Inspire, Fall/Winter 2009

16 FALL/WINTER 2009 my cedarv i l le I understand the draw of politics — that desire to win, to be great. As a political communication major, I’ve felt it myself and have used that passion to pursue my interests. But while my original plans revolved around winning, I’ve come to see that true leadership requires a servant’s heart. And that’s one of the main things I’ll take from my experience at Cedarville. Of course, I wouldn’t have thought that a few years ago. In fact, the first time my mom mentioned Cedarville, I wasn’t impressed. “Cedarville?” I said. “Never heard of it, and quite frankly, I’m not interested.” At the time, I dreamt of attending a big-city school or an Ivy League institution. Little did I know how drastically my plans would change. My mother was the first in my family to learn about Cedarville. During my junior year in high school, she attended an Association of Christian Schools International Conference in Dayton, Ohio, where Dr. Deborah (Bush) Haffey ’68, a communication arts professor at Cedarville, was speaking. Throughout her lecture, Dr. Haffey interjected phrases such as “at my school” and “at Cedarville.” Her interest piqued, my mother visited the University’s website as soon as she returned to southern Kentucky and swiftly signed me up for the annual High School Leadership Conference. “How could they do this to me?” I thought. “Where in the world is Cedarville anyway? They just signed me up without even asking me first!” Driving into Cedarville was definitely a shock and defied everything I wanted in my college town. It didn’t even have a McDonald’s or a Starbucks! To make matters worse, the entire landscape was like a winter tundra. I didn’t like it at all. But, believe it or not, by the end of the weekend, I had decided Cedarville was where I wanted to attend college. CHANGE IN DIRECTION The next year and a half crept by at an agonizing pace. I couldn’t wait to get to Cedarville! Thankfully, I was able to attend the Leadership Conference again during my senior year. I had already been accepted to the University and was determined to make connections and settle on a major before starting school in August. While I was at the conference, I contacted Dr. Haffey and asked if I could meet with her. She responded enthusiastically, not only inviting me to sit in on one of her classes but also offering to discuss program options with me. She also asked if she could pray for me as I began to seek out my major. I never expected to experience such a personal interaction with a college professor. I didn’t know it then, but Sophomore class president Grant Miller ’12 meets with the other class presidents to plan activities for the student body and discuss ways to build community on campus. TRUE VICTOR Y by Cedarville student Grant Miller ’12 “I began to reflect on my first semester . I t had been full of victories and defeats , and because of them I was already becoming a different person .”