Christopher Kalub Anderson

An athlete in high school, Anderson had aspirations of playing baseball in college. However, when he was 17, he traveled to Kenya with his sister to revisit the places he lived during his childhood and to do mission work with his grandfather. What he saw broke his heart.

"There is something about seeing villages of people living on mounds of trash, children hungry and starving to the point of death," Anderson said. "Groups of people who have no hope — that opened my eyes to the world around me. I came back home and lost all my desire to continue a baseball career and started focusing on languages and telling people about Christ."

Anderson took Spanish classes in high school and concentrated on that language as a major at UNG. He also minored in Russian and took several classes in Chinese.

"I knew that I always wanted to learn languages, and I never would have imagined studying Chinese and Russian along with my Spanish major, but because I went to UNG, those opportunities were available," Anderson said.

He credits his instructors for getting the most out of his ability for having an "ear" for language, particularly Mariana Stone, director of the language lab at UNG.

"Mariana Stone really encouraged and pushed me in my language skills. I took her for the most difficult Spanish classes, and I remember thinking 'Why did I take this class?'" Anderson said. "However, every time I left her classes I learned so much and improved in my Spanish skills. She was a vital key in the Spanish department and a vital key to my college years in both a personal and academic way."

Before graduating in the spring 2018, Anderson earned numerous academic achievements but was reluctant to talk about them, saying he just worked hard in every class. He shared that he was on the President's List every year while at UNG, but between classes he worked to pay for school and dedicated time to his local church and discipleship, leaving little time for other extracurricular activities.

Anderson was part of a group of UNG students who showcased the language programs in January 2018 during the monthly meeting of the University System of Georgia (USG) Board of Regents. He was also recognized in February 2018 by the Georgia Board of Regents for his outstanding academic achievements with the 2018 Academic Recognition Day Award.

What can he say that he liked most about UNG?

"There are so many things I could say" Anderson said. "But,  I enjoyed meeting and having friendships with the students and professors. I cannot even describe how amazing the language professors were from the way they teach and care for their students, to the ways they encourage students to go beyond the classroom experience. Some professors who impacted me greatly in both a personal and academic way have been Tatiana Maslova, Chi-Hsuan Catterson, and Mariana Stone. They made my experience in the language department an unforgettable one."

If Anderson could say one thing to current and future students, what would he say?

“I would say that at the end of your life, what truly matters were not what grades you made on your exam, what degrees you have achieved or if you have a so-called ‘happy life.’ What matters the most is how you have loved God, and how you have loved others. These things are eternal. My biggest encouragement would be to not waste your life on things that do not last."