As a young 17-year-old trying to figure out what her life would look like after high school, Gillian Thompson’s mom gave her advice that would impact every decision that she would make over the next four years. “Find a place where you’ll say yes more than you say no, because those are truly your people.” 

That advice helped her decide that the right place for her was Anderson University.   

Today, Gillian is a senior double majoring in Public Relations and Costume Design. With her mom’s advice echoing in the back of her mind, Gillian has made it a priority to get involved in many different areas of campus life.  

She holds a Content Creator position for Anderson University Marketing and Communication, is the Communications Specialist for AVI, the Social Media Manager for Farsketched, and is currently developing a thrifting club with friends! 

As a senior, Gillian feels it is a privilege to be here and thanks God that she gets to be involved in these things because of Him. “I get to” is the mindset that Gillian reminds herself of daily. 

As she describes her passion for learning and how she fell in love with Costume Design, her face lights up. 

“Once I got down there (to the costume shop), I fell in love. Getting into that community in the costume shop is what made me want to be there even more. … I have learned so much just based off of their mentorship, because they are genuinely interested in communicating and connecting with their students, not just in a student/professor relationship, but as a mentor/mentee relationship too.” 

Gillian’s Anderson story has been one of finding community in unexpected places—connections with professors, employers, and co-workers. She believes that seeking wisdom from others older than her is invaluable. Invariably tied with her Anderson community has been Gillian’s bond with her family throughout her college career. 

Family has been the most influential piece of Gillian’s success as a student and employee. She describes where her love of learning came from, saying, “My parents are my best friends. They were both professors at one point and they have both instilled in me such a hunger for knowledge and information and for growth. … They love people so well, and I have definitely taken that on from them.” 

In a podcasting class Thompson took with Assistant Professor of Communication Bobby Rettew, she created a podcast with her dad called Reasonable Faith, an in-depth look into logical and philosophical arguments for faith in God. 

“My dad has such a hunger for knowledge and new information that he instilled in me. Whenever I learned something cool, I called my dad. That especially happened during Rhetoric. Socrates was always in our house. Whenever I got into rhetoric, we read a lot of Socrates and other similar writers. I would read my textbook and call my dad and explain everything to him. In podcasting class, we had to come up with a topic and have guests on the podcast. I was so used to calling my dad for different classes that I was like, well, I’ll have my dad on the podcast.” 

Gillian is clearly passionate about what she is studying and her attention to detail is evident. For Gillian, “It feels like there isn’t anywhere where you can’t get inspired.” 

Gillian shared about an AU memory that she will carry with her after graduation. She says, “Living in Whitaker with my suitemates… was so much fun. It was only the four of us, instead of 6 people, and the last suite was empty. We would all hang out in the skinny little hallway in our suite, and we sat on the floor eating strawberries on Valentine’s Day.” Gillian goes on to explain that it wasn’t the activity itself that was important—the friendships gained along the way were the missing pieces to the puzzle. Community became essential for Thompson, who adds, “That was super foundational to our friendship and the two girls that were sitting there with me were my bridesmaids in my wedding.” 

When asked about the growth she has experienced while at Anderson, Thompson said, “Great Purpose has had a lot of influence on my growth here. Because I had the opportunity to get involved in so many places, I have a résumé and portfolio that will help me get launched in the real world right off the bat.” 

Even though Gillian is involved campus-wide, she is much more than the roles she has had on campus. She is known for her kindness to others, creativity in projects, and her warm and inviting presence. 

Gillian’s advice to other students is “you become like the people you are around, so don’t just find people who are in the same place as you, find people that you want to be more like.” She has lived out this value throughout her time at Anderson, always seeking to grow and improve through relationships with people who have different backgrounds and perspectives than her own. 

Gillian graduates this May, but she will carry on the experiences she has had at Anderson into the rest of her life as an alumna, and hopes that many other students find their people and say yes more than they say no.