Audrey's Journey to Her Dream School

My desire to go to Liberty started in the 6th grade when my homeschool basketball team went to watch the East Coast National Championship tournament hosted at Liberty University. Yes, I said to watch the tournament. My team was asked to come, watch the games, and be there in case one of the Varsity teams dropped out last minute. Every year after that we competed in the tournament and every year, we were on Liberty’s campus seeing the school’s growth. Being on a homeschool sports team can present a challenge to the recruiting process. Homeschool sports teams are typically assumed to be less competitive than public or private school teams. In reality, homeschool teams function more like a travel team. Homeschool teams can seek out their level of competition and can determine the number of games played per season. I had the opportunity to play on a homeschool team that played 40+ games a year from 6th-12th grade.

In the summer of my 8th grade year, two of my older sisters attended Oak Hill Academy’s summer camp and came back with workouts from college coaches. Seeing them chase their goals encouraged me to work out with them. I set my goals to be prepared athletically and academically for Liberty University. My academic goal was to get as many college credits as possible during high school. I went to work for my dad at a much younger age than my siblings had in order to make this a possibility financially.

While I had opportunities to play AAU basketball on the national level, one year was all it took for my parents to decide that it was not a good fit for our family. My mom and my dad (also my coaches) decided time and money could be better spent training and learning than in renting cars and staying in hotels. Sometimes being part of a big family means decisions are made for the good of the individual within the context of the whole family. We as a family chose to support the seasonal side of my dad's business working in the summer while competing on a local FCA travel team. I was introduced to PGC basketball, Jason Otter workouts, Camps for Christ and worked out with other college players from our town and surrounding counties all while cross-training on the local swim team.

While I was getting looks and offers from smaller colleges, my heart was set on Liberty. After speaking to my mentors, I was advised to go to the summer camp to meet the coaches and learn more about the school. After my second summer at camp, I was offered a spot on the team as a preferred walk-on. I was honored to get the offer but without a scholarship, I had doubts about being able to find a way to go to my “dream” school. While my parents advised me to visit other schools and consider other options, my heart was still set on Liberty. As I played out my senior year, I prayed that if I was meant to go to Liberty then God would work it out. One by one I let other schools know I was pursuing my dream to be a Lady Flame. In May, I let the coaches know I was coming to Liberty and began the process of the Freshman Athlete Program.

I have been so humbled by my opportunity to attend Liberty. Liberty is the only Christian university that has the major I am pursuing - a bachelor’s in Theology & Apologetics. I have coaches that interact uniquely and genuinely with each player. It has been great building relationships with the other girls on the team.

While I am open to whatever plans God has for me, I desire to be a writer and speaker in the area of ethics and apologetics. I believe the most important decision anyone can make in their life is the decision to become a disciple of Christ. While becoming a Christian is life-altering, it doesn't mean everything will be perfect and there will be questions. I want to be an effective communicator of the gospel who loves others for who they are as God's children. I want to be an encouragement for believers to run the race and fight the good fight. I want to open doors for non-believers to enter into the most important relationship they'll ever have - a relationship with the God of the universe who loves them unconditionally. I believe God is preparing me and using me here at Liberty.

Go Flames!

Audrey Clark #15

The Best Gifts Ever

Hello, my name is Mya McMillian and today I will be answering the question “what is the best gift you have received and given?

The best gift I was ever given that is non-material is having the opportunity to live with the Berkmans. I was is a rough situation my entire life and when the Berkmans accepted me into their home I finally felt loved and safe. Before my mom was my mom, she was my English teacher, and my dad was my basketball coach. Neither one of my parents planned on expanding their family, but God works in mysterious ways. On March 28, 2017, my life changed. My little sister and I started living with the Berkmans. They had different, more strict rules, but they taught me a lot. Although my sister now lives with my aunt, I still go home to them every chance I get. I don’t disown my real family; I just know what is best for me. I love the entire Berkman family and am so grateful to be a part of the family. On a side note, I have been thinking about changing my last name to Berkman, which would mean a lot to me to have to same last name as my parents.

The best material gift I was given was my car. Before I had my car, I was looking for an appropriate car for my price range. I constantly asked my parents for help, but they kept putting it off. One day, my dad came to my job (Chick-fil-A) and told me to come outside. My dad and I had an argument shortly before I left for work, so I was thinking he came to finish the argument. I walked outside, thinking about my rebuttal and then I saw it. I was so shocked and I started ugly crying. My car came with a note describing why I got the car. The catch is it wasn’t from my parents. It was from this girl named Karson, and at that time that’s about all I knew. She explained in the note that God told her to give me this car. I fully believed she was correct because I did not know her at all. You have to be extremely selfless to be 16 and buy someone else a car, knowing she probably is getting her license soon. She asked her parents to match what she had for the car they bought me. Although I totaled my car a couple months back, it is still the best gift. I am forever grateful for it and will never forget it.

My spiritual gift is giving. I love helping people, whether that means buying them a gift or giving them my time. I’ve bought like 4 pairs of air pods (about to be five) for people and countless of other things. The best gift I am going to give is to my little sister. I believe God is giving me the opportunity to adopt my little sister (the one who lives with my aunt) after I get out of college. I will be able to give her the life I wish I had. This gives her an opportunity to have a bright future and I am honored to be in the position to help her get that.

Overall, I am in a blessed situation and I wouldn’t change where I am for anything. I just have to trust in God to guide my life in the right direction. Thanks for reading!

Go Flames!

-Mya McMillian, #20

Nenna's Journey from Finland

Hey Everyone,

My name is Nenna Lindström and I’m a junior from Finland. I transferred from Western Wyoming Community College this summer. I want to tell you all a little bit more about my journey to the United States.

Finland is a small country in Northern Europe. A fun fact about Finland is that Lapland, which is located in the Northern part of Finland, is the home of Santa Claus 🎅🏼

Another fun fact is that my aunt graduated from the North Carolina State University in the early 1990’s. She was part of the track and field team for all 4 years of her college career.

 And now more about me. I started to play basketball when I was 7 years old on a very well known girl’s club team in Finland. I played on the same club team for almost 10 years. After that I switched to one the best Finnish junior club teams. During my time there we won two Finnish Championships in our age group.

I also used to play on the Finnish junior national team and that is how I got exposed to the coaches here in the States. I always had a dream to play at a D1 school in the US. I got an offer from Western Wyoming and a decided to take it. After I graduated from high school, I started my college career at WWCC. I knew that going to a junior college didn’t mean that I would never reach my goal. It might be a harder path and I would have to work a lot harder to reach it. But I knew God brought me to WWCC for a reason.

I played at Western these past two years and worked hard enough for Coach Green to offer me a spot here at Liberty. I had finally reached my goal to play at this level. However, this is not the time to stop working hard. Now is the time to work even harder.

I have loved my time here at Liberty. I have made some great friends in a short amount of time. I am blessed to call Liberty my second home. Thanks for reading about my journey.

Go Flames!

-Nenna Lindström, #4