Navigating college at Liberty: Podcast equips students with helpful life lessons

January marked the beginning of season two of Liberty’s “University Overwhelm” podcast. Hosted by Scott Busby and Sophia Payne, “University Overwhelm” aims to give Liberty students the advice they need to not only survive university but thrive as well.

The first episode was released in April 2023. Season one of the podcast contained episodes about all things university life and navigating life as a Christian college student.

However, Payne and Busby decided to give season two a theme.

Payne and Busby want to equip students with the knowledge they need to discern what church to attend.

For example, in the episode released Feb. 20,  Payne and Busby informed students about “How to Figure Out What a Church Believes.”

Payne and Busby have not been working alone to equip students; they have had many local church pastors and other leaders on “University Overwhelm” to share their perspectives on students’ involvement in the local church.

“It has just been encouraging to be reminded that the Christian community of Lynchburg loves and cares for students,” Busby said.

Payne shared how season two of the podcast has been a reminder to her of the beauty of church community and the necessity of discipleship and accountability that the local church gives.

“I feel like I’ve gleaned a lot of wisdom, either from Scott or from the guys that we’ve interviewed or just conversations we’ve had,” Payne said.

When asked about the advice he would give to students who are already overwhelmed, Busby said often people put too much pressure on themselves. They think they are the main character of life’s story when, in reality, they are a part of God’s story.

“Do what you can to understand your place in God’s story. I think that’s at the core of biblical flourishing and biblical thriving,” Busby said.

While the podcast is currently focused on preventing being overwhelmed via church involvement, both Payne and Busby said that the first thing they would ask students who are overwhelmed is whether they need more sleep.

“College can be a weird time,” Busby said. “(People act) as if college students don’t need the same things that human beings need — as if you’re in this weird bubble of time in which you can subsist on two hours of sleep and on the pizza you get from the ROT.”

Payne voiced her desire for the podcast to help the students on campus learn how to better manage feelings of being overwhelmed.

“We always want (the podcast) to be what students need to hear at the time,” Payne said.

The podcast is ultimately meant to leave Liberty students fully equipped to thrive both in and out of the university.

The podcast can be listened to on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and more information can be found on Instagram @libertycommunitylife.

Lunney is a news reporter for the Liberty Champion