BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Sara (Davis) Moody knew from the age of five that she wanted to pursue a career in the medical field.  Living in Hawaii at the time, she broke her ankle playing kickball in her yard.  After a visit to the doctor, she realized then that she wanted to help people.
 
Sara's path not only led her to an eventual career as a physician's assistant, but first to Campbell University, where she was a standout on the soccer team, met her future husband, and eventually settled in the area to raise a family while beginning her medical training.
 
Campbell was not Sara's first college choice, but the two-time graduate has made Harnett County her home for nearly a quarter century that has been filled with joys and challenges as she and her husband Chad raised six kids.
 
The generosity of Fighting Camel fans, alumni, family, and friends truly makes a difference in the lives of student-athletes at Campbell University.  Through the newly created Women's Empowerment Fund, the Fighting Camel Club's goal is to make that experience even better, specifically for our female student-athletes.  To join the Fighting Camel Club, click here.
 
"Without (my scholarships), I probably wouldn't have gone to Campbell, because it's not a cheap school," Sara recalled.  "I would not have played soccer, that's where I've made most of my friendships, got me through school. 
It's just an amazing opportunity I would not have had; my whole life would have been different."
 
An early start
Born in Camp Pendleton, Calif., Sara moved to Hawaii with her parents Al (who served in the Marine Corps) and Marie.  Introduced at age four to soccer by her mom and dad, both of whom played the sport, she became a goal scorer early on.
 
After moving to Jacksonville, N.C., in the third grade, Sara continued to excel in soccer and competed on boys' teams until the age of 13 before going on to earn an all-area and all-conference honors at Jacksonville High School.  She also played basketball and volleyball and was a National Honor Society student before accepting a Presidential academic scholarship in addition to her soccer grant-in-aid and enrolling at Campbell in the fall of 2000.
 
Why Campbell?
"UNCW was my first choice because I love the beach, but they didn't want me for soccer," she said.  "I was obsessed with soccer, obviously, but when I came to visit Campbell, I really loved the Coach, really loved the campus, the small classes, the Christian atmosphere.  I knew I wanted to go into science and I I liked that feeling of a community, which I got when I visited, and I knew that it would be that way when I was there."
 
On the field, Sara earned Atlantic Sun all-freshman team honors after leading the 2000 squad in scoring with 12 points (4 goals, 4 assists).  A year later, she was a first-team all-conference and third-team All-South region choice after she led the league with 11 goals and helped the team to the best turnaround (nine more wins) among all Division I programs.
 
During her sophomore season, Sara scored both goals in a 2-0 triumph over UNCW in Buies Creek.  A year later, she tallied the game-winner in a season-opening 4-0 victory at Wilmington.
 
Not only did Sara rank among the top scorers in the league, but she played a major role as the Camels became a contender in the ASUN.  Over her final three seasons, the Camels posted a 32-21-3 overall record, including a 22-9-0 mark in conference play.
 
Off the field, she was a Dean's List student who earned ASUN academic honors in addition to twice being selected for the Academic All-District Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
 
When Sara scored her final goal – the winner in a 1-0 Senior Day victory over Stetson on Oct. 25, 2003 – she ranked second among all-time Campbell women's soccer leaders with 30 goals.  Twenty-one years later, she still stands fourth and is tied for sixth in CU record books with 75 points (30 goals, 15 assists).
 
Not only does Sara remember fondly the friendships she made among her teammates as ones that have endured, but also the relationships that started with community members.
 
"I ended up going to church with a lot of my professors, and those friendships even to this day like Dr. (Mark) Hammond, Dr. (Tim) Metz, all those people that worked there all those years.  The friendships we have made, and the community are so special."
 
Life changes
Like many Campbell students, Sara met her future spouse in Buies Creek.  Chad Moody was a member of the 1998 ASUN men's cross country championship team and a rising senior when Sara showed up for preseason training in August 2000.
 
"That first week, we had a back-to-school dance.  (Chad) squeezed his way in and said, 'hey,' and started talking to me," she said.
 
When Sara was on a date with another guy, walking around the Wal-Mart in Erwin (yes, that was a 'thing' back then), she ran into Chad.
 
"After that I never dated anybody else," she recalled.
 
After graduating in the spring of 2004, Sara and Chad were married and moved to Charlotte, where he was teaching high school.  After their first child, Isabella, was born the next year, they returned to Buies Creek, where Chad began a 10-year stint as a research assistant studying breast cancer and muscular dystrophy under Dr. Thomas Abraham in CU's College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
 
With her eventual goal of medical school still in mind, Sara served as a teaching assistant in the pharmacy school and stayed in contact with the women's soccer program while serving as a camp instructor.
 
Sara and Chad welcomed their daughter, Cali, into the family, but one year later, she was diagnosed with a stage four malignant brain tumor.
 
The Moody family had recently started attending Grace Community Church in Angier, where Sara had been involved during her undergraduate days.  She remembered Pastor Brad Talley attending soccer games during her playing career and the family was immediately welcomed back into the church community.
 
"It was almost like God was prepping everything for this terrible thing to happen," said Sara.  "The way it all worked out was His way for sure."
 
Daughters, Jazlyn and Scarlett, came along followed by sons Paxon and Saber as the Moody family grew.  All the while, Cali was battling cancer.
 
Sara chose to pursue her Emergency Medical Technician license, in part because the hours she accumulated would fulfill requirements needed for future admission to a Physician's Assistant School.
 
The Moody's continued to stay connected with their alma mater through Grace Community Church's "adopt a college student program."  Little did they know that two Campbell women's soccer players, Ashley Clark and Melissa Messier would become much more than just occasional visitors to the family.
 
"Both Ashley and Melissa started going to Grace Community Church, and that's where we met them," said Sara.  "They would come over to dinner and hang out with our kids.  Ashley even had the kids come spend the night at her (on campus) apartment with her roommates.  We got really close to them during those years they were at Campbell and playing soccer."
 
Before a Campbell match in 2011 that included a cancer awareness promotion during Ashley's and Melissa's freshman season, Sara shared Cali's story with the team.  The Moody family thought of Cali as being "Lion Strong" during her multiple bouts with cancer.
 
Clark would hold Cali during church services and as a Certified Nursing Assistant, Messier became Cali's nurse. 
 
"Ashley helped us make some bracelets that had 'Lion Strong' printed on them to sell and make some money (for medical bills)," said Sara.  "She ended up getting a "Lion Strong" tattoo and Melissa did it too on the same night."
 
On August 24, 2015, Clark scored three goals in a Campbell win over Albany, and the Moody family was in attendance to see her move past Sara on the career scoring list.
 
That same year, Sara began working as a medical assistant at Fast Med in Fuquay-Varina, while still spending most of her time at home with the kids.
 
"It wasn't until 2018 when Cali passed away, that somebody from Fast Med mentioned to me, 'what's stopping you now?' regarding her plans to enroll in PA school.
 
A new challenge
Unlike some other PA school programs, Campbell would accept Sara's pre-requisite classes for admission because she attended CU as an undergraduate.
 
"I thought, if this wasn't a sign, then nothing is," she said.
 
She began her studies – on a virtual basis – in the Physician Assistant program in July 2020 during the height of the Covid-19 shutdown.
 
"I was home, and so were all of my children," she said.  "We have wonderful kids. Even Saber, who started kindergarten that year, had to do virtual school, and get that work done first."
 
The fact that youth sports and other activities were on hold during the fall semester of 2020 turned out to be a blessing for the Moody family.  They didn't have to figure out how to get the children shuttled to various activities.  To find a quiet place to concentrate, Sara often visited classmates, who didn't have kids, for small study groups.
 
"The PA program at Campbell is amazing," said Sara.  "Their goal is to get everybody through.  You're not a number, you're a person.  If you have any issues, or any problem, concerns, they would do everything in their power to get you to graduate.  I remember at that first Christmas break, Dr. (Laura) Gerstner told me that if you've made it to this point so far, we're going to get you to graduation.  How much they cared was amazing!"
 
Campbell's PA program focuses on a "patient-centered, clinically practical, evidence-based curriculum" to prepare students to enter one of the fastest growing health care professions. 
 
"The PA has to go through years of experience before getting into school, and there's something about having all those hours of patient contact," said Sara.  "Medicine can be a band-aid at times, but let's find out what's causing the problem, the root of the problem and get you feeling better."
 
The Campbell community
The connections between the Moody family, Campbell University and the surrounding community remain strong.
 
Isabella is now enrolled at UNC Charlotte, where she is a double major in biology and Spanish and plans on attending PA school at Campbell.  Recently Ashley gave 'Bella' her first tattoo, while appropriately reads, "Lion Strong."
 
Jazlyn and Scarlett attend Willow Springs High School, Paxon is at Herbert Akins Middle and Saber at Willow Springs Elementary.
 
A plaque at the soccer stadium bears Cali's name, thanks to an honorary donation from Bob Barker.
 
For someone whose first choice wasn't Campbell, Sara's feelings about her alma mater and the surrounding community are truly evident, and she truly loves the opportunity to support young people in the way that she and her family have been supported in the past.
 
"Living in this community, helping people in the fashion that I wanted to be helped, in the same community I went to school…"
 
After her voice trailed off, Sara offered her advice to anyone who is starting their college journey, whether they are an athlete or not, and leans into the words she shared not only with the Campbell soccer players in the past, but most recently with her oldest daughter.
 
"Enjoy these days because you have these strong bonds and friendships," she said.  "Most of you are not going to go out and play professional soccer.  You're going to have a real life.  Real stuff's going to happen.  That doesn't have a lot to do with if you played soccer, but it could have a lot to do with what you do in these college years.  Put everything you have into. Have fun, enjoy it because those years are short.  It's like a blink."