A CHANGED PERSPECTIVE After surviving a school shooting, freshman Kalie St. Clair found comfort from friends as she transitioned into her first year at Harding. E ntering high school in 2014, freshman Kalie Sr. Clair had no idea how her world would change within the coming months. On Oct. 24, 2014, a shooting occurred in the cafeteria of her school, Marysville Pilchuck High School, in Marysville, Washington, which resulted in five deaths; the list of fatalities included one of St. Clair's friends, Gia Soriano. Though St. Clair did not witness the shooting, many close to her did. "It was weird experiencing it, even now looking back, because up until then, for us, you just heard about things like that happening on the news or in history class," St. Clair said. "But until you know someone that was involved or [until] it happened at your own school, it changes your whole perspective." After starting her freshman year of college, St. Clair and her friends from home still remembered the experience and honored those that lost their lives. "We all just get together and have a moment of silence by ourselves and pray for all the families of the people that were involved," St. Clair said. "We save the shooter and his family for last because we also wanted to include them because they're still going through it, too." Freshman Derrek Jones was also from the Marysville community and knew St. Clair all his life. "Kalie is a very strong woman who is very admirable," Jones said. "I've enjoyed being able to experience Harding with her and see her find more people that she can trust and talk to." One of the people St. Clair found trust in was junior Paden Overbey. St. Clair said she met Overbey through mutual friends, and he became someone she could talk with about her past and struggles. Overbey said he believed St. Clair had an incredible testimony to share with others and that other people could experience freedom and healing from her story. "I think, through the opportunity of being at Harding, she had been exposed to really good facets of community that can rarely be experienced elsewhere," O verbey said. "And the exposure [to] that kind of community is helping her along life's road where, at some points, it may be lonely and painful, but that is why Christ gives us the community of the church body so that despite all of things that come out of nowhere, we can still continue to grow and to heal." story by Baylee Hedden On Dec. 10, 2018, four years after a school shooting occurred at her high school in Marysville, Washington, freshman Kalie St. Clair is thankfulfor the community in which she has been able to confide at Harding. 7hose with whom St. Clair shared her testimony, like freshman Derrek Jones and junior Paden Overbey, believed she could share freedom and healing with others through her experiences. photo by Sterling McMichael Freshman Kalie St. Clair and herfriends gather on campus on Dec. 10, 2018, to prayfor thefamilies and lives affected by the school shooting at Marysville PilchuckHigh School. St. Clair's perspective on school shootings completely changed on the day that she lived through this traumatic experience. photo by Sterling McMichael 162
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