September 14, 2024 • 31 mins
Welcome to another episode of the Surviving and Thriving After High School podcast! Today, we have the amazing Sarah Rasmussen joining us. Sarah, a senior with a passion for horses and a heart full of love, is set to attend Anderson University next year. In this episode, she shares her journey of choosing Anderson over other universities and how her faith played a crucial role in her decision-making process.
Sarah opens up about her college visits, the memorable moments of her senior year, and the challenges she faced while planning her senior trip. She also discusses the importance of finding a strong Christian community and a safe environment in her college choice.
Join us as Sarah recounts her experiences, from fun games like Crud to heartfelt advice for parents and students navigating the college search process. This episode is filled with insights and encouragement for anyone preparing for life after high school.
Don't miss out on Sarah's inspiring story and her valuable tips on integrating faith into your academic journey. Tune in now!
Topics:
- College decision and experiences
- Anderson University
- Factors influencing college decision
- Senior year experiences and challenges
- Christian community
- Safety
- Prayer and seeking guidance from God
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Music.
(00:05):
Episode of the Surviving and Thriving After High School podcast.
Today, we have the amazing, the incredible Sarah Rasmussen joining us.
Sarah loves horses, and she is
one of the most just loving people that you will ever meet in your life.
She is a senior this year, and she's graduating and going to Anderson University.
Whoop, whoop, AU, let's go.
(00:27):
She's going there next year. She's declared that. But specifically about Sarah,
I just want to highlight this because she's such an amazing person.
I had this one friend and she came in from Texas for a dance and Sarah just brought her in.
And even though she didn't know anything about her, she was just like,
hey, you're now part of the party crew.
This is us. You are welcome here.
(00:49):
And that just was absolutely amazing. And she does that with everybody.
She's just so loving on them. And it's just absolutely amazing.
So Sarah, would you mind just starting off by telling us a little bit about
what made you decide to do Anderson?
Anderson was such a beautiful place to be.
And the minute I stepped foot on the campus just felt like home to me.
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Felt like I was immediately a part of the group that I was in,
especially while touring and seeing where I would be staying in the dorms.
I just felt right at home.
I feel like whatever you're really good at is what you notice.
So you notice that people brought you into their circles and that's very interesting.
Absolutely. I'm very happy for you. I'm excited that you're going to Anderson
(01:34):
and that it's such a beautiful campus. I mean, that's absolutely amazing.
And you know people there already. Absolutely.
There's some people here over in Noonan.
I attend a youth group on Wednesday nights, and there's at least three or four
of them who are also going to attend Anderson University next year as a freshman.
Oh, wow. That's amazing. Now, how big is Anderson? Would you mind sharing that
(01:57):
for people that may know? Yeah, absolutely.
Anderson, when I went to tour, they said it was about 3,000 students in total. So that was on campus.
Who knows how many are off of campus? True.
So what made you like gravitate more towards smaller school rather than a giant?
Because I know at one point you were thinking UGA.
So how did you make that decision of, you know what, maybe I don't want that? Yeah.
(02:22):
So the UGA idea for me when I grew up was my granddad really loves the UGA Bulldogs
wholeheartedly. Go Dawgs.
Absolutely. So I grew up in that atmosphere of loving the Dawgs and always rooting for them.
Every Saturday when they played football against whatever team,
and no matter how it went, we always cheered for them.
(02:45):
Nice. But considering that I'm going to Anderson and how small it is compared to UGA,
I would say that I want to go to a smaller school, not only because you find
more community there, especially Christian community, but you can also make
more of an impact on people when there's less of you around.
(03:05):
There's more conversations that can be had
deeper conversations that can be had just between
two people rather than having a whole crowd around you and being surrounded
by people it's for me easier to talk to people one-on-one absolutely i completely
agree yeah group settings it's it's much harder i feel like i can still do it
(03:28):
in a group setting get to know and interact with people,
but it is way easier to just talk to them one-on-one. Absolutely.
Yeah. And I'm glad that you're going to get that experience at Anderson.
That's going to be wonderful.
So you're in senior year right now. You just decided on Anderson.
So how has that been? How has your senior year been all that you've anticipated?
(03:49):
Is it what you've anticipated? How is it better? How is it worse?
That sort of thing. What can you walk us through about senior year?
Going into senior year back in August, all I can think about is how much I was like, this is it.
I'm on the top. Because you come in as a freshman thinking, oh my gosh, everything's so new.
(04:10):
And wow, those seniors must know everything that they want in life.
They must have every next step planned out.
But I'm going to be completely honest.
In August, I knew nothing of what I was going to do.
Not even one thing so coming
and like going through this year has been a blessing quite honestly and taking
(04:34):
I say take a breath and take it in and really take one step at a time and hold those memories close.
Yeah, I would have to agree with you, especially on that memories thing.
My favorite memory, probably of all time.
I've got two of them, but it would be the final spring formal that I ever went to.
(04:57):
And that was just such a special time because, I mean, that was like the crew,
you know, we had the party van and everything.
That was such a blast. I had so much fun that night.
And honestly, our senior formal is coming up here in a couple of weeks,
and I'm really looking forward to it.
And honestly, taking it in as the last one. So I can't wait to make it the best one yet.
(05:21):
So are you helping plan that one up too?
Not this year, but I am going with a couple of friends and we're getting together
for dinner and taking pictures and just enjoying the night.
Way to go. Yes, I like that. Yeah, that's awesome. Cool, cool, cool.
So with that, have there been any challenges with senior year?
(05:42):
I was put in charge of the senior trip.
So challenge-wise, would definitely be planning every aspect of that senior
trip to make sure it flowed smoothly.
I mean, let's be honest, we're still all kind of kids right now,
not really knowing how to plan things.
And just being able to sit down and think through in advance,
(06:06):
especially with administration and parents around me who have helped.
It ended up being so good.
And you know, this also goes into what you're now planning to major in. So that's fantastic.
Would you mind sharing a little bit about that and how actually that trip influenced your decision?
Yeah, absolutely. So going into senior year, I was thinking,
(06:30):
let's find a college that has a strong Christian community,
be what I want to major in, which was at the time, definitely psychology,
but more specifically animal therapy, because I love animals.
That is one of my favorite things to do is go hang out with animals,
go hang out with horses, just be in nature.
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And another favorite thing of mine is to help people in need.
And so animal therapy would be training a therapy dog for a person who needs
one and to To assist in both areas is absolutely amazing.
But leading up to the senior trip, that is what I wanted to do.
(07:14):
But after the senior trip, after all the planning, the financial side,
the event side, I kind of had the idea to maybe direct myself towards event
planning, mainly hospitality.
But somewhere in that area further on in life.
I'm glad that you got to have that opportunity to kind of like test out your
(07:38):
job beforehand. So that's fantastic.
And I really enjoy hearing about how people's minds are changed by different
events that are in their life. So thank you for sharing that with us.
I would imagine you've visited a lot of colleges up until this point, right?
Actually, not as many as some might think.
Really? So how many have you visited? So I only technically visited about six.
(08:02):
Okay. So not as many as some people might go visit to, which were Alabama, I did my sophomore year.
Auburn, I did my junior year. And then I visited Anderson, Covenant,
Troop McConnell, and Liberty this past year.
(08:23):
Oh, wow. Those were all this past year. Yeah. So for this past year.
You had to have a pack schedule.
Got you. Yes. Yeah. I can't imagine.
That's awesome though. I'm so happy for you that you're getting to go out there and test it.
But with that, I'm now curious, what was the deciding factor that made you choose
Anderson specifically?
(08:44):
Because I heard a few smaller schools in there, like Covenant,
for example, they're not as big.
They're a decently large college. And then Liberty, that's a really big college.
So what made you choose specifically Anderson from those? So,
funny story, because along with what we said earlier, like the whole UGA track,
I also thought about Auburn as a backup.
(09:07):
And when I went to visit Auburn, I absolutely loved the campus.
Everything was so beautiful, so well thought out.
And just along that track
I liked the hospitality side of
it because they were building a hotel for some of their students to start working
(09:28):
at and learn how to work in the hospitality career so with that being said I
specifically chose Anderson a because it's smaller than Auburn of of course,
and I want that smaller college feel,
but B, because it really was...
Auburn on a smaller level. You drive into Anderson and it's the small town feel.
(09:52):
You just naturally feel welcomed, just like I did at Auburn.
And that's what really was like the set in stone for me.
But on the track of Covenant and Truett McConnell, because those are small colleges
as well, Truett McConnell has, I think, 500.
That's almost like a high school. Yeah, honestly.
(10:14):
But they had 500. And to me, now, Trip McConnell was beautiful,
but it just didn't give me the same feeling and the same at-home type of feel.
But Covenant was actually my number two choice.
Okay. So for about a month and a half, I was between Anderson and Covenant.
(10:35):
And I really couldn't choose which one it was. But I kept going back to Anderson
thinking, I really would go to Auburn if it wasn't so big.
So Anderson was my final decision.
I'm so glad that you had that experience of getting to visit all of them and
then just pros and cons all the time to figure it out.
(10:55):
And then that's so cool that the deciding factor was actually that you wanted to go to Auburn.
But then you found kind of like the compromise for exactly what you wanted. in it. Absolutely.
It is literally a blessing from the Lord because that's exactly what I wanted.
Now, earlier, you were also telling me something about you weren't going to
(11:15):
go and visit Anderson originally.
So would you mind sharing with everyone how that happened and how he kind of
directed you in that path?
Yes. So long story short, me, my mom and my sister went to the post office one
day and saw an old friend's mom there.
Well, I had been looking at Covenant around that time and was kind of headed
(11:39):
towards Covenant because of, A, it was in-state and I wasn't planning to go
out of state originally.
So this friend's mom mentioned to my mom, hey, has Sarah looked at Anderson
yet? I think she would like it there.
And my mom got back into the car, told me about their conversation and mentioned
(12:00):
to me that she said Anderson was a good idea.
My immediate thought was, nah, I'm good.
It's out of state. I don't want to go out of state.
Well, two days later, a friend of mine, I saw her at work and she mentioned
that her brother goes there and pretty much told me that he's loved it so far.
(12:21):
And I said, pretty much, Lord, if like you want me to go check it out,
send me a third sign. And he did.
And so I mapped it out. And it's only a two and a half hour drive, which is still...
Far enough to be away at college, but close enough to come home on the weekends. Oh, yeah.
But that's what really triggered it for me to apply and go see and tour the campus.
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And as I said earlier, the minute I stepped foot on the campus, I felt like I was at home.
I'm glad that, first of all, he gave you the sign. But then second of all,
that you actually listened to it. Like that just is a testament to your faith and that sort of thing.
And that you just trusted him with it. And you were like, okay,
well, I had never thought of of doing this before, but sure.
Yes, Lord, I'll do it. So that's awesome.
(13:08):
With that, what are some activities that are like must-haves at college?
Because I know like some people have like the stereotypical college idea,
but what specifically are you looking for, for like a social life at college?
So for Anderson, since it's located in South Carolina, it is actually only 30
minutes from Clemson and about an hour from UGA.
(13:31):
So my ideal plan when I was going
into college was there'd be a football team. I'd get to watch sports.
Now, as you said earlier, I am an equestrian.
I ride horses, but they did not have an equestrian team there,
which in turn, I actually was not that upset about, which was interesting.
(13:52):
And I was like, okay, well, well, what else is there?
And lately I've been getting into going to the gym and using that as my physical
exercise or even running.
I signed up for a 5k a couple of days ago. So that's interesting.
But football team wise, Anderson actually announced a couple months ago that
(14:12):
they're starting their very first football team this coming August.
All right. So that was honestly, it wasn't a deal breaker, but it literally
made the deal. I was like, yes, this is it.
Sweet. It's something new.
And I'm going in to Anderson as a new freshman and everyone else there will
(14:35):
be also new freshmen, but newer people for the football team as well.
Wait, so are you playing on the football team? No, not at all.
I was like, wait, hang on. Is Is she saying, okay, that's... Not at all.
Hey, I mean, that's still be awesome. I would definitely go to watch though.
I've definitely talked to some of the people also attending Anderson and saying
(14:56):
that we could meet up and go watch some of the football games together.
Well, I'm glad that you have that sort of community that you're going to be
able to go and have a social life and specifically that aligns with your morals
too. So that's fantastic. Absolutely.
So when you're thinking of visiting a college, or I mean, even when you were
just looking at colleges just in general, before you were even visiting them,
(15:20):
what was kind of like your criteria that really defined,
okay, this is one that I would be interested in, and this one is one that I
absolutely would not ever go to?
One that I absolutely would not go to, if it did not have any Christian aspect of it.
My morals are very pretty much set in stone, and I want a Christian community
around at least within a 10-minute drive.
(15:42):
I'm pretty adamant on that.
Anderson just comes back to my mind because of how much they prioritized their Christian community.
And I know that at every college you can go and find some sort of little Christian outlet,
but the way I saw the Christian community being put out and set forth forth
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and made known to everyone who was touring was just absolutely outstanding.
They pretty much do so many service projects, even around the town.
And that is one telltale sign that I look for personally as a Christian.
And one other factor is safety.
(16:30):
Safety is a big factor. True. Yes, especially with everything that's gone on recently at UGA.
I definitely am looking for the safety factor.
And when I was at Anderson, they talked about how they have a separate athletic
complex that's a couple minutes from their actual campus,
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but they have security that drives back and forth. They have a bus that drives back and forth.
And if the bus is not running, you are more than welcome to call up security
and they'll come pick you up and drop you off where you need.
They're always walking the premises.
They're always keeping an eye out for you, making sure students are safe,
(17:11):
checking up, being a friend of yours so you trust them.
And that is something that absolutely stood out to me about Anderson and Covenant,
which was really nice. That is really nice.
Yes. Being safe, that definitely has an impact on, I feel like it should be
on anyone's decision, but yes, you definitely need to find an environment where you're safe.
(17:33):
Because if you don't feel safe, then you're not going to learn and you won't
be able to develop that community as well.
And I'm also glad that you found that Christian community at Anderson and specifically that.
Is so forthcoming with we are a Christian university and that sort of thing.
And then actually being a Christian university, because you can have a Christian
(17:56):
university that is not Christian.
And I've seen plenty of those. And it's scary.
Like it really is scary. Absolutely. You just have to be careful.
No, definitely. And back to what you said a little bit earlier about learning.
Academic-wise, you want. For me, I want to go and learn in a classroom with
(18:18):
probably a ratio of student to teacher 1 to 15, 1 to 25 at most.
That way, I really truly am seen by the professor.
And if I skip class and I don't feel good, the professor's like,
hey, Sarah skipped my class today.
Let me email her and see if she's doing all right.
(18:39):
Is there anything I can help with? So more of a personal relationship with your
professors, just to get one-on-one with each other. Do you need help?
How can I lead you through this time of your life? How can I mentor you?
How can I help you academically as well?
So true. Yeah. And I feel like that probably stems from our high school educations
(19:02):
too, because we both had like very small class of about 15 to 25.
I mean, if you had a Mr. Howell class, it was always whatever that max number
was, it was always filled up.
Absolutely. I think his class max, that one Old Testament class was 20.
That's the most we had. And then this year for a couple of classes,
they split it onto two days. Okay.
(19:24):
For those of you who don't know, Mr. Howell is just this absolutely amazing
teacher and just an incredible man of God.
And he's, I'm sure he's influenced you in many ways.
But yeah, he's just, he loves the kids so much and he's had a major impact on
my life. So we love you, Mr.
Howell. If you're listening, you're absolutely amazing.
So can you describe something memorable, like from your college visits when you were going out?
(19:50):
Was there anything like, were you nervous or how was that? Just the general
feeling of this is it. I have to make a decision.
How did that impact you?
Yeah, I definitely wholeheartedly agree with like a little bit of nervous feeling,
maybe some anxiety, like, is this it or is this not?
(20:12):
And something that helped me with that, with the whole college decision and
knowing whether or not which one was the one for For me, was specifically,
I would, on the way up there, there was always at least an hour drive wherever
we went, sometimes longer than that, especially with Liberty.
(20:32):
But to like, just pray and ask God, is this it?
Close the door fast if it's not, because I don't want to go anywhere that you don't want me to go.
Like, where do you need me? Where can I go to be a servant of Christ and show
your love? And it was funny because...
On the way up to Troop McConnell, I did the same thing like I did to every other college.
(20:58):
And when we got there, I was like, this isn't it. I already know it's not it.
And by the time of the end of the tour, I was like, yeah, I'll still apply just
in case I don't get into any other college. I don't know yet.
But I don't think this is it. And it was definitely clear to me that it wasn't.
I always feel sorry for nonbelievers that they don't have that kind of connection
(21:20):
that That we have where it's just like, Lord, I'm giving this to you.
Let me know. And because he does let us know, like if we ask, he will always answer.
And I'm so glad that you're so in touch with the faith and that sort of thing
that you just pray and you're like, Lord, tell me. And then he does.
And sometimes it takes a little bit of patience and you do have to wait a little
bit longer than you want to, but that's okay.
(21:42):
It all will come out in due time.
True, true, true, true, true, true. So if you could describe visiting the colleges
and that sort of thing in one word, what would that one word be?
In one word, adventurous.
And you might not realize why I chose the word adventurous, but adventurous
because each one has its own goals and has its own pros and cons.
(22:12):
So if you're looking for a small college and you only want to be a part of 500, then that's for you.
But if you want to be a part of, I don't know how many Liberty has,
I really couldn't keep track.
If you count online, it's up there. I didn't even think online.
But Liberty has so much more. It just depends on what you're looking for.
(22:35):
And I would say looking at college is very adventurous because you kind of have
to step outside of your personal box and see, is this the place I want to go
live in the next year of my life?
And just keep in mind that you only have to worry a year at a time,
like not worry, but only think a year at a time because you can always change your decision.
(23:01):
And that's something my dad reminded me of because I I always thought,
well, this is the decision I have to make.
This is it. And there's no turning back. But he constantly reminds me that, Sarah, it's okay.
If you don't feel led to go back the next year, you don't have to.
There's always the circumstance where you can just go for a year and then transfer.
(23:25):
Don't put too much pressure on staying one place for four years.
It's okay. Wherever the Lord leads.
Exactly. Yes. I mean, like I transferred, so I know exactly what you're talking
about. And I feel like that is something that as students we do oftentimes overlook
is we just think this is senior year of high school.
I have to have literally the rest of my life planned out at 18 years old.
(23:50):
And that puts a lot of pressure on us. But like you said, and your dad has advised
you on, we just have to take it just one year at a time. One year at a time. Yes, absolutely.
And another thing my mom would always add in was, no matter what you choose,
you will always love you no matter what.
And we will support you no matter what.
And that's so important for parents to do is just be there to support the kids
(24:16):
because, I mean, obviously they have a lot of stress on them too,
but then us as kids, we're like,
this is the most stress we've most likely ever experienced in life. Right.
Because we're thinking we do have to have all this planned out and then just
them being there to love and support us.
That is really what got me through and
(24:36):
made me realize I want to do audio engineering with the rest of my life.
I think, I don't know. We'll figure it out, but yes.
But one step at a time is all you can do and then trust God with the rest. Exactly. Yes.
Well, that's so awesome. So do you have any favorite memories from just,
Not just college campuses and experiences and stuff like that,
(24:59):
but also really just from this last senior year, from,
I don't know, January of last year until now, what has been,
if you could pick out a single favorite memory, what would that be?
I would say that's pretty hard to choose because there's so many good memories.
I definitely am like taking into account that each memory is like the last one of high school.
(25:22):
So you're like holding it as close as you possibly can and trying to remember every single moment.
Mine was definitely on the senior trip. It was probably Friday night.
We had just gotten there and we decided to hang out at the house.
And there was a bedroom upstairs and it
(25:43):
housed all the girls in one room wow and that was like eight girls in one room
and we each like had a bed but we also had a pool table okay this is yeah this
is it so clark shields you know who i'm talking about yeah yeah he came up up.
It was amazing.
(26:06):
He came up and was playing pool with one of the guys and he reminded us of the game Crud.
What is Crud? I've never heard of this. Oh my goodness. It's such a fun game.
So of course you have a pool table and then you use the eight ball and you use
that white circular ball.
I'm blanking on the name right now. The cue ball. Thank you.
(26:28):
Yeah. You were about to say it and I remembered it. The cue ball.
So you take the cue ball and you hit the eight ball.
But once you hit it, the next person in line has to hit the eight ball without
letting the eight ball stop.
So I kid you not, you're running from one end of the table to the next to make
(26:50):
sure you hit that eight ball and don't let it stop.
And if it gets in a pocket, a person gets a point.
It's pretty much like horse and basketball but
it's crud and eight ball so you get a letter c
and then you keep going r keep going
and when you get the full word you're out he reminded us of that game and that
(27:13):
has to be one of my favorite memories because all of us were joining in cheering
each other on seeing who could win of course just having the time of our lives
chuckling Snuggling, laughing,
enjoying every single moment of it. Yeah.
Yes. Yeah. That would probably be one of my favorite memories too. Now, did you win?
(27:35):
I've got to ask. I did win a couple of times. Okay. Now, if you ask him, he may say no. No.
Clark. But I definitely did a couple of times, but so did other people as well.
And it was funny to see them win in like such an odd way because they throw
it and they would think it wouldn't go in. And then it did. It was just so cool.
(27:57):
That is cool. My dad also joined in on the one on Saturday night.
He joined in, absolutely demolished every single person that was playing.
Oh, yeah. Your dad is awesome. He always joins in on everything.
Thing. I love that about him. He's so cool.
One of my favorite memories from senior year was him coming to the graduation
party and doing, was it the worm? I think it was the worm. Yes.
(28:22):
Absolutely. Him break it dancing, you know, goes everywhere with that.
He does. Yes. But it's so cool. I don't know what it is, but he's just so awesome that he does that.
So, yes. So real quick, is there anything that you you would like to leave us
with, like any closing thoughts, any encouragement for students in their senior
year or for parents whose children are about to go off to college, anything like that?
(28:46):
Well, definitely like for parents, like remember, like you were once in that
state too as well, like you didn't know where you were going or maybe you did
and the Lord redirected you somewhere else.
So just like take into account that it's all in the Lord's hands and we don't
need to worry about it. Just take one step.
(29:07):
And if the Lord shuts that door, then try a different door.
And if it's shut too, just keep having faith and put your trust in him.
And for students and teenagers about to go off to college, just know that there is no wrong decision.
And if something were to cross that out and you have a no or you don't get accepted
(29:32):
into the college, well, just Just know that wasn't for you.
So constantly just put it in the Lord's hands and trust him with it.
And don't worry too much about it because the Lord has a plan for you.
Well, that is so awesome. Thank you so much for coming out and sharing that
with us, Sarah, and sharing specifically how we need to involve our faith within
the college search process and that sort of thing.
(29:54):
Because, you know, I feel like a lot of times we do think that it's just like
an academic thing, but we need to have God involved in every area of our life.
And I am so thankful that you have that in your life and that Quorum Deo,
the school that we went to, establishes that in pretty much each of the students' lives.
They really work hard to do that. And I'm so thankful that we have that.
(30:15):
But thank you for coming and sharing that with us. And for everything else with
your college experience and about CRUD, I mean, we're going to have to play
that at the next game night. We have to. We got to find a pool table now. Exactly.
Yes. Yes. Thank you.
Music.
(30:37):
Glad that you could hear Sarah and her story and how faith is involved within
the college search process and senior year as a whole.
We are so glad that you would join us and we hope that you tune in next time.
Please join us next time as we gain insight on how to prepare for life after
high school when our worldviews don't necessarily align with those around us.
(31:11):
Thank you for joining us for yet another episode of the Surviving and Thriving
After High School podcast.
Thank you so much for listening to us thus far. And it really means a lot to
see how much y'all are loving the show.
And every time y'all reach out to us, thank you so much for just giving us that
sort of feedback. It's really encouraging.
And it really keeps us going. So So thank you so much.
(31:34):
Thank you for joining us for another episode of the Surviving and Thriving After High School podcast.
Today, we have an awesome guest, and I can't wait to share that with you.
So let's just jump right in.
Thank you for joining us for another episode of the Surviving and Thriving After High School podcast.
Music.
(00:05):
Episode of the Surviving and Thriving After High School podcast.
Today, we have the amazing, the incredible Sarah Rasmussen joining us.
Sarah loves horses, and she is
one of the most just loving people that you will ever meet in your life.
She is a senior this year, and she's graduating and going to Anderson University.
Whoop, whoop, AU, let's go.
(00:27):
She's going there next year. She's declared that. But specifically about Sarah,
I just want to highlight this because she's such an amazing person.
I had this one friend and she came in from Texas for a dance and Sarah just brought her in.
And even though she didn't know anything about her, she was just like,
hey, you're now part of the party crew.
This is us. You are welcome here.
(00:49):
And that just was absolutely amazing. And she does that with everybody.
She's just so loving on them. And it's just absolutely amazing.
So Sarah, would you mind just starting off by telling us a little bit about
what made you decide to do Anderson?
Anderson was such a beautiful place to be.
And the minute I stepped foot on the campus just felt like home to me.
(01:12):
Felt like I was immediately a part of the group that I was in,
especially while touring and seeing where I would be staying in the dorms.
I just felt right at home.
I feel like whatever you're really good at is what you notice.
So you notice that people brought you into their circles and that's very interesting.
Absolutely. I'm very happy for you. I'm excited that you're going to Anderson
(01:34):
and that it's such a beautiful campus. I mean, that's absolutely amazing.
And you know people there already. Absolutely.
There's some people here over in Noonan.
I attend a youth group on Wednesday nights, and there's at least three or four
of them who are also going to attend Anderson University next year as a freshman.
Oh, wow. That's amazing. Now, how big is Anderson? Would you mind sharing that
(01:57):
for people that may know? Yeah, absolutely.
Anderson, when I went to tour, they said it was about 3,000 students in total. So that was on campus.
Who knows how many are off of campus? True.
So what made you like gravitate more towards smaller school rather than a giant?
Because I know at one point you were thinking UGA.
So how did you make that decision of, you know what, maybe I don't want that? Yeah.
(02:22):
So the UGA idea for me when I grew up was my granddad really loves the UGA Bulldogs
wholeheartedly. Go Dawgs.
Absolutely. So I grew up in that atmosphere of loving the Dawgs and always rooting for them.
Every Saturday when they played football against whatever team,
and no matter how it went, we always cheered for them.
(02:45):
Nice. But considering that I'm going to Anderson and how small it is compared to UGA,
I would say that I want to go to a smaller school, not only because you find
more community there, especially Christian community, but you can also make
more of an impact on people when there's less of you around.
(03:05):
There's more conversations that can be had
deeper conversations that can be had just between
two people rather than having a whole crowd around you and being surrounded
by people it's for me easier to talk to people one-on-one absolutely i completely
agree yeah group settings it's it's much harder i feel like i can still do it
(03:28):
in a group setting get to know and interact with people,
but it is way easier to just talk to them one-on-one. Absolutely.
Yeah. And I'm glad that you're going to get that experience at Anderson.
That's going to be wonderful.
So you're in senior year right now. You just decided on Anderson.
So how has that been? How has your senior year been all that you've anticipated?
(03:49):
Is it what you've anticipated? How is it better? How is it worse?
That sort of thing. What can you walk us through about senior year?
Going into senior year back in August, all I can think about is how much I was like, this is it.
I'm on the top. Because you come in as a freshman thinking, oh my gosh, everything's so new.
(04:10):
And wow, those seniors must know everything that they want in life.
They must have every next step planned out.
But I'm going to be completely honest.
In August, I knew nothing of what I was going to do.
Not even one thing so coming
and like going through this year has been a blessing quite honestly and taking
(04:34):
I say take a breath and take it in and really take one step at a time and hold those memories close.
Yeah, I would have to agree with you, especially on that memories thing.
My favorite memory, probably of all time.
I've got two of them, but it would be the final spring formal that I ever went to.
(04:57):
And that was just such a special time because, I mean, that was like the crew,
you know, we had the party van and everything.
That was such a blast. I had so much fun that night.
And honestly, our senior formal is coming up here in a couple of weeks,
and I'm really looking forward to it.
And honestly, taking it in as the last one. So I can't wait to make it the best one yet.
(05:21):
So are you helping plan that one up too?
Not this year, but I am going with a couple of friends and we're getting together
for dinner and taking pictures and just enjoying the night.
Way to go. Yes, I like that. Yeah, that's awesome. Cool, cool, cool.
So with that, have there been any challenges with senior year?
(05:42):
I was put in charge of the senior trip.
So challenge-wise, would definitely be planning every aspect of that senior
trip to make sure it flowed smoothly.
I mean, let's be honest, we're still all kind of kids right now,
not really knowing how to plan things.
And just being able to sit down and think through in advance,
(06:06):
especially with administration and parents around me who have helped.
It ended up being so good.
And you know, this also goes into what you're now planning to major in. So that's fantastic.
Would you mind sharing a little bit about that and how actually that trip influenced your decision?
Yeah, absolutely. So going into senior year, I was thinking,
(06:30):
let's find a college that has a strong Christian community,
be what I want to major in, which was at the time, definitely psychology,
but more specifically animal therapy, because I love animals.
That is one of my favorite things to do is go hang out with animals,
go hang out with horses, just be in nature.
(06:53):
And another favorite thing of mine is to help people in need.
And so animal therapy would be training a therapy dog for a person who needs
one and to To assist in both areas is absolutely amazing.
But leading up to the senior trip, that is what I wanted to do.
(07:14):
But after the senior trip, after all the planning, the financial side,
the event side, I kind of had the idea to maybe direct myself towards event
planning, mainly hospitality.
But somewhere in that area further on in life.
I'm glad that you got to have that opportunity to kind of like test out your
(07:38):
job beforehand. So that's fantastic.
And I really enjoy hearing about how people's minds are changed by different
events that are in their life. So thank you for sharing that with us.
I would imagine you've visited a lot of colleges up until this point, right?
Actually, not as many as some might think.
Really? So how many have you visited? So I only technically visited about six.
(08:02):
Okay. So not as many as some people might go visit to, which were Alabama, I did my sophomore year.
Auburn, I did my junior year. And then I visited Anderson, Covenant,
Troop McConnell, and Liberty this past year.
(08:23):
Oh, wow. Those were all this past year. Yeah. So for this past year.
You had to have a pack schedule.
Got you. Yes. Yeah. I can't imagine.
That's awesome though. I'm so happy for you that you're getting to go out there and test it.
But with that, I'm now curious, what was the deciding factor that made you choose
Anderson specifically?
(08:44):
Because I heard a few smaller schools in there, like Covenant,
for example, they're not as big.
They're a decently large college. And then Liberty, that's a really big college.
So what made you choose specifically Anderson from those? So,
funny story, because along with what we said earlier, like the whole UGA track,
I also thought about Auburn as a backup.
(09:07):
And when I went to visit Auburn, I absolutely loved the campus.
Everything was so beautiful, so well thought out.
And just along that track
I liked the hospitality side of
it because they were building a hotel for some of their students to start working
(09:28):
at and learn how to work in the hospitality career so with that being said I
specifically chose Anderson a because it's smaller than Auburn of of course,
and I want that smaller college feel,
but B, because it really was...
Auburn on a smaller level. You drive into Anderson and it's the small town feel.
(09:52):
You just naturally feel welcomed, just like I did at Auburn.
And that's what really was like the set in stone for me.
But on the track of Covenant and Truett McConnell, because those are small colleges
as well, Truett McConnell has, I think, 500.
That's almost like a high school. Yeah, honestly.
(10:14):
But they had 500. And to me, now, Trip McConnell was beautiful,
but it just didn't give me the same feeling and the same at-home type of feel.
But Covenant was actually my number two choice.
Okay. So for about a month and a half, I was between Anderson and Covenant.
(10:35):
And I really couldn't choose which one it was. But I kept going back to Anderson
thinking, I really would go to Auburn if it wasn't so big.
So Anderson was my final decision.
I'm so glad that you had that experience of getting to visit all of them and
then just pros and cons all the time to figure it out.
(10:55):
And then that's so cool that the deciding factor was actually that you wanted to go to Auburn.
But then you found kind of like the compromise for exactly what you wanted. in it. Absolutely.
It is literally a blessing from the Lord because that's exactly what I wanted.
Now, earlier, you were also telling me something about you weren't going to
(11:15):
go and visit Anderson originally.
So would you mind sharing with everyone how that happened and how he kind of
directed you in that path?
Yes. So long story short, me, my mom and my sister went to the post office one
day and saw an old friend's mom there.
Well, I had been looking at Covenant around that time and was kind of headed
(11:39):
towards Covenant because of, A, it was in-state and I wasn't planning to go
out of state originally.
So this friend's mom mentioned to my mom, hey, has Sarah looked at Anderson
yet? I think she would like it there.
And my mom got back into the car, told me about their conversation and mentioned
(12:00):
to me that she said Anderson was a good idea.
My immediate thought was, nah, I'm good.
It's out of state. I don't want to go out of state.
Well, two days later, a friend of mine, I saw her at work and she mentioned
that her brother goes there and pretty much told me that he's loved it so far.
(12:21):
And I said, pretty much, Lord, if like you want me to go check it out,
send me a third sign. And he did.
And so I mapped it out. And it's only a two and a half hour drive, which is still...
Far enough to be away at college, but close enough to come home on the weekends. Oh, yeah.
But that's what really triggered it for me to apply and go see and tour the campus.
(12:47):
And as I said earlier, the minute I stepped foot on the campus, I felt like I was at home.
I'm glad that, first of all, he gave you the sign. But then second of all,
that you actually listened to it. Like that just is a testament to your faith and that sort of thing.
And that you just trusted him with it. And you were like, okay,
well, I had never thought of of doing this before, but sure.
Yes, Lord, I'll do it. So that's awesome.
(13:08):
With that, what are some activities that are like must-haves at college?
Because I know like some people have like the stereotypical college idea,
but what specifically are you looking for, for like a social life at college?
So for Anderson, since it's located in South Carolina, it is actually only 30
minutes from Clemson and about an hour from UGA.
(13:31):
So my ideal plan when I was going
into college was there'd be a football team. I'd get to watch sports.
Now, as you said earlier, I am an equestrian.
I ride horses, but they did not have an equestrian team there,
which in turn, I actually was not that upset about, which was interesting.
(13:52):
And I was like, okay, well, well, what else is there?
And lately I've been getting into going to the gym and using that as my physical
exercise or even running.
I signed up for a 5k a couple of days ago. So that's interesting.
But football team wise, Anderson actually announced a couple months ago that
(14:12):
they're starting their very first football team this coming August.
All right. So that was honestly, it wasn't a deal breaker, but it literally
made the deal. I was like, yes, this is it.
Sweet. It's something new.
And I'm going in to Anderson as a new freshman and everyone else there will
(14:35):
be also new freshmen, but newer people for the football team as well.
Wait, so are you playing on the football team? No, not at all.
I was like, wait, hang on. Is Is she saying, okay, that's... Not at all.
Hey, I mean, that's still be awesome. I would definitely go to watch though.
I've definitely talked to some of the people also attending Anderson and saying
(14:56):
that we could meet up and go watch some of the football games together.
Well, I'm glad that you have that sort of community that you're going to be
able to go and have a social life and specifically that aligns with your morals
too. So that's fantastic. Absolutely.
So when you're thinking of visiting a college, or I mean, even when you were
just looking at colleges just in general, before you were even visiting them,
(15:20):
what was kind of like your criteria that really defined,
okay, this is one that I would be interested in, and this one is one that I
absolutely would not ever go to?
One that I absolutely would not go to, if it did not have any Christian aspect of it.
My morals are very pretty much set in stone, and I want a Christian community
around at least within a 10-minute drive.
(15:42):
I'm pretty adamant on that.
Anderson just comes back to my mind because of how much they prioritized their Christian community.
And I know that at every college you can go and find some sort of little Christian outlet,
but the way I saw the Christian community being put out and set forth forth
(16:06):
and made known to everyone who was touring was just absolutely outstanding.
They pretty much do so many service projects, even around the town.
And that is one telltale sign that I look for personally as a Christian.
And one other factor is safety.
(16:30):
Safety is a big factor. True. Yes, especially with everything that's gone on recently at UGA.
I definitely am looking for the safety factor.
And when I was at Anderson, they talked about how they have a separate athletic
complex that's a couple minutes from their actual campus,
(16:51):
but they have security that drives back and forth. They have a bus that drives back and forth.
And if the bus is not running, you are more than welcome to call up security
and they'll come pick you up and drop you off where you need.
They're always walking the premises.
They're always keeping an eye out for you, making sure students are safe,
(17:11):
checking up, being a friend of yours so you trust them.
And that is something that absolutely stood out to me about Anderson and Covenant,
which was really nice. That is really nice.
Yes. Being safe, that definitely has an impact on, I feel like it should be
on anyone's decision, but yes, you definitely need to find an environment where you're safe.
(17:33):
Because if you don't feel safe, then you're not going to learn and you won't
be able to develop that community as well.
And I'm also glad that you found that Christian community at Anderson and specifically that.
Is so forthcoming with we are a Christian university and that sort of thing.
And then actually being a Christian university, because you can have a Christian
(17:56):
university that is not Christian.
And I've seen plenty of those. And it's scary.
Like it really is scary. Absolutely. You just have to be careful.
No, definitely. And back to what you said a little bit earlier about learning.
Academic-wise, you want. For me, I want to go and learn in a classroom with
(18:18):
probably a ratio of student to teacher 1 to 15, 1 to 25 at most.
That way, I really truly am seen by the professor.
And if I skip class and I don't feel good, the professor's like,
hey, Sarah skipped my class today.
Let me email her and see if she's doing all right.
(18:39):
Is there anything I can help with? So more of a personal relationship with your
professors, just to get one-on-one with each other. Do you need help?
How can I lead you through this time of your life? How can I mentor you?
How can I help you academically as well?
So true. Yeah. And I feel like that probably stems from our high school educations
(19:02):
too, because we both had like very small class of about 15 to 25.
I mean, if you had a Mr. Howell class, it was always whatever that max number
was, it was always filled up.
Absolutely. I think his class max, that one Old Testament class was 20.
That's the most we had. And then this year for a couple of classes,
they split it onto two days. Okay.
(19:24):
For those of you who don't know, Mr. Howell is just this absolutely amazing
teacher and just an incredible man of God.
And he's, I'm sure he's influenced you in many ways.
But yeah, he's just, he loves the kids so much and he's had a major impact on
my life. So we love you, Mr.
Howell. If you're listening, you're absolutely amazing.
So can you describe something memorable, like from your college visits when you were going out?
(19:50):
Was there anything like, were you nervous or how was that? Just the general
feeling of this is it. I have to make a decision.
How did that impact you?
Yeah, I definitely wholeheartedly agree with like a little bit of nervous feeling,
maybe some anxiety, like, is this it or is this not?
(20:12):
And something that helped me with that, with the whole college decision and
knowing whether or not which one was the one for For me, was specifically,
I would, on the way up there, there was always at least an hour drive wherever
we went, sometimes longer than that, especially with Liberty.
(20:32):
But to like, just pray and ask God, is this it?
Close the door fast if it's not, because I don't want to go anywhere that you don't want me to go.
Like, where do you need me? Where can I go to be a servant of Christ and show
your love? And it was funny because...
On the way up to Troop McConnell, I did the same thing like I did to every other college.
(20:58):
And when we got there, I was like, this isn't it. I already know it's not it.
And by the time of the end of the tour, I was like, yeah, I'll still apply just
in case I don't get into any other college. I don't know yet.
But I don't think this is it. And it was definitely clear to me that it wasn't.
I always feel sorry for nonbelievers that they don't have that kind of connection
(21:20):
that That we have where it's just like, Lord, I'm giving this to you.
Let me know. And because he does let us know, like if we ask, he will always answer.
And I'm so glad that you're so in touch with the faith and that sort of thing
that you just pray and you're like, Lord, tell me. And then he does.
And sometimes it takes a little bit of patience and you do have to wait a little
bit longer than you want to, but that's okay.
(21:42):
It all will come out in due time.
True, true, true, true, true, true. So if you could describe visiting the colleges
and that sort of thing in one word, what would that one word be?
In one word, adventurous.
And you might not realize why I chose the word adventurous, but adventurous
because each one has its own goals and has its own pros and cons.
(22:12):
So if you're looking for a small college and you only want to be a part of 500, then that's for you.
But if you want to be a part of, I don't know how many Liberty has,
I really couldn't keep track.
If you count online, it's up there. I didn't even think online.
But Liberty has so much more. It just depends on what you're looking for.
(22:35):
And I would say looking at college is very adventurous because you kind of have
to step outside of your personal box and see, is this the place I want to go
live in the next year of my life?
And just keep in mind that you only have to worry a year at a time,
like not worry, but only think a year at a time because you can always change your decision.
(23:01):
And that's something my dad reminded me of because I I always thought,
well, this is the decision I have to make.
This is it. And there's no turning back. But he constantly reminds me that, Sarah, it's okay.
If you don't feel led to go back the next year, you don't have to.
There's always the circumstance where you can just go for a year and then transfer.
(23:25):
Don't put too much pressure on staying one place for four years.
It's okay. Wherever the Lord leads.
Exactly. Yes. I mean, like I transferred, so I know exactly what you're talking
about. And I feel like that is something that as students we do oftentimes overlook
is we just think this is senior year of high school.
I have to have literally the rest of my life planned out at 18 years old.
(23:50):
And that puts a lot of pressure on us. But like you said, and your dad has advised
you on, we just have to take it just one year at a time. One year at a time. Yes, absolutely.
And another thing my mom would always add in was, no matter what you choose,
you will always love you no matter what.
And we will support you no matter what.
And that's so important for parents to do is just be there to support the kids
(24:16):
because, I mean, obviously they have a lot of stress on them too,
but then us as kids, we're like,
this is the most stress we've most likely ever experienced in life. Right.
Because we're thinking we do have to have all this planned out and then just
them being there to love and support us.
That is really what got me through and
(24:36):
made me realize I want to do audio engineering with the rest of my life.
I think, I don't know. We'll figure it out, but yes.
But one step at a time is all you can do and then trust God with the rest. Exactly. Yes.
Well, that's so awesome. So do you have any favorite memories from just,
Not just college campuses and experiences and stuff like that,
(24:59):
but also really just from this last senior year, from,
I don't know, January of last year until now, what has been,
if you could pick out a single favorite memory, what would that be?
I would say that's pretty hard to choose because there's so many good memories.
I definitely am like taking into account that each memory is like the last one of high school.
(25:22):
So you're like holding it as close as you possibly can and trying to remember every single moment.
Mine was definitely on the senior trip. It was probably Friday night.
We had just gotten there and we decided to hang out at the house.
And there was a bedroom upstairs and it
(25:43):
housed all the girls in one room wow and that was like eight girls in one room
and we each like had a bed but we also had a pool table okay this is yeah this
is it so clark shields you know who i'm talking about yeah yeah he came up up.
It was amazing.
(26:06):
He came up and was playing pool with one of the guys and he reminded us of the game Crud.
What is Crud? I've never heard of this. Oh my goodness. It's such a fun game.
So of course you have a pool table and then you use the eight ball and you use
that white circular ball.
I'm blanking on the name right now. The cue ball. Thank you.
(26:28):
Yeah. You were about to say it and I remembered it. The cue ball.
So you take the cue ball and you hit the eight ball.
But once you hit it, the next person in line has to hit the eight ball without
letting the eight ball stop.
So I kid you not, you're running from one end of the table to the next to make
(26:50):
sure you hit that eight ball and don't let it stop.
And if it gets in a pocket, a person gets a point.
It's pretty much like horse and basketball but
it's crud and eight ball so you get a letter c
and then you keep going r keep going
and when you get the full word you're out he reminded us of that game and that
(27:13):
has to be one of my favorite memories because all of us were joining in cheering
each other on seeing who could win of course just having the time of our lives
chuckling Snuggling, laughing,
enjoying every single moment of it. Yeah.
Yes. Yeah. That would probably be one of my favorite memories too. Now, did you win?
(27:35):
I've got to ask. I did win a couple of times. Okay. Now, if you ask him, he may say no. No.
Clark. But I definitely did a couple of times, but so did other people as well.
And it was funny to see them win in like such an odd way because they throw
it and they would think it wouldn't go in. And then it did. It was just so cool.
(27:57):
That is cool. My dad also joined in on the one on Saturday night.
He joined in, absolutely demolished every single person that was playing.
Oh, yeah. Your dad is awesome. He always joins in on everything.
Thing. I love that about him. He's so cool.
One of my favorite memories from senior year was him coming to the graduation
party and doing, was it the worm? I think it was the worm. Yes.
(28:22):
Absolutely. Him break it dancing, you know, goes everywhere with that.
He does. Yes. But it's so cool. I don't know what it is, but he's just so awesome that he does that.
So, yes. So real quick, is there anything that you you would like to leave us
with, like any closing thoughts, any encouragement for students in their senior
year or for parents whose children are about to go off to college, anything like that?
(28:46):
Well, definitely like for parents, like remember, like you were once in that
state too as well, like you didn't know where you were going or maybe you did
and the Lord redirected you somewhere else.
So just like take into account that it's all in the Lord's hands and we don't
need to worry about it. Just take one step.
(29:07):
And if the Lord shuts that door, then try a different door.
And if it's shut too, just keep having faith and put your trust in him.
And for students and teenagers about to go off to college, just know that there is no wrong decision.
And if something were to cross that out and you have a no or you don't get accepted
(29:32):
into the college, well, just Just know that wasn't for you.
So constantly just put it in the Lord's hands and trust him with it.
And don't worry too much about it because the Lord has a plan for you.
Well, that is so awesome. Thank you so much for coming out and sharing that
with us, Sarah, and sharing specifically how we need to involve our faith within
the college search process and that sort of thing.
(29:54):
Because, you know, I feel like a lot of times we do think that it's just like
an academic thing, but we need to have God involved in every area of our life.
And I am so thankful that you have that in your life and that Quorum Deo,
the school that we went to, establishes that in pretty much each of the students' lives.
They really work hard to do that. And I'm so thankful that we have that.
(30:15):
But thank you for coming and sharing that with us. And for everything else with
your college experience and about CRUD, I mean, we're going to have to play
that at the next game night. We have to. We got to find a pool table now. Exactly.
Yes. Yes. Thank you.
Music.
(30:37):
Glad that you could hear Sarah and her story and how faith is involved within
the college search process and senior year as a whole.
We are so glad that you would join us and we hope that you tune in next time.
Please join us next time as we gain insight on how to prepare for life after
high school when our worldviews don't necessarily align with those around us.
(31:11):
Thank you for joining us for yet another episode of the Surviving and Thriving
After High School podcast.
Thank you so much for listening to us thus far. And it really means a lot to
see how much y'all are loving the show.
And every time y'all reach out to us, thank you so much for just giving us that
sort of feedback. It's really encouraging.
And it really keeps us going. So So thank you so much.
(31:34):
Thank you for joining us for another episode of the Surviving and Thriving After High School podcast.
Today, we have an awesome guest, and I can't wait to share that with you.
So let's just jump right in.
Thank you for joining us for another episode of the Surviving and Thriving After High School podcast.
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Betrayal: Weekly
Betrayal Weekly is back for a brand new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack. And make sure to check out Seasons 1-4 of Betrayal, along with Betrayal Weekly Season 1.