Abigail (Abby) McGlothin is a third-year senior from Narrows, Virginia double-majoring in Fine Art and Art History. Abby is the campus ministry’s marketing and social media coordinator and competes on the field for our track and field team. She is proud to have competed in every indoor and outdoor ODAC Championship season since she started here. Abby placed fourth at last year’s ODACs for discus. “I’ve broken a bunch of personal records and I’m hoping to go for school records next semester.”
“My favorite thing about being an athlete on campus is the community engagement. I do a lot of other things outside of track, but it gives me another outlet. I grew up in a family with a bunch of boys, so I automatically just have that mentality and that want and drive to be the best thing, and I think that’s why track was the best option for me. It gives you a sense of community, it gives you a sense of just place, and it allows you to grow friendships.”
Are you a dog person? Well, Abby sure is. “My precious angel boy, Ruger, is a miniature Australian Shepherd. He was my COVID baby and moving away to college was really hard because he had so much attachment and now he’s like a crazy boy. I also have a golden doodle, Dozer, who’s so spunky and funny!”
“Being a Fellow in the campus ministry has been great for growing my faith. I started out at the Fellows program as a freshman, and have been there all three years, so it’s allowed me to make plenty of connections. I come from a Baptist background, so one of the things that I’ve learned and loved over the past three years of being here at Roanoke is seeing the different denominations. And one thing I’ve really gotten into is looking at the different translations from different Bibles because I’m not a person to get the one-sided story of things. I want to get all the information before I make my opinion about it.”
“I love doing investigative work on stuff in the olden, olden days, and looking into manuscripts. My friend and I just discovered that there was like a crazy train wreck that
happened in our county during the Civil War, and it killed hundreds of people. It’s crazy that nobody’s talked about it.”
Abby’s advice to those considering trying out for track and field in the future is “Just do it. When I first started. I started in eighth grade, and I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. I went to the first practice and realized I might be good at this. Then I went home and told Mom and Dad I really want to do this, it feels good, and it’s something that I feel strongly about. Went to the first meet, got first, and went to State after that. As it turns out, just try it out. I mean, you don’t know you’re good at something until you try it. And it doesn’t hurt to know that you’re bad, just means try something different.”
After college, Abby’s dream job is to work in education and community engagement, most likely in art. She loves working with kids and sees art as like a second language.
Abby wants to thank “my mom, dad, brother, grandma, and my entire family. My grandma was my biggest advocate and really helped me figure out what it means to be a woman and my path in college.”
Juniper Rogers
Section Editor
