STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Shaylin Carter will emphasize the importance of “remembering the now” when she addresses her fellow Tarleton State University December graduates at the 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 13 commencement exercises at Memorial Stadium.
“We, as students, are naturally looking forward,” said Carter, who will be awarded a bachelor’s degree in digital media studies. “Class assignments, first jobs, even graduation. We need to focus on the moment.”
Carter, a graduate of Saginaw High School, began her college career at Oklahoma State University where she studied graphic design. After her first year, she realized the larger school environment was not for her.
“At the bigger school it was a lot easier to be forgotten because there were so many people there,” she said. “I didn’t feel like I had a place there. Here, my actions meant something. I was able to leave a mark at Tarleton.”
Before deciding to switch schools, she did her research to find a program that was exactly right for her. That’s how she wound up at Tarleton State.
“It was big enough to have great programs, but class sizes were smaller, so I got more attention from my professors.”
She became heavily involved on campus, joining the Latter-day Saints Student Association, Phi Mu Sorority and Tarleton Esports while studying in the university’s Honors College. She won the Fine Arts Department juried art award, was named the College of Liberal and Fine Arts Outstanding Graduate Student and served as a Resident Leader.
Her capstone project was a first-person psychological escape room video game she designed in which she researched how video game designers might actually use fear in a positive way.
“I’ve done a ton of research since I’ve been here on the psychology of video games and how we can improve,” she said. “How we can make them better, overall, for the future. I hope to get into a grad program where I can do more research in that area.”
As graduation looms, Carter is actively looking for a master’s program in video game development.
Before she moves on, she wants her commencement audience to take to heart the lessons she will share.
“I really hope they are able to look back on all these things in their time here and take in the really small moments that helped them get to this point,” she said. “There’s so much that happens in these four years.
“It happens so fast that we tend to forget small conversations we have with our professors — brief interactions we had that helped us get to this moment. It’s important for us to realize that we all went through this together.”
A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State University is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of approximately 18,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online. For 125 years, Tarleton State has been committed to accessible higher education opportunities for all while helping students grow academically, socially and professionally through programs that emphasize real world learning and address regional, state and national needs.