“This year is going to be amazing.”

This is the optimistic perspective of Kristen Caster, a sophomore level English major and Heritage Hall R.A. After spending her freshman year learning and growing in experience, she now is ready to take on this semester with full energy.

Despite the full, eighteen credit load and basketball season she will tackle in the upcoming months, she still has a smile on her face as she talks about her fall semester.

So what’s her secret? I asked her, wishing to gain any advice that I could relay to any students who would read this post.

Her reply? Simply “God.”

Kristen will be the first to tell you that she is not the best with time management. However, she has the correct perspective on her academic and social calendar. As an R.A, she has the ability to tell others what she has learned herself during her time at Cairn.

This year, possibly more than any other year, is a time for our campus to grow spiritually. However, it is all about what we, a student body and as individuals, are willing to make it. Our hearts will not change and we will not edify one another unless we correct our focus.

Believe it or not, Cairn’s mission is not solely to create outstanding professionals in the workforce.

That is only part.

What Cairn truly attempts to create is “biblically minded, well-educated and professionally competent men and women of character.”

So as Cairn students, we are to work towards fulfilling such a statement. This requires us not only to do well academically, but to become more like Christ.

Kristen spoke of how quickly she learned that “not only should every day start and end with Him, but every moment must be assented with Him and His presence.”

Keeping Christ in the primary position of our hearts is not just a way to cope with the semesters demands; our education is truly secondary to our relationship with Christ.

As we all move into the full swing of the school year, let us not forget the God that provided the finances to get here, the brains to think and the opportunity we have at Cairn to grow in our relationship with Him.