Blog Entry

It really is amazing how much one decision can change the course of your life. Sometimes, that decision can have a ripple effect on all areas of your life and lead you down a path you never knew you wanted to go down the entire time.

I’ve been there before. I went down the path I thought I was supposed to follow in college. I was a pre-med major for three years. Then I suddenly came to the realization that I didn’t want to be in school until I was 30 and have ridiculous amounts of debt. I wanted to do something I loved. So I changed my major to political science before my senior year and that decision opened up possibilities and set up a chain reaction of events to lead me to where I am today.

That summer after I changed my major, I took a road trip out east and went to Boston and New York City. I had never been either place before and was looking forward to seeing the sights. The cities were amazing, but I got something I didn’t expect out of the trip: a career path. One of the people that I met on that trip was Jenn Krawiec. She was a student at UMass and worked with intramural sports there just like I did at my undergrad at Valpo. She mentioned something about doing a graduate assistant position with intramural sports after she finished college, and getting grad school paid for. I didn’t even know such a thing existed, but needless to say I was intrigued.

I had played sports my entire life and had worked intramural sports for two years as a student in college, so the fit was there all along without me even realizing it. It took a fresh perspective and an open mind to have the light bulb go on and pursue something that I loved. I was lucky enough to land a graduate assistant position at Western Illinois University, and the two years I spent there just confirmed that I had found my calling.

After grad school, I had two-year stints at jobs at UConn and Cornell before moving down here to Texas. The experiences that I have had so far have shaped me into the person I am today. Growing up in Indiana, I thought the farthest I would ever move from home would be someplace like Indianapolis or maybe Chicago. Instead, I have lived in five different states and have loved every bit of my journey.

I would have never gone on that journey if I had not changed my major. That decision opened my mind to infinite possibilities that were then presented to me a short time later. I got lucky. But I got lucky by having an open mind and pursuing something that I had always been passionate about. So my advice is to pursue your passion, whatever that may be. Do what you want to do, not what you think you are “supposed” to do. And enjoy the journey, because at the end of the day that is what it’s all about.

About the Author: Brian Weaver is the Senior Assistant Director of Recreational Sports at Sam Houston State. He is a basketball official and has refereed at the collegiate and semi-professional levels, including a UIL State Championship Final in 2017. If you are interested in becoming an official, you can register here for more information,