Student Spotlight 44 results

Nigerian Student Perseveres Through Many Challenges to Study in the U.S.

By Shelby McGuire David Adedeji is a freshman student at Cedarville University studying Computer Science. What most people don’t know about David is that he is significantly younger than his classmates at 16 years old. Adedeji grew up in Lagos, Nigeria. In August 2018 at just 15 years old, he moved with his mom and brother to Huntington, West Virginia. At that time, he was ready to begin his senior year of high school because Nigerian school systems are more accelerated than that of the ...

Freshman Worship Major Writes from the Heart

Noah Ayers hopes to impact others with his music By Madeleine Mosher Noah Ayers loved music even before he was born. As an unborn baby, Ayers would kick in rhythm with the drumbeats in the music at his family’s church. After he was born, Ayers said he wouldn’t fall asleep until his parents played rock music for him. “It’s just always been in my veins,” he said. It’s no surprise, then, that now, as a freshman Worship and Broadcasting double-major at Cedarville, he’s ...

Student Spotlight: Skyler Cash – Passionate About Music

By Zach Krauss Skyler Cash is forging his own unique path to combine his passions. Cash was initially drawn to Cedarville for its engineering program, but he was hesitant to disengage from another important facet of his life: music. Cash feared he would not be able to combine his love for music and hist talent for engineering in one degree program. Without a clear solution to this dilemma, Cash started at Cedarville and declared his intent for a degree in music education. He temporarily let ...

Student Spotlight: Emily Sulka – No Mercy, No Malice

by Katie Milligan After three years of feeling out-of-place in her music major, Emily Sulka finally found her calling within the world of music in one of the world’s most diverse music hotspots: Nashville, Tennessee. Sulka, a senior, spent her fall semester in Nashville for a unique study opportunity with the Contemporary Music Center (CMC). Sulka has spent her three years at Cedarville searching for a major in which she feels most comfortable. She switched three times before settling ...

Eugene Fortier: God and Guitar

by Shelby Ahlborg From music majors and minors to people who join choirs and bands just for fun, Cedarville has no shortage of talented musicians on campus. One of those musicians is Eugene Fortier, a junior music performance major with a specialty in classical guitar. Fortier has been playing guitar since he was 14. He owes his passion to the American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, a favorite artist of his grandfather. “My dad had an old guitar in his closet that I picked out and ...

Student Spotlight: Gabrielle Bauman – Bringing Light

by Tayana Fowler Ever since the fourth grade, Gabrielle Bauman has had two passions: theater and her savior, Jesus Christ. Bauman, a senior theatre major, has spent the past four years at Cedarville serving the Lord and the student body with her gifts and talents in theater. In fourth grade, Bauman discovered her passion and love for the stage through ballet, which was her first exposure to the spotlight. The skills she learned through dance taught her to be comfortable on stage. Her first ...

Student Spotlight – Kelsey DePree: Serving Through Music

by Kellyn Post Kelsey DePree, a senior music education major, hasn’t always been sure about where God would lead her, but she is now passionate about serving others through music education and through involvement in student orgs on campus. DePree and her twin brother, Kurtis, who also attends Cedarville, were born in Haiti and adopted at the age of one, and have been living in the United States ever since. While most of her family is not musical, DePree and her brother were encouraged by ...

Student Spotlight – Robbie Lindmark: Acts Out Faith

by Kellyn Post Robbie Lindmark, a freshman theater major and the lead role of Professor Harold Hill in Cedarville’s production of “The Music Man,” sees theater and storytelling as special ways to encourage others and bring glory to God. Lindmark grew up next to a Christian radio station with a performing arts center attached to it. It was there that he was first exposed to theater through the center’s Christmas productions and musicals. He also had the opportunity to be involved ...

Student Spotlight – Alicia Williams: Accident Expands Passion

by Rebekah Erway Alicia Williams strives to glorify God and encourage others with music despite challenges playing the instrument of her choice. Williams had to change her major after a neck injury left her unable to play the piano regularly. Williams came to Cedarville last year from the Akron area as a freshman keyboard pedagogy major with dreams of starting a piano studio. She said she loved playing the piano as a child but did not enjoy learning it. She struggled with theory and ...

Ansen Lancaster: Worship Leader

Ansen Lancaster, a senior worship major and the current SGA worship leader, has a passion for music, prayer, encouragement and seeing people grow in the Lord. His interest in music began with listening to Christian radio stations while he was growing up, which allowed him to enjoy Christian music that he did not hear much of on Sundays due to attending small churches. In the sixth grade, he started playing the alto saxophone in band to avoid taking a fine arts class, and music has been an ...