By Sondra Rodriguez, Page Editor

For 53 years, Sing Song has consisted of class and club acts, solo and duet performances and engaging hosts and hostesses. But this year, Sing Song: Believe will bring something new to its audience.

As a part of this year’s Sing Song, four students will present life struggles and tragedies in a cardboard testimonial, a form of testimonial in which students hold up a piece of cardboard with a struggle written on one side and praise for the outcome on the other, to the song Anyway by Martina McBride. This segment will take place immediately after intermission.

The four students are Kristen Benton, senior nursing major from Keller; Cody Veteto, junior electronic media and Bible major from Tulsa, Okla.; Keri Gray, freshman political science major from Longview, and Shannon Williamson, first year graduate student in the psychology program from New Orleans, La.

The struggles coincide with the lyrics of the song Anyway, which has lyrics that say, “God is great but sometimes life ain’t good. And when I pray, it doesn’t always turn out like I think it should, but I do it anyway, I do it anyway.”

Williamson will share a personal experience she has been dealing with for years.

“I lost my home in Hurricane Katrina in 2005,” Williamson said. “Mine says, ‘God shook my faith,’ on one side, and, ‘He showed me His master plan,’ on the other.”

The idea for the Anyway segment was developed by downstage co-chair Anna Peters, senior ministry to children and families major from Houston, and Tom Craig, director of Student Productions.

Peters said the production crew agreed it was time to make an uplifting statement that all generations will be able to appreciate.

“With the things that have happened on campus and the way our economy has been, this will be a nice and refreshing thing to bring to Sing Song this year,” Peters said.

She said one of the hostesses’ voices fits the song perfectly, and the production staff immediately fell in love with the song.

“Part of Sing Song is not letting the ‘Believe’ momentum die, so each song in the show will take you higher and higher,” she said. “This song is uplifting; it’s got messages that are alluded to that the crowd will really be touched by.”

Williamson said the students involved were humbled by the opportunity to share these struggles with the Sing Song audience.

“It’s not about people knowing our business or feeling sorry for us,” she said. “We just want to bear witness for what God has done in our lives.”

Peters said the Anyway segment will be a refreshing and touching addition to the Sing Song experience.

“These four student leaders are willing to tell their story in ways that you will be unseen by,” she said.