by Kathleen Richter
Staff Writer
The Purple has started a new column highlighting the “Sewanee Angels.” Sewanee Angels are part of the University of the South tradition – they protect and accompany students. However, they are not just mystical figures, they really exist on our campus. There are many students at the University who contribute to the Sewanee we know and love, but do not get the recognition they deserve. Within the Sewanee community there are people who do not get honored despite the extensive care and time they put into giving back. This new series, Sewanee Angel, is dedicated to those who display a giving personality, a good heart, and above all, unwavering selflessness.
The first Sewanee Angel is Kiela Crabtree (C’15). In her free time she returns to to her hometown Nashville to help as a volunteer in a social organization, where she helps homeless people. On campus she is always seen with a lovely smile on her face. She is dependable in every situation, and her open personality makes her an easily approachable. Crabtree drives Bacchus on party nights and enjoys helping her fellow students with staying safe and getting back home after a wild party night. Although she encountered racist comments on duty, she still said “I love Sewanee and all the people here, some people just do not think about what they are saying or have a lack of understanding how it is to be black or, in my case, mixed.”
Crabtree is a transfer student and is trying to finish her major and two minors in three years. She is a hard working young lady but still always finds time for her friends. Last summer she was a Beecken summer business school fellow. Crabtree applied for the business program because she wants to start her own Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) after she graduates. Her dream NGO, she says “would be active within an urban homeless population, maybe creating opportunities for work or education.”
Talking to Crabtree shows her appreciation of her own life, family, and friends, she said without knowing about the article or that she is interviewed for the Purple: “I think my greater goal in life is to serve others. I feel I have been very privileged and should be of service to those who may not have had the same opportunities I have.” She is a respectful student, a caring daughter, a loving friend, a wonderful community member and most of all one of our Sewanee Angels. She is a Sewanee Angel among us, and there are more of her kind.
If you would like to nominate someone as a Sewanee Angel, email spurple@sewanee.edu, so we can give them the honor they deserve.