“When I was seven years old, our family home burned down. We lost everything. I would never wish that kind of experience upon anyone, but it taught me just how much it means to have people in your life who are willing to help you when you need it. I remember our church coming together and there were three women who took charge, locating all the things we needed and making it possible for our family to move into the parsonage that happened to be empty at that time. I won’t ever be able to fully repay what that meant, but I have learned just how much of a difference we can all make for other people when we want to.

I grew up in Prairie City, Iowa, and was the fourth child in my family. I knew I wanted to go to college and make a difference for people, so my plan was to attend a large state university and major in ASL. In the spring semester of my senior year of high school, though, I saw that Morningside was giving away Carhartt beanies if you made a campus visit and I decided to give it a shot. I am so glad I took that trip because everything about that tour just felt right. On top of that, I loved dancing, and the dance coach invited me to audition. Once I found out I was going to receive a Talent Award to dance and help pay for my education, the 7-year-old Bess inside of me knew that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be a college dancer.

In February of my freshman year, I ended up injuring my foot and wound up having to have my arch completely reconstructed. I ended up getting my dog, Boone, right after I got injured and I had to recalibrate how my Morningside experience was going to look. I had been going to treatment in the training room almost every day because of my foot and it had become a place of refuge for me. Rather than me being the focus of the treatment, Katy Burford offered me the chance to start working with her and I began being able to help other athletes. When athletes come in and are hurt and scared, I love that I can let them hold my hand and that I can relate to what they are going through.

While my Morningside experience didn’t go exactly as I planned, I have found a true community here. People care about what I am going through and want to offer their support, and I am able to offer the same thing to others as part of this campus, and I know I will be able to continue that once I earn my degree.”

-Bess Telfer, religious studies and psychology double major who is ready to make a difference in the world alongside her fur baby Boone