Running With the Sooners: Olivia Taylor

What did you do over your summer vacation? For senior Olivia Taylor, her summer might be hard to beat. She studied abroad in Ireland, interned at Nike for three months and was a spectator at the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials. That might seem like a fully loaded summer, but the schedule for the Russellville, Ark., native is just as hectic as a student-athlete at Oklahoma. Majoring in public relations with a minor in geographic information science, Taylor will graduate in December and has been accepted in the master of arts in global affairs program, which she will begin in the spring. She also interns with Visit Norman, the organization that works with people and groups who come to Norman for business and pleasure.

With her plethora of knowledge gained through her studies and internships, Taylor hopes to go into sports journalism. Luckily, Taylor was able to take some time to share her love of OU, antique vintage shops, all things fall, and all that she learned from her summer adventures. Oh and remember how Liam Meirow talked about his love of pancakes in the last feature? Perhaps it's not an isolated admiration after all.

ON CROSS COUNTRY:

“I was uncoordinated and I had a lot of energy, and cross country was a good fit. I enjoy being outside and I love the fall. The combination of the two made cross country a good fit. I enjoy the team aspect the most. I think it is a really unique sport in that a lot of it is co-ed. With practices and races, you are together with the entire team almost every single day. I just enjoy the people.”

ON WHAT APPEALED TO HER ABOUT OU:

“At first, the only reason I was interested in OU was just because I have a lot of family on my dad's side who live in Oklahoma. My dad went to OU, my older sister, Jillian, went to OU, so it was always there but I didn't want to do the same thing. I enjoy trying new things and just exploring new places. I think at first that was the only reason that OU was a turnoff, just the fact that I was thinking that, 'Okay, my family's been there, done that.'

“But everything was a really good fit from the academics to the campus. By far, I love this campus more than I have liked any other campus. I love the layout. I love how we basically have an army of gardeners. I like Norman as a whole, the community is really nice. I like how Campus Corner is across the street. I like how Main Street is less than a mile from campus. And then the running obviously - I really like this program. I think we have an amazing group of people. Everyone is so positive all of the time, and it doesn't feel like anything is fake or forced. I walk into the locker room and say hello to anyone and ask them how their day was. Everyone just cares about you. I think that is a big thing. I think every year I've grown to like OU more because my freshman year it was kind of 'okay, well this is college. I guess I'll get through, get my degree and be done.' Now that I am wanting to do a fifth year I find myself wishing I could go back and be a freshman and do it all over again because I don't really want to leave. I do and I don't because I want to go out and do new things, but I'm going to miss OU.”

ON WHAT MADE HER INTERSTED IN PUBLIC RELATIONS AND GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SCIENCE (G.I.S.):

“I am an indecisive person and I felt like public relations (P.R.) was a good mix of everything. I didn't know if I wanted to write, do event planning, or go into marketing, so public relations was a good combination of everything. G.I.S. is basically the visual component of P.R. in my opinion. You're taking all of the description that is within journalism and you're saying 'here's what you just read about. Let me show you what it really is.'

If I wrote an article about a new cross country course or a new trail system that was built recently, I can back it up with G.I.S. data. I could create a map that was a really great visual using graphic design. It is also technical and I could show you everything you needed to know about that course. I am glad that I choose to stick with what I started studying my freshman year. I think that whatever you do in life, even if you think it is a waste of time, along the way little things will start to come together. You can be able to say 'I remember learning about that two years ago. I didn't think it was applicable then but now I see why it is.' You can market yourself and frame what you've done in the past in a way that can sell you to a potential employer.”

Noteworthy: Not one to brag, Olivia has been named to the Dean's list four times out of six semesters, which to qualify requires a 3.50-3.99 grade-point average. She has also been recognized as a Sooner Scholar six times as well as been on the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll six times (must have a 3.0 GPA in the semester).

ON HER NIKE INTERNSHIP OVER THE SUMMER:

“I was with digital brand marketing. It's a little complicated at the world headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., because you've got your geography - I was with North America - and you've got your department, which was digital brand marketing, and then you have your category. My category was basketball. If anyone knows me, they know that I didn't previously know anything about basketball. Nonetheless, I was excited because it was Nike. I got there and I wouldn't say I was overwhelmed. I was ready to soak it all in. You go from one minute knowing nothing about basketball to the next being basically in the epicenter of professional basketball. My category dealt with everything from NBA to WNBA to kids and youth basketball, everything across the board. I think it was a really great experience because I was able to get the opportunity to go to a video shoot in Las Vegas. During that time, there was a specific portion of that shoot that dealt with one-on-one interviews with different NBA players. The coolest thing about that was that here's a sport that is the polar opposite of what I do, in my opinion. Through the one-on-one interviews with these professional players, they talked about issues that don't just affect athletes, but affect everyone across the world. They talked about their families, their motivation, why they do what they do, why they are passionate about basketball beyond just playing basketball, how they grew up and what kind of forces shaped them into the person they are. It just so happened that basketball was it but it could have been anything.

For me, yes, I run, but there's a connection and a foundation there that we all share regardless of sport. The weeks leading up to that moment, I kept thinking it was hard to keep up with everything going on because the NBA Finals were happening the first week I got there. It was really hit the ground running and I was trying to keep up with everything going on with basketball. To come to that moment and to think 'Wow, we're really not that different' was a very empowering. Here's a personal connection that I have with that NBA player and I don't even know them.

“The funny thing about Nike is that from the outside it seems so large scale, but when you are there and everyone is focused on the little things and the little details all the way through, it doesn't feel as big. You feel like you have this incredible opportunity to reach so many people but it's done in this intimate way that you really feel connected. I acknowledge that Nike has a big scope but I think it does feel very similar to what goes on in smaller communities all across the United States and the world. Once again, you're just relating person to person and that's what I think real journalism and real communication is all about: trying to create those intimate relationships on a mass scale or for a mass audience.”

ON SPENDING TWO WEEKS STUDYING ABROAD IN IRELAND:

“It was a class called Sport and Culture in Ireland. Once again, it was just another one of those moments where you learn about something you have no idea about. One of my teammates, Madison Heidenburg, also went and it was an amazing experience. You think you don't know anything about this country but then you see these sports, you see these people and the way they compete and live their lives. There's all of these connections you never would have known if you hadn't experienced that.”

ON WHAT SHE LIKES TO DO OUTSIDE OF RUNNING:

“I love going to vintage antique shops and junk shops. The more backwoods the better, small towns, and the outskirts of places like Norman or even just on Main Street and downtown. Anywhere that has anything that's cool and funky to look at, I love to look at it. If someone is selling a table that has chips in it or that's falling apart, I'm probably going to buy it and try to fix it up. That is something that my mom and I have been doing for a few years, fixing up furniture. I wouldn't label myself as a D.I.Y. person because I don't like to follow directions when it comes to things like that. I just kind of go at it and, if I mess up along the way, I find a way to fix it. I like things that are unique. You couldn't walk into an outlet store and just buy off the top shelf. I like being outside. I would say I like cooking but the only thing I cook on a regular basis are pancakes. It's a passion among OU's distance runners that we all share, the cooking of pancakes on a Sunday morning after a long run. If you do that, then you're officially a distance runner. If we're not together after a long run, you can bet we're all still making pancakes at each individual house, and we're still sending out Snapchats to each other.”

QUICK FIRE:

Favorite food: Any breakfast food.

Favorite place you've traveled to or want to travel to: I've always wanted to go to Antarctica just because it seems very mysterious. I've seen a lot of documentaries on it and it looks beautiful. The best place I've traveled to has probably been Heceta Beach in Oregon just because it was a random trip this summer that I took with my mom and it was a nice little get away. It was very pretty there - very windy, but very pretty.

Favorite movie and television show: My favorite movie without a doubt is Ferris Bueller's Day Off. My favorite television show would have to be The Middle. I relate to Sue Heck on a spiritual level.

Favorite holiday: Thanksgiving. I love the food, the family, and the parade. I love fall, fall colors, being outside during fall, and anything having to do with Thanksgiving. You can ask anyone on the team, I think every day this week I've asked the question 'How many days until Thanksgiving?'

Three words used to describe yourself: Sarcastic, adventurous, and energetic.

Favorite class you've taken at OU: Sports Public Relations. Super interesting class. You get to learn about a lot of behind the scenes things about sports journalism, sports P.R., anything like that.