Logan Builds Her Tomorrow, One Brave Step at a Time

SALISBURY, MD---There’s a moment in Logan Lankford’s college journey she still remembers clearly.

She was a new orientation leader at Salisbury University, sitting in a room of nearly 60 students. Everyone around her seemed outgoing, energetic, and completely comfortable with themselves. Logan sat quietly in the corner, wondering how she fit into it all.

Today, it’s almost impossible for her to imagine staying in that corner.

“I may look like an outgoing person now, but I wasn’t always,” Logan said. “SU is honestly the place that built my confidence.”

A health sciences major from Princess Anne, MD, Logan has spent the past four years saying yes to opportunities that pushed her beyond her comfort zone. Looking back, she sees a pattern: Every meaningful step in her journey started with someone believing in her.

“One of the best things about SU is that people really get to know you,” Logan said. “I’ve had so many opportunities here because people are always thinking about me and wanting to help me succeed.”

Those people showed up everywhere she turned: professors who encouraged her to apply for scholarships and study abroad programs, mentors who connected her with internships, and friends who nudged her toward opportunities she never would have pursued on her own.

One of those opportunities changed the course of her college experience.

As a freshman, Logan enrolled in an Honors course that required students to complete a major research project. The assignment intimidated her far more than it excited her.

Still, she did it.

Drawing on her experience teaching pre-K students who grew up during the COVID-19 pandemic, Logan explored how creative therapies like music and art could support children’s development. The project opened doors she never expected, leading to conference presentations, publication opportunities, and a realization that would stay with her long after the class ended: She was capable of more than she knew.

“Throughout my time at SU, people have always challenged me to be a better version of myself – and they helped me take that next step.”

And then the next one.

When Logan learned she had been chosen for a Fulbright opportunity in Scotland, she faced another intimidating first. She had barely flown before. Suddenly, she was boarding a plane and crossing an ocean by herself.

By the time she came home, she trusted herself in a way she never had before.

Next year, Logan will head to Bulgaria as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant before pursuing her doctorate in physical therapy. She’ll step into it the way she’s stepped into every life-changing opportunity so far: with equal parts courage and curiosity.

“The best thing you can find is people who see your strength before you do,” she said. “Sometimes that’s all you need to see it in yourself.”

As she prepares for her next adventure, that’s the lesson she’ll carry with her and the one she hopes others take with them, too: Some of the best things in life begin the moment you take the leap.