Brenau Scholar: Esther Sindler
ESTHER SINDLER hesitates when asked to name her hometown. “There are quite a few hometowns,” she says. “Right now we’re in Flintstone, Ga., but that changes frequently.”
Esther is the child of two Christian missionaries. She spent nine years of her life in the African city of Dakar, Senegal. “We didn’t live in a hut or a mud house or anything,” she says. “We lived in a normal house with running water and a TV and a PlayStation.” However, the biggest difference between Dakar and the United States she adds, is that Africans are more interested in reaching out and talking to strangers than Americans. “They just stop and talk to you,” she says. “They have no concept of a personal bubble like they do here.”
Her life in Africa was the inspiration for her chosen major – marine biology. Her home in Senegal was near the coast, and Esther was at the beach nearly every day. She said she also considered being a veterinarian because of her love for animals. After talking it over with her parents, she decided to combine her two loves and narrow her career field. “Water plus animals equals marine biology,” she said.
Esther is a serious student who chose Brenau because it fit well with her conviction to work hard. “I visited the campus and fell in love with it,” she says. “I liked that the girls that I met were all very focused on their schoolwork instead of the typical partying and stuff. And I really liked that it was a dry campus.”
Her seriousness as a student acquired Esther a nickname, “the hall mom,” among her friends. “I take care of them, tell them to do their homework and clean their room,” she says.
As serious as she is, Esther also knows how to have fun. When she isn’t studying, she enjoys her position as part of the yearbook staff and going to LEO Club meetings, which she sees as a good opportunity to learn about people of other sexual orientations and share her beliefs about God. She also likes to paint – and play paintball with her boyfriend. Currently she is “halfway teaching myself” to play piano.