Personally, I never thought I would  go to college. Fast forward 8 years post high school, I found myself enrolled as a student with Excel College. 

I had just come off of a year-long mission trip throughout Asia and was craving change in my life. And yet, traditional college didn’t appeal to me. It seemed like the only things it had to offer were debt, taking up a good chunk of my time, and a lack of community. It was around this time that I reached out to a few friends that I knew were attending a non-traditional college in North Carolina.

A non-traditional college that offers an accelerated degree in 3 years instead of 4, a no debt promise, and a high emphasis on Christian community. 

Fast forward a bit, and I’m now fully invested in Phase 2 of my journey here at Excel.

When I started doing research for what exactly I wanted to do for my practicum track and who I wanted to work with, I kept two things at the forefront of my mind: my heart for women and my passion for discipleship. Through a couple of conversations with my personal coach, we came across a pregnancy center. 

The goal of the pregnancy center is to help women in crisis or those who find themselves with unexpected pregnancies. They do so by providing help to empower them to  make an informed decision about her pregnancy, and make sure that she has all the support that she needs for whatever decision she makes.

When we connected with this pregnancy center about my practicum, we didn’t know what exact position I would take. They mentioned a new role they’d been wanting to create, one where someone could sit one-on-one with the women and talk through all the personal, emotional side of things. Essentially, just getting to know her and create a safe space for her to talk freely.

Well, I have now been at Ascend for 8 months, as their first Patient Advocate, and it’s been even better than I could have imagined.

As a patient advocate, I lead each woman through her appointment and see how we can help her and connect her to resources she needs. I also have a chance to ask her if she’s interested in talking about the spiritual side of things, and if she accepts, I can share the Gospel with her. Walking with women through things that only women can go through, with the chance to share the goodness of God with them - the dreams and passions of my heart have come to life through my practicum.

Talking about spiritual things can often be tricky in these situations, especially if our patient doesn’t want to talk about it or it makes her uncomfortable. But it is also the space where God gets to show up, and where a woman chooses to carry out her pregnancy - which has happened, and it’s been incredible! It’s been such a privilege to see these testimonies play out right in front of me in these women and their babies.

My practicum has been a time of a lot of growth and stepping more into my passions. I have found myself becoming even more passionate about women and the work we do at Ascend. It is really beautiful to look back and remember I didn't even know what I would do for practicum. I’m glad to have mentors who seek to know my passions and dreams, and help me pursue them. This college has been a huge blessing to me. The best part is the every-day life of being in community–living, worshiping and sharing meals with people who are hungry for more of God.

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