05/16/19 kb
Baron Green and four other graduating seniors were asked to speak to the same set of questions about their college careers. The transcript has been condensed and lightly edited for form and concision.

Baron Green, Oberlin, a 2014 graduate of Decatur Community High School in Oberlin, is graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting (public).

Who was Baron Green when he first came to Fort Hays State? What was he like?

I would say, throughout my five years here, I have not changed a whole heck of a lot, although what I know about myself has changed quite a bit. I was a pretty shy individual when I came here. Rather shy, quiet, although I've always been kind of a hard charger. I apply myself pretty hard, pretty fast. And I got involved really quickly in a lot of things, which has kind of stuck with me.

But, just being shy, I've always been very committed to my academics, very committed to my extracurriculars, things of that nature. And I try to have a long term vision for myself always, so I know at least who I'm working to become or what I'm working toward in life. Although, when I came here, I was a little unsure of what I wanted to be or do. I started as a criminal justice major and then two, two and a half years in, I kind of made the switch to accounting. So, kind of an indication that I maybe didn't have my sights right on the mark to begin with but of course, you live and you learn and you adjust the scope as necessary.

Who is Baron now? What changed?

I came to Fort Hays and really wanted to experience new things. When I first came here, early on, was involved in a whole slew of things, a lot of unrelated things, everything from choir to defensive tactics, martial arts, academic organizations, honor societies, everything.

I realized fairly early on that I just don't have the time – there's only 24 hours in a day – and I didn't always have time for all these things. I had to take a step back and figure out what are the things that I value. What are the things that are bringing value to me? What am I bringing in terms of value to the people around me? And so I reduced my involvement but tried to commit a little bit more wholehearted to those few things that I stuck with.

I really came to appreciate the little things in life and have an appreciation that I'm only one guy, I'm only human, and I only have one life here. So I've learned to place a lot of importance lately on the human interactions. Being at Fort Hays, I'm incredibly blessed to be surrounded by people that are better than me.

Who and what helped him become the person he is now?

I would say it's kind of a “who changed me and through what.” My freshman and sophomore years, I was probably simultaneously involved in five to six organizations at a time. I got a lot out of those, of course, I enjoyed my time with those. And then I joined Alpha Kappa Psi professional business fraternity here on campus, and that's kind of how I grew close to Dr. Cole Engel and Dr. Anthony Gabel. Those two have been very, very influential in my progression through college.

But, Alpha Kappa Psi has also kind of been where I've found a lot of my really close friendships and things like that. I attribute a great deal of who I am now to Cole and Tony and the other individuals in Alpha Kappa Psi. They challenge themselves and they challenge me.

What else would you like to say?

Being a shy person, I kind of did my own thing – did my studies, went to my organizations, made my part, and that was my cycle. And now I've come to realize there's a whole host of people in my life that have helped me get to where I am. To help the next person in line has really become a very important thing to me.

I want to be the best version of me that I can, and so I continually try to make myself better. But at the same time I feel like a very important part of life is to bring people along with you. If I'm getting better, if I'm pushing towards better things, I like to know that I'm helping someone else do the same.