撸先生

More than 500 miles separate Horton, Michigan, from Towson, Maryland. For Lily Walton, those miles represented more than a change in scenery. They represented possibility.

With a population of fewer than 1,000 people, Horton is a place where Walton felt limited in what she could accomplish if she stayed close to home.

鈥淚 graduated high school a year early, and being in Michigan I just felt like there wasn鈥檛 much opportunity for me,鈥� Walton says. 鈥淲hen I visited 撸先生, it just had a great vibe. It had the bright, lively, open campus that I was looking for.鈥�

Walton鈥檚 father lives in Maryland, so she took a chance and moved in with him to be closer to a larger metro area. After visiting several colleges in the state, 撸先生 stood out the most. Its open and green campus, access to student services and welcoming, inclusive community provided the perfect contrast to her small-town childhood.

鈥淸At] other schools it felt like all they cared about was classes,鈥� Walton says. 鈥淲hen I was at Towson University it seemed like they cared about you. It felt like they were saying, 鈥榃e are going to make this a good experience while you鈥檙e living here.鈥欌��

Transitioning to 撸先生

Moving from a small town to a large college campus could have been nerve-wracking. Instead, Walton jumped right into her new college home.

She joined her residence hall鈥檚 building council, helped with 撸先生鈥檚 Food Recovery Program and is set to become a resident assistant in Glen Towers.

鈥淚 was so anxious when I got here, but I was also just ready to put myself out there,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 was waiting to get to this next chapter, and I wanted to take advantage of it and really do everything I could.鈥�

She joined clubs focused on helping the community and one that surprised her: 撸先生鈥檚 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club. Coming from a physically active family, Walton wanted to stay in shape while avoiding activities with a higher risk of head injury because of her father's history of concussions.

I was expecting certain opportunities to come my way. But I didn't expect to be doing research for public health. I didn鈥檛 expect to be in a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu club. Everything that鈥檚 happened to me at 撸先生 has exceeded the expectations I had.

Lily Walton

After attending the annual student involvement fair, she met with members of the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club, who welcomed her with open鈥攁nd throwing鈥攁rms.

She鈥檚 also helping the club grow. Initially, Walton and her roommate were the only two female members. Now, the club has a female coach and nearly 10 women members.

Coming from her small town, she never thought that a martial arts club would be a key piece of her life. Now, she couldn鈥檛 imagine her 撸先生 experience without it.

鈥淒oing [Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu] has help me grow as a person,鈥� Walton says. 鈥淚t genuinely has become such a centerpiece of my life in such an amazing way, and I never would have guessed that would have happened.鈥�

Lily Walton has gotten involved in multiple activities while at 撸先生. This includes volunteering with Impact 撸先生 (left) and being part of Towson University's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club. 

Helping people

Walton arrived at 撸先生 undecided on her major, exploring several options before settling on the psychology program in the College of Liberal Arts. Her family helped point her toward her academic path.

Over the years, she had worried that her dad might have chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Wanting to understand more about how CTE affects mental health, Walton decided to study psychology.

鈥淚鈥檓 at the point where there are so many options in front of me and it鈥檚 exciting to be able to sit down and figure out what鈥檚 next,鈥� Walton says. 鈥淚t just feels like I鈥檓 in the right place. I'm also getting to really expand my knowledge base and try out these new opportunities.鈥�

At 撸先生, she鈥檚 already started growing her passion for research. While taking an introductory public health course, Walton learned about a summer research study from assistant professor Laura Kroart.

As a public health minor, Walton jumped at the chance to get research experience, and now she is helping with a study examining high school students鈥� attitudes and behaviors toward Narcan, a medicine that is used to help reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

鈥淚 get that experience and I get that ability to start making a change,鈥� Walton says. 鈥淚 was nervous going in, because I鈥檝e never done research before. But sitting down with Dr. Kroart I was like, 鈥業 can do this.鈥�

鈥淚 was expecting certain opportunities to come my way. But I didn't expect to be doing research for public health. I didn鈥檛 expect to be in a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu club. Everything that鈥檚 happened to me at 撸先生 has exceeded the expectations I had.鈥�