Royle Beach: CIS Major
Sports and computers have always played an important role in Royle Beach's life.
Growing up in Aurora, CO., Beach played sports his whole life. His mother worked
as a computer analyst from home. Her job afforded her the opportunity to drive
her three children to baseball, football, and soccer practices and games and be
their number one fan. Beach appreciated the freedom his mother's job gave
her—and he took note. He knew he would eventually find his niche with computers,
but wasn't sure how he would connect baseball with computers.
He discovered that athletic scholarships could help him achieve his goal, but he
didn't realize the adventurous route he would take to complete his degree. He
left the Rocky Mountain state where he played football at Mesa State University
for the great plains of Kansas and Colby Community College.
After completing his physical education degree at Colby, he felt he had a few
more years of baseball left to play. His dad, a fireman, convinced him to
achieve his goal of getting a bachelor's degree in business. After meeting an
assistant baseball coach from USI, Beach headed for the cornfields of Indiana,
where he began his journey towards getting his bachelor's degree in Computer
Information Systems.
Right away, he met Tim Mahoney who acted as his advisor. "I go to him for
everything: help with my resume, proof reading my papers, helping me pick out
classes, and life advice. He helped me set my course to graduate."
Just as his journey to complete his degree has taken him down many roads, Beach
has rarely said no to any of the adventures or opportunities that USI had to
offer. He was looking for a way to expand his marketability when he was offered
the chance to intern for USI's Sports Information Department. "It gives me the
opportunity to think outside the box and try something different.
It has been a lot of fun getting the front row tickets to the games and
interviewing athletes for student profiles that appear on the athletic web
site," said Beach. He has also helped pull together information for the media
guides and programs and has taken the statistics at the games.
Beach even took a short jaunt through Hollywood as an extra in a baseball movie
that was filmed in Evansville. "It was a really cool experience.
We had to learn how to swing and field like they did back in the 1930's.
We got to wear old uniforms, which was fun, but so hot." Beach has not had any
Hollywood agents beating down his door.
Although, the road has been long and winding, Beach looks forward to graduating
and moving forward with the next phase of his life. "I have
had a lot of fun, made a lot of friends, and learned a lot from my instructors. It
has been a long six years to get to this point, but I wouldn't trade it for
anything. It has been a great experience."
Story by Barbara Goodwin
USI Photograpy Services