Sara Riggs

she/her/hers

Associate Director of Admissions and Director of International Admissions

T: 540-254-5812
E: internationaladmissions@wlu.edu

Regions: International

Short Answer Prompt

To help jumpstart your brainstorming and to demonstrate that we empathize with the challenges you face in applying to college, our staff has published their own responses to our supplemental short-answer prompts. We hope you’ll enjoy learning a bit about us and will feel more comfortable showcasing something new about yourself. Remember, these are optional, and you are asked to submit only one.

Prompt #4 (Max 250 words or 2-Minute Video)
On a residential college campus with a Speaking Tradition that encourages connections between individuals, using each other’s names matters. Please share the story of any name you go by and what significance it holds for you. “Congratulations on your new baby sister, Sayra!” read the card from my brother’s preschool after I was born. My family still laughs joyfully about the kind Charleston-by-way-of-New-York teacher who simply hadn’t understood... My mama is from central South Carolina, and everyone knew I was going to be named after my paternal grandmother. But this teacher had only ever heard my mom refer to the name in her Southern drawl where S-A-R-A sounds more like SAYruh. Somehow, even though I was born and raised in South Carolina too, I didn’t get the enviable, identity-marking accent myself. I sound like a generic news anchor who might be from anywhere-USA who happens to say things like “y’all” and “buggy” when referring to any number of people (sometimes even just one) or to what other people commonly call a grocery cart. I often wish I had the accent, given my Southern identity and love for the many good things about the place I’m from. Admittedly, it’s a benefit to navigate my own exploration of the wider world without the associated stereotypes of a Southern accent and that the international community I work with closely can more easily understand my neutral accent. Regardless, my identity as a Southerner – with a friendly nature and an appreciation for savoring slow, sweet conversations – is never in question, and I treasure when people I love pull me right back home from wherever I am in the world with just one quick call of my name.

Prompt #4 (Max 250 words or 2-Minute Video)

On a residential college campus with a Speaking Tradition that encourages connections between individuals, using each other’s names matters. Please share the story of any name you go by and what significance it holds for you.

“Congratulations on your new baby sister, Sayra!” read the card from my brother’s preschool after I was born. My family still laughs joyfully about the kind Charleston-by-way-of-New-York teacher who simply hadn’t understood... My mama is from central South Carolina, and everyone knew I was going to be named after my paternal grandmother. But this teacher had only ever heard my mom refer to the name in her Southern drawl where S-A-R-A sounds more like SAYruh. Somehow, even though I was born and raised in South Carolina too, I didn’t get the enviable, identity-marking accent myself. I sound like a generic news anchor who might be from anywhere-USA who happens to say things like “y’all” and “buggy” when referring to any number of people (sometimes even just one) or to what other people commonly call a grocery cart. I often wish I had the accent, given my Southern identity and love for the many good things about the place I’m from. Admittedly, it’s a benefit to navigate my own exploration of the wider world without the associated stereotypes of a Southern accent and that the international community I work with closely can more easily understand my neutral accent. Regardless, my identity as a Southerner – with a friendly nature and an appreciation for savoring slow, sweet conversations – is never in question, and I treasure when people I love pull me right back home from wherever I am in the world with just one quick call of my name.