As spring break rapidly approaches and homework is piling up, the feeling of senioritis is emerging amongst many second semester seniors on campus — but not for Leah Sutton.
Sutton, a senior Christian Ministry and Missions major, is choosing to take additional courses during her last semester at Union.
“Having four years here is extra for me,” Sutton said. “I wanted a full four-year college experience.”
Most students, like myself, struggle to fit all of their required courses into our schedules. Many other students would have opted to graduate early and not worry about so much school work, but Sutton wanted to expand her academic horizons and learn as much as she could.
“I did a gap year program called Impact 360, and it was there that I realized I really like to learn.”
Sutton felt that attending lectures with a professor and working alongside classmates helped to motivate her more than if she tried to study new things on her own. Instead of just reading books on topics that interested her, she decided to sit in on classes in multiple academic departments.
“I think it’s fun to be well rounded as a person,” Sutton said.
Before registering for her senior year, she asked for some advice from older friends about what Union professors they would recommend. Dr. Halla, Professor Kluck and Dr. Trent were just a few of the familiar names on the list.
“This married couple from my church, they’ve been graduated for like five years, and I asked them last semester what was the most helpful class they had taken at Union, or the one they still remember, and they both said personal financial management with Dr. Trent,” Sutton said.
She decided to take this thoughtful advice and audit Dr. Trent’s class this semester.
“This is my last chance to have these Union professors,” said Sutton. “I can’t graduate without that opportunity to sit under their teaching.”
Sutton has been able to learn more than just finance or theology in her classes. She has also been able to learn valuable life lessons from her professors, and that is what the college experience is truly about. She enjoys her broad range of classes and instruction styles, going from deep philosophical discussions to working on practical life skills.
“I just see so much opportunity in what we have in college that is really kind of once in a lifetime, maybe twice in a lifetime, and I wanted to utilize that.”
For Sutton, this opportunity comes to a close in May. When asked about what it feels like to be a second semester senior, she hesitated. “It’s very hard to describe.”
“Everyone keeps asking, ‘Are you so excited to graduate?’ ‘Are you excited for spring break?’” Sutton said. “It’s just been such an amazing experience and I’ve grown so much over the past four years that it’s hard for me to want it to be over.”
Sutton further elaborated on some of the difficult emotions that she has been dealing with as a second semester senior who is taking so many extra classes.
“There’s so much of me that wishes I could go back and do freshman and sophomore year knowing what I do now or with the growth or relationships or experiences that I have now,” Sutton said.
The balance between academics and social life is difficult for all students. It has been made more difficult for Sutton due to her involvement at Union, both in the classroom and around campus. Learning to manage what time she has left at Union is essential for Sutton.
“Am I willing to sacrifice some leadership opportunities, community sides of college life, to take this harder class that’s going to take all my weekend time for studying, or the other way around?” Sutton said. “Is it a season, this new semester, that I need to maybe not take the hardest class that’s available to me so that I can pour into the people around me and make the most of that part of college?”
Those who know Sutton know that she is a genuine friend who cares for the people in her life, and making time for them despite her busy schedule is just as important to her as going to her classes. Sutton is approaching her graduation with many new skills, insights, and relationships. She is looking forward to a bright future of serving in missions where she will utilize the knowledge that she has gained here at Union.
“I don’t want to miss out on the beautiful, slow, maybe seemingly mundane things,” Sutton said.