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Arts & Life
The Clarion \ October 2, 2019
Senior Profile
Meet your president
By Mary Lewe
Editor in Chief
Student government association president and
senior women’s soccer captain Audrey Cardwell
has been active on Brevard College’s campus
since her arrival as a freshman. From her work
with the Brevard College Dimensions Club,
known less formally as the math club, to her
service as a student ambassador for three years,
Cardwell seems to have a knack for just about
everything, but you wouldn’t know it based on
her humility.
Her first year on campus, she anticipated taking
an intro course in mathematics, but somehow her
schedule was changed to include Calculus II. “It
was the first class I ever stepped into at college,”
Cardwell said, “it was terrifying.”
Despite her initial fears, she was successful
and is now double majoring in math and
environmental studies. She has even worked as
a tutor for high school students struggling with
topics in math.
While Cardwell’s math major came to her
as a result of that scheduling mishap, her
environmental studies major was born out of
a trip to Costa Rica with professor Maureen
Drinkard. The brief experience studying abroad
helped her to find a passion for learning about
nature, but it did not satisfy her desire to learn
in other parts of the world.
“That [studying abroad] has been a goal of
mine since I came to college, even in high school
I knew I wanted to study abroad,” Cardwell said.
She is currently in the late stages of planning
a study abroad experience during this coming
spring semester, during which she would live
and work on a sailboat collecting climate data
between New Zealand and Tahiti.
As student government president, Cardwell’s
main goal has been to increase student
involvement with SGA. “We have a lot of
committees doing small things to boost morale
around campus,” she said. “One thing we’re
working on is having someone play music on an
Aux cord in the dining hall on Saturday nights
to try to encourage people to stay on campus
during the weekend.”
Cardwell had her start with SGA by serving
as Speaker of the Clubs for two years prior to
her acceptance of the presidency. “Each year
we had a different president, so I got to see two
different styles and formed my own ideas and
goals for what I would want to do as president,”
Cardwell said.
When she’s not on the field with the women’s
soccer team, or in a meeting for SGA or the
Dimensions Club Cardwell has been working
on her senior project, which combines aspects
of both of her majors to investigate honey bee
foraging and graph theory.
“Essentially, honey bees are known to be very
efficient in many parts of their lives,” Cardwell
said, “from the structure of their hives to their
caste system in which they have worker bees
and a queen bee.
“I was curious to see if, given the chance,
would they forage in the most efficient way,”
she said.
Like all great scientists and artists, Cardwell
has suffered for her work, and was sporting a red
patch on her arm from a honeybee sting during
her interview.
“It doesn’t hurt,” Cardwell said. Always
showing her toughness and perseverance,
Cardwell also listed her experience during Voice
of the Rivers in May 2018 as an important and
formative experience during her time at Brevard
College. “I made some of my best friends,
people I probably wouldn’t have met otherwise,”
she said about her VOR experience.
Despite having a variety of interests, Cardwell
has maintained a high standard for herself in
all areas of life. With academic achievements,
leadership roles and big dreams for her future,
Cardwell displays the characteristics of not just a
great leader, but also an excellent athlete, caring
classmate and loyal friend.
Audrey Cardwell
Courtesy of Audrey Cardwell
Cardwell (right) with teammate and friend Erica
Zuffery.