Seth's Autobiography

Howdy, my name is Seth Stoffle. I was born and raised in Seymour, TN (just south of Knoxville). My high school experience was amazing. I garnered 10 varsity letters and 13 Honors level academic credits. I was a member of my school’s chapter of the National Honor Society and graduated 15th in my class of nearly 300. I had a pretty full schedule year round, playing varsity football all 4 years, baseball through my junior year, and running track all but my freshman year. The athletic side of high school is most definitely what I’ll miss the most. The guys I played with I’ll never forget.

My decision to attend UC was made much easier when I received a track scholarship. I’ll never forget my high school teammates, but I enthusiastically embrace the opportunity to establish that same camaraderie with my fellow Patriots. I was also involved in numerous public speaking competitions while in high school and did well enough to attain a scholarship that will allow me to become part of the nationally acclaimed UC Debate Team.

A big reason I chose to attend UC was the spiritual atmosphere I found when I made an athletic visit. I grew up in church and love the Lord with all my heart. I know to truly be successful in this life I must grow physically and mentally, but most importantly spiritually. I was recruited by numerous schools for my various sports and made several on campus visits. Everywhere I went I was only told how great the school was and how successful their athletic teams were and how much better they were as compared to other schools. They setup their recruiting from the standpoint that it was a privilege for me to come to their school, but that all changed when I came to UC. One of my first college visits (football recruit) and my very last visit (track and debate) were to UC and both times I visited here almost every person I came into contact with said, “Go where the Lord would want you to go.” They gave me applications for several scholarships to make attending UC as affordable as possible. They gave me information and recommended CLEP tests they thought I could pass, which, in the end, gets me out of school faster but causes UC to lose money. The staff and faculty at UC are interested in me as a student, and as a person, but foremost, as a Christian.

I fell in love with UC within 30 minutes of arriving on campus. I believe any student seeking a haven allowing for physical, mental, and spiritual growth will feel at home at UC. I know I do.

Howdy.

I just got back from fall break, a break that I needed much more than I realized. I got in the groove with my studies and track and my schedule as a whole and was trucking along just fine. But when I got four days off and took some time out to smell the roses so to speak, I realized just how tired I was.

I lazed my break away, but I think it was time well spent. I did get to see a bunch of my buddies at the football game Friday night and that was really good. I also spent some time with my uncle playing the guitar which was also really good. Other than that I spent break resting up to once again join in the grind that is college.

It’s funny how much I enjoy everything about college and in a way it seems like the fact that I’m having the time of my life makes me even more tired. I don’t feel tired when I’m participating in school, but as soon as I take a timeout I realize how mentally demanding it really is.

Lauren had a good break too. She got to go home for the first time since school started. Her parents were thrilled to have her in the house again. Lauren and I spend at least a few hours together a night just to unwind and relax after each has fulfilled their academic and athletic duties. The time we spend together really means a lot to me and the fact that I know I have our time to relax to look forward to makes it a lot easier to keep my nose to the grindstone when it needs to be.

I talked it over with Lauren’s daddy and he decided he liked me enough to approve of the two of us taking our relationship to the next level. We are now officially a couple and we are thrilled to death.

It means a lot to me that Lauren’s dad not only approved of our relationship, but gave me his blessing as well. I plan on doing my best to make him proud and to provide the same sense of happiness to his daughter that she has so thoroughly furnished in my life.

My family has really taken to Lauren as well. They are really supportive of us, so we have support from all angles. It really makes us feel good that we have the support of all the people closest to us whose opinions matter most. We plan on being responsible, especially with our time management, and making everyone around us proud of their support and proud of the two of us.

Till next time…

Howdy.

Well, a few more weeks have passed. Everything is still going wonderfully.

I have my first mid-terms in a week and I’m actually feeling very confident about them. My professors have done an excellent job in presenting the material in a way that I could, not only learn from, but feel comfortable with as well. I have tons of notes I need to look over, which will be time-consuming; however, I feel very good about my grasp of the material and feel safe in saying I will do just fine.

Homecoming was this past weekend and the football team destroyed Pikeville. They played very well. Except for a few defensive letdowns, they dominated on both sides of the ball. One of my old friends that I played ball with in high school plays for Pikeville, so I got to see him and his family at the game which was exciting. My best friend Josh made it up to see the game as well and it was great seeing him.

As part of the festivities, the weekend was dubbed, “Family Weekend.” I got to see my dad and little sister which was really good. I love college and all my new friends, but seeing those familiar faces did me a lot of good.

Lauren’s parents came down as well. I got to meet them and it went really well. They made me feel very comfortable and welcome. Nothing breaks the ice like music and I listen to the same soft, acoustic music from the 70’s that her parents enjoy and that really helped ease the inevitable awkwardness.

The leaves are starting to change and it is BEAUTIFUL. The weather is perfect.

Life is good :).

Till next time… God Bless

Hello again.

College is still awesome. My classes are still going great. Track is awesome. My coach is the best anyone could ask for and my teammates are all great people. Debate is also going wonderfully. My coach is an awesome person and an amazing teacher. I have very little experience actually debating under the college format, but after only a few practices I am really comfortable and fell like I have a really good grasp on the structure.

In other, more exciting news, Lauren and I had another adventure.

This time we were just a mile or two down the road from campus. She has fallen in love with the outdoors. She had seen a place where they were excavating a rock hill nearby and wanted to climb to the top of it to see the view. She and her roommate were all fired up and ready to go. I don’t really like heights and am not a big fan of rock climbing, but after thinking about the situation for a minute or two I decided to go. I am extremely glad I did.

We all started up at different points on the hill. The hill was pretty loose and sandy and extremely steep. It was not an easy climb at all. As I started up all I could hear beside me was rock falling where the other two were trying to scale it and it was freaking me out because all I could think about was one of them falling, so I got down after only about 20 feet or so. Lauren’s roommate Shannon is pretty short, and though she has a big heart, her legs just weren’t quite as long as they needed to be and she came down when I did. Lauren is strong and very capable. Her confidence was soaring and she was scaling the hill pretty rapidly.

The first tier of the hill was about 40 feet and all that was at the bottom were big, angled pieces of rock that had been chipped off the hill during the excavation. It was much more dangerous than we thought at the time. Lauren was about 36 feet up and was having a little trouble finding a foothold. I was looking up at her a little concerned, but decided to let her try it. She was almost there when all at once part of the hill she had been holding gave way and she well about 5-7 feet onto a foot and a half wide ledge. At some point during that time I had run to the bottom of the hill ready to catch her if she did fall all the way. I couldn’t even breath for a minute, but she was alright, but I could see there was no way she could get down of that ledge. At this point I could tell we were in trouble.

She was about 35 feet up and the hill was straight up and down where I needed to go to get her down. It took me 45 minutes to cut footholds for me to get up to her and to get her down. I was extremely proud of the way she handled the situation. She kept her head and did exactly what I told her too. She trusted me and that meant an awful lot.

This experience was frightening and I pray that I never have to see her falling again. When you go to bed tonight, or see someone throughout the day, picture the two of you in the situation we were in. Her life was potentially at risk when she fell, and for several minutes, her life was potentially in my hands. Don’t take a moment for granted.

When her feet were finally on the ground she began to really cry. She was crying and bleeding and I was still reeling from the situation. It was a moment filled with many emotions. On the way home I played “Fall” by Clay Walker. I’m not a big fan of new country music at all, but that song I like. “Fall into these arms of mine, I’ll catch you every time.” The predicament we were faced with was awful; however some good did come out of it.

Lauren and I now both know that moment will link us forever. I know I have a friend who trusts me, and she knows I will always do my very best to be there to catch her anytime she may struggle or fall. It is a relationship, and she is a friend that I hold dear to my heart, and will from now on.

When I first started looking at colleges I had a plethora of opportunities to attend many institutions, but something about U of the Cumberlands just felt right. Maybe the tug and pull I had towards this institution was because of that night on the cliff. Maybe I was meant to make the friendships and meet the people I am now. I am being changed and am watching others change all for the better here.

Let me encourage you, that if you feel a tug to do something, or go somewhere, and it could potentially be beneficial to you, go. University of the Cumberlands is an amazing place. The professors care about me and are helping me to grow mentally. My coaches care about me and are helping me improve in all areas, not just athletics.

I am also meeting students here that are molding me for the better and I hope and pray that I am doing the same for them. Lauren and I are now best friends forever. Who’d have thought that a good ole boy from a little farming community in East TN and a city girl from Columbus Ohio would meet at a beautiful little college in Southern KY and strike up a friendship so strongly and swiftly? I am so very thankful for the University of the Cumberlands and for my new best friend Lauren. She is teaching me so much, and hopefully I am teaching her a few things along the road.

Till next time… God Bless

Hello again.

Well, I’ve been in class now for a few weeks and I am loving it! My teachers are amazing and my classmates are just as focused and driven as I am.

My main concerns going in were my roommate and meeting new people that I would enjoy spending down time with. Well let me say that now these fears and been stifled and then some. My roommate is awesome, we are getting to be very good friends and I have met some amazing people from all over the country.

I am from the hill country of East Tennessee. I am a mountain man and proud of it. I met a young lady in my insights class named Lauren who had grown up and lived in the city all her life. Well last Sunday we went to church and I mentioned going home to see my grandparents since I was free and I knew I wouldn’t be able to make it on grandparent’s day. She asked if she could join me and I took her to the country.

She had quite a day. She met some real down-home, backwoods people (my family), rode on a tractor for the first time, ate her first wild muscadine (which unfortunately I don’t believe she intends to experience again lol), and shot a gun for the first time. It was quite an adventure and we had a great time.

Coming from where I do, I don’t speak very good English sometimes lol, and I am trying very hard to get better. The diversity at the campus is really helping me out because I still have plenty of good ole boys around to make me feel comfortable, and plenty of people from the city to provide an example of how to properly pronounce words. I am proud to report that I have shown improvement enough to mention these last few weeks.

Everything is going great and I am loving everything about college.

Till next time, God Bless

Well, I’m officially a UC student now and I couldn’t be happier. Orientation was amazing! I met people from as close as 10 miles from my house whom I had never met before and from as far away as Alaska! Orientation really opened my eyes to the fact, there are good people everywhere. No matter how bad the world seems to be getting at times, there are still plenty of folks holding onto Biblical values, including the Golden Rule. It speaks volumes for UC, that they recruit and attract fine, upstanding young people from everywhere. Looking around at the attitude of my fellow freshmen, and talking to everyone I could, I got a sense of pride, because I felt honored to be a part of such a great group of people.

I have about two months, give or take a couple of days, until I start college. I can’t wait! Coach Temple talked to me about getting prepared for the upcoming track season and gave me a sheet with some workout tips and a running regimen. So my athletics I am not so worried about; but, I am elated to report that I passed the by-pass English exam for credit in the first semester of English composition. It was quite a confidence boost, regarding the academic side of college, when I passed my first college level test.

I am back home from Freshman Orientation and active in Vacation Bible School at my church right now. I’m helping out with the youth, and they are keeping me pretty busy. It is easy to sleep at night for sure. We have had two people acknowledge they have accepted Christ into their hearts and I’m confident I will see them again in the presence of our Creator. That makes all the aching muscles and headaches just disappear when I think about it.

Well, this Seth Stoffle signing off. You’ll hear from me again when classes start and I’m sure I’ll have a lot more praise for UC then. For now, I’ll leave you with something I heard this week that really hit home and that I think more people need to take to heart, I know I could be better at it, “Preach often, and sometimes use words.” Think about that for awhile…over and out.

Hope these are alright, sorry again about the delay!

God Bless,

Seth Stoffle