Graduated from Eckerd in 2013
Majors: Human Development and Environmental Studies
Hometown: Manalapan, New Jersey
You could say that Saige has come full-circle as she graduated from Eckerd and now works here. Saige decided to come to Eckerd because her high school guidance counselor had attended Eckerd and recommended it, as she believed that Eckerd would fit Saige’s needs. Fortunately, Saige’s guidance counselor was right! Eckerd has had a huge impact upon Saige’s life, which is why she returned to work here. In fact, Saige’s two favorite memories of Eckerd are both meaningful and metaphorical. Her first favorite Eckerd memory is of the Ceremony of Lights. She loved the experience of lighting candles together because it represented the first spark of the entire freshman class becoming a community, despite the fact that students came from all over the world. It was Saige’s first sense of unity and community at Eckerd. Saige’s second favorite memory of Eckerd was graduation because she got to experience it with everyone who had played an important role in her college experience. This included staff and administration, as well as friends. Libby, as she does for all seniors at graduation, tied a button onto Saige’s gown. Then many other people influential people directed Saige to her seat. Saige really felt that her journey was completed.
After graduation, Saige worked at UCLA for two months. She was then given the opportunity through Eckerd to apply to be the 47th representative for the St. Petersburg, FL and Takamatsu, Japan, Sister City Exchange program. She worked as a high school English teacher in Japan. According to Saige, the transition from the United States to Japan was one of the hardest things she has ever done. Currently, Saige works as the residence coordinator (RC) at Eckerd with Austin Carmack. On a daily basis, Saige interacts with the staff in Student Affairs, the deans, Austin Carmack, and her bosses. She also participates in conduct hearings with Community Standards. Her primary responsibility is “to be a resource for the RAs to help the student body and move any important information up the chain of command.” As an RC, Saige is interested in the hiring process for RA applicants; she is excited to meet new candidates and see what they have to offer to the Eckerd community.
As a recent graduate, Saige’s advice to current students is to not get overly involved in everything because it is important to cherish the downtime you spend with friends. She advises students to pick a few things to be involved in and give 100% as opposed to being involved in everything and only giving 50% to each of them. Saige says this because in her time at Eckerd she was very involved, participating in Palmetto Productions, being an RA, an Autumn Term Activator, and a Service Learning Spring Break trip head, and sailing on the EC Sailing Team. Saige also studied abroad at the London House. Saige’s advice to graduating seniors is, “the only person you should compete with is yourself.”