From just an hour away, Salvatore was drawn to SAU for his academic goals, but what sealed the deal for him was the sense of community he found through the friendly campus, strong connections with professors, and the supportive faith-centered environment.

Having taken part in a dual enrollment program during high school, Sal was able to focus on his major while completing his degree at SAU. His economics instructors - particularly Dr. Caleb Chan - challenged him to think critically about the international economy. He found guidance through professors and advisors committed to assisting him in designing courses and structuring his schedule to accommodate his personal goals. While Sal had several classes he enjoyed, he was also involved in impactful extracurricular activities. This ranged from volunteer activities like Serve Day, when he helped out at David's Promise in Jackson, to intramural sports. 

His SAU experience was also shaped by his participation in a discipleship and leadership Bible study with Professor Ashbrown. This significantly shaped his outlook on faith as he was able to learn more about and train others in the subject of faith.

Faith has been the focal point of Salvatore's life. As a Catholic in a predominantly Protestant Christian environment, he found the opportunity of hearing new perspectives to be an eye-opener to test his own faith and strengthen it. Through his college experience, he held on to 1 Thessalonians 5:21, as a guiding verse: "But test everything; hold fast to what is good." This has supported him as he encountered various opinions in the fields of theology and politics. 

One of his best memories at SAU is getting to experience having a close-knit group of friends:

“It is nice having a solid group of about 5 friends who challenge you to grow spiritually, and just to goof off with sometimes!” 

Sal feels extremely fortunate to have met such a close group of friends here—people who are not only wonderful to be around but also who have his strong Christian values.

In anticipation for life after graduation, Sal is eager to enter the workforce. He is prepared and ready for the next stage, having learned what he needed to from his time at SAU. One of his long-term aspirations is to work overseas, but he also has a particular interest in tracing family history. Salvatore has been freelancing by helping people trace their family genealogies and create books of family history, even studying Latin so that he could read Church records to help with this work.

For students to come or current ones, Sal has some advice from his experience: 

"When you're choosing a college, you don't always know for sure what to expect. I remember praying, 'God, I'm gonna go here if that’s what you want. If it's not, block the way' - and he kept this door open for me. Have faith in the Lord for your college choice - sometimes you just know when you get here that it's the place where you’re meant to be."

We wish Salvatore the best of luck for the future and hope to see all the amazing things that he will do!