Member Spotlight: Dylan Carroll

Dylan is a sophomore at Clemson from Knoxville, Tennessee. He is a Genetics major with a minor in Spanish Studies and a member of Theta class. Last semester Dylan was in charge of our intramural flag football team. We caught up with him this past week and received a thrilling report of our team's highs and lows.

I decided that PhiDE needed a flag football team–this was not a question. With athletes like Alex Bishop, Gabby Mochizuki, Cooper Nicholson, Lauren Magnon, and company, I knew that if I could just assemble a team, they would dominate on the field. There was no question. Yet, this season did not start out strong as Brandon Shealy–who some predicted would have gone on to play for the Clemson team–tore his ACL in the second series. This was quickly followed by Sam “Manziel” Hurley’s departure, also related to knee issues. The season had just begun, and we were already onto our third-string quarterback and former safety Alex Bishop.

After this game, many experts predicted our immediate demise (don’t worry, we kept the receipts). So, we held a team-only meeting to discuss what it would take to make this a playoff roster. The meeting worked, and we quickly blossomed. To begin, no one on this planet could possibly avoid a nasty tackle from Parker Bare. Put Cooper Nicholson one on one in the open field? He was already gone. Gabby Mochizuki, despite her many roughing-the-passer penalties, developed into one of the best DL in the country alongside Christina Nici. Also on the defensive end, Audrey “No Fly Zone” Stephenson led the team in garbage time interceptions.

Meanwhile, I quickly developed into a red zone threat where Alex “Cam Newton” Bishop would always put the ball right on the money. And don’t let me forget about Zack “Megatron” Johnson. If that ball was in the air, he was catching it. Hard-hitting Breeland Jones accumulated so many tackles, the statisticians had to stop keeping track. Most opposing quarterbacks could be found shivering pregame as they awaited Andrew Wood and Will Black, who would lock down any pass that came their way.

With all this aforementioned talent and under a new coaching regime with Brandon Shealy at the helm, PhiDE became the playoff team no one could have imagined after week 1. After a close battle in the wild-card round, PhiDE, led by two touchdowns from Cooper Nicholson and three INTs from the defense, would advance. Not only had the first-ever PhiDE flag football team made the playoffs, but they would also be moving on. Despite our best efforts, we ended up losing in the semifinals to what some considered the best team in the league.

What did the players do after the loss? They were already working. We are extremely grateful to the seniors on this team who created a legacy of intramural flag football. For those fans who anxiously await next year, we appreciate your support.

Member Spotlight: Lily Sykes

Whenever people ask me what my major is and what I want to do with the degree after undergrad, people’s first facial reaction is usually stunned and impressed. I always answer with, “I am majoring in bioengineering with an emphasis in biomaterials on the pre-med track”. Then, I quickly follow up with the fact that I want to go to medical school. Of course then I am asked what field of medicine I would like to go into which is cardiac anesthesia. The following question almost nine times out of ten is along the lines of “why do you want to do that to yourself? Bioengineering is already so much work and to add being pre-med on top of that!” 

Of course, there are many times I wonder that as well when I’ve spent more time on the 3rd floor of Cooper Library than my dorm room. I was drawn to the idea of bioengineering because it combined creativity with biology, human anatomy and physiology, and math. (Somehow I was good at calculus in high school...Thank you Mrs. Carroll, my AP Calc AB teacher) As a bioengineer you learn invaluable problem solving skills that will prove more than beneficial in the medical field. I am trained to always find a better, more efficient way to solve a problem through bioengineering. In the medical field, physicians constantly have to tailor their care to different patients in order to make the patient more comfortable. When I further explain my reasoning for majoring in bioengineering, people usually remark that I am working really hard to work even harder to become a physician. Although, yes, I’m probably taking more difficult courses and not making it easy on myself to get into medical school, I feel as though bioengineering will give me invaluable soft skills that will differentiate me from my fellow colleagues.