
Striving for Perfection, Despite the Consequences

by Mikaela Fairbanks I am scrolling through Instagram and I see so many beautiful girls with bodies I dream ofhaving. I scroll through Tiktok and it’s the same. Endless videos and photos […]
by Mikaela Fairbanks I am scrolling through Instagram and I see so many beautiful girls with bodies I dream ofhaving. I scroll through Tiktok and it’s the same. Endless videos and photos […]
by Perry Whetzel My family has a lengthy history of high blood pressure that has been the underlying cause ofstrokes and chronic illness. I have witnessed many family members struggle to maintain […]
by Taylor Hartman In the United States alone there were 88,000 deaths at the end of August 2020 due todrug overdoses that occurred just months before COVID-19 hit in march 2020 (1). […]
by Carter Harper Being transgender means to identify with a gender that does not correlate with the genderassociated with a person’s sex at birth. (1) As a transgender man, I experience what […]
by Lexie Reid I am an 18-year-old college student and athlete, and I have suffered from mental health issues since I was inhigh school. I specifically have had trouble with anxiety and […]
by Jessica Rendfrey I have had 3 diagnosed concussions in the past. The effect my concussions had on me overthe years since the last one happened is quite large. The third of […]
by Karlotta Zamora Keep my grandfather alive and well. Get vaccinated and help others to get vaccinated. My 94year-old grandfather is elderly and immunocompromised. He still lives at home and hascaretakers 24 […]
By Ariella Stepleman Note: If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or temptations, the national suicide lifeline is 1-800-273-8255 March 16th was the day that I finally gave […]
by Atoosa Torabizadeh I am very emotionally attached to my family. I was born in a family where all the attentions wereon me because I was the only child and the only […]
by Scott Choi I played many different sports in high school. I played basketball, baseball, and I alsowent skiing quite often. These sports really helped me to become mentally and physicallyhealthy throughout […]
by Shannon Keeney I have watched my dad and my grandmother go through the many difficulties of living withtype 2 diabetes. It has severely impacted his and her own lives as well […]
by Abby Rogerson I am a 19-year-old college student pursuing a degree in music therapy at ShenandoahUniversity in Winchester, VA. Prior to even the appearance of COVID, I was struggling with my […]
by Kaitlynn Davie When you are 18 years old, everything you have known and are comfortable with,changes in an instant. You move off to college, hoping for a wonderful new experience,but change […]
by Kyndall Chandler I floated on my back in my friend’s pool, waiting for the rest of them to get theirswimsuits on and get in. A generic pop song played from a […]
By Paul Amaya On Thursday, April 7, Washington, D.C., native and award-winning fiction writer Tara Campbell, alongside three Shenandoah student writers, read some of her creative works to a crowd at Alson […]
by Rida Rahman Growing up Muslim in America and going out to eat, there were always very limited options. This is because we are only allowed to eat meat that is slaughtered […]
Caitlyn Graulau All of the students interviewed for this article have requested for their identities to remain anonymous. It was a dreary Wednesday afternoon when I sat on the phone with a […]
by Hannah Pho In the Life Skills Symposium on Thursday, March 31, in the Ferrari room, Shenandoah graduate Matt Laird explained banking and how to build credit. Laird graduated in 2017 and after […]
by Ali Gue A group of students from the Community and Regional Studies course started the Sarah’s Glen Pond Restoration Project at the beginning of the 2022 spring semester to make the […]
by Gabrielle Ziegler The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) games have just started back up and Shenandoah students have the opportunity to attend Washington Spirit games with no price tag attached. On […]
by Grady Dillon Alone. That’s how I felt during my time quarantined with COVID-19 at the beginning ofSeptember 2021. I also felt sluggish, lazy, tired, unmotivated, and generally unhealthy. However,none of those […]
by Makenna Blevins My mom got extremely sick for three years. During that final third year, anybody with working eyes could see that something was severely wrong with my mom. My mom […]
by Reagan Sellers “Looks like you’re going to be out for a year.” Hearing those words for the first time as afreshman in high school it seemed like my whole world was […]
by Julianna Philipps Have you ever almost lost a loved one? In 2020, my mom suffered a severe, life-changingstroke. She was not feeling well one morning so my dad took her to […]
by Kayla Gayle Have you ever had an open wound somewhere on your body and never gotten it treatedlike it should have been? Having an open wound on your body could lead […]
by Makenna Thrush As I was enjoying the day on the beach in Clearwater, Florida on August 5th, 2021,everything suddenly changed when my mom got a text from one of my best […]
by Annika Murphy At the start of October 2019, I started dating someone. This started off as a normal,healthy relationship, but then around December 2019, it progressed into something thatwas detrimental to […]
by Erin Wallace When I first came to Shenandoah University I met a cute guy within the first week.Instantly we clicked with each other and hung out all the time during welcome […]
by Corran Hale On Sept. 23, 2021, a new light shined at Shenandoah University for those interested in media and film, and its name was Valley Star. Valley Star media is a […]
by Alex Whitmer Shenandoah’s esports program hosted its first live event of 2022 on Saturday, Feb. 26 in the esports arena. The Super Smash Bros tournament is being led by Dawson Golove, […]
by Hannah Pho On Tuesday, Feb. 22, the Environmental Sustainability class had the opportunity to participate in a Climate Advocacy training workshop over Zoom with the Citizens’ Climate Lobby. The instructor of […]
by Caitlyn Graulau On Feb. 28, Peggy Combs, a retired Major General of the United States Army, spoke to a room of over 30 guests about the importance of leadership and leadership […]
By Ali Gue The Campus Activities Network (CAN) of Shenandoah University held a vision board event at the Brandt Student Center on Feb. 24 to give students the opportunity to express their […]
By: Gabrielle Ziegler Shenandoah University’s library staff created the first-ever Love Match with a Book program that lasted Feb. 3-28 to help students, faculty, and staff find books suitable for them. Participants […]
by Morgan Wuenschel I am not weak-minded. People have told me many times in many different ways that I am weak-minded because of stigmas. I’m not; I am the athlete that is […]
by Austin Partin Over the past year, I spent too much time inside when the pandemic hit the US. OnMarch 12, 2020, was when Shenandoah sent us home due to the spread […]
by Austin Partin One of my favorite memories that deals with food is always going fishing with my Papaand keeping the fish that we caught throughout the day for dinner. My Papa […]
by Erin Spaulding Cancer is a heartbreaking disease that evokes sadness, pain, and suffering; but I never thought it would cause anger. But the day my Popop, Jim Spaulding, decided to stop […]
by Caleb Fargo When I was younger my grandma was diagnosed with lung cancer. My family was veryworried and distraught over the sudden news that we had received. It was like the […]
by Haley DeBok Are you ever nervous or fearful in front of other people? Well, you are not alone. I have always suffered from social anxiety and have been afraid of being […]
by Terese Greene Mental Health for college students is a huge topic that should be discussed all around the world. In America 1 in 5 people suffer from mental health and 6 […]
by Braden Holt It was March 13th, 2021, and we were playing our rival high school. We were down coming out of halftime, but we had the ball and were driving down […]
by Jacey Lanier Every night at work one of the many tasks I have to complete is marinating the chicken we will need for the next day. Looking down at the massive […]
By Emma Nicely I grew up in a tiny town in Virginia where I was fortunate enough to be exposed to or introduced to many things that other people are not. Gardening, […]
by Sarah Sondrol I have a genetic inheritance of anxiety. Many of my family members struggle with this trait and it sometimes affects our mental and psychical health. As I have recently […]
by Fallon Spittel As a college student, I struggle to buy groceries every week because I end up spending too much on other expenses. I try to eat healthily and stick to […]
by Michael Sheil I am a football player, and as a football player, I am constantly encouraged to play throughpain. This means it is critical to be given accurate information about whether […]
by Kelsi Ross During the first summer of Covid, my sister decided to go dairy-free in hopes it would help her eczema. In solidarity and hopes of a little weight loss, I […]
by Kasey Dutrow Potomac Riverkeeper Network, a non-profit organization based in Washington DC, haspartnered with Shenandoah University for the 2nd year in seeking an intern for the spring andfall 2022 semesters. The […]
by Colton White I spent my freshman year of college at a place called Graceland University, which is insouthern Iowa. This was my first time having to be extremely far away from […]