Rachel Toone: All right, CJ. Now you’ve heard the important question, so you’ve had time to think about it. What is your favorite Christmas movie?
CJ: I’d have to say Buddy the Elf.
Rachel Toone: Yes, The Elf! All right, any Elf fans in the house? Yeah, there are some Elf votes for sure. So, CJ, where are you from and how did you end up at Montreat?
CJ: I’m from Vero Beach, Florida. I ended up at Montreat because Coach Weeks recruited me. He happened to be best friends with my trainer in West Palm Beach, who actually played for Coach Beck back at Southeastern. Back when all of us 2020 high school grads were dealing with COVID shutdowns, a lot of people were losing offers. I lost the few that I had in Florida. This was my last opportunity, and Coach Weeks gave me a chance to pursue a baseball career.
Rachel Toone: Following up on what I asked Sydney, when do we kick you off campus? Is that happening next week? What comes next?
CJ: I’m actually going to go back home to Florida and go to radiology tech school.
Rachel Toone: So CJ, what is something that God taught you during your time here?
CJ: God taught me a lot of patience. There are a lot of things that will happen in your life—bad events, deaths, and things like that. You just have to overcome, be patient, and trust in Him and the path that He’s going to put you on.
Rachel Toone: CJ, I know part of your story that’s pretty cool is that you came in with one major and then that changed. Do you want to talk a little bit about that experience and what happened?
CJ: I came in as a Business major thinking I wasn’t smart enough to do a medical major. I thought I would just try to take the easy way out. Well, that’s not always the case because those long, 100-to-200-question Business tests weren’t for me. I needed to sit down and be more hands-on. I failed my whole first semester. The only class I passed was Old Testament, and I think I had a .6 GPA after my first semester. Then I decided to switch my major to Exercise Science. From there on out, I thrived, and now I have a 3.1 GPA.
Rachel Toone: Come on! What was the turning point? What made you decide to change?
CJ: The turning point was when I was trying my hardest and doing the best I could, but I was still failing despite studying and tutoring. I realized I needed to do something else.
Rachel Toone: You had a couple of conversations with some staff who encouraged you. What was that about?
CJ: Ms. Maslin was a very good mentor for me throughout my career here. She checked up on me every semester for all my classes. She talked to me and said, “Well, maybe you need to try to do something different. Maybe you should pursue what you actually wanted to pursue. Maybe not doing what you’re actually interested in is what’s causing you to fail.”
Rachel Toone: What is a word of wisdom that you would have for current students? You’ve learned a lot in your time here.
CJ: Like I was saying earlier: patience. Patience would be the word I would tell everyone. Just trust in the word that God tells you. Pray with Him, talk with Him, and He’ll guide you through the way.
Rachel Toone: So many students have a hard time deciding their major and figuring out their calling. What would you say specifically to those students still trying to figure that out?
CJ: I would tell them that if you’re skeptical about the degree you’re in right now, look at the other possibilities. Look at the opportunities you can take from those other paths as well—not just here, but at other schools too—and see how you can make a bigger degree out of it.
Rachel Toone: Awesome. And just a fun CJ fact that I learned: aren’t you a really good chef also?
CJ: I am.
Rachel Toone: That’s awesome. Man, you are a man of many talents. Mr. Auger, thank you for being with us and for sharing with us.