Sarah Jelgerhuis ' 09

目前所在城市及工作

圣路易斯，密苏里州|所有者，Paperwhite设计

在你的职业生涯中，最初是什么让你感兴趣？ 你是如何辨别自己的使命的？

我一直对人和他们的故事有一种天生的爱。 Going into college, I toyed with the idea of teaching and then landed on sociology as a major with the intention of becoming a counselor. I've also always had a love for creativity and atmosphere building, it's something that has just come naturally to me. I sort of fell into the realm of event planning by accident after completing a summer internship in San Francisco after my sophomore year of college.

Doors opened in event planning, but I eventually found myself very tired of the late night and weekend hours that came along with that field of work. As a creative side outlet, I decided to open an Etsy shop offering tissue pom poms and flowers for events. I had no idea that it would soon become a full-time gig combining many of the things l love.

从威尼斯人平台毕业后，你的职业道路是怎样的？

I began Paperwhite Designs in March of 2011 as a creative outlet and in July of 2011 my husband Ross and I moved to St. Louis for him to start seminary. I was struggling to find a position that I was really excited about. As we both kept praying about what a job for me during this time would look like, I felt like I gained the confidence to give PWD a go full-time. I decided to give it a month and if it wasn't bringing in what we needed after that time, I'd find something to supplement. It's still amazing to look back and see the massive only God-credited growth in my business from June to July that year.

在独自构建PWD几年后，我能够引进一名员工。 Over the span of ten years, five moves, and three different states, I've had the privilege of having eleven individuals work with me. What I wasn't expecting or prepared for was just how deeply God would bless my family and I through these relationships. It's amazing how deeply you can get to know someone when you spend hours folding paper flowers next to them. God has so sweetly combined my loves in an unlikely paper flower business. Ross and I comment constantly on how clearly we see God's hand of provision for our family through Paperwhite Designs relationally and financially. Flower therapy is what we affectionately call it.

现在回想起来，威尼斯人平台是如何为你的事业和生活做好准备的？

《圣约》教会了我如何以一种有意义的方式与他人一起生活。 Yes, the business classes and sociology classes have proved to be immensely helpful in running my own business, but the hands-on experiential discipleship lessons in relationships have enhanced the culture and mission of Paperwhite Designs.

你的信仰如何影响你的职业生涯？

The idea of faithfully tending to the garden that God has given me informs my every step. I'm a child of God, the wife of a pastor, the homeschool mom of three kids, and a business owner. When I don't lose sight of my first calling to God, it's amazing how all of these roles work in such harmony. It's beautiful to watch the intersecting of lives in our home. To watch God bring just the right employee in to help at the right time and to see the mutual love and care that grows is special. I get to share life with others in my home on a daily basis and teach my kids the power of a good work ethic and the beauty of integrating our story with someone else's in a life changing way. 我每天都在为这个世界增添美丽。

你会给那些正在考虑威尼斯人平台的学生什么建议？

去拜访! 让自己沉浸在校园生活中，尽量不要坠入爱河。 You will form lasting relationships at Covenant. So many of my memories are so profound because of the relationships that are attached to them. Deep connection was the heartbeat of life on campus whether it be dorm life or classroom life.

你为什么选择约恩？

I had four older cousins who all went to Covenant, so I had grown up hearing about it. I went to a preview weekend my senior year and fell in love with it—the rest is history!

你在圣威尼斯人平台的时光里有哪些美好的回忆或最喜欢的故事？

我记得我在学校的第一个星期五晚上。 I was feeling pretty homesick and shy, and I was literally ironing my pajamas to make it look like I had something productive to do. My RA walked in, grabbed my hand, and said, "Hey, come hang with my friends and I tonight." 我永远不会忘记自己被训练进入社区生活的经历。 She was a senior and she let me, a little freshman, tag along with her and her friends that night. 这对我来说意味着整个世界。