Personal decisions can sometimes lead a person right back to where they were trying to leave.

For Mary Still, senior, psychology and English major, her decision to stay in the area paid big dividends. She became a track star and wife.

Still attended Carthage High School as a junior and senior, moving from Dubuque, Iowa. After a talk with her boyfriend, Still decided to stay in the area and attend Missouri Southern.

“I wasn’t considering Southern at first,” she said. “It was too close to home.”

Her family lives in Carthage and includes her father Kevin Robbins, her mother Julie, two younger sisters Sara and Felicia and one younger brother Chad.

On May 27 through 29, Still will participate in the NCAA Division II Championships in Pomona, Calf.

She is looking to attend graduate school to further the career she has chosen. Still plans on a career in cognitive psychology and will eventually work her way to a Ph.D. Still has looked at several schools including Iowa State University, Kansas State University and Purdue University.

“I am looking to be a researcher with an emphasis in memory processes,” Still said.

Still said she doesn’t know if she will work in academia or in the private sector. There are still some things she wants to do.

“I would like to travel, visit big cities,” Stills said.

Still was recently named the regional athlete of the year by the United States Track Coaches Association.

“She is the type that you hope comes by often in your coaching career, but is really quite rare,” said Patty Vavra, head coach.

Although Still is involved in campus activities and attends conferences, she did find time to get married last summer. Her husband Jeremiah Still is a senior psychology major and an assistant men’s track coach.

“Mary is extremely helpful and humble,” Vavra said. “We will without a doubt miss her when she leaves, not just as an athlete, but as a person as well.”