The surprise of a lifetime for the first accepted student in the class of 2020

By Arbogast, Brandon, September 23, 2016

By Megan Kinney/ Staff Writer

There are only a handful of moments in a person’s life that literally take your breath away – those rare moments that stop you in your tracks, completely change your life in an instant, and start you on the pathway of a new journey…

It was just an average fall day during my senior year of high school in my hometown of Peters Township, Pennsylvania. I woke up without a clue of what was about to happen. I was busy trying hard to keep my mind off the only thing I could really think about – that there were only three days left in the countdown. Three! How could it possibly be that in three days I would finally know? In or out, yes or no, what will it be? I couldn’t take the suspense. I had been waiting years to find out.

You see, two years earlier, I had fallen in love with a rare and beautiful gem of a college, tucked away in a small town in North Carolina. I was drawn to everything about it- something about High Point University spoke to me and spoke to who I wanted to be. In the years following, I visited HPU more than a few times, and had extraordinary experiences that led me to believe that HPU could actually be more than a pipe dream – it could be my home.

Reality hit when I realized that with HPU’s growth and expansion, the university was quickly becoming more and more selective and difficult to gain admittance to as an incoming freshman. Discouragement set in- what was so special about me that I would be selected out of a record number of incoming applicants? Nothing about me jumped out as unique; nothing about me screamed “Quick- Grab that one! She’s a keeper!”

HPU is a place full of extraordinary people. I was determined to be one of those people. I knew one thing – I needed to stand out. I knew I had to show them who I was through my own voice. But how? I came up with an idea. I would make a video representing who it is that I am, and why I was destined to be a part of the HPU community. Great idea, but I was scared. How would I even begin and why would I think I had the courage? Why would I think it would make a difference?

My mother always told me, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the realization that there is something at stake that is infinitely more important than that fear.” Never did I think this mentality would change my life forever. With that thought in my heart, I went for it. With my uncle Peter behind the camera, I poured my heart out. Go big or stay home. I laid it all out there. I talked about hopes and fears, and things I never share. It was simply a leap of faith. I was showing the world who and why I am who I am. I sent this video with my early decision application and held my breath. After that, I counted down the days until I found out if I was going to be part of the HPU family.

So there I was, a pitiful mess with only three days left in the countdown. That morning, my mom said that she had the perfect thing to get my mind off it – she had booked a photo shoot for me with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. I have cystic fibrosis, which is a genetic lung disease and something I’ve dealt with throughout my life. We do these kind of things all the time, so I thought nothing of it. She promised it would be a quick shoot. Off I went to get showered and “presentable” – whatever, all I wanted to do was sit around and wallow in the slowness of time.

The photo shoot would be held in one of my high school’s district buildings- weird, I thought, but okay, let’s get it done. As we walked into the entryway, I quickly realized that this was no photo shoot – it was just a decoy. I thought at first I was imagining things, but I could swear I was looking into the face of my beautiful admissions counselor from HPU, Molly Horst, just standing there. My thoughts were racing. “Wait. What? Molly. Here. In my hometown?” I had barely said hello when she smiled and told me that she was in town and had just decided to stop by. I was so surprised and excited to see her! As I was trying to make sense of it all, she softly told me she had something she’d like to show me, took my arm, and led me towards a set of doors that suddenly swung open… that day quickly turned into one of the best days of my life.

When I walked through those doors, a crowd of people erupted into cheers and clapping, with purple everywhere. I immediately locked eyes with Andy Bills, senior vice president for enrollment at HPU, who was standing in the center of the crowd of purple, smiling widely. I was speechless. Friends and family cheered. My lacrosse team was there waving purple foam paws. My school principals were smiling on from the back of the room. My mom was in tears. My dad was laughing. What universe had I walked into? I mean, there was a purple panther mascot dancing in the corner!

As Andy Bills came forward and led me to a podium in the middle of the room, I felt like I was floating. This had all the makings of a dream. “That’s it!” I thought. “I’m sleeping.” But I was not. Andy went on to announce that for almost two weeks, High Point University’s admissions department had been planning an unforgettable surprise – they were moved by my video and had decided they wanted to do something moving in return. They had flown here to host this party and to present me with the honor of being selected as the “First Accepted Student of the Class of 2020,” and to hand-deliver my acceptance packet. He explained that in just a couple of hours, I would be flying back to North Carolina with them, and the next day my family and I would be guests at the Fall Open House, where my video would be shared with hundreds of prospective students. He told me that I would be present with the “First Admitted Student of the Class of 2020” award on stage during the event. As I stood speechless and in complete awe, he welcomed me to the HPU family. “Sometimes, fate happens,” Andy said.

Words can never express my feelings about that day, that moment. I was filled with so many emotions, and so much gratitude and pride for my extraordinary college. The day I made that video and applied to HPU, I knew I was giving myself permission to dream big. The day HPU came to my town to deliver my dream with balloons and a purple panther, I knew Andy Bills was right- sometimes fate happens.

Little by little, I’m learning to defy all the odds in my life. Some are bigger and scarier than others. But after all is said and done, I never take one day of life for granted on this planet. I am lucky to be here, breathing the air I’ve been gifted with. They say that HPU attracts a very special kind of person. I look around at the amazing friends I’ve already made and into the face of every new friend I meet and I think, “Yep, there is something. It seems to me that fate happens a lot here.” I feel surrounded by the “extraordinary” and am thankful to my core.

This story is about how taking the smallest leap of faith can sometimes change your life forever. Next time you pass Albert Einstein hanging out on his favorite campus bench, remember what I believe to be his best quote, “There are only two ways to live your life… one is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”