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Wilmington Sisters Follow Family Tradition

Baylah and Bryah Arehart Have Known WC All Their Lives It seems Baylah and Bryah Arehart were destined to attend Wilmington College. Growing up in Wilmington, their family photos were taken among the colorful hardwoods in WC’s Hazard Arboretum, both attended Steve Spirk’s soccer camps on campus, they saw their high school football teams’ games at the College’s Williams Stadium and they regularly attended College-Community Summer Theatre shows in Heiland Theatre. PICTURED: Baylah (LEFT) and Bryah Arehart joke with one another as they walk across campus this past fall. “As a child, I remember passing the College and seeing the Rock. I was always interested in what was painted on it,” said Baylah, a senior majoring in agricultural business. Sophomore Bryah added, “I’ve always loved the campus — it’s beautiful.” While it’s truthful to say Bryah followed Baylah to Wilmington College, it might be more accurate to state that the sisters were simply the next wave of family members to come to WC. Indeed, both of their grandfathers, Dean Snow and Bill Arehart, are alumni; their father, Billy Arehart attended WC and three of their cousins, Justin, Brandon and Michaela Arehart, also are alums. Joining the sisters on campus this year are two more cousins, junior Clyde Snow and freshman Makenzie Fentress. “We have lots of ties to WC. I guess we keep recruiting people from our family,” Baylah said, noting that when her longtime boyfriend, 2016 graduate Kelly Penquite, invited her to join him for a shift of “lamb watch” during the animals’ birthing season, she was hooked. “It was so cool and made me want to come here even more,” she said. Bryah also followed her sister into the ag-business major, Kappa Delta sorority and appreciating WC’s hands-on learning opportunities that are especially inherent in studying agriculture. “My very first day of classes as a freshman, I was giving a goat a shot,” she recalled. “Right off the bat, you have to jump in and do it. You can’t be scared. We have such a great agriculture program here in little Wilmington!” “At WC, you get to learn things you wouldn’t even do on your own family farm,” Baylah added, noting that learning-by-doing complements what is taught in the classroom. “Our toes are in a little bit of everything: agronomy, meat science, business, even art. I feel my ag-business major makes me a well-rounded college student.” Bryah was especially impressed that a recent career fair at the College brought to light a number of agriculture-related jobs she hadn’t even considered. She plans to look closely at opportunities that surface for her sister as Baylah enters the finals months before graduation in May. “Baylah showed me the ropes and encouraged me to join KD,” Bryah said. “I looked at everything she and Kelly did in ag-business and they loved it. I decided I wanted to do that too.” Baylah is the eldest of four Arehart sisters with Bryah third in line. “I’ve always tried to set the standard and be a role model for them,” Baylah said. “That’s given me the motivation to be a leader in other areas of my life too.” Baylah is president of the agriculture honor society, Delta Tau Alpha, and over her time at WC has been involved with Aggies, Collegiate 4-H student government and work in the Admission Office. She has a part-time job processing chickens with a local farm and both sisters work at Everyday Chic Boutique in downtown Wilmington, which is owned and operated by 2013 alumnus Karli Harris. “Growing up in this community, you think you know everything about Wilmington College,” Baylah said, “but it’s a whole another world when you’re a student here — and it’s great. For me, going to the College has made my hometown even more homey.” Indeed, both maintain close ties with the community, which they feel would prosper even more if college-educated residents prevent so-called “brain-drain” and stay in Wilmington to live and work — ideally both. “We feel passionate about both the College and the community,” Baylah added. “This campus has a big place in both of our hearts.”