Mandie Haney

The hospital hallway doesn’t pause. Fluorescent lights hum overhead and monitors echo behind closed doors. For nursing students, it’s a place where life and death can sit on opposite sides of a doorway and where learning the profession means learning how to carry both at once. Abigail Roup, a fourth-year nursing major from Houston, said the hardest lessons aren’t found in textbooks but in the moments she can’t unsee. “The hardest part about nursing is the things you see,” Roup said.

In a small off-campus kitchen, the quiet clatter of pans and the aroma of spices mark where a Texas Tech senior creates an environment for care and connection to take shape. Nicholas (Nick) Violan, a fourth-year psychological sciences major and Lubbock native, said his cooking journey started out of necessity. “My first college apartment, sophomore year is what got me into cooking and, initially, it was because I had to,” he said. When Violan was younger, he showed little interest in cooking.

The reins of the Masked Rider don’t simply change hands at Texas Tech. They carry tradition, responsibility and respect for those who wore the mask before. On Friday, Rose Rosas, the 64th Masked Rider, passed down her hat, mask and cape to Sofie Jones, the 65th, at the McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center. To be selected for this role by the Masked Rider Advisory Committee, contestants participate in written, horse riding and driving tests, along with a 15-minute interview.