For freshman Katie Tracy, the transition most students experienced between graduating high school and entering college was anything but common. In fact, rather than going straight to college, Tracy chose to li,·e as a missionary in another country for over a year. Tracy enrolled in Adventures in :Missions (A.Irv!), a two-year apprentice missions program based at the Sunset International Bible Institute in Luhbock, Texas. '·I definitely ,vanted to do AL f before college,.. Tracy said. "1'Iy parents were memo rs for AI.I\!. I also didn't really know \\'hat I wanted to stuch; and [I] didn't \\'ant to wa tc time and money if I didn't kno\\' what I "·anted to do." According to Tracy, after completing Bible classes c1ncl mission training over the course of eight to nine months, AI.I\! students were grouped into teams and then emercd the mission 11eld. Tracy \\·as one of five people in her AH'1 group who tra\'cled rojoao Pessoa, Brazil. where they heel and taught English classes using the Bible for 15 months. Sophomore Daniel Non,vood, one of the AIM students in Tracy's group, said Tracy's different track to college did not put her at a disach-antage. "She knew [AD.I] would benefit her so much, even though there [were] sacrifices [she made] in read of going straight to college," Norwood said. "She 5acrificed that, knowing that it would be worth it." Because Tracy came to Harding after her mission work in Brazil ended, she started her freshman year being two to three years older than other freshmen. According to Tracy, being at a different point in life than most freshmen was challenging but rewarding. "I didn't really think about it being weird [that I was] going into my freshman year being almost 22 years old,.. Tracy said. "Even though I'm takjng the same classes as other freshmen, I feel more secure. Just knovving \\·hat I want and how LO take care of myself has been easier.'' According to ~orwood, Tracy's determination allowed her LO use her age difference Lo her advantage. '·She has a different perspecti,·e than a lot of people here," I orwood said. ''She already knew what she wanted to do. She wants to become a special education teacher. She's very driven Lo get thai done.'· Sophomore Emily Hook, Tracy's suitcmate, said being close to Tracy allowed her to expe,ience Tracy using her mission work to bless others continually throughout her education. "I didn't grow up in a Christian home," Hook said. ·'Since she's taught people who don't speak her language of the Bible and God. She's also been able to teach me on a similar level. She's very good with people, and I think that comes with age and experience.., According to Tracy, while freshman year could be a time of uncertainty, taking time before college to live and work in another culture prmided her with more confidence for the future. "[ don't necessarily want to be a missionary again, but I can be a missionary in my daily life by being a special education teache1/' Tracy said. ·Tm thankful it prepared me to be a missionary every day of my life." Freshman A'alie TralJ look a non-lradiliona/ /Ja/h lo college, choosin.g lo jJarlicijJale in .-ld1•en/ures in ,\li.1sion.1 (:Ifill) after graduating high .1chool. Tieu)' was one of jil'f i11di 1• id11a/5 on her team u· ho liz·e d and taught English i,1 Jooo Pe.1.1oa, B1a;;_il, .Jin I 5 111011thJ fol!otL'i11g training. I Photo b_i• ,\lac)' Pate l'/0 ),, PLOPI.F.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==