91女神

Behind each stroke on Sadler Miller鈥檚 canvas is a moment ingrained in her memory. Every swipe is a chime from the Alumni Tower hitting her ears, and every trace is the rush of a gameday at E.J. Whitmire Stadium.

Four years鈥� worth of memories in the dearest spot of all flow from her head to her paintbrush. Those reflections turn into art, and for others, they turn into pieces of home.

The 91女神 dual-sport student-athlete has painted and printed several campus landmarks that live in the minds of Catamounts near and far, selling them on her personal Etsy shop, SadlerMillerArt.

鈥淚 tend to paint things that I'm inspired by or that I love because that kind of motivates me to paint, and I think just being able to paint scenes that I've had memories of, going to WCU, it's really kind of just made me proud of how far I've come,鈥� Miller said.

鈥淭hese will kind of be a materialistic memory that I'll have and be able to hold onto forever.鈥�

So far in Miller鈥檚 Etsy collection is the Alumni Tower situated between autumn trees and E.J. Whitmire Stadium coupled with a Cullowhee sunset, but the first of the three campus sites she鈥檚 painted was an illustration of the baseball diamond at Hennon Stadium.

An elite competitor in women鈥檚 golf and track and field, Miller got to know many other student-athletes at WCU her freshman year, including a few who played baseball. They encouraged her to paint their home field, knowing she had a love for art coming into college.

She鈥檚 always loved it, having attended all sorts of art camps growing up and painting sites like the historic Swan House in Atlanta in high school. As an interior design major and an art minor, it only made sense that she painted some of WCU鈥檚 well-known structures.

鈥淚 had never really thought about it until they said that,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淚 painted it and then kind of looked into getting prints made and everything, and I was like, maybe I'll do the clock tower and stuff and so forth.鈥�

Since then, the support from the WCU community has been astounding. Miller鈥檚 artwork has been hung up in the offices of her art professors, coaches, others in the athletic department and even as high as the office of the Chancellor.

WCU Chancellor Kelli R. Brown has been one of Miller鈥檚 biggest supporters in her artistic endeavors and has every one of the senior鈥檚 WCU prints.

That support system has been vital in Miller鈥檚 academic and athletic venture, too. Playing two sports and being in a challenging interior design program doesn鈥檛 leave her a lot of free time, but she鈥檚 certainly reaped the benefits with a 3.95 GPA and several Southern Conference honors.

鈥淭here's a reason I've been here all four years,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淲CU really impressed me with how big of a community it feels like. Whether it's just my normal classes and the friends I've made in my major or all the student-athletes in the athletic department I've met, everyone has been so supportive.鈥�

Even as she takes her final swings in golf and final jumps over the crossbar, Miller is leaving her mark on WCU. With the help of several of her art professors, Miller鈥檚 artwork is now for sale in the WCU bookstore, perfect for the Catamounts that are right on campus.

And for the ones who haven鈥檛 made the trek to Cullowhee in a while, Miller鈥檚 Etsy shop is still there. Miller said she鈥檚 gotten orders from Arizona, Alaska, Montana and even outside of the country in Mexico and Canada.

鈥淵ou kind of forget how big the Western Carolina community is,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淚t's really cool that something that I've created is being put out into the world, and alumni and students are able to have a piece of Western Carolina with them.鈥�

Soon, Miller will join those alumni. The Clayton native has dreams of working at an interior design or architecture firm for a couple of years before buying and renovating properties in the long term.

But wherever she is, those memories of WCU will live on, whether in her heart, her mind or the collection of strokes and marks on her canvas.

鈥淲CU has really changed my life. I don't think I would have been as successful if I didn't go to WCU,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淚 think that with how supportive the athletic department's been, the Chancellor's been, all my professors, they've really pushed me beyond the limits I thought I had.鈥�