Name: Sarah Chapman
Major: Undecided
Hometown: Lake Toxaway, NC
GWU Activities: FOCUS, Strudent Recruitment Counselor, GWU Marching Band and Orchestra, SAA, Honors Student
Interests: Building relationships, hanging out with friends, being outside.
Sarah Chapman – Hi! I am a sophomore undecided major from Lake Toxaway, NC. I am a FOCUS (Fellowship of Christians United in Service) Team Leader, a Student Recruiting Counselor, a member of the Gardner-Webb Marching Band, a member of the Gardner-Webb orchestra, an SAA, and an Honors student. I love building relationships with people, hanging out with friends, and being outside (especially in the mountains). I love Gardner-Webb and I can not imagine myself being at a better college for me. March 14, 2008 Well I have been back in school a whole week since being out a week for Spring Break and in less than a week I will be home again for Easter. It has been very hard to be productive because of these breaks. As much as I love school and Gardner-Webb I am not sure that I will ever be completely and totally heart-broken about being on a break. I just got back from Kerry’s Cups and Cones an ice cream shop within walking distance from campus. My FOCUS team and I went to just grab some ice cream and talk over our weeks and breaks. This week has been pretty slow as far as school goes. On Tuesday I was once again able to go on a Coffee Talk. This time I went with Meredith. Once again I had an amazing time. It really made me think about how many fantastic people are here at Gardner-Webb; not only faculty and staff but students too. I really believe that some of the best people I have ever met have been at Gardner-Webb. I love that people here really care about each other and love God. February 29, 2008 This week has been pretty crazy. It is defiantly the time of semester when things start to get crazier. I have had a five mid-terms/tests this week. It has been really busy and stressful. I pretty much feel like all my free time has been spent on studying (a feeling that I do not feel very often at all). There were two things that really added to the enjoyment of my week. On Tuesday I got to go on a Coffee Talk with Lauren Givens. It was so fun! Coffee Talks are when GWU sends out their admissions counselors to different coffee shops and invite prospective students to have free coffee. Coffee Talks always hold eventful times and create lasting stories. This past Tuesday we saw a refrigerator in the middle of the interstate. I really enjoy being able to go on these coffee talks. It is so great to get to meet potential “Dawgs.” Just hanging out, chatting, and telling people about how great my university is always makes me excited. I really hope that I will be going on more of these in the coming weeks. If you get the chance please come out and have free coffee on G-Dubb! The other thing was on Wednesday my Art class met in the art Studio and we were able to paint, draw, and explore all sorts of different media. This was exciting to me because I am not very artistic but it was such a laid back atmosphere that I was able to have fun and not stress over what my art turned out like. After making it through this week I am so excited because I am getting ready to leave and go on spring break. YAY!!! One week without school (even though I do have homework I should work on). I am just going to my house but that sounds wonderful to me. There are many students going on trips to other countries such as Guatemala, Israel, and Russia as well as to places like New Orleans and Wisconsin. I will try to rest and I will talk to you in a week or so! :) Valentine’s Banquet-Thursday was Valentine’s Day, as I am sure you are all aware, and seeing how my boyfriend is living back home which is 2 hours away I did not think that the day would be all exciting but, it turned out to be pretty amazing. My day was fairly relaxed and went smoothly. I finished reading a book that was required for one of my classes. Then I got an email that said work was cancelled on Thursday night because it was Valentine’s Day. I was so excited because on Thursdays I have 2 evening classes that run from 4-6 then I normally have work at 7. Generally between classes and work my friend Carrie and I go grab a bite to eat in Shelby, mostly so we can have time with each other but also to get off campus for a bit. Since work was cancelled we did not have to rush to get back to school for anything and since it was Valentine’s Day we decided to treat ourselves to a nicer evening. We decided to go to Gaffney instead of our normal Arby’s or Sonic meal we went to Applebee’s (which was delicious). After we were stuffed we went to the outlet mall and just walked around and shopped. Then to top it all off we went by Sonic and got a milkshake. Well I survived last week! My tests are all over, campus ministries events and slowed back to normal, and my FOCUS trip went great. We only ended up having about 30 kids but it was so much fun! I was in charge of the craft station where we had the kids make sheep from cotton balls and make a handprint banner which they presented to the church during the Sunday morning service. On Saturday night my whole team was able to spend the night at a house with a family that was members of the church. We stayed up way to late just singing with the piano and the guitar, playing silly wacky games and watching a movie. On Sunday morning I also blessed to help lead worship during the Sunday morning service with an amazing group of musically gifted friends. We were all so exhausted when we were finished at the church but it was all worth it. This week looks to be less stressful than the last and I hope that I am able to catch up on some lost sleep! Hi Everybody! In addition to all this I have a FOCUS trip this weekend. Preparation for a FOCUS trip is always stressful and crazy anyways but mixing in with this week has been really hard. We are going to a church in Dallas, NC and we will be working with up to 50 kids, ages 6-12. Our whole weekend in centered on the theme “Live out Love” and our Bible passage is from Matt. 18 and it is the parable of the lost sheep. I am really excited about the amazing things that God will do through this weekend I am just stressed. January 21, 2008 Wow! What a great last week! One of the best things ever happened, IT SNOWED!! Last Wednesday night the Gardner-Webb campus erupted when it started snowing at about 1am. So many people bundled up in their warmest clothes and poured onto the quad to play in the falling snow. Being from the mountains I love snow and it was just beautiful and amazing to see it here! There was a giant snow ball fight on the quad and people were making snow angels and well as for me I just walked around campus with friends and looked at all the beauty. When I finally got in bed in the wee small hours of the morning I set my alarm clock so that I could call the school hotline at 6am and hear the announcement about school being cancelled. Well 6am came and I called the hotline and it said that classes were just delayed and I went “WHAT?!” I ended up calling back at 8am and they had cancelled classes. It was wonderful. I turned off my alarm clock and slept until I had to wake up for a work meeting. The campus was still very beautiful and I just took in all the scenery. On a different note classes are off to a good start. Homework is growing and so are the other responsibilities of the semester. I hope all of you get to share in my excitement of the snow through some of the pictures below! December 7, 2007 YAY! Today was the last day of class. I am so ready for Christmas to be here (and exams to be over). This week has been another busy one. Monday, was my Orchestra Concert (I play the flute). It went so well, we have worked so hard this semester to get our music ready to perform. We played the Creation Overture, Holst’s Planets, the Waltz of the Flowers, White Christmas, Do You Hear What I Hear?, and the Heaven’s are Telling. The theme was “In the Beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth.” I had an amazing time. Tuesday night I had my Honors Seminar class and then after that I went to my friends’, Tyler and Joseph, room for a Christmas Party. It was so much fun. It was great to just hang out with friends and enjoy the Christmas Season. I also won a CD as a door prize! It was a great distraction from the upcoming exams next week, which I have to start studying for very soon! I am so excited about getting to go home for 3 ½ weeks in less than 1 week! I forgot to tell you that one day a couple weeks ago I got to put up and decorate (with some friends’ help) the Admissions’ office Christmas tree. I think it looks beautiful but I guess I am slightly biased. November 30, 2007 This past week has been SO busy! It is hard to believe that I only have about 2 weeks of class left. While in one way it seems like it is impossible that the semester is almost over, in another way I am so ready. There are so many things going on before the end of the semester it is hard to believe that you can cram so much stuff into a small amount of time. Between classes, extra-curricular activities, events on campus, and friends there is never any reason to be lacking in things to do or fun to have. In the upcoming days I have hours of Orchestra rehearsal for our concert on Monday. On Saturday a few friends and I are going to my hometown for our Christmas festival called the Twilight Tour. Then on Monday night I have my Orchestra Concert! Talk to you in a few days! Hey Everyone! I hope that you all had an amazing and blessed Thanksgiving! It has been great being at home the last couple of days and part of me is dreading going back to school in two days because I know that is when all the work starts. This week we only had two days of class (Monday and Tuesday). I was really frustrated because I have a Tuesday night class and that meant that I would not have been able to go home until Wednesday. So I went and talked to my professor and she was really nice and told me that it would be fine for me to go ahead and go home. It was such a blessing to get to go home. I arrived home Tuesday afternoon and was able to hang out with my mom, dad, little sister and boyfriend all of that night. Wednesday was my cousin’s birthday so we went out and saw the movie Enchanted (which was very cute by the way) and then had her birthday party that night. Thursday morning was spent in the kitchen with my mom cooking for Thanksgiving! We had the Macy’s Parade turned on the TV in the living room. It was so FUN! Then we went to my grandmothers for our traditional Thanksgiving meal. My dad is the youngest of 10 children so needless to say when our family gets together there are a lot of us! Yesterday morning my niece and nephew stayed at my house and we started decorating our tree. Last night about 10 of my closest high school friends and I got together and hung out. We spent 4 hours eating, hanging out, catching up, wandering around K-Mart and Ingles, and drinking coffee! Unfortunately I have a 10 page paper to write for part of my final project in my Honors Seminar: Death and Dying in American Culture. I know it may sound morbid but it is a great class that I have learned so much in. My friend, Anna, and I are doing our project together on the Genocide of Native Americans and their Culture. Wish Me Luck! J Sarah This past week has been an amazing week on the GWU campus. I mean WE beat University of Kentucky in Rupp Arena! How much crazier could it get?! It all started Wednesday night. A ton of friends and I were in Stroup (pronounced Strap…it tricks most people) having a huge birthday part for our friends Casey and Aaron when we started getting texts saying that we were winning, from people who were watching the game. Later that night I was sitting in Anna’s room and we hear this roar of noise. The roar became a chant of “let us in, let us in.” I walked down the hallway to see what was going on and the next thing I know over 100 hundred students were running through my building. We watched as they ran through the next buildings. The excitement only continued on Thursday when we gathered in the gym to celebrate. It was loud, fun, exciting, crowded, and did I mention LOUD! Then starting on Friday night people started camping out to get the 100 tickets to the game in Madison Square Gardens this coming Thursday. I don’t think that G-Dubb will forget this anytime soon. This game has boosted school spirit so much! GO GWU!!!!!!!!!!! KY WHO??????????? I’ll keep you updated on all the exciting events to come! J
February 15, 2008
I really thought that this past week would be slower than the previous one but I was wrong. I ended up have two tests and quite a bit of work to get done. By the Wednesday evening I had, for the most part, finished all my studying and was so excited when I got to go to the Sisters Ministry’s Valentines Banquet. It was sponsored for women by women and it was such a blessing. A local pastor’s wife spoke and there were delicious desserts served.
This was all fun and great but possibly the best part of the whole evening was being blessed by an amazing sunset on the way to Gaffney. I honestly believe some of the most amazing sunsets I have ever seen have been here at GWU. This sunset was so beautiful we pulled off on the side of the road and walked out into this field and took pictures. The sunset was just a beautiful blessing from God. A special gift to turn my (what I thought would be) ordinary Valentine’s Day into an amazing day filled with joy.
February 6, 2008
January 29, 2008
This week is absolutely crazy busy! First of all school itself is really busy. I have three tests this week and they are all in my hard classes so that is really stressful because I am striving to study and learn quite a bit of information for each test. In addition to the tests I have not stopped having homework in fact I have probably had the most homework this week than I have this semester. In one of the classes I have a test in this week, I feel behind in because I missed a day last week due to the fact that I spoke at a University Fellows luncheon (which went so well).
Also this week is Celebration week here on campus. Basically this is similar to a revival at a church. We have the verge every night and a guest speaker. I really enjoy the Verge and these services so I have gone to all of them this week, which has taken a couple hours out of my evenings. This week is also a week of 24/7 prayer on campus. This idea was actually started and implemented by one of my best friends (we went to high school together as well). The prayer room on campus is one of my new favorite things. It is an amazing place to go and just spend time with God. I really feel like God is going to use that place of prayer in way that will change people’s lives as well as the campus.
I HOPE ALL OF YOU ARE DOING WELL!!!
January 14, 2008
Hi Everybody!
I know that is has been awhile since by last blog but I moved back into my dorm last week so I guess that you will be hearing from me regularly again. I had a wonderful Christmas break. It was filled my lots of time with my family, lots of time with my boyfriend, lots of yummy food, and even some time spent relaxing. One of my favorite things about break was that it SNOWED twice at my house!! Once on Christmas day and once right after New Years! I was so EXCITED! But anyways I am looking forward to this coming semester, mainly because I am taking the least amount of hours this semester than I have the whole time I have been at Gardner-Webb. Which I hope means that this semester will not be as stressful and busy but I guess I will just have to see if that works out. This past weekend I spent off campus at the Campus Ministries Retreat for FOCUS Leaders. FOCUS is a ministry opportunity that puts teams of college students together (under two leaders) and then these teams are sent out to churches on weekends. Generally on these weekends we work with the youth or children in a church but we have also done service projects and other ministry opportunities as well. Well this year I am a co-leader of one of those teams and to start this semester off right all the leaders went on a retreat to the mountains (it was actually about 3 min. from my house). It was really amazing just to spend that time with people who are completely and totally in love with God. On Friday night after our session the majority of us just sat around a big fire and played music and sang songs. I feel that this was a great way to start this semester. I am really looking forward to the opportunities that I and my team are going to have this semester to serve in ministry.
Snow back home!
FOCUS Leaders retreat
Since Thanksgiving Break the Christmas spirit has spread like wildfire on campus. One of my favorite Christmas traditions is the Festival of Lights, which was last night. The Festival of Lights kicks off the Christmas Season with the lighting of the GWU Christmas Tree. The celebration begins in Dover Theater with singing done by the choirs (and this year a guest elementary school choir), the reading of the Christmas story, and a sing along. Then the there is a processional from the theater to the Christmas tree which is lit by luminaries that line all the sidewalks on campus. Once at the Christmas tree we sang a song and then lit the tree. After they lit the tree a group of my friends and I joined hands around in and continued to sing carols. Yes, people may have looked at us funny but we had so much fun. I honestly think that there is not much in this world that can compare to the Christmas spirit.
Nov. 24, 2007
Me and my best friend from high school, Brooke 
Me and my friends
November 11, 2007
Search | Directories | Contact | Calendar
