Chris Lovelace ('10) and Francesca (Pefianco) Price ('08)Six Whitefield alumni recently spoke to Upper School students over a period of three weeks during Thursday chapels. Students split into gender groups and the alumni talked candidly to male and female students. Francesca (Pefianco) Price (’08), Chris Lovelace (’10), Avery Thomas (‘11), Barrett Atkins (’10), Victoria Hester (’11), and Kris Redding (‘09) each shared about life after Whitefield.
The alumni focused on college life, professional life, and spiritual life as they reminisced about their successes and failures, then offered nuggets of wisdom to students. Each alumnus shared their own life story, making their presentations uniquely personal and powerful as they told how the Lord had loved them, protected them, and challenged them through the highs and lows of becoming an adult.
“When I was at Whitefield, I put value in grades and being ‘good,’ but still wanted to be liked, and
Barrett Atkins ('10) and Avery Thomas ('11)wasn’t comfortable in my own skin,” said Francesca Price, who is a marketing professional with Turner Broadcasting Network. “I had the boyfriends, was invited to the parties, was making bad choices and doing what everyone else was doing - but I wasn’t happy.”
Price shared how the Lord caught hold of her heart and transformed her image of herself, her relationships, and her goals.
“I found my identity in my Savior,” she said. “I realized I could live from a place of security instead of one of insecurity.”
Alumni gave students guidance on developing their own faith, resisting temptation, and forging a new life plan when things don’t work out the way you hoped they would.
“I messed up my freshman year of college and had to regroup,” said Lovelace. “You need to have an idea of who you really want to become as you mature. Don’t veer from that path and keep that image in your mind at all times.”
“I didn’t get into the college I wanted. I wasn’t dating. All my expectations of how my life would go were disintegrating,” said Hester, who is serving with Navigators ministry on the Georgia State University campus. “But over time I realized that God was in control. I learned to trust that I should be obedient to His guidance. He has my back.”
Victoria Hester ('11) and Kris Redding ('09)Many of the alumni were excited to be back on campus and see former teachers and coaches, as well as new buildings such as Morris Hall.
“Coming back to Whitefield has been special,” said Redding, who works as a realtor and also plays defensive end with the Montreal Alouettes football team. “Seeing Coach Johnson was great. Whenever I am on this campus, I feel peaceful. It’s like coming back to your parent’s house. It just feels like home."