Austin Orr, freshman exercise major, aspires to be a physical therapist and work with sports injuries after he finishes school.
Orr had three major sports-related injuries in high school which all required physical therapy. Those experiences inspired him to pursue physical therapy as a career.
“Going through that process, I was like ‘this seems like a really cool job,’” Orr said. “I’d like to help others through their sports injuries or whatever they’re going through. I had a really cool physical therapist that helped me get through those times.”
Orr grew up in Jackson, Tennessee and went to high school at University School of Jackson, where he played on the baseball team. Many of his family members graduated from Union, which influenced his own decision to attend.
“I came [to Union] because I was looking at coming to a smaller school, and I was hoping to play baseball,” Orr said. “Coming on a campus tour really solidified that this is where I want to come, and I felt that God was calling me to come here. I’m really glad that I came now.”
During his time at Union so far, Orr has joined Lambda Chi Alpha, and he plays short stop on the baseball team. Orr has also enjoyed being at Union with his older sister, Abbey, who is a senior teaching and learning major.
“Abbey always gives me advice, like if I’m registering for classes she gives me advice about which professors to take,” Orr said. “It’s always good to catch up with [Abbey] because we’re pretty tight. I’m glad we get to connect here.”
Orr said even though he grew up in Jackson, living on campus feels like he is somewhere new.
“It feels like you are away from home, and at the same time you are close so you have that advantage of running home if you need something,” he said. “There aren’t a lot of people in my class that went to USJ, so it was good to get away from that. But it is nice to see other people from Jackson around town.”
His favorite thing about being a freshman is that so many upperclassmen are interested in getting to know freshmen and being nice to them. Orr has this advice for his fellow classmates: “Make sure you do all your school work, but then also try to be invested in others’ lives. Sometimes we can get crazy with our schedules, but also make time to get to know others better.”
