What is your Sterling Story?

“The Lord used basketball to bring me to Sterling. My high school coaches were SC grads so they had a big impact on my decision to be a Warrior. I appreciate that I received my degree from SC, and I value my education. But of greater worth to me was how the Lord grew me during my four years. I had to stand on my own two spiritual legs and make my faith my own, and to do that in the environment that SC provides was invaluable. Also of tremendous worth were the lifelong relationships that I formed with teammates and dorm mates. And I met my husband at Sterling. You can’t really quantify the importance of meeting the man you spend your life with. Sterling is an incredibly special place to Drew and me.” -Rachel

“I considered attending Sterling College because of a friend of mine from my hometown who was a couple of years older than me and was doing very well at Sterling. Then I had a chance to play basketball at Sterling, and it sealed the deal. The four years that I spent at Sterling were some of the most formative years of my life. I made lifelong friends. I learned the value of hard work and persistence, especially with basketball. I was very undecided about what direction to go career-wise coming into Sterling, and my math professor (Doug McCullers), chemistry professor (Dr. Beechan) and two biology teachers (Dr. Williams and Dr. Walker) encouraged me to continue to look into a career in medicine. As I continued to struggle with that decision, my advisor, Dr. Williams, encouraged me to spend time with a rural physician in western Kansas one summer, which helped me to make up my mind to go into medicine. Then, after I had decided, those same professors helped to make sure I was on the right track for medical school and a career as a physician. However, Sterling College did not just provide a great education. It provided a setting in which I was also encouraged to continue to develop my worldview and made sure that Christ was at the center of that worldview. Later on, as I was completing my residence training, I realized I was called to approach my career in medicine as a ministry in itself. That “ministry of medicine” is a result of the foundation that was built during the time I was at Sterling College.” -Drew

What are you most excited about the SterlingNOW capital campaign?

“The SterlingNOW campaign is exciting to me because I want Sterling to be competitive in recruitment, and modern facilities are necessary in recruiting today’s student-athletes. Also necessary is an auxiliary gym.” -Rachel

“The SterlingNOW campaign excites me for a variety of reasons. I’m very excited to upgrade the athletic facilities. However, what I am most excited about with the SterlingNOW campaign is the new science building. The science department and the faculty in that department had a profound impact on my academic and career development. Even more that that, the liberal arts education that Sterling College provided made me a well-rounded student, which prepared me for the challenges of medical school and a career in medicine. I felt that I was prepared even better than those trained at larger universities. The facilities for the sciences, however, were at that time not great and have become inadequate, which I have been afraid would steer students away from Sterling. The new facilities will continue to attract students interested in the sciences; and I know for a fact that Sterling College and its unique education and setting will continue to prepare students for success in careers throughout the sciences, including medicine. Also, I am passionate about family medicine in a rural setting, and the need for rural physicians is great and only becoming greater. Sterling is a wonderful rural, small community, and going to college there helped me and many others to realize the many benefits of small communities and of rural Kansas. Students who receive their education in a small community setting like Sterling are more likely to be willing to work and live in a small community in the future.” -Drew

Why do you support Sterling and SterlingNOW?

“We support SterlingNOW because we believe in the mission of Sterling College and want young people to have the same opportunities that were afforded us. College is an incredibly formative time, and we believe in the mission of Sterling College impacting students’ lives for Jesus.” -Rachel

“Sterling College had a profound impact on Rachel and me, both spiritually and academically. Somebody else was supporting Sterling at that time, and we didn’t even realize it, but that provided us an opportunity to spend four years at Sterling. We want to help other students to have that same opportunity that we were given.” -Drew

What encouragement do you have for fellow Warriors about the campaign?

“It’s our turn. It’s time for us to be involved in the next generation of Warriors. We’ve experienced how God can use our experience at Sterling College to impact us to affect our scope of influence. It is our turn to provide that experience for future generations of Warriors.” -Rachel

“Sometimes it may seem like individually we are giving in ways that are small, but if we all support Sterling College and the SterlingNOW campaign, together we can accomplish much.” -Drew