Sarah Are

As a Coalition Club leader, Sarah Are danced with glee in the East parking lot when she collected close to $1500 of donation from a bake sale. As a member of the Chamber singers, she fell in love with the song “Hope, Faith, Life, Love.” Now, she plans on bringing both of her passions of singing and helping others to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where she will attend Coe College.

Are plans to double major in religion and music, two things that have been key to her life. Her father, Tom Are, is the Senior Pastor at Village Presbyterian Church, and because of her family’s involvement in the church, Are became very enthusiastic about serving others, most often through mission work. Her will for helping others has taken her to places as local as the Village Food Pantry and as exotic as the Dominican Republic.

Are’s passion for music is easily seen when she strums a chord on her guitar, plays a melody on the piano or bursts into a solo on center stage. While Are is unsure of where her love for singing and helping others will take her, she can’t wait to embrace the experience.

“I want to sing, and Coe has a great music program,” Are said. “I write a lot of songs on the guitar, and they tend to focus on the melody, harmonies and lyrics. I pump out about two a week, but I rarely play for anybody. I think it’s just a great way to clear my thoughts.”

Are’s lyrics are very heartfelt and show her love for music, especially in a snippet of one of her melodies: “I think I’ll stay awake/ cause tonight will be the day/ where I can be myself / and I won’t sleep that away.”

Coe College allows Are that option to be herself and the ability to continue both of her dreams.

“I knew I wanted to go out of state, and I loved the community, size and liberal arts focus of Coe College,” Are said. “I’m not planning on being a musician, but I’m still very passionate about it, and I don’t want to stop. I guess religion would be a more likely career choice.”