Cedarville Stories

Perceived by Glamour; Driven by Christ

Sierra Bognear, a young woman with a penchant for surprises, astounded her family, excluding her brother Travis, by winning the title of Miss Michigan in 2015.

Her decision to vie for the Miss Michigan crown, despite having no prior beauty pageant experience, remained a well-guarded secret. What added an extra layer of astonishment was her covert journey to New York for coaching by a pageant expert, unbeknownst to her family.

The revelation of Sierra's victory over the phone left her family in disbelief. Following the initial shock and her mother's dismay at not being present during the pageant, the entire family rallied to celebrate Sierra's remarkable success.

For Sierra, the true significance of her achievement went beyond the tiara — she found fulfillment in sharing her faith and offering prayers, even with contestants of different religions.

Transitioning from pageantry, Sierra carved out a successful career in modeling with NIKE and the entertainment industry. However, a shift occurred when health challenges within her family prompted Sierra to discern her calling in healthcare.

During these health concerns, Sierra noticed people wearing white coats were helping patients and she wanted to be part of the solution as well.

Embarking on a journey that led her to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, Sierra eventually redirected her path to pursue a four-year degree in Cedarville University's pharmacy program. Her pursuit will culminate in a Doctor of Pharmacy degree in May 2027.

https://share.transistor.fm/s/0552b72d

Life’s Unexpected Challenges

Roscoe Smith never wanted to have a career in higher education, but the opportunity to pursue a relationship with his future wife, Rhonda, was too compelling for the New York native.

After graduating from then Cedarville College, and knowing Rhonda was a year behind him, Roscoe did everything he could to maintain the relationship. So, he accepted a position in the University’s admissions department.

What else would he do? But in his mind, it was only a temporary position.

Fast forward to today, and Roscoe has spent nearly 40 years of his career working at Cedarville University. He’s held key roles in admissions, financial aid, public relations, and, now, institutional advancement. And, he couldn’t be any happier about his experience and his 39-year marriage to Rhonda.

But life wasn’t always easy for him, especially when he faced his mortality during treatment for leukemia when he was just 27 years old. When he saw a fellow leukemia patient pass away from the illness, it hit Roscoe hard, so much that he began taking a hard look at his life and future.

But in the Lord’s grace and mercy, through the prayers of his faithful family and Cedarville friends and the support of Rhonda, he survived the illness — and difficult treatments. Now, he and Rhonda are enjoying life as grandparents.

Listen to him share his story on the Cedarville Stories Podcast.

Stories for a Purpose

Conrad Weaver started out as a premed major at Cedarville. He later switched to psychology, graduating in 1988, he found himself the president of Conjo Studios and an award-winning filmmaker.

How did this psychologist end up making documentaries?

It all boils down to a central mission: helping people.

Shortly after pursuing a career in psychology, Conrad found a new skillset and passion for working with technology and video. He was hired by a church, and he started heading up its video production for services.

Despite having grown up dabbling in photography, seemingly always with a camera in his hand, Conrad never thought he could make a career of it. But an Emmy award for The Great American Wheat Harvest documentary, followed by several other successful documentaries, proved him wrong.

Today, Conrad enjoys telling the stories of people that he meets. His upcoming documentary, PTSD911 tells the story of the first responders at ground zero on that devastating day in 2001. He is currently sharing his story with people across the United States as he rides his bicycle from Astoria, Oregon to Ocean City, Maryland. You can follow his journey by clicking on The Journey.

Deep Calls for Life

Good health is not something to take for granted. Just ask Dr. Chuck Elliott, Senior Professor of Communication at Cedarville University.

Throughout his life, he’s been a model of good health. That was until he began experiencing severe headaches and uncontrollable high blood pressure while teaching in Hong Kong. Ultimately, the high blood pressure left significant damage to Chuck’s kidneys, and two years ago, doctors noticed a significant change in his health.

He was in the beginning stages of kidney failure. Just one year later in May 2022, Chuck’s kidneys were in full-blown failure, causing him to need dialysis — nine hours every day.

With the reality of needing a kidney to survive, Chuck was in a difficult position. How does a person go about getting a new kidney?

It’s not like Chuck to share his situation with anyone, let alone ask someone if they would donate a kidney to him. This was an uncomfortable situation for someone who made his life as a communications professor.

Well, several Cedarville University students were presented with class projects that could help Chuck in his quest of a new kidney.

Enter Deep Calls for Life, a project headed by a team of marketing and communication students. Their sole purpose was to create a social media campaign that would communicate Chuck’s health crisis and his need of a kidney transplant — preferably from a live donor — for their beloved professor.

As part of a virtual communication class project, the students created a social media campaign intended to bring hope to the Cedarville professor, and, possibly someone who could provide the perfect kidney for Chuck.

---------

And now, several months later, Cedarville Stories Podcast is please to share good news about Chuck Elliott!

Listen here to learn more about Chuck’s story and the answer to many prayers on the Cedarville Stories Podcast.

A Sheepdog Feeding on the Word

Bruce Upchurch, the new director of campus security at Cedarville, brings more than 30 years of law enforcement experience to his role, which includes the Greene County Sheriff’s Office and the Oakwood Public Safety Department. He has been a K9 handler for criminal investigations and a sniper with a SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) unit.

He has been pushed to his limit mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually and admits that he’s brought job stress home with him. But through it all, the Lord has kept him together, through long stakeouts, altercations with suspects, and harrowing danger.

Ultimately, Bruce went into law enforcement to help others, and that’s why he’s at Cedarville. He sees himself as a servant, and if he’s not serving, then he’s not doing his job. Caring for faculty, staff, administrators, students, and visitors is his goal.

With all that in mind, it’s important that he stay grounded in his relationship with God, which requires grounding in the Word of God. Memorizing Scripture has kept his heart and attitude in the right place during the most difficult assignments.

“Sheepdogs and wolves are similar,” Bruce shares during the podcast. “They have the same intensity, just one has empathy for the sheep, and one wants to kill the sheep. Be a sheepdog, have empathy, but also be connected with the Word of God. If you do not, you can be led down that path of being a little more like a wolf and less like a sheepdog. Stay firm in the Word; memorize the Word of God. To walk in the Spirit, you need to live in the Word.”