Junior Heather Horace knew right off the bat that she didn’t fit in with the crowd. Growing up in a Christian home, Horace knew God and revered the foundation her parents set for her.

“When you grow up and your parents set a foundation for you, you follow that foundation until you have a realization of ‘this is what I want to do,’” Horace said. 

It wasn’t until she became aware of the impropriety around her that it occurred to her how different she was.

“When I got to sixth grade, I started noticing more people doing bad things, like cussing,” Horace said. “I’ve always thought that is not what I want to do.” 

Horace refused to give in to the pressure, so in her freshman year she made a decision.

Upon becoming a freshman, Horace decided to embark on a personal journey with God. Being a Christian no longer became something she had to be but something she knew she wanted to be.

“Freshman year was when I was really drawn to it, really passionate about God,” Horace said.   

Her church and her family were her source of encouragement and she surrounded herself with friends with equal passion. As of March, Horace became baptized for the second time – one was when she was a baby and now “a rebirth, born again,” she said. 

Aside from her staunch faith, Horace has big dreams. She aspires to go to medical school. Although she is undecided on what she wants to become, she finds orthopedics as an interesting career path.  Her interest in the medical field is so she can understand and help people, especially with the perspective her faith has given her.

“The way I view life now,” she said, “people go through things you don’t know about; so if they are ever rude to you, just treat them nicely because you don’t know what they have been through.”