For some, the decision of which college to attend is a long and arduous process. Days and weeks are spent researching, visiting, talking with advisors and parents, and simply brooding over what exactly it is you want to do with your life. For Hannah Hoyt, a much different approach unfolded. All it took was one frustrating study hall and a willingness to take a risk.
Throughout her school years, Hannah knew that she wanted to pursue studies in English after high school. What she was still fuzzy about by senior year was where exactly she would pursue her studies. She researched many different schools in all parts of the country, applied to some, and visited a few. At the time her father worked in the automotive industry, and he knew he would be out of a job by the time she finished her freshman year of college. Many of her options seemed promising, and she was hopeful that at least one of them would offer her a good scholarship.
However, as time passed and her senior year ticked away, nothing seemed to be coming together for Hannah. “By December I became so frustrated that I just wanted to give up. All my school years I was told that, if I kept my grades high, I would be sure to get a scholarship somewhere. Reality began to paint me a much different picture. As I watched all of my friends rake in the college dough, I sat by and waited for my turn.”
Hannah quickly learned that sitting and waiting for good things to come was not going to work. A friend had told her about Freed-Hardeman University some months before, but she hadn’t really given it much thought. After all, she knew virtually nothing about it. Yet one day, as she sat in her study hall fuming over all her denied scholarship applications, she found that Freed was on her mind. So, she got on a computer and looked up Freed-Hardeman’s website. She noticed that the application was free (a definite plus when applying to multiple colleges) and that she could probably finish it before her next class.
“I just remember thinking, ‘Well, what have I got to lose? Why not take a chance?’ So I applied, got accepted, and was offered an amazing scholarship. I really couldn’t believe it. I knew almost nothing about Freed—except that it had a really great English program—yet I knew that Freed was where I wanted to be.”
In the fall of 2008 Hannah enrolled for classes after visiting campus only once and without knowing a single soul. Although it was an uncharacteristic leap of faith on her part, she has never regretted her decision. While at Freed she has made wonderful friends and taken advantage of many opportunities. She became involved in FHU theatre her freshman year and has been active in theatre ever since. She has written for the school newspaper, The Bell Tower, and is now on its editing staff. She has traveled to Memphis, Nashville, Virginia, and Canada through the different departments that she studies in and will be spending her 2011 spring semester in Verviers, Belgium through Freed-Hardeman’s study abroad program.
“I never cease to be surprised by all the opportunities at Freed-Hardeman. Chances to grow socially, academically, and spiritually seem to be around every corner. When I look back on the way I got to Freed, I sometimes wonder if God knew where He wanted me all along.”