Sarah Dove quickly learned that, try as you may, you simply cannot add more hours to a day. Still, the new Women’s College freshman seems determined to keep trying. As one of four Brenau Scholars for 2013-14, Dove juggles her busy class schedule as a theater major with a work-study job at the Brenau University library, her passion for volunteering – which she found while working with the Girl Scouts in high school – and her continued involvement in community theater in her hometown of Winder, Ga.

“I’m also interested in joining the theater honor society, Alpha Psi Omega, of course,” Dove says, adding that her job at the library is a fun way to be involved in the Brenau community. “I would love to be involved in some sort of community service or public outreach of some sort, if I could add some hours to the day.”

Through an internship with the Winder-Barrow Community Theatre, Dove developed a passion for the stage, but not so much for being in the spotlight as learning how to turn the spotlight on. She credits the guidance of her mentor, Winder Cultural Arts Director Don Wildsmith, for teaching her the technical aspects of putting on plays.

“Don was an inspiring figure who really helped me explore parts of the technical theater I never had access to before, and I loved every minute of it,” Dove says. “I was always told that you should want a job that makes you excited to work, and technical theater is that for me.” Now, she hopes to expand her horizon as a student in Brenau’s highly acclaimed technical theater program, which provides plenty of practical experience through the professionally run Gainesville Theatre Alliance and other university programs. Dove plans to kick the tires on some career options by learning her way around the sound boards and lighting consoles at Brenau’s performance spaces.

However, Dove’s main focus is the classroom.

“My education has always been of primary importance to me, so maintaining a good GPA is high on the list of priorities,” she says. “For the most part, to be honest, I spent a lot of my time in high school focusing on school and learning, which has always been important to me.”