Friday Favorites

Happy Friday y’all! Today is an exciting Friday around the Cox household as we are en route to our Alma Mater for the weekend for Homecoming! It is always a treat when we have a weekend to go back to Richmond, but it is even sweeter when it includes a stop at Randolph-Macon!

For those who don’t know our story, Jody and I met in college while we were both captains of our tennis teams. While we had completely different, yet wonderful experiences in college, we are forever grateful that our paths crossed in the Center of the Universe (as the locals call it!).

In 2011, I graduated high school and moved to Ashland, Virginia — a quaint little train town just north of Richmond. After looking at colleges for the previous three years, I found Randolph-Macon just a few weeks before starting my senior year of high school and immediately fell in love. I apply early-decision and on the day I went back to campus for my overnight recruiting tennis trip, I was accepted! It was truly the best four years and I never once regretted my choice.

So in honor and celebration of our Homecoming Weekend, today’s Friday Favorites post is all about good ole Randy-Mac! I’m not sure I can limit all of my favorite things about college, but I’ll do my best to keep it under control.

The people are so nice. I know it is a southern stereotype that everyone talks to one another, but its true, especially in this little college town of mine. Since R-MC was pretty much the biggest thing in Ashland, many locals walked through campus on nice evenings and would even let us pet their dogs!
The size of the Randolph-Macon. When I started, the student population was just around 1,250 students, which about 50 students more than my high school. I knew I wanted a school that was small enough to form relationships with my peers and professors but to still see new faces each day. I was amazed how close I grew to the faculty and staff over the course of four years — I still am in touch with some of them today!
Campus involvement was so easy for me to become a part of. I was in a number of clubs on campus throughout my time there — Intervarsity, Habitat for Humanity, and Relay for Life. I spent all four years as a member of that club, serving as chair of the committee for three of those years. I pour so much time, effort and planning into those events, and that experience shaped my desire for my career goals of the future and find wonderful friends.
To spin off of some of the clubs that I was in, I also had other opportunities to serve on campus… and get paid for it! I was a Tour Guide for the Admissions Office for my Sophomore through Senior Year, Orientation Leader for Freshmen during my sophomore year, and last but certainly not least, Resident Assistant my Junior and Senior year. I loved loved loved all three of these jobs, and the opportunities that resulted from these jobs. Plus, I did get a room to myself for two years, which was as wonderful as it sounds. 🙂
Football in the South. We may not be a part of the SEC, but we might as well have been! One of my favorite Macon traditions was called “Girls in Pearls, Guys in Ties”, which basically meant that you dressed in your Sunday best for each home football game. I only missed maybe one home game in my four years at Macon, and I can count on one hand how many games I didn’t dress up for (mostly due to rain).
THE GAME. Y’all there aren’t any other football games that are comparable to The Game against our arch-rival, Hampden-Sydney College. Saved for the last game of the season, there is always a full week of hype leading up to kickoff. We won 3 of the 4 times we played them while I was still at Macon, including my senior year when we rushed the field after the winning touchdown!
Speaking of traditions, I loved how traditional my school was. From signing the matriculation book the day we officially became members of our graduating class, to starting and ending our college career at fountain plaza, to jumping in the fountain after graduation, and having our bricks placed on alumni walkway — there were so many moments that were shaped by the traditions that had been a part of the school’s history for years, which had an everlasting impact on my career.
I studied abroad during our four-week January Term during my sophomore year. I took a class that studied Jewish culture during the Holocaust (by far, my favorite college course), and traveled to Germany, Austria, and Hungary. The fact that I was able to spend an entire month traveling throughout Eastern Europe still takes my breath away a little bit. It was one of the most thrilling, heart-wrenching months of my life and I couldn’t have had a more perfect experience.
Playing Division III athletics in the ODAC conference. As previously mentioned, I was recruited and played on the Women’s tennis team for two years. After I left the tennis team, I joined the Equestrian Team, another passion I had during high school. My experience on both teams challenged me, helped me grow as an individual and cultivate relationships with my team members that I cared so much about. Which leads me to…
It’s where God led me to my husband 🙂