Appalachian Commons RA Staff
Name: Anna Davis
Year: 4th year
Major: Nursing
Hometown: Maryville, TN
Interests/Hobbies: I play the piano and love taking mission trips overseas. I love people so I spend most of my “spare time” building lasting relationships.
How did you come to Carson-Newman?
I heard about it when I was in middle school and just decided in the 6th grade that it was where I was going to go. Even when I looked at other schools, I kept coming back to Carson-Newman. I would definitely say the Lord paved the way for me to come here.
What is your favorite experience as an RA?
I love getting to spend time with staff whether that is at training, in meetings, or during our free time. I also love getting to know residents and being able to be a resource for them. I’ve met so many awesome people through Residence Life.
Name: Sarah Creek
Year: Senior
Major: Elementary Education
Hometown: Rising Sun, Maryland
Interests/Hobbies: Working with children and community service.
How did you come to Carson-Newman?
I was looking for a college with a good education program that was far from home so that I could really experience life on my own. I knew no one who had attended previously, and I have no family in the area, but I decided to take a chance and move. The education program at CN is excellent, and I am so glad I have had the opportunity to be a student at Carson Newman.
What is your favorite experience as an RA?
My favorite thing to do as an RA is to make things for my residents. I love to bake my girls cookies, or leave them notes or candy. It is a fun way to say, “I appreciate you” and a good way to form connections.
Name: Christian “Alex” Hawley
Year: Senior
Major: Biology: Pre-Physical Therapy
Hometown: Oak Ridge, TN
Interests/Hobbies: I love to play just about every college intramural sport, love watching college football, and love learning about the human body.
How did you come to Carson-Newman?
I began my college search when my older sister began hers. Just a year older, I had an extra year to visit schools and really get to know my college options. At the end of the summer before my senior year of high school, I visited CN for the third time. At the end of that visit, I had stayed with 3 different then-current students and got to see three different points of view. All of them had shown me reasons of why I wanted to be here: the qualified faculty that were truly devoted to teach students, the excellent education comparable to the best universities in the nation, and the sense of family and belonging felt from the first step on campus. Those reasons are still true today in more ways than I can explain and can only be experienced.
Name: Brent Allen
Year: Senior
Major: Religion
Hometown: Newport, TN
Interests/Hobbies: Playing music, watching my favorite sports teams, hanging with friends
How did you come to Carson-Newman?
My brother attended Carson-Newman and played a major factor in my coming here. I had plans of attending a bigger school, but when I was going to decide a school, I felt God had called me to do ministry. I knew at that point that I should attend a Christian college to study religion. I did not pick Carson-Newman, Carson-Newman picked me.
What is your favorite experience as an RA?
Many might say that it’s the excitement of finding mischief around the residence halls. That’s not true at all. Actually, that could be the worst part of the position. The best part is when residents one or two years down the road that once lived on your hall come up while you’re on campus and ask how you have been. This position forms relationships that have and will always hold up. Without this position, I would have never met some of the friends that I now hold important in my life.