Whoa Mama Wednesday- Ally Steiger

Everyone has adventures in college. Whether you move far from home, change majors twenty times or take a few road trips, everyone’s university years are jam packed with new faces. New faces equal new adventures. Life has definitely been an adventure since I met Ally.

Right off the bat the noticeable thing is that we had the same name. We both had dark hair, about 63 inches of height and a habit of getting up early once a week to pray with our friends. The similarities, at that time, stopped there. Allison McKenna Steiger hailed from a suburb of Chicago called Arlington Heights. Being a tried and true northerner, she felt the need to prove her cold weather immunity by donning sandals and refusing a jacket in the dead of winter. She seemed never to tire of comparing “back home” and “down here” in her then thick Illinois accent. As time went on, I got to know Ally for much more than a dry-humored sassy girl from the city.

Steigers know loads of things, partially because patriarch, Joe, challenges then to learn something new each year. Generally, they are well learned in academics, music, athletics, and any number of random skills. Ally is no exception. Her cooking skills are excellent, she knits and sews (and not just because it’s trendy), and she is a die-hard Cubs fan. Foreign Affairs is her only magazine subscription. Washington DC was the site of her research internship. And though you may already think I have painted her as a sort of super woman, those are only a few things she likes and the things she can do.

Sometimes when the newness wears off of those co-ed faces, you find shallow and insecure girls with little purpose. Not this girl. Year after year, I’ve watched her become more sure of her worth, more passionate about real issues and more aware of God’s hand on her life. When others would shy away from correction or challenge, Ally grabs it with both hands ever-believing she’s made to look increasingly like her Maker. She risks bravely in the hardest places, dismantling every wall in her heart to receive the fullest and most beautiful freedom. With the same determination she lives to see others obtain that same freedom whether that is on the Hill or in Lawrence, Kansas. Allison Steiger is a champion of freedom.

Ally, I salute you!