Year: Freshman
Major: Double major in Journalism and Electronic Media and Broadcasting
Hometown: Roxboro, NC
Campus Involvement: VP of College Democrats, Freshman Senator for SGA, and active member of Kappa Delta serving as Co-Assistant for Membership Education.
Relationship Status: Single (but really in love with her dog).
Typically, freshmen are seen as awkward, confused, and stick out like a sore thumb. For Anderson Clayton, this is quite the opposite. Anderson’s bubbly personality, ambitious attitude, and campus involvement makes her one of the friendliest faces on Appalachian State’s campus!
When Anderson isn’t reading romance novels or binge-watching Friends on Netflix, she is involved in her sorority as well as student government. On top of her campus involvement and her academics, she is also an ambassador for Girl Rising. “Right now I’m an Ambassador for a program called Girl Rising, which is a nonprofit organization devoted to ending educational inequality in developing countries. Two summers ago I went on a humanitarian trip to Ghana, Africa, where I taught sixth grade English at Dziedorve Basic School. This experience completely changed my life, and I’m in the process of raising money to donate and provide scholarships for girls in need,” Anderson said. You can find out more on Anderson’s GoFundMe here.
With her busy schedule she hasn’t had much time to date, but listen up boys because here’s what she’s looking for in a man. “Obviously I look for someone who is intelligent and makes me happy, but also since I have a lot of time commitments, I look for someone who doesn’t mind working around a busy schedule and understands if I have something come up last minute.”
Still interested? Her ideal date would be pretty simple and consist of cotton candy ice cream in a waffle cone, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and laughing at her corny jokes. If you’re a musician maybe you could even serenade her with a Taylor Swift song (her favorite artist). She also would enjoy going to her favorite restaurant in Boone, Macado’s, and ordering cheese fries with extra bacon.
Anderson’s favorite memory so far at ASU has been when she ran home to her sorority Kappa Delta on Bid Day this past fall. She told me she also enjoys hiking with her best friends, Maggie and Chris, on the Blue Ridge Parkway and finding cool places to take scenic pictures. When asked the craziest thing she’s seen on campus she replied, “I was walking through Sanford one day and saw a group of guys that had set up their TV’s outside and were playing video games. Definitely the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.”
(Anderson and her friend Chris with the band DNCE (notice Joe Jonas?)
Before she graduates, Anderson would like to take a picture with every piece of abstract art on campus and also run for student body president (and win). She would also like to be able to say that at the end of her four years here that she had a positive impact at Appalachian State and the community of Boone.
In the future, Anderson would love to be an international journalist. “I took journalism for four years in high school. My journalism teacher, Mrs. Boatwright, taught me how to take a pen and give paper a personality. I’m eternally grateful to her for helping me discover my future career,”Anderson said.
If you’re interested in an exciting conversation and a new friend, Anderson is the girl for you! Go meet the most fabulous freshman on campus!