Since his recent hiring as the sixth President of Anderson University, Scott Moats and his wife Sheryl have appeared at numerous events across campus. They’ve hosted events, they’ve met with students and staff, and overall they have been a welcoming and friendly presence to incoming and returning Ravens and the community. In one of Sheryl Moats’ first appearances to the students, she made it clear that if the Raven flag was flying outside the president’s house, students could come in and get cookies baked by her. Many students have been very intrigued by this, so Sheryl Moats was asked to reflect on her baking endeavors and first few months at Anderson University.
“Meet out by the flag or ring the doorbell when the flag is raised, and you can expect cookies,” said Sheryl. She enjoys sitting down with students, getting to know them, discussing their time here at AU, and overall being a welcoming presence. She is very clear in her goal of wanting to welcome students with open arms, and her baking is a catalyst for that. As a former home economics teacher, she has been baking for students for years, so coming into AU, she knew immediately she wanted to use her gifts and skills to the best of her abilities to create a warm and welcoming presence for the Ravens. She said she has already made over 400 cookies. However, the numbers are not what she is looking at; it’s the connections with students that she is after.
Sheryl said that despite the moving process and the renovations and the new commitments, the people on campus are her reason for being here, and being on campus at AU has just always felt right. Neither she nor Scott have ever been in a presidential position in any of their previous universities, but they have worked closely under them for many years. She knows especially that she isn’t like any of the other presidential wives she’s met. She is far more involved and willing to step into the work alongside the president, as well as meeting with and building relationships with others. When asked if she came into this position intending to be involved, or if it happened naturally, she said, “I’m just being me.”
Sheryl further stated her passions towards this statement of being her authentic self. She discusses the classic children’s story “The Velveteen Rabbit” which is about a stuffed rabbit who is loved by a boy. The story follows the toy rabbit learning that to be loved is to become real, before he slowly becomes the boy’s favorite. After the boy becomes sick with scarlet fever, the rabbit is thrown out. However, because he was loved by the boy, a fairy turns him into a real rabbit. Sheryl took a lot of inspiration and insight from this story, even having the paragraph on what it meant to be real highlighted and marked. She both strongly intends and sees herself as being solely real, unwilling to pretend to be fancy or perfect.
Sheryl is a very driven and intentional person, taking great inspiration in faith and in literature. She intends to get to know and give students a friendly, welcoming environment, and uses her baking as a means to achieve this.