Sadie Mink’s senior year of high school was cut short due to the beginning of the COVID pandemic. So when she was already behind the eight-ball in the college admissions process, Waynesburg wasn’t necessarily on her radar.

But thanks to a friend at church, Mink ended up at Waynesburg University in the fall of 2020. 

“I ran into somebody at church who had a son that was committed to Waynesburg,” Mink said. “She started to talk it up to me and was like, ‘you really need to look into Waynesburg. They have really good programs and give out lots of scholarships.’ So I went and looked up Waynesburg and saw the digital design program. I didn’t commit to school until June 1, which is the last to commit, and I actually came to visit the University during the whole shutdown with my parents, and I felt like this was very ‘homey’ to me, and the next day I was here was move-in day.”

Mink is an interdisciplinary studies major with a focus in Digital Design and Entrepreneurial Leadership. Her experience at Waynesburg has allowed her to stay involved in activities on campus, similar to what she did during her time in high school.

“I only graduated with about 45 other kids ” Mink said, “My high school experience was so good because there were so many opportunities to get involved and to be important to the school because they needed leadership positions. So I wanted a small school that offers that same opportunity so I can extract as much as I can from this school during my time in college, and they had that here at Waynesburg.”

Mink wasted no time creating a laundry list of things and activities she got involved in here at Waynesburg.

“I took practicum in my first semester as a freshman here,” Mink said, “I got involved with the newspaper, I started to pursue photography, I got a job with university relations as a student photographer and event support with Jim DePriest. So I started working chapel services, I work noon tunes and lecture series’ and I take pictures at all the events like bingo, so that helped me start to build my portfolio which was wonderful. I also worked in the admissions office as a student ambassador, I worked with Pat Bristor up in student development as a graphic designer, and I worked as a Resident Mentor up in Burns Hall for my sophomore and junior years and I am a member of the design club.”

Dr. Melinda Walls, the Stover Chair for Entrepreneurial Leadership as well as the chairperson for the Department of Business Administration and Entrepreneurial Leadership has seen firsthand what Mink has accomplished at Waynesburg University and detailed how much of an asset she has been to the University.

“Sadie is an excellent student,”  Walls said, “She is smart, hard-working, and creative as evidenced by her choice to ‘build her own major’ by combining Entrepreneurship and Digital Design. She has contributed to WU in so many ways. As an Entrepreneurial Leadership Scholar, she acts as an ambassador for the entrepreneurship program both on and off campus. She was a Vira I. Heinz recipient and studied in Italy. She has worked multiple jobs on campus and has used her talents as a photographer to help many students.”

Now that her time at Waynesburg is coming to a close, Mink made a pitch to anyone looking at Waynesburg University for their college career.

“There are so many opportunities to get involved,” Mink said, “All of these opportunities are very welcoming, so you can join clubs that aren’t necessarily in your department of study, and there also lots of different job opportunities through work study programs as well, and all of these are really great ways to build up your resume and portfolio and these opportunities just don’t go away.”