by Harrison Flowers
Zoe Duck is a senior communications major who has made an impact on OBU’s campus. She is a leader within Pi Sigma Phi and the Bison Brigade, a committed Tri-W and a faithful follower of Jesus.
“I know it seems like four years, but like it’s gone by in the blink of an eye, it’s been a really good four years, but I still feel like a sophomore,” said Zoe.
Like a lot of seniors, Zoe wonders what her life after college will look like, but she wants to stay focused on what’s important: her walk with the Lord. Thoughts about life after college can be anxiety inducing, but Zoe is focused on her daily walk and remaining present in her last days as a college student.
“I’m not ready to leave, but I’m too busy thinking about leaving and stressed out about leaving, when I should just be living in the moment for today and what He’s given me. I don’t know what’s next, and all I can do is sit back and let God do his thing,” said Zoe.
Zoe has a fiercely personal walk with the Lord. But that wasn’t always the case. When she first got to school, Zoe struggled with fitting into the OBU culture. OBU has a huge presence of pastor’s kids, missionaries and future theologians. This can be intimidating for many people, including Zoe. So, she had to learn to block out comparisons of other people’s walks with the Lord.
“When I got to OBU, I was very influenced and compared myself a lot to other people’s walks with Christ, because they were coming in from like: ‘my dad’s a pastor, my mom’s worship leader, I’ve been on mission a million times.’ I wasn’t really raised in the church,” said Zoe, “I’ve realized this is just my walk. I chase after God in the way I do, and it’s not how anyone else does. My personal walk with God is going to look completely different from anyone else’s.”
Zoe urges students to chase after God. Her favorite verse is Matthew 6:33 which stresses seeking God before anything else. She wants to glorify God in every circumstance, not looking for other people’s approval—not to get something from God, but to live in relationship with him.
“As long as I’m looking towards the Lord and looking to glorify Him in everything I do, then I’m going to be okay. There are so many things that have happened to me at OBU that have just unfolded into crazy miracle dreams. And that is something that only God could do,” said Zoe.
The Bison Brigade, Pi Sigma Phi and being a Tri-W gave Zoe community. The Brigade allowed Zoe to show her passion for kids through their band camps throughout the year. Zoe leads out as drumline captain and section leader. Welcome week has also given Zoe the chance to impact on the next generation of OBU students. She loves to make students feel at home, as she struggled with that in her first year at OBU—she even thought about transferring. But because of the community she found, she stayed and now she wants to give that to other people.
“I never want to make every anyone feel like they’re being left out, because everyone is so cherished and everyone is so important. I want to make people feel important and they’re loved,” said Zoe.
As a communications major, Zoe has enjoyed her academic experience. She wants to launch her career by working in university administration or acting as an Executive Assistant. As a communications major, she has grown in her ability to communicate, write and speak in public.
“[Communications is] just set a really good foundation of what I’m going to be experiencing and what I’m going to be doing with other people,” said Zoe.
