Rachel Toone: All right, Nia, you’ve been able to think about it the whole time. It’s the most important question: what is your favorite Christmas movie?
Nia: My favorite Christmas movie is called This Christmas, or I really like Almost Christmas. I don’t know if people have heard of those.
Rachel Toone: Shout out for the underrated Christmas movies. I love it.
Nia: They’re black movies about a black family and everything they go through. They’re funny!
Rachel Toone: That’s awesome. Almost Christmas is going on the top of everybody’s watch list now. All right, Nia, how did you end up at Montreat?
Nia: Basically, my brother Ahmad used to run track and field here. My family was pretty close with the coaches, so I thought, “Since Ahmad runs track, maybe I can run track and get a scholarship.” I got a track scholarship, and now I’m about to graduate.
Rachel Toone: It’s happening, girl! You’re there. You’re about to do it. And now for the dreaded question: what’s going to come next in this season of your life?
Nia: I don’t know. I am literally just allowing God to ordain my steps. I’m not really sure what’s next, but I think I’m going to take a breather from school for a second. No school for a bit—I’m just going to let God lead me to where He wants me to go, whether that’s graduate school or something else. I don’t know yet.
Rachel Toone: Nia, what’s something that God has taught you during your time at Montreat?
Nia: God has taught me so much here. I think the main thing I took from it was learning that when we are at our brokest point—when we’re very broken and feel like we can’t go back to God—that isn’t the opportunity to run away from Him. It’s actually the opportunity to draw closer and draw near to Him. I learned that even if we just keep sinning and feel like we’ve reached a point of no return, that’s exactly when God invites us to come back. He wants that. The fact that He wants it changed my perspective on my relationship with Him.
Rachel Toone: That’s beautiful. I’m going to throw you a curveball because we were celebrating you last night. During your last year here, you’ve really stepped into an amazing job in leadership with small groups and Bible study. Do you want to talk a little bit about the role that has played in your life in the last few months?
Nia: It was so good. Leading a Bible study was very impactful. Being able to lead others was kind of out of my comfort zone, but I felt called to do it. I was grateful enough to do it with my boyfriend, too— It was really fun and it truly changed my life. My relationship with God has reached a whole new level, and I feel changed as a person.
Rachel Toone: What do you mean when you say it changed your relationship with God? What did that look like?
Nia: We’re getting personal, girl! Honestly, I feel like I was living for the world. I wasn’t really trying to grow my relationship with Christ or get closer to Him. I was at that point where I thought, “I’ve sinned so much, what’s the point of trying to go back?” Last year is when I started to recognize that I should try again to build this relationship with God. But really, when I stepped into a small group with other people, having that support system and being able to talk about my faith really changed me to the fullest extent.
Rachel Toone: That’s good, girl. That’ll preach! And let me tell you, this woman is an amazing small group leader. Can I get an amen? Thank you for your faithful service in that. All right, Nia, last but not least, what’s your word of wisdom for the students who are going to be here next semester?
Nia: I know I said it a little bit already, but I really think you should join a Bible study. Just try it. It could potentially change your life. Plus, there’s free food! You can get off-campus, away from homework, athletics, and the stress of school, and just be with people you may have never even spoken to before. Just try it.
Rachel Toone: That’s good. Shout out to the Maslin household. All right, Nia Perryman—the one, the only. Thank you. Show some appreciation for Nia, y’all!