The Humans of Anderson University

“Don’t give up on your calling,” is Dr. Gilbert Eybai’s advice for all. Dr. Eyabi is Assistant Provost and full time mathematics professor, with an obvious passion for academics and teaching, at AU. Dr. Eyabi emigrated from Cameroon to the US back in 2022. And how he ended up at Anderson? He considers that to be a “God thing.” In this episode, he shares some of the challenges he has faced while in the US, and reminds us that not matter how hard a journey may seem, it is important to keep moving forward.

Hayley Goodwin balances a lot. Along with being a full time student, she is an RA responsible for about 35 girls, leads a small group each week, and is a part of the marketing team for social media. She has a lot of responsibilities, but Hayley values rest. As life in the US is fast paced, she says she would like to “work to live, and not live to work.” She is creative with a love for videography, and if she had no responsibilities, she would spend her day reading in a hammock, atop a mountain. Like many of us, people have created assumptions about Hayley before getting to know her. In this episode, she explains how that feels and why it is important to not judge a book by its cover.

In this episode, I sat down with Dr. Tanya Cordoba, Associate Professor of Education at Anderson. She has a passion for teaching and shaping future educators. We talked about her journey in education, and what inspired her to choose a career in teaching. Though, we talked about more than that: how assumptions that students make about her can affect the way they interact with her in more of a negative manner. In the end, Dr. Cordoba explains how she would like to be known for her kindness and shining a light for Christ. This conversation is an important reminder that professors are humans too.

In this episode, I talked with Charlie Sauls. Charlie is currently majoring in Christian Studies and is in his last year at Anderson. He enjoys leading Bible studies and serving in the local church and after graduating, he hopes to continue serving in a youth ministry role. From transferring schools, to feeling called into ministry, and getting engaged, Charlie reflects on how his perspective on his own identity has changed from, being an athlete and being defined by baseball, to finding his identity in Christ. He reminds us how, at the end of the day what matters most is that you are a Child of God.

Hailing from Augusta South, Carolina, Elise Longe is a sophomore Kinesiology major at Anderson University. She has many roles on campus, including serving as an Alpha Leader and Tour Guide, and is involved in a number of other organizations. If you’ve met her, you likely noticed how kind and outgoing she is. While planning this podcast, I saw Elise walk into the coffee shop where I was working. I thought I had seen her around campus before, so I went up to introduce myself and started a conversation. Sure enough, I learned she attended AU, and now she’s joining this podcast to share her story and experiences. In this episode, Elise talks about being known as an extrovert and how people often assume extroverts are always energetic, cheerful, and always seem to be doing fine. She explains how this can be more harmful than helpful, reminding us that what we see on the outside, may not always be a reflection of what’s on the inside.

Her name may be Cori, but most know her as…Gator. Gator is one of the employees at Troy’s, the food truck on Anderson University’s campus. I met Cori at the truck, as I would get Troy’s almost every Tuesday. I saw how she was always kind and patient with others, and to student’s, she wasn't just, “that employee who serves me my meal,” but someone they knew by name. In this episode, I got to learn about Cori’s upbringing in Southern Louisiana along with how, in her family, a nickname wasn’t something you got because it sounds nice, but it is something you earned. Through a passionate telling of the story, I learned just how Cori earned hers.