Class of ’26 | Sadler Powell

Sadler Powell | Raleigh, North Carolina

When he took his first tour of Campbell, Sadler Powell had already decided on another school. His Buies Creek visit had more of an “it couldn’t hurt to look” vibe to it. The tour, of course, made an impact. Powell loved the environment on campus and liked what he heard about the opportunities available in the trust and wealth management program.

“Everybody was so nice — the students, the professors, everybody,” he says. “I came here when I was younger for football camps and always remembered seeing the stadium, the dining halls and the chapel, and that always meant a lot to me to see a school with a chapel out in the open like that. The Christian atmosphere here is important for me.”

His goal for the next four years is simple: “When I look back, I want to say I did everything I wanted to do in college. I want to say that I found great friends, and I did everything I wanted to do in my major. And one day, I hope to be able to give back to Campbell University.”

These stories are only the beginning. For this edition of Campbell Magazine, they’re an introduction to 12 students —chosen randomly during the third of four summer orientations hosted on the main campus this year — and a documentation of expectations heading into a four-year college journey.

All 12 agreed to give us more than just the 20 minutes it took to talk and take a few photos back in June. They’re allowing us to check in over the next four years to help chronicle their Campbell experience. And they’ve all agreed to sit down with us again in May 2026 to share their updated stories (and take a few more photos). In order to tell a story of growth and maturation, it’s best to start at the very beginning.

These interviews revealed a heightened sense of hope for a group whose high school careers were defined and marred by a global pandemic. Online classes became the norm, and many of their gatherings and social events were masked or socially distanced. Proms, athletic events and milestone ceremonies were either canceled, altered or virtual.

“Man is, by nature, a social animal,” Aristotle once wrote. Second to earning a degree and starting a career, this class is eager to connect socially with their peers and become part of an “experience” and a community that they mostly missed out on in high school.

It’s our hope that all 12 of these students join us again in four years to tell us all about their Campbell experience. We’re confident that those who do will return older, wiser, more confident and ready to take on the world.

We’re excited to tell these stories. See you in 2026.