By Anastasia Gentry, student news writer, Office of University Communications
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – Campbellsville University’s March 3 chapel service featured familiar faces from the Campbellsville University family.
Jamie Lawrence, executive director of ministry and church outreach and campus minister; Perry Thomas, head football coach; Beauford Sanders, associate athletic director and head baseball coach; Eric Graves, coordinator of athletic academic support and head bowling coach; Corbin Harris assistant men’s and women’s cross country/track coach; Keri Coots, athletic trainer; and Ginger High-Colvin, head women’s basketball coach spoke at Campbellsville University chapel service.
Lawrence read Bible verse Corinthians 10:31 which said, “Whatever you do, do it for the glory of God.”
Thomas elaborated on the verse that Lawrence read and said, “I truly think that God wants us to give our biggest effort in everything we do.”
Graves said, “I think the purpose we sometimes have is to be the difference maker, in the degree we can.”
High-Colvin explained how in basketball they are always tested with obstacles but there are ways to be positive and overcome them. Coots talked about her job and how she sees athletes daily looking and feeling defeated due to an injury and said it was her job to encourage them and push them.
Graves said, “I don’t think you can separate God with anything you do, if that’s being a athlete or just a student, because it all comes down to God giving you a talent to handle things and how to handle yourself.”
The panel discussed who the biggest influence in their lives was.
High-Colvin’s is her family. She said they raised her in a Christian home on a farm and taught her the importance of God. High-Colvin still holds that dear to her heart today and it is a big reason why she wanted to be a coach, to teach the importance of God and basketball.
Coots said her softball coach in high school was her biggest influence. She said he pushed them hard and now that Coots is an adult she sees he pushed them because he loved them and wanted them to do great things in softball and in life.
Coots said she learned a good work ethic from her coach and now that she is an athletic trainer those lessons are a big reason as to why she pushes her athletes today.
Harris said his mom was his biggest influence. He was a competitive kid and his mom never pushed him into running but wanted him to be happy in whatever he wanted to do. She wanted him to be successful at whatever he chose to do.
As he started to run more, his mom pushed him to be his best. Harris attributes his work ethic from his mom because now that he is an assistant coach he knows how to push his athletes on his team.
Graves’ biggest influence was Ron Finley. Finley was like a father figure to him and was very inspirational. Graves said when he would practice, Finley would get the team together and pray. Graves said Finley always made sure that there was so much more to life, and that was Jesus Christ.
Sanders said his was his mom and dad. He was raised in a church and his parents gave him a great work ethic which he mostly learned from his father seeing how hard he worked in everything he did in life.
Thomas said the women in his life, who are his mother and his two grandmothers, influenced him. They are the ones who raised Thomas and made sure he grew up in a church and had God in his life. Thomas also said he was appreciative of his coaches and how hard they pushed him in football and made him the coach he is today.
All chapels are televised on WLCU (Comcast Cable channel 10 and digital channel 15), streamed on Campbellsville University’s Facebook page and wlcutv.com and can be found at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGOyyKyrGBpSx8-uXa4NRtw.
Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 13,500 students offering over 100 programs of study including Ph.D., master, baccalaureate, associate, pre-professional and certification programs. The website for complete information is www.campbellsville.edu.