By Emily Hawxwell
Sophomore Cammie Caviness is making the most of her time at William Peace University, balancing academics, athletics, and leadership. As an environmental studies major and member of the softball team, she has found her passion and community on campus.
Originally entering college undecided, Caviness discovered her love for environmental studies and hopes to pursue a career in paleontology. Along the way, she has embraced opportunities that have helped shape her college experience and develop new skills, from mentoring first-year students to building strong connections with teammates and professors.
Whether she is helping new students adjust to college life or competing on the field, the sense of community at Peace has played a key role in her growth.
Caviness tells more about her experiences, challenges, and future goals in the following Q&A.
Q: What’s your major, and why did you choose it?
A: I am majoring in environmental studies, and I chose it because I want to become a paleontologist and look at dinosaur fossils and stuff. That’s just something I’ve always loved growing up.
Q: Who at Peace has made the most profound impact on you, and how so?
A: I think Dawn Dillon has made a really big impact on me, because she helped me become a peer mentor this year. I came in at the last minute as a peer mentor in the middle of training, and she really helped me step into that role. Last year, my first year, she was there for me, and this year she’s still there for me.
Q: Which courses have been the most engaging and why?
A: I took a criminal justice course last spring, and I thought it was very engaging. We got to work in groups a lot, and we talked about a lot of different things. But I also think one of my environmental classes, Bio 131, was also very engaging, because we were doing a lot of group work, but we were also able to go outside and do stuff outside with the environment.
Q: How has your sophomore year at Peace been so far?
A: I think being a peer mentor is really enjoyable for me. I love being able to work with the new first-year students coming in. But I also think just making new connections, having new teachers as well, has also been really enjoyable. And then again, starting up softball and just being back with my teammates.
Q: What advice would you give incoming first-year students about college?
A: I think a lot of seniors in high school think that they need to have their major figured out as soon as they’re coming into college, but I think coming from someone who didn’t have their major figured out, college is really about finding something that you really enjoy and that you want to do. So I think it’s okay if you come in undecided and not to stress about your major immediately, and take that time to take classes that you think you might like.
Q: How would you give the same advice to someone who wants to switch majors?
A: I came on undecided, but I was between doing education and environmental studies. And then at one point, I was thinking about criminal justice, and I just kind of took classes to figure out which ones I would like most. I ended up picking environmental studies because I enjoyed it the most. But I think if you want to, switch majors. Don’t be afraid to. Just know yourself, and know what you want to do.
Q: What is your favorite part about being on the softball team at Peace?
A: My teammates and the coaches are great. I think we have very good team chemistry. We’re all super close, and we just have a good time, whether it’s at practice, at a game, or just hanging out together outside of it. I just really love the environment that it provides for me. I love that it’s so pivotal to have that team chemistry and that ability to connect with your teammates.
Q: How have the people on the team and coaches made a positive impact on you?
A: The coaches have really impacted me. Coming in my freshman year, we just switched to a new coach, but she had been an assistant coach, and she has been Coach Lauren Conway. She’s done a great job in the head coach position, and she’s really helped me with my hitting technique and just being able to improve me as a player, whether it’s doing little one-on-ones before practice or in practice and giving me feedback on something that I might have done a little bit wrong. My teammates are there to pick me up if I make a mistake, or they’re there for me if something else is going on. They’re really just a great community to have, and people that I can really lean on if something ever happens.
Q: How has being part of the softball team affected your teamwork skills and better prepared you for your future career?
A: I think being on the softball team has really helped with teamwork, because I’m used to working with multiple people and hearing a bunch of different ideas and opinions of what might be best for us. And I think school-wise, that comes in handy, with group activities and classes, because a lot of times, people have different ideas, and you want to do what’s best for you as a whole. I think being on the softball team really helped with that. But I also think in the future, it’ll just help me work with other people and really be able to make a connection with future coworkers and anybody I might work with in the future.
Q: What was a challenge you faced? How did you overcome it?
A: I think a challenge I faced was leaving home. I was the last of my siblings to be at home, and I’d always been like the youngest, so I was the last one, but I think leaving my parents and my friends from home as well was really hard for me. Coming to this school, where it is really such a close-knit group, and I like having my teammates. Also, having people in my classes and people from other sports who I’ve made a connection with really helped me kind of get over that and not be as homesick as I may have been if I didn’t have that close-knit community.