When it comes to Anna-Marie Harrell, a junior student here at Appalachian State University, it is hard to meet up with her without leaving with a smile on your face.
With a strong faith in God instilled in her by her mother, a drive to succeed and serve others, and a passion for creativity, Anna-Marie keeps herself busy. She maintains a 3.68 GPA while working as a server four days a week, serves as the social chair on the executive board of her sorority, Alpha Delta Pi, and leads as the vice president of the International Interior Design Association chapter at App State. Along with all of this, she has a major in interior design with a minor in entrepreneurial studies which proves to be very time consuming and requires immense effort. She somehow manages it all in her own true fashion.
Anna-Marie’s accomplishments do not end there. She was one of the chosen two (out of twenty-two students) for an internship with CBI Charlotte, where she will work in Raleigh and begin to build up her career as an interior designer. In addition to this, she has received a scholarship covering most of her tuition to study abroad in Paris for a semester, where she can sharpen her innovation and design ideas.
While many other aspects of her life are very important to her, she has always placed her education and career above all. Her passion for interior design is something that has shaped who she is as a person and what she wants from life. Her goal is to own an interior design firm and create houses for those in need, similar to that of Habitat for Humanity, but on a more personal level. Her desire to serve remains one of her core values.
While this all may seem ideal, Anna-Marie has faced many tough decisions throughout her college career. It wasn’t until a mission trip the summer before college, that she knew what she wanted to do with her life. The host pastor there spoke of the confidence to be taken in God’s will, which you cannot fight. It was in that moment that she envisioned herself, twenty years in the future, designing a space.
Anna-Marie attended Meredith College as a freshman, but realized that Appalachian State was a better fit for what she wanted to do. Her boyfriend also attends App State, and she struggled to disprove the opinions of others saying that she was just making this decision for him. However, she knew it was the right choice for herself in her own heart. By remembering to pray and stay faithful to God, as her mother has always told her to do, she officially made the move to Boone.
At first, transferring was not easy, as she did not completely submerge herself in the beginning and had to work very hard to create her own life here at App State.
After going through sorority recruitment, only to do it all over again this year, she found a true sisterhood in Alpha Delta Pi. As an extent to this, serving as an executive board member gave her the opportunity to give back to the sisters who had been there for her even when they didn’t know everything she had been going through at the time.
Being social chair is not an easy task, but she has gained a lot of leadership skills and a sense of personal commitment from it. She feels as if though it has really prepared her for the responsibilities life could potentially throw at her.
Anna-Marie is the person she is today because of the people she loves and her faith in God. She and her boyfriend, Prior, have been together a whole seven and a half years. Most people are always shocked to hear of a young relationship that has lasted so long, but Anna-Marie does not think it is that big of a deal. She says that loving him is not hard for her to do whatsoever. In a lot of ways, she has changed as a person since they first got together. She views herself as a more considerate and better person because of his influence. At the same time, he has kept her grounded and has been a constant reminder to her of her true self and values. She knows she can count on him for unconditional love and support as he can for her as well.
Her mother is one of her biggest influences. Being a single mother of three children, she never made things look hard. Anna-Marie’s mother never let her children feel limited in any way, while still teaching them the importance of being independent and strong. Anna-Marie says the person she is today is all because of how her mother raised her up to be.
Anna-Marie has always been able to be laid back due to the peace in her mind that God is in control. Holding true to Psalms 30:5 “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning,” during many tough decisions, such as leaving everything behind to study abroad last minute, she has trusted that God has an inevitable plan for her life. She believes in always beind kind no matter the situation. Knowing that there will always be people who will decide not to like you before they give you the chance. She meets this with a kind spirit and loving attitude.
You can always count on Anna-Marie to be a friendly face on campus.