To make up for its absence in the prior two years, the planners of the 2021 Homecoming celebration at East Tennessee State University wanted to make it the biggest and best iteration of that event in the university’s history. That was the inspiration for the Ferris wheel, which was an idea of one Sadie King, who was last year’s Student Government Association (SGA) Secretary of State.
The Secretary of State of the ETSU SGA is responsible for planning and organizing homecoming. Sadie attained the position in her second year serving with SGA.
In her time at ETSU, Sadie has also been part of the Emerging Leaders Academy (ELA), the Preview and Orientation Leaders Organization (POLO) and a Buccaneer Involvement Guide (BIG). Sadie keeps herself involved with organizations and events on campus because she doesn’t want her time at university to be nothing more than showing up for classes.
“Definitely get involved, even if it’s just one thing… Because the people that you meet, the support system you’re going to get from that is what’s going to keep you going through. College is stressful and you need those outlets to talk to people and to have fun here.”
By all accounts Sadie is a model student, both in her campus engagement and in her academics. She also happens to be the first person in her family to attend university.
“Actually,” said Kristi King, Sadie’s mother, “one of my biggest regrets is not getting a college degree. From the time (my daughters) were both small, they were both very smart, and I knew that I wanted them to go to college.”
Sadie became fascinated with the health sciences in high school. Though she couldn’t decide which of the many health fields she wanted to go in to, she knew that no matter what, she would have to go to university to realize her dreams.
An important part of Sadie’s quest towards university was her chemistry teacher and former cheerleading coach, Jessica Carr. Carr helped proofread Sadie’s application and financial aid essays, kept her on track in the application process and offered an ear to listen to anything Sadie needed to talk about.
“I’m not sure Sadie realized,” said Carr, “but I was a first-generation college student, so I knew the kind of struggle she was going through, trying to get all of that together and understand it.”
In her time at university, Sadie has met supportive mentors, made lifelong friendships and built valuable leadership skills – and all of this aside from working closer to her goal of a career in the health sciences. She even made up her mind to continue her education in graduate school.
Her successes, Sadie acknowledges, are due as much to her initiative, as they are to her being in a place to take advantage of that initiative. The support she received at ETSU from mentors, friends and student organizations has made all the difference.
To any potential first-generation students uncertain of their path forward, Sadie advised: “Once you get in to ETSU, you will have such a good support system. The faculty and staff and teachers and friends and people you meet will be so, so supportive of you. And they know here what it's like. There's so many first-generation college students.”
Sadie added, “The people in your life will be so proud of you for how far you come. And I think it makes it even that much more of an accomplishment when you are the first one to do it and you are stepping out of your comfort zone.”