Sarah Ross wraps the year in maroon and white
Sarah Ross was born in Jackson, MS, and spent all of her early life in Brandon. If anyone had asked her during her time there what she wanted to do after high school, she would've said she planned to pursue music, “anywhere but State!”
From her french horn seat in her high school marching band to her piano performances in her local church, anyone who heard it would have believed it just as she did.
Rolling straight from high school into college at Mississippi State University, her mother's alma mater, Sarah spent her first year on campus earning credits towards a bachelor's degree in music education while continuing her beloved hobby of marching in the Famous Maroon Band.
College was not without its challenges, however, and due to a select concoction of undiagnosed health concerns, she was driven from her original plan.
“I'd always been volunteer driven,” she recounted. “I skipped recess in fifth grade to help tutor the first graders who were having trouble with their studies.”
The summer leading into her sophomore year she was looking for programs, and the one that caught her eye had a very specific requirement.
“It was reserved for students enrolled in the social work program, and something in my head told me, ‘you could do that,' so I switched.”
She dedicated the rest of her time at the university hammering away at her degree, performing at churches locally, as well as back home, tutoring in french horn, and volunteering in various children's welfare programs.
Now a graduate, Sarah has been accepted into the social work program at the University of Texas at Austin—her father's alma mater—where she will further her education in social work.
The past two years of her studies have been spent dedicatedly working with the Sally Kate Winters program in West Point as a shelter intern, a mentor to local at risk youth in Starkville through an on-campus program, and interning with Youth Villages in Tennessee.
As both a light to the community, and to her friends, Texas looks to gain one of the brightest stars the south has to offer in Sarah Ross, who has dedicated such large portions of her life not only to her own mental health and the children's programs she's worked in, but also in nurturing those around herself. Always ready with a kind word, a listening ear, or a cup of coffee and a couch to rest on, Sarah has a certain gift for bringing comfort to her community, and caring for those around her compassionately.