Student Story: Aiden ’24 & Sarah Wilson ’24

May 1, 2026TranscriptAiden & Sarah WilsonPrograms of study:Cybersecurity (Sarah), Educational Studies (Aiden)Athletics teams:Men's Wrestling (Aiden); Softball (Sarah)

Rachel Toone: What is the first thing you’re going to do when you finish your last final?

Sarah: Well, I only have one, so I’m just going to do it and then probably take a nap.

Rachel Toone: I’m noticing a theme. Seems like you guys are tired. What about you, Aiden?

Aiden: Well, I’m one of the lucky few that doesn’t have a final at all. Shout out to the Education Department! 

 I’ll probably either take a nap, play video games, or possibly go to work. I don’t know yet.

Rachel Toone: I noticed that buying flowers for your wife was not in those three things.

Aiden: I’ll do that, too! You ruined the surprise! 

Rachel Toone: We’re going to circle back to that. My bad. So, what comes next for you both once you finish here?

Aiden: I know we’re heading up to Virginia for the summer. I plan on teaching and coaching as well. Right now, I’m at Owen Middle. I got the opportunity this year to coach the wrestling team, and now I’m one of the track coaches. I don’t run; I just coach the throwers. My running days are over. I was very emphatic about that—I do not run. We were supposed to have our conference meet yesterday, but it got rained out, so I’m a track coach for a little while longer.

Sarah: I’m also going to Virginia, obviously. That’s happening in tandem. I’m unsure exactly where; I’m just trying to go wherever I’m needed. There are a lot of cyber jobs out there, so it’s just a matter of who wants me.

Rachel Toone: How did you both end up at Montreat?

Sarah: For me, it was Cyber. I didn’t really know entirely what that was until I came on a tour here. I knew I wanted to do something with computers, but I knew I didn’t want to work physically on them. I play softball and was interested in computers, so I looked at Montreat. I got to know the cyber program and the coach here. I thought it was a really beautiful campus and an amazing place to be for four years. It had the major I wanted and the sport I play, so I thought, “Why not try it out?” I’ve loved it so far.

Aiden: I originally verbally committed my senior year to wrestle at Greensboro College. But my assistant coach at my high school messaged my mom and me and said, “Hey, Montreat is starting a wrestling program. It’s a lot closer to home, and since it’s a brand-new program, I think it would be a good fit for Aiden to go and help build it.” I came up here, met with the former coach, went on the tour, and fell in love with the campus. I switched my commitment to Montreat a couple of days later to come wrestle. It worked out, I guess.

Rachel Toone: Not too much longer after that, you noticed a cute girl on Instagram and then you met her in real life. So, I’d say it worked out okay. A lot has happened in your lives from when you came as freshmen to now—perhaps even “above average” happenings. Talk about that and what God has taught you in your time here.

Aiden: Coming into Montreat, I was coming off of a full year of not wrestling because I tore my labrum in high school. I was here freshman year, enjoyed it, and had fun. I was considering going somewhere else, but the summer going into sophomore year, I went to work one morning and, at around 8:15 or 8:30, I had a stroke.

Being in Gastonia, the first thing people think when they hear a teenager is having a stroke is, “No, he’s on something.” But we finally got past that; they finally believed it when they got there. I made it through recovery and came back here sophomore year. I redshirted that year, which was really tough—mentally, physically, and spiritually. I struggled a lot with finding out who I was again because my personality and how I thought about things changed.

I was mad at God. I wondered why it happened to me when I was on a path to do better things.I was more focused on what is keeping me believing in you. I had to work through that. Here I am now, very thankful that I did. I had Sarah by my side, I had my teammates, and I had the community helping me through everything. Fast forward two more years, and I’m a week and a half away from walking the stage when, in the blink of an eye, that could have been taken away from me. I’m forever thankful that I’m still here. Every day I live for Him and try my best to do what He wants and needs me to do.

Rachel Toone: I witnessed some of this. One thing I love about this sturdy country boy is that he was literally life-flighted. We didn’t know if he would live to even get to the hospital, and the man was saying he was noticing all the lakes he was flying over that he could bass fish in once he got out.

Sarah, I’ll speak for you because you were just a pillar of faithfulness, sticking with it and trusting God even though it was so hard and scary. You are an extraordinary woman. You two got married in August. You’ve lived a lot of life in two years that many married people don’t experience for much longer. What has God taught you in your first months of marriage and in journeying through these scary situations together? And the scary situation of graduating , All of the things.

Sarah: Trust Him. That has been the biggest thing for me. When all this crazy stuff is happening and you have so much to think about, just trust Him. Wherever He takes you is where you’re supposed to go.

Aiden: Building off of what Freddy said: have patience. Every day I wake up and pray for patience. My dad always told me that God isn’t just going to grant you patience; He’s going to grant you opportunities to prove your patience. Every day I am tested. But definitely be patient, have fun, and most importantly, trust in Him. Know that God has a plan and everything will work out no matter what. That’s been the MO for the past couple of years.

Rachel Toone: Last but not least, what’s your word of wisdom for the students who will be back here in August?

Aiden: Have fun. Make friends. Go experience new things, but be smart. Please, but again, just have fun and be patient. Trust in Him; everything will work out whether you think it will or not. 

Sarah: And don’t hike Lookout late at night—you will most likely be chased by a bear. More seriously, just live in the moment. Take that step out of your comfort zone, meet new people, and do new things. Don’t stay in a little bubble. Experience life as it comes and have fun while you’re at it.

Rachel Toone: That’s beautiful. Be present, experience life, trust God, and don’t get eaten by a bear. Does that summarize it? All right, that’ll preach. Thank you two!