If I Could Tell My Freshman Self

Josh Stephens: Good morning, everybody. How are you doing?
That was an overwhelming response as these four seniors make their way out here.
Go ahead and give it up for these four seniors.
We're going to let them introduce themselves before we ask a couple of questions and benefit from their wisdom.
So go ahead and introduce yourself. Tell us where you're from and maybe what degree you're graduating with.
McKenna Reese: My name is McKenna Reese. I'm from Loveland, Texas, and I'm getting my bachelor's in athletic training.
Wyatt Cox: My name is Wyatt Cox. I'm from Abilene, Texas. I'm getting my bachelor's in exercise science with emphasis in pre-physical therapy.
Katelyn Westbrook: My name is Katelyn Westbrook. I'm from Fort Worth, and I'm getting my bachelor's in elementary education.
Brooke Koehl: my name is Brooke Koehl and I'm getting my bachelor's in children's ministry
and I'm from Montgomery Texas
Josh Stephens: so just so you know they're a little nervous some profess to maybe being a little sweaty right now
uh I did tell him I was like if you throw up on chapel on the stage in chapel that may go down as
the best chapel in of the year and so fingers crossed but we're going to ask him two questions
And the first one is going to kind of take you back a little bit, okay?
So if you could go back and talk to your freshman self,
what would you tell yourself as a freshman
when you started this academic journey at Lubbock Christian University?
McKenna Reese: Me personally, I would tell my freshman self a whole bunch of advice,
but I think I would mostly tell myself to be more involved here on campus.
I think it took me a little bit to finally kind of get out of my comfort zone,
so kind of live and make those uncomfortable situations comfortable.
That's truly how we see ourselves grow.
So I would go with that.
Josh Stephens: That's awesome.
So when you did find ways to get plugged in and involved, what was that like for you?
McKenna Reese: Oh, it was an eye-opener.
I met so many amazing people that I truly didn't get to see a whole bunch of,
especially when you're going for a certain degree, kind of just stay in that one building.
So this was just an ability to just be able to see a whole bunch of people
and just their God's creations just really just kind of bond together.
So it was an amazing thing.
Josh Stephens: That's awesome.
Wyatt?
Wyatt Cox: I'd say to my freshman self, kind of like McKenna said,
there's a lot of advice, but I think as a freshman,
I struggled a lot with control, like wanting to control my circumstances
or wanting to control my academic career.
And I would tell my freshman self to control what you can control
which is most often just your mindset.
That's about the only thing you can control in this world.
And so I'd say to have a mindset and a heart posture on others
and loving others first.
Josh Stephens: As you kind of work through those control issues over the years,
but especially coming in as a freshman,
who were some people that you went to to kind of help you kind of decide,
like, okay, you know what, I'm going to let go of that.
I'm not going to carry that anymore.
and they kind of walked with you during that time.
Who were those folks?
Wyatt Cox: Yeah, there was a lot of people that walked with me here at LCU.
I'd say my main two were Jordan Mews
as well as Dr. Brandon Ricks over at the ESS department.
I felt like either one of those guys I could go to with anything
and be accepted and completely walked with and even more.
Josh Stephens: Yeah, that's awesome.
And I think that's probably something each one of you
and hopefully everyone out there could say.
There's been faculty or staff here that have met you where you are, seen you, valued you, loved on you, and walked with you in whatever way you needed.
So I appreciate you sharing those names.
All right.
What are your thoughts?
What would you tell your freshman self, Katie?
Katelyn Westbrook: Well, probably the same thing I would tell myself today, but just to stop caring what other people think so much.
Not even in, like, a sense of are they going to judge me?
Do they like what I'm doing?
But doing things not to be seen by other people, but just to do them.
And I think I got caught up a lot in making sure that everybody knew what I was doing.
And I was constantly trying to like show off.
And I would really warn myself against that.
I was thinking about it this morning and thinking about like my job is to back up so that God can shine through me.
And if I'm trying so hard to be seen, then people aren't going to be seeing God.
They're going to be seeing me.
And that's something I'm still having to learn a lot now.
but I wish I could go back and tell my freshman self to start doing it then
so that maybe at this point I could be doing it a lot more successfully.
Yeah, that's great advice.
Josh Stephens: How do you think your freshman self would have received that?
Katelyn Westbrook: Honestly, I think I would have thought that I was already doing that.
You know, like I don't think that I was in a place to actually be able to, like, take criticism.
And so I don't know that I would have recognized that.
I didn't see how much I still had to learn.
So I probably would have had to
swatter upside the head to make her see it.
Josh Stephens: Awesome.
All right, Brooke.
Brooke Koehl: I think I would tell myself that it's going to be okay.
There were a lot of things freshman year
that I was like, it's the end of the world.
Take a nap and eat some food, guys.
Like, it's really not that big of a deal.
I think there were a lot of moments that I was like,
am I going to get through this?
Should I transfer?
Should I even stick it out?
Is it even worth it?
And it was in terms of, like, being social and, like, just having friends.
And those groups change so much throughout your four years.
And it's really eye-opening to see who the Lord can bring into your life.
But I also think that, like, just knowing that it's going to be okay brings a completely different peace.
And that, like, God can come into that and say, hey, like, it's going to be okay and God's going to give you peace about it.
Josh Stephens: Have you found yourself telling your senior self it's going to be okay?
Brooke Koehl: Oh, yeah.
Okay.
Actively.
Right now.
Good.
Josh Stephens: So, Brooke, we're going to start with you, and we'll come back this way.
What's one thing you would share with this audience?
What's one piece of advice that you would give this audience knowing some are in your shoes.
They're about to walk across stage here in less than a month.
Some, they're about to wrap up their freshman year at LCU.
What's one piece of advice you would give those two groups and the groups in the middle?
Brooke Koehl: so i think necessarily for like the people graduating guys it's gonna be okay and we did
it we're surviving we may not be thriving right now don't talk to us right now we're we're locked
in but we're trying to but we did it like that's so cool um to the people in the middle enjoy it
stop complaining and just enjoy what's around you like yeah you can bond over how hard your
A&P classes or how tough Greek might be or that there's just more assignments piling on top of
each other, but enjoy it and find the good in things because it really changes the environment
and the atmosphere that you're setting. And then probably just to everyone in general,
plug in to a church and get poured into because yeah, your professors and your
friends can pour into you, but not the way that Jesus can. So.
Katelyn Westbrook: I would say to everybody that God already made you uniquely and wonderfully made.
You do not have to try so hard to be unique and wonderful.
God is already doing that, so take a step back and let God do that.
You don't have to focus on what you need to do and how you're going to make yourself better.
If you focus on making other people, making the people around you feel loved and seen, then God will be shining through you.
And you will be showing the unique and wonderful you that God made you to be.
Wyatt Cox: Yeah, I would say it's probably what I've grown in the most at my time here at LCU.
And that is seeking to understand what it means to walk in the grace that the Lord gives you.
It's a free gift.
It's not about performance.
And I would say to meditate on what it means for you to surrender everything to him out of love and not out of fear for what, or out of love for what he's done for you and what he's continuing to do.
And in that way, you can walk in boldness and confidence that the Holy Spirit grants you after you accept him.
McKenna Reese: um yeah um i would definitely say just always have hope and faith and just trust in his plan in you
we always think that we know how our life is going to be planned out we know how the future
is going to be and i feel like we just need to not lean on our own understanding but lean on
his understanding and just lean on him, trust him, and just have faith that with him we are
going to be able to accomplish big things and what we were truly made of. So yeah.
Josh Stephens: That's really good. And especially each one of you said something that I could chime into,
but really who cares what my opinion is? Your opinion is what matters. Okay. And to have fellow
students, probably a number of them lean into what you're saying, saying, I felt that, or I've
seen that is really, really important. We're going to end with one more question, surprise question.
okay but it's only going to require you to say one word if you could wrap up your lcu experience
in one word what would that one word be what can i blessing growth
i know one word i would probably also say growth
you're expecting me to only use one word you know what you're asking right now i know sorry
Brooke Koehl: I would probably use the word special.
Josh Stephens: Real quickly, Ben, can we get the lights on real quick?
I know, some are like, oh man, I've got to wake up.
Okay, if you're a senior in here right now, would you stand up so we can recognize you?
Yeah.
I see you.
congratulations on this journey that you've been on i i think that you would probably resonate
some with what uh these four have said thank you guys for being willing to
be on this stage and and be nervous and all those fun things but to share your experience and and
we do as a university we hope that it was um something in in an experience that you'll look
back on and feel blessed like you said but I can promise you on this side of it
on the administrative side faculty and staff it's a blessing to get to see
students like you get in in and outside the classroom it's a blessing to to walk
by you in the cafeteria or the library or see you in the sub or in the rec and
so while we hope you've been blessed I can assure you that we as a university
have been blessed because of you and so real quick Ben if you'll pull up that
slide I don't know that the QR codes working exactly right now but here in
the next day or so that QR codes gonna work and it's for a celebration for our
graduates so those of you that are seniors in here you can scan that it'll
be going out through your email to as David mentioned in his announcement
we'll be having a celebration on Tuesday April 21st to celebrate our seniors with
faculty and staff there so that we can high-five you encourage you as you
finish the semester strong and just love on you so we hope you guys have a great