Alumni Stories
Olivia Sepulvado’s time at Champion Christian College taught her lessons, “about leadership, service, faith, and standing up for what I believe in…” Her experiences on campus helped set her up for success with her new position as the head of TPUSA chapters for the entire state of Arkansas. Though she’s new to the role, she has already built incredible relationships and has enjoyed helping chapters begin planning their semester events.
During her time at Champion, Olivia was a Business major with a minor in Sports Management, and also participated in multiple extracurricular activities. She was a member of the Women’s Basketball team for three years and served as a leader for the majority of that time. In addition, she was also actively involved as a leader and mentor for Gospel Light’s youth group, LIT YTH, and helped with media for Champion’s chapel services.
Olivia said, “Champion gave me the opportunity to lead my basketball team for two years and serve as a leader and mentor within our youth group for two years as well. Those experiences taught me how to lead others, build relationships, and encourage people to become the best versions of themselves.” Her time at Champion helped her grow in both leadership and faith.
In addition to her studies and extracurricular involvement, what really assisted Olivia in finding her current position with Turning Point was when she decided to help start a TPUSA chapter with her roommate, Lauren Castillo, during their senior year. They bravely stepped up to serve as President and Vice President in their final semester and later attended TPUSA’s Women’s Leadership Summit together, which ended up greatly impacting Olivia.
She shared, “The conference reinforced how important it is to use your voice, step into leadership, and encourage others to do the same.” Feeling empowered by WLS, Olivia was grateful for the opportunities Turning Point gave her to help continue to empower others. Now as a chapter representative for Arkansas, she has been able to build upon the leadership skills she learned at Champion and is, “challenged to step outside of my comfort zone by meeting and talking with new people every day.
While studying at Champion Christian College, Olivia’s favorite part was, “the strong sense of family.” Even though she was hours away from home, the professors and students made the distance feel significantly shorter–people were always checking in and she felt cared for as both a student and a person as a whole. Olivia shared, “The relationships and community I built at Champion are something I will always be grateful for.”
Olivia’s heart for leadership and dedication to following what she believed in caused her to use her time at college to the fullest. She pursued a degree she cared about, engaged in extracurricular activities that enhanced her studies and served others, and took the initiative to start a Turning Point chapter on campus and put herself out there. She embraced the opportunities placed in front of her and also forged new a path for herself. Because of her hard work and determination, she has now landed a job where she already feels like she’s growing and Champion Christian College is very proud of her achievements.
As Olivia has moved from campus chapter leader to head of TPUSA chapters for the entire state of Arkansas, she looks back at her time at college and says, “I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities Champion gave me and for the ways those experiences continue to shape me in this new chapter of my life.”