Please give a current update on yourself (college/graduation year, major, grad school, work/career, family, other interests, service or hobbies).
After graduating from Geneva in 2018, I attended the University of Texas at Austin and graduated with a B.S. in Advertising and a Bachelor of Journalism in 2022. As part of a creative tract within the Moody College of Communication, I was a member of Texas Creative, which is a series of rigorous creative campaign-building courses that train portfolio students to become art directors and copywriters. The summer after I graduated from college, I packed up my bags and moved to Boone, North Carolina to work for Samaritan’s Purse. When my time at Samaritan’s Purse ended at the beginning of 2023, I moved back to Boerne and began working as a full-time graphic designer for Daor Design, a small branding management team for small businesses. Through it all, I have seen God’s hand directing my life and gifting me with unforgettable people and experiences.
In what ways did your Geneva education/training prepare you for the work you are doing now?
I have to give a big shout-out to art and magazine for fueling my creativity and kicking off my journey to becoming a graphic designer. Geneva gave me the unique opportunity to participate in many extracurricular activities. From swimming to magazine, soccer to art, I was able to pursue numerous interests and learn new skills. I believe these diverse opportunities offered at Geneva taught me flexibility and adaptability. Working at a small business requires everyone on the team to wear multiple hats. It’s about teamwork, trying new things, and being able to switch gears quickly to accomplish your goals. Learning to juggle many different commitments at a young age taught me perseverance and grit, no matter the challenge.
Please describe the most significant value you learned from Geneva.
Being a servant leader. Servant leaders, although incredibly rare, are magnetic. They listen to understand, encourage to inspire great work, and tell the truth to demonstrate love. Although still imperfect, servant leaders have a deep desire for those around them to do and be better. I am fortunate to have many servant leader examples in my life and it has become one of the traits I value most in others and aspire to accomplish for myself.
How would you encourage a Geneva Rhetoric School student to make the most of their Geneva years?
Elisabeth Elliot said, “When you don’t know what to do next, just do the thing in front of you.” Inspired by this quote, Allie Beth Stuckey, a pod-caster I listen to, says, “Do the next right thing in faith, with excellence and for the glory of God.” It can feel like immense pressure when you don’t know what elective you’ll be in, what AP classes to take, what college you will go to, what career path you’ll take, who you will marry, etc. I don’t want to belittle the choices you will have to make, but I hope to encourage you when I say all you can really do is what is in front of you to the best of your ability. During your time at Geneva, read the book, study for the test, encourage your friends, learn from your teachers, respect your parents, and trust that God’s plans are greater than your own.
Describe Geneva in one word. Explain.
Counter-cultural. You can’t truly appreciate how counter-cultural having a biblical worldview is until you’ve experienced the world outside of Boerne. At Geneva, we were fortunate to learn the biblical values of truth, beauty, love, joy, kindness, and more, which usually contradict the world’s values. Eventually, you have to make a personal choice to accept biblical truths and live counter-culturally. Don’t just go with the crowd for the sake of fitting in. As C.S. Lewis observes, “When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind.” So, I hope Geneva’s biblically grounded teachings and values inspire us all to live counter-culturally for Jesus.
Please share one or two of your Geneva extracurricular activities and then contrast that with one or two of your current non-work activities.
In high school, I took piano lessons, and I was a club swimmer. From UT, to North Carolina, to Boerne, I’ve continued to play piano and swim laps when I can. Both these activities help me decompress from stressful days and find the slow in life. Even if I didn’t fully appreciate these activities when I was younger, I am so thankful for the teachers and coaches who taught me the peace of music and the grit of sports.
What are your future career goals and how do you feel prepared for them?
I’m not one to plan out the next however-many-years of my life because I know God’s plan usually trumps mine. I’m working a job I love, have great friends, a loving family, and a future that awaits. What more could a girl want?
How are you impacted by your work now? What is something you have learned/are learning about yourself and God’s world?
I recently read a book titled, Called to Create by Jordan Raynor, which altered many of my preconceptions about work. It’s easy to fall for the lie that work is somehow a punishment. Something that has to be done, rather than something that I choose to do. But work was given to us as a gift. In the garden before the fall, Adam and Eve were tasked with work, being co-creators with God. How cool is it that God intended work to be a blessing in which mankind can use their talents and abilities to glorify Him! Whether you are a teacher, student, parent, accountant, dentist, roofer, etc, you do not work in vain. Changing my perception of work from something that has temporal value to something that matters to God and has eternal significance has been life-changing. So, my question to you is, are you using your God-given talents and abilities to serve others and honor God? It’s really that simple.