Sara Vigne: Torchbearer 100 inductee

By Rose Jackson

Each semester, Florida State University’s Division of Student Affairs names a new inductee class for the Torchbearer 100 Program. The program comprises 100 diverse and extraordinary students who excel in leadership, legacy, and community and campus impact during their college career at FSU.

These 100 students are chosen because they best exemplify the university’s core values: transformative daring; inspired excellence; dynamic inclusiveness; responsible stewardship; and engaged community.

FSU English-Editing, Writing, and Media major Sara Vigne, who is graduating in Spring 2024, earned a well-deserved spot in the 2023 inductee class. During an April 25 celebration at the Student Union, FSU awarded the new 100 students with a medallion to wear.

Vigne, who has a second major in professional sales, has a long backstory with FSU, starting when her parents attended the university. She grew up being a Nole, and Vigne remembers always loving FSU, visiting campus, and attending football games.

The beautiful campus, along with FSU’s well-rounded academic programs, attracted Vigne, a Sarasota local, to earn a couple of FSU degrees for herself. When deciding to add a second major to her professional sales degree, Vigne contemplated options that would both complement her sales degree and align with her goals for the future.

“I kind of just sat back and I thought, wait, I love English, I have always loved writing,” she says, a realization that motivated Vigne to choose English-Editing, Writing, and Media as her second major.

She admits that an English degree is not a conventional pairing with a business degree in professional sales. To Vigne, however, college is about “studying what you enjoy,” a perspective that has been “tremendously” helpful for her, even in her business classes.

Vigne’s plans for her senior year of undergraduate studies will continue to exemplify why she is in the Torchbearer 100 Program. She will be on the FSU Sales team in the fall of 2023 and spring of 2024, and she is considering the position of coach for the sales team in her final semester. Additionally, she will be an intern-writer for the Department of English.

“I’m staying involved in all the things I am already in and continuing to put myself out there,” Vigne says, expressing excitement for her senior year at FSU.

She says she also is eager to figure out her detailed career plans, aiming to have a smooth transition into a post-graduate lifestyle. Vigne is currently completing a summer internship in sales for Stryker, a medical device company in Sarasota. Even though she has been working intense 18-hour days, she says the hard work is nonetheless worth it for the experience.

“English is the reason that I have all these experiences,” Vigne says. “I never saw myself as an editor or writer, but English has been such a tool for me in my work.”

English studies, she adds, help her master “skills everyone should have,” like interviews, communication, effective articulation, active listening, and analysis.

Vigne first learned of the Torchbearer 100 Program from a mentor who also was a member of the program. Originally, she doubted if she was involved enough on campus to qualify, but she took a chance, applied, and got an interview.

“I wouldn't consider myself a very involved person, but I would say I'm pretty well-rounded which is what makes you a Torchbearer,” she points out.

Even though Vigne is certainly qualified to be a Torchbearer, she remains humble about her experience and accomplishments. She was a director of academics at her sorority, Alpha Phi, and she eventually became a mentor to other members. She was a writer for Strike Magazine, which helped her hone her creative skills, and she was a contributing writer for Nomadic Noles, a magazine produced by English-EWM students who study abroad in Valencia, Spain. Vigne studied there in the summer of 2022.

English is the reason that I have all these experiences. I never saw myself as an editor or writer, but English has been such a tool for me in my work.

— Sara Vigne

To hone her skills in sales, Vigne has worked at Orange Theory Fitness, selling gym memberships. She says the position gave her significant access to community outreach, which, in turn, made a difference in her customers’ lives.

“I went on to get a role in the medical sales track and that is all about making a difference in people’s lives,” she says.

Vigne expresses sincere dedication for committing herself to roles such as ones that help others improved their circumstances in life. She works toward achieving the Torchbearer core values by fully immersing herself in her opportunities and various roles as a student and a professional.

“The biggest mistake people make is building their résumé with a hundred things but skipping every meeting,” she says. “So, I’ve made it my goal to be involved enough that I can stay busy but also succeed in everything I do.”

Vigne knows being a part of the Torchbearer Program with 99 other students of excellence is a great honor and opportunity.

“If you surround yourself with motivated and driven people you’re going to do well,” she says.

Outside of her college and work commitments, Vigne loves to write and read, but she also enjoys training for and running marathons and staying active in general. Her article in the Summer 2022 issue of Nomadic Noles focused on how students studying abroad could maintain their exercise and workout routines.

As her mind runs blank on naming more hobbies, Vigne humorously repeats the question posed to her: “What are my hobbies?” before explaining, “It’s hard to find hobbies during school; I don't have time.”

Looking ahead to her future after graduation, Vigne hopes her summer internship with Stryker leads to a full-time job in medical sales. She says she loves the fast-paced environment of her work, and she enjoys the profession for the network of connections she can build.

Relating her career aspirations back to her English studies, Vigne says, “English is all about learning how to communicate with a wide, diverse range of people and this has helped me in my sales roles.”

Vigne recommends applying for the Torchbearer 100 Program to all FSU students, even if there is doubt about qualifying. Like Vigne, applying to become a member could lead to an interview, and being an English major opens up many opportunities for success.

As Vigne encourages students, “Take the leap.”

Rose Jackson is a senior with a major in English-Editing, Writing, and Media and a minor in Humanities.

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