Editor's Note: This is the first installment of our new series - Beyond the Jersey. It is a new written feature series with Lee Athletes telling their own story.
Why Lee University?
My name is Grace Berry, and I am a senior on the Women's soccer team. My journey to Lee was nothing short of a God story. My dream has always been to play college soccer, but there were a couple of standards that I was not willing to settle on. I wanted a Christian school where I could continue to grow my faith, I wanted a school that would allow me to go to nursing school while playing soccer, and I wanted to be in a soccer program that competes at the highest level. Lee was the perfect combination of these things.
My faith is the most important thing in my life, I knew that going to a school that valued the Lord was going to be rare and hard to find. When I started to get recruited by Lee, I investigated the school and started to realize that the university valued the Lord more than anything else. It emphasized developing individuals to live more like Christ, and all of academics is taught through a biblical world view. Being in a place that provides so many spaces where you can glorify or learn about the Lord is so abnormal.
In a world that degrades you for being different and standing out from the ways of the world, Lee University has proven to be a place that welcomes it. It is so nice to be in a place with so many like-minded people. From the faculty and staff all the way to my peers, I have met so many people that have had an immense impact on me and changed my life for the better. I truly believe that my faith has grown more here than it would have at any other school.
Second, to my faith, a good nursing program was the next criteria for the school I chose. Lee University school of nursing is not only one of the best programs in Tennessee, but it has also enabled me to pursue my dream career while playing soccer. At most schools, coaches do not allow their players to do nursing school while playing collegiate soccer. Lee was not only the first school that allowed me to do both, but they encouraged it.
The faculty and staff in the nursing program have been nothing short of amazing. They have done everything in their power to provide ways to make my life easier and have supported me every step of the way. Rearranging schedules around practice and games, allowing me to take tests while we are traveling, offering to meet with me to go over content I missed, and so much more. I am so grateful for a place that allows me to focus on my nursing degree but also my soccer career at the same time!
Playing soccer in college has been my dream since I was four years old. I spent all my grade school years working towards it and doing whatever it took to get here. I knew I wanted to go to a school that competed for a conference championship yearly and advancing to the NCAA tournament was normal.
Here at Lee, a championship culture is standard. In all of Lee Athletics there is an emphasis on competition and winning. As a program we have had immense success, we have won the All-Sports trophy every year that I have been here. Women's soccer has made it to the conference tournament all three years I have been here, winning it my sophomore year, and qualified for the NCAA tournament two out of the three years I have been here.
Aside from the athletics side, one of the things that stuck out to me most was the team culture. I was shocked by how well the girls on the team got along, and how much togetherness drove everything they did. As time has gone by, I have realized how rare it is to be on a team with so much love and camaraderie. Even this season, our team identity is FAMILY which stands for Forget About Me, I Love You.
That is not a new concept for this team, it is the one thing that does not change season to season. We love each other and we are each other's best friends. I am so grateful to say that I have met some of the best people and my closest friends here at Lee!
Lee University is one of the best decisions I have ever made, and one of the biggest blessings in my life. I am so incredibly grateful to go to this school, and to represent this school as a soccer player. The people here have changed my life for the better and I could not be prouder of being a Flame!
