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Writer's pictureThe Flyer

A day in the life of a full-time student worker

Updated: Sep 25, 2019


Tyler Muse is a full-time student at Salisbury University majoring in education. Muse is currently earning his second bachelor’s degree, after earning his first in marketing.





“Academically, I am a junior. I am in block A in the education program, but this is my second bachelor’s degree. I originally got my bachelor’s in marketing, and then I worked for New Balance, the footwear company, in the marketing department for like, two and a half years, and I just didn’t really fall in love with it [because] I was sitting at a desk most days crunching numbers [and] putting budgets together,” Muse stated.


Muse’s day looks different than that of an average college student, but not because of being a nontraditional student. Muse’s day is much busier than the average student because while he is working hard to become a teacher, he is also working six hours most days as a server and training to qualify for the Olympic trials in running.


“I am training for a race in California in December. It is called CIM, and it's California International Marathon … this whole last eight months of my training has been geared towards that. The goal there is to run under two hours and 19 minutes, and that would qualify me for the Olympic trials in the marathon distance in Atlanta in February,” Muse stated.


So, what does the average day for Muse look like? Muse starts his day off as everyone else does, by waking up, eating a simple and quick breakfast and getting ready for school.


“I wake up typically around like 8 a.m. and I just eat pretty simple, like oatmeal or a bowl of cereal. I’m not really hungry in the morning. Then I start getting ready for school because typically my first class is around 9 to 9:30 a.m.,” Muse stated.


Muse then drives to school from Laurel, Del., which is about a thirty-minute drive. He then has classes roughly from nine in the morning to 12 or one in the afternoon. At some point during this interval of time, Muse eats lunch, which will fuel his run that is to come.


“[For lunch], I usually have like a pepperoni sandwich, [which] is like my favorite, or any kind of Caesar salad or chicken salad or something like that, and I’ll have a banana,” Muse stated.


I had the opportunity to talk to Muse at about 1 p.m. on a Thursday. While talking, he stated that he had just finished a ten-mile run, which was about average for the distance he runs after his classes in the morning. He then showers and does homework for a bit, only to be followed by going to work – for six hours, four to 10 p.m., where he will be on his feet working as a server at a restaurant in Laurel, Del.


Muse’s day does not end after getting off work, however. Instead, he goes out for his second run of the day, and then finally eats dinner. “I go to work from four to 10 p.m., and then at 10 p.m. is when I squeeze in my second run. So, the second run is a little shorter, it’s like four to five miles,” Muse stated.


Muse’s late-night dinner is often from the restaurant he is working at and appears to be where he gets the essential calories that he needs to live such an intensely active lifestyle, as he stated he eats probably double of what the average person does for dinner.


“Dinner is usually just whatever is being made … a couple times I’ll just buy something there [the restaurant] and take it home. My favorite is, like, any kind of pasta just because it helps me with my running,but I [also] like any kind of chicken meal, too"


After finally eating dinner, Muse goes to bed, or like many people, is tempted to stay up late and watch television, which allows him to unwind from his long day.


“I’ll go to bed or watch whatever sporting event [is on], like I like football a lot, so I stay up late typically watching that on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays,” Muse stated about his nighttime habits.


Although Muse does not run the same amount every day, he follows an intense running schedule created by his coach for his training, Jeff Burger, who is from Bel Air, Md., where Muse is from.



“I run every day, [and] I get one day off about every like three months. I do track interval workouts on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I double [two runs in a day] almost every day except for Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays … and Monday, Wednesday and Friday are typically like easy days, just like casual runs. Saturday, I do generally like fifteen miles and then I do a back to back long run training plan, so I go fifteen [miles] on Saturday and then I go anywhere from twenty to twenty-two, and that will build up as we progress, but right now it’s about twenty to twenty two [miles] on Sunday,” Muse stated.


What may seem like an impossible schedule to many, fitting in classes, two runs and six hours of being a waiter, is an everyday schedule for Tyler Muse. His love for running, which originated in high school, as well as his desire to become a teacher push him to live a life that would seem too exhausting to many. Muse shows what a day in the life looks like for someone who is giving all of him/herself to reach his/her goals.


 

By LAURA AMRHEIN

Staff writer

Featured photos from Tyler Muse's Instagram.


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