September 17, 2003

Augusta native named September Student of Month

When Sarah Pritchard was in the sixth grade, she got a “B” in science.

She cried.

“I struggled through it and had never gotten a ‘B’ before or since,” she said. “It was very sad. Grades have always been important to me. I hold high standards for myself, and not just academically.”

Pritchard, a sophomore communications major from Augusta, is the September Student of the Month at Cowley County Community College. It’s no surprise that the daughter of Don and Julie Pritchard was selected, given her academic success and level of campus involvement in just two semesters.

Pritchard is a Student Ambassador, is a member of Campus Christian Fellowship and Phi Theta Kappa, participates in intramural sports, and is active in her church, Christ Lutheran of Augusta. And this year, she is moving from center field to right field on the Lady Tiger softball team.

Last year, although she didn’t receive a Student of the Month award from Cowley, she was selected as the Outstanding Student of Arkansas City. She was chosen from a group of 70 Cowley, Arkansas City High School and Arkansas City Middle School students who were nominated for the award.

Being selected as Cowley’s Student of the Month is special to Pritchard.

“I’m very excited about it,” she said. “It’s a huge honor. I think a Student of the Month is a person who shows leadership skills around campus, who does well academically, and is overall friendly to everyone on campus.”

She has built a reputation on campus that mirrors her personality. She also is known for her prowess at playing Tetris and Dr. Mario.

“I got a Super Nintendo for my 18th birthday and I play that all the time,” Pritchard said. She’s also a devoted Harry Potter fan.

Pritchard, 19, said she’s changed a lot since her senior year of high school.

“It didn’t hit me until I went home this summer and I could see how I had matured and how one year at Cowley really made me grow up and look at things in a different light,” she said.

One of her fondest memories thus far is making friends, lots of friends.

“I’ve enjoyed meeting so many new people,” Pritchard said. “I’ve enjoyed coming to a diverse environment and learning things about people from different countries and building life-long friendships.”

Most of Pritchard’s high school classmates went to Butler County Community College, Wichita State University, or KSU. She had a choice to make her senior year.

“I almost signed with Friends University, and I also thought about playing (softball) at Butler and living at home,” Pritchard said. “But I decided to live in the dorms and get that experience, and Cowley had a great softball team, and I wanted to play for a great program.”

Pritchard has enjoyed success on the softball field. At Augusta, she was an All-Chisholm Trail League selection three times and, as a sophomore, played on the Class 4A state championship team in 2000. Last year, as a Cowley freshman, she was a member of the Lady Tiger team that placed ninth at the national tournament in Florida.

Pritchard, whose brother Andrew is a senior at Augusta, admires her parents, especially her mother.

“She is the rock of the family and she gives a great example for everyone to live by, especially me,” Pritchard said. “Her faith in God and her love for her family is very admirable.”

Pritchard’s father was laid off from Boeing after 15 years. He’s now set to graduate from Southwestern College with a bachelor’s degree in human resources and security management. Her mother is a loan specialist for Countrywide Home Loans, a mortgage company in Wichita.

Pritchard said she planned to transfer to Kansas State University next fall and pursue a degree in public relations.

“I know a lot of people in Manhattan and at K-State,” she said.

In the meantime, Pritchard plans to make the most of her final year at Cowley.

“I think it was a wonderful decision to come to Cowley,” she said. “I feel at home here, and I enjoy people and college life in general.”