Ashley Norman is a senior at the University of Georgia, where she is majoring in Sport Management with a minor in General Business. She is also earning a certificate in Nonprofit Management and Leadership. Habersham basketball and volleyball fans will remember her as an outstanding Lady Patriot! She shares how her time at Habersham helped prepare her for the amazing path the Lord has for her as she starts her professional career.
How did your time at Habersham affect your college experience? Did the classical model help prepare you for collegiate courses?
More than anything, Habersham taught me that I am worth more than my academic accomplishments. So many of my classmates were shocked when they reached college and they suddenly weren’t at the top of their class anymore. I watched so many people lose faith in themselves when they became one of many great students, rather than standing out as the best. Habersham always placed an emphasis on unity. I was taught that my identity is found not in my accomplishments, but in being a child of God. I believe this lesson has kept me mentally and spiritually stable throughout college, and will remain with me long into the future.
How did you decide on your major, and the field you want to work in?
I’ve never had any strong direction for my life until my sophomore year. I was sitting in a microeconomics class with 300 other students, not paying any attention to the professor at all, when God gave me a picture clear as day. He wants me to run a nonprofit, recreational center in a community that desperately needs it. He wants me to combine my passions of sports, ministry, and helping out underprivileged youth, and create a place where all three can exist together. Once I had this vision, I’ve been taking whatever steps I can that might help me reach this point, which included switching my major to sport management and adding a certificate in nonprofit management.
What are your plans for the future?
I have my end goal in mind, but quite honestly, I have no idea what my immediate plans for the future are. There are about a million different directions I can go within the sporting industry, and I know God will work something out. It could be anything ranging from recreational facility manager to community outreach coordinator for a sports franchise. As of right now, I’m applying for jobs and hoping to have my first real career opportunity by August.
Do you have any advice for Habersham students heading off to college?
Above all, draw near to God and He will give you more love, joy, peace, and fullness than you could ever even fathom right now. Know that it’s okay to screw up. We all do. But also know that within a relationship with God, there is no such thing as guilt, shame, or fear. He loves so fully, and man do I feel undeserving of it most days. But we have to trust in the truth that He made every single one of us worthy of His love. Most of you are going to run from Him at the first chance you get. But know that He’ll be waiting for you patiently, with open arms and love in His eyes, until you’re ready to come home.
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