Mentor Sarah Garland

A place you call home: I grew up in Salem, Oregon, and lived there for 18 years of my life! Moving away to

college was hard, but now almost four years later, I love that I can call Santa Barbara my second home. 

What has been an impactful book or movie in your life (besides the Bible =)? The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom. When I read this book for the first time, I remember being in awe of the faith demonstrated by two sisters. Betsie and Corrie, who experienced so much suffering in a WWII concentration camp. After reading this book, I realized I wanted to live my life with faith like these sisters. The book challenged me to search for light in times when all there seems to be is darkness. While studying abroad last fall in Germany, I visited the concentration camp where Betsie and Corrie were prisoners. Walking the grounds of this place weighed my heart down, but when I watched the sun set over the lake there (the same lake Corrie wrote about in The Hiding Place), I was able to experience a source of beauty that gave these women strength to endure suffering. This was really powerful for me. When I am overwhelmed by the suffering our world is enduring, I think about this story often. 

What is a secret talent or skill of yours? I can beat anyone in a game of "knock out," or "bump." No, seriously, ask anyone on Westmont's women's basketball team. 

Why did you choose Westmont? Butterfly Beach. Just kidding. While the seven minute drive from campus to the beach was definitely an added bonus, I ultimately chose Westmont because I was struck by how different it was from the other colleges I was visiting. I noticed that the students and professors I met at Westmont were willing to engage in conversations about faith--and not always agree with each other. Coming from a large public high school, I really wanted to explore what it meant to be a Christian in today's world. The community at Westmont seemed like a great place to start. 

What was an impactful experience for you that occurred in the Residence Hall? During my first year, we had a Christmas event called "Deck the Halls" and my section turned our entire floor into different scenes from "Stranger Things." It was awesome.  

A favorite professor at Westmont and why: Dr. Ed song, because he taught me a very important life lesson during Westmont Downtown: Never forget to salt your pasta when cooking. Ever.