Sarah is the voice of FOCUS, and by that we mean that she is the loudest person on staff. Her heart for college students grew after she became a Christian as a student at Collin College. She started out in college at UNT studying theatre, and then left there in search of something different, swearing to never go back. The Lord had other plans in mind, and He won her heart and sent her back to be a part of planting UNT FOCUS two years later. After a few beautiful years in Denton, she moved to Arlington to be a part of planting FOCUS at UTA. Mav up! Sarah can be found mall walking and eating cinnamon pretzels with her husband, Brandon (who is almost as funny as she is), singing show tunes, or laughing at her own jokes.
Austin graduated from the UNT. He has a love for Film and his extensive knowledge of movie quotes make their way into about 50% of his conversations. Also, about three times a week, Austin goes out to a local park to enjoy his favorite sport, Disc Golf. Austin will firmly defend the validity of using the term “sport” to describe Disc Golf simply because it’s the only one that he’s ever been any good at. However, Austin’s greatest passion is sharing the Love of God with every person that he interacts with and couldn’t be more excited about this opportunity to do that on college campuses.
After being raised on the inner-city streets of Garland, TX, Jalen and his street cred took their talents to UT Dallas, where Jalen pursued a degree in Mathematics, the discipline of the hood. While Jalen pursued math, God pursued him, leading him into the FOCUS community while he was a freshman. By the time he graduated from UTD, Jalen had developed a deep love for sharing God’s love with college students, which God used to lead him into full-time campus ministry. Jalen feels so privileged to be able to spend his hours ministering to UT Arlington and DBU students while remaining faithful to his secondary passion, dessert.
Emily is a lady of simple pleasures. She loves Jesus, snacks, true crime and meeting new people. Emily came to know Christ her junior year of high school through a simple invitation to come to church. There she was introduced to her Creator who deeply loved her, died for her and who was now inviting her to join His mission. College ministry is near and dear to Emily’s heart because of the relationships she made while on campus. In 2018, Emily graduated from Midwestern State University with a degree in sociology. She has been joyfully serving on as a FOCUS pastor since then. Emily is so excited to be serving at UTA and DBU this year.
As a psychology grad from UTD, Emily is all about people. Getting to share the love of Jesus through deep friendship is her bread and butter. Her other passions include laughing way too hard, listening to new music, Youtube, and eating Chipotle. Emily is excited to pursue her Master’s in Social Work at UTA as she stays on staff with FOCUS part-time this year!
Hannah, a native Texan, completed her B.A. in English at Texas Woman’s University in 2019. It was there that she found Christ through college ministry. After going to her first core at the beginning of her freshman year, she knew she had found a home with FOCUS. Since then, her relationship with the Lord has blossomed and continues to grow. She decided to apply for the apprenticeship with FOCUS, knowing that she wanted to spread the amazing news of Jesus and love other students the way she had been loved throughout her years in college. Although she has no human children, Hannah considers herself a mother to her two-year-old lab mix named Holly. She loves reading, listening to musicals, crocheting, and taking her beloved pup out on walks.
Taylor grew up in Austin and moved to Arlington as a freshman in college at UTA. She is so excited to complete her apprenticeship at UTA where she graduated with her degree in elementary education. Taylor is very passionate about children and can’t wait to love on her students in the classroom, but she knows God will use, stretch, and bless her while pursuing college ministry this year. She loves running, baking, and being goofy- laughter is by far her favorite gift from God!
