason number three why the number nine has a impact on my life but I didn't know it until I was much older. When I was nine years old I had a crush on this guy named Jake, we used to get yelled at in the lunch room for stealing all the straws and having competitions of who could drink their milk the fastest with multiple straws.

Many years later on October ninth 2016 he became my boyfriend, which gives me another reason to be thankful for the number nine because it's the day of our anniversary. Its weird to think how many days in my life are significant that have the number nine in them and it makes me wonder how many more are t  to come in my future.

The last number I would like to discuss in my blog is the number seventy six. This number also comes back to where I began.My dad was born in 1976.My dad has played a huge part in my life and I know for a fact that I would not be the same if it was not for him.


His brother and my uncle also has an importance to me when I think of the number seventy six because he had a race car and his number was seventy six. It may not seem like that would have a huge impact on me or my life but going to the racetrack to watch him were some of the best times where my cousins and I would all get together.We wouldn’t really watch the races we would run and play behind the grandstands hoping not to get yelled at to much from our parents.

Fast forward to current day the number seventy six still has a meaning to my cousins,siblings and I.However this time it is a place called the 76th street truck stop diner. We go there frequently most of the time in the middle of the night when we have nothing else to do or when we are craving pancakes.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton