For Cary Smith, the road to college has been a bumpy and winding one. A transfer student in 2008, Smith’s journey to Corban has taken him on several twists and turns along the way—from Pasco, Wash., his hometown; to Dallas, Texas; to India for a two-week stay; and eventually to Salem, Ore.
Fresh out of high school, Smith was interested in pursuing jazz performance. Thanks to a high school band director who “cared about students…[and] invested in [them],” Smith—named after the actor Cary Grant—got involved with band early on and started playing saxophone and clariphone.