radford seniors // megan & aya

Personal, Portraits

If you’ve been around here for awhile, it’s no surprise…I love college students. There’s something incredibly incredible about getting to spend such formative years in students’ lives. For me, college meant life and soul transformation and shaping of who I would become as a person. And I know that that’s true for so many! Part of my job with Cru is to “disciple” or mentor young women. We meet weekly and talk about their lives, scripture, and a lot about Jesus. Basically the model is “follow me as I follow Jesus.” And what it really feels like, is “let’s follow Jesus together.” There’s a lot of vulnerability and tears, but also laughter and celebrating! It’s truly one of my favorite parts of working for Cru. For the past few years, I’ve gotten the privilege of meeting with Aya and Megan. They’re brand new grads and I can’t wait to tell you about them.

I met Megan her freshman year at Radford. She came around Cru a little bit her first semester, but my most vivid memory of her is in the Bonnie (our student center). We sat down to get to know each other and we got to talking about emotional stuff and somehow Megan ended up in tears. Which I felt terrible about because it was her first week at school! But really, it was just an early initiation into life on campus. Because if you haven’t cried in the Bonnie, you aren’t really living :] My next clear memory is when we sat down in Starbucks a few months later. Megan very clearly told me that she wanted to be serious about her relationship with Jesus and she wanted to start discipleship. It was bold and direct and that’s a lot of how Megan’s been since :] Over the last four(!!!) years I’ve gotten to see her walk through hardship and triumph, see God completely change her life from 18 year old Megan, and even see some of her friends fall in love with Jesus thanks to Megan’s faithfulness. And there were lots of little moments like that time she cried over pumpkins or danced like a madwoman on Valentine’s Day that always make me laugh! I love the way that Megan embraces who she is, let’s her crazy out, and makes other people comfortable being themselves. Between all the late night car chats and crazy times at retreats and tear filled conversations, Megan’s grown into a faithful and remarkable woman of God.

And then there’s Aya :] Aya and I actually met her very first night at Radford. Some of the staff from Cru were on campus praying and there were a few early arrival students walking around. And Aya was one of them. Of course, we didn’t figure this out until a year and a half later, but still! How crazy! This girl has a story. One of those epic ones. (to be clear…i think every story is epic ;)) I get lost in awe of the Jesus every time she tells it. She’s from Lebanon and by lots of twisting turning circumstances, she ended up at little old Radford. And God used her time here to completely change her life. She turned into a bold, bright, and bubbly woman. And as luck would have it, I ended up getting to disciple her for the last two years. Something I really love about Aya is the way she asks questions. She’s never afraid to ask, to acknowledge doubt, or even to ask you something painfully personal. Our time together was always intense and I always felt like I was learning something new by the way that Aya lived. And people are just drawn to talking about Jesus with her. Probably because she is so unapologetic, but also so understanding when you talk about faith. In the last two years, I’ve seen her transformed through struggle and find joy in the broken places in life.

Here’s the crazy part: Aya and Megan could not be more different. They’re almost complete opposites. Except for the fact that they like cats. But they’re friends. Because they have the grace of Jesus in common. And that’s really all they need. They’ve taught me SO much about sisterhood as I’ve watched their friendship grow. And I’m super thankful that they’re not leaving Radford quite yet.

For our last dship together, we went out and took senior pictures and laughed and ate italian food. And just know, every time they’re laughing off camera…it’s because the other one was doing something ridiculous. Also they’re both crazy gorgeous! Hope you love their senior session :]