/?1 any students had one common goal when they entered H arding: to make the most of th e ir experience. Whether it was by making new friends, playing intramural sports, bonding with a club, volunteering, handing over hundreds of hours to Spring Sing, goofIng around in th e dOI"m late at night o r even getti ng deeply involved in class work, all students wanted to have the most fun they could during their four years at Harding. Junior LauI"en Branch was one who definitely made the most of her time at H ardin g over the last three years. She was involved in numerous aspects of Harding life and h ad plans for the rest of h er time here. A general studies major from Muskogee, Okla., Branch hoped [0 either get involved in mission work o r get a master's in counseling after graduation . As indicated by her career options, she had a knack for wantingto help o thers . This year Branch lived in Cathcart women's dormito I)" serving as a r esident assistant, something not te,ntirely new to her. "She was an RA in Pattie Cobb last year and she decided to come back to a freshman dorm wl-rich says a lot about her I think ," Amy Baker, Resident Life Coo rdinator of Cathcart , said . , 'Sh e is very sweet and meets girls' n eeds." On top of being an RA, Branch also picked up the task of an officer in her social club. For this past year sh~served the office of Spiritual Life Director for Chi Kappa Rho. The position had her , as well as twO of her club sisters, planning a retreat each semester, send ing out encouraging letters and leading or recruiting people to lead her club's devotionals . Branch went on trips through Harding and planned to continue to do so in the future. The summer after her freshman year, Branch went with three other students to China under th e umbrella of the "Chi na Now program. H e l' program was a shorter term than a usual China ow program. During that time she taught conversational English in a classroom setting and built relation – ships with the students. Those relationships allowed h e l' talk to her students on a more personal level about Christianity. Also, even though she was we ll over half her way through her time here at Harding, Branch still planned to end it with a bang. She hoped to be able to attend the Harding in Zambia (HI Z) in the faU of2010. " I'm really interested in mission work, and I th ought it would be good to go on the HIZ program and get first hand mission [experience] and train – ing," Branch said. In keeping with the Africa theme, Branch also went to the Africa Mis – sions Fellowship, a group of stude nts who shared a common interest in Af– rica. The group met once a week, spent time ge tting to know each other, and then one person would get up and summarize their Africa internship experien ce. HaVing been so involved in all the different aspects of Harding, i t ap – peared t hat Bl;anch certainly made the most of her time at H a rding. These different aspects allowed for Lauren to meet all kinds o f p eople and leave an impact on them. "Lauren Branch is one of the most compassionate and sincere peopl e I have ever met," Junio r Audl'ey Owens, a fri end of Branch said . "She truly strives to be the woman God created her to be. I am so thankful for the en couragement she has been to me." Steven Chandler .. l e 1 know . God . e peop k W h most ge nu1 !l . spirit . 1 no . ne of teet \ O'llng ttel' hoW .... 15 0 h r swe ' 0 nlO "Lau re .- . d.e nt in e thing, n- . b l atantly e~\ n h er for any 15 cou n t 0 1can al~ays fI 0Jm ~ tri~a\. IJY U ib ' - iSbVI__ :::::::::::::::::::~ --~~-~- - juniors 75
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