Cedars, October 2018

October 2018 14 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Carrie Smith: Empowering Others by Katie Milligan D riven by her personal struggles and a strong faith, Carrie Smith is passion- ate about mentoring young women through the avenue of high school teaching. Smith, a 34-year-old senior English ed- ucation major, grew up in a Christian home with parents who regularly took her to church. However, as Smith grew older, she became in- creasingly distant from God. She didn’t truly feel a connection to the church, which led to her abandoning her faith altogether. “Nothing was authentic in terms of my relationship with God,” Smith said. “I knew what people said about Him, but I didn’t subscribe to any of it.” During her teenage years, Smith be- came angry and rebellious; her relation- ship with her father became strained, she fell into harmful friend groups and became entangled in abusive relationships starting at the age of 15, a cycle which continued throughout the majority of her life. Though Smith had dreams of becoming an art teacher, she decided not to go to college after high school, instead attending cosmetol- ogy school to gain her license as a hairstylist. Looking back now, she realized that God used her career as a hairdresser to re- fine her character. “That job made me who I am now,” Smith said. “It taught me how to talk to people, be patient with them, how to have compassion, and how to appreciate and love people that are different than me.” Meanwhile, Smith married just before she turned 21, and had her two children, Gabe (now 13) and Bella (now 11) soon af- ter. However, her marriage was troubled and unhealthy. Smith recalls that she did not have any close friends to rely on. “Our marriage was absolutely tumultu- ous,” Smith said. “I don’t want to say any- thing negative about my ex-husband, be- cause I forgive him, but during those years, I felt very isolated and alone.” In addition, the overwhelming bur- den of being a mother at such a young age weighed heavily on Smith, leading to ex- treme amounts of stress and depression. At 28, Smith came to the sudden reali- zation that her children had never attended church and felt called to take them. While there, Smith finally reconnected with God. “That’s when I felt, for the first time, a real relationship,” Smith said. God continued to work in Smith’s life, especially through a loyal client of hers who continued coming to her for haircuts even as Smith moved between four salons. The client recommended Smith to his sister, who quickly became Smith’s best friend. She invited Smith to her own church, where her parents were pastors. “That church absolutely changed my life,” Smith said. “That shaped my faith [and] set the foundation to where I don’t feel like I’ll ever turn back.” Shortly after meeting her friend, Smith made the decision to attend Cedarville Uni- versity. Her job as a stylist and newfound passion for others had reignited her desire to teach. She had finished two years at Sin- clair as a liberal arts major when she felt God pushing her toward Cedarville. “There have been profound moments where God has made Himself really tangi- ble, and one of those moments was when I decided to come here,” Smith said. She is now a senior, set to graduate this spring. Despite encouragement from her new church, Smith struggled to fully surrender her life to Christ. Her marriage ended in a di- vorce, punctuated by the loss of Smith’s third child just an hour after she was born. At the same time, Smith’s son was experiencing health issues. Though her new friend could support her through these emotional hard- ships, Smith still wrestled with her faith. “I had a really hard time transforming my life to fit what God wanted,” she said. Moreover, as a result of fighting person- al battles, Smith and her closest friend had a falling-out that intensified her feelings of isolation, which she said has been the most difficult thing she’s ever been through. Though she felt herself slipping into a dark place, God again provided in the form of a caring support system at Cedarville. Also within the past year, she has a new boy- friend who loves her children and she has been accepted into his church, surrounding her with a loving community. “This is the first time in my life that I feel peaceful, happy and content with my life,” she said. “It is such an answer to prayer.” Smith gives all credit to God, but also acknowledges that the Cedarville commu- nity has greatly contributed to her success. One of her professors in particular, Dr. Peg- gy Wilfong, has greatly impacted Smith. “I can’t imagine going through all of this without the continual encouragement and support from the professors here,” Smith said. Wilfong, professor of English at Cedar- ville, taught Smith in several challenging English courses and is one of her greatest advocates. “I have always greatly admired her,” Wilfong said, “She is very well respected among the faculty, and is one of the most diligent people I’ve ever taught. She also encourages other non-tradi- tional students like Smith to reach out to a trusted faculty member for support. “When I saw Carrie, I wanted to make sure she felt at home,” Wilfong said. “How can we not be welcoming? God wants [ev- eryone] to feel accepted and beloved.” She looks forward to seeing where God leads Smith in the future. “I can’t speak highly enough of her,” Wilfong said. “If I had a young daughter, I would want her to learn from Carrie. If ever you could see a picture of God as a God of second or third chances, here it is, so why not celebrate that?” Smith has developed a passion through her own experiences for mentoring young girls. “Because of everything I’ve been through, I just want to empower girls to seek their identity in the Lord,” she said. “I want girls to know what they deserve in relationships, and that they shouldn’t be fo- cused on or defined by relationships.” Going forward, Smith hopes to work in a high school after completing her master’s degree. “I’m trying not to plan, because I don’t want to be in charge of it,” Smith said. “God has taught me never to rely on my own un- derstanding and to trust Him. The more I lean into that, the stronger I feel.” KatieMilligan is a sophomore Englishmajor. She enjoys eating pasta, taking Polaroid pho- tos and playing with her dachshund, Audrey. Photo taken by Kelsey Feuerhak Carrie Smith decided to attend Cedarville after a career as a hairstylist.