By Lindsey White
Assistant Editor of Arts and Entertainment
With nervous excitement fluttering in his stomach, John Anderson stepped out of the limo to greet Gabbi and Rachel, the Bachelorettes for season 19 of the popular ABC show.
“Right when I stepped out of the limo, all my fears hit me. I lost what I was going to say, started shaking a little bit, my voice started cracking and I ended up messing up Gabbi’s name. I called her Rachel,” said Anderson, class of 2021 Trevecca alum.
Luckily, he found this mishap was reflective of his personality in an endearing way.
“That’s kind of my personality—a little awkward sometimes,” said Anderson.
According to Anderson, being on The Bachelorette was an idea that started as a joke with his teammates on the baseball team at Trevecca.
“We were at practice one day, and someone asked me what I was going to do next year and I said, ‘I’m gonna be on The Bachelorette,’ just messing around, and sure enough, it just went into my lap,” said Anderson.
His friends were surprised that he would be willing to take up such a vulnerable adventure, said Trey Vanderpool, Anderson’s teammate and friend.
“John is one of the funniest people I’ve ever met, but he takes a little bit to open up to people and for people to understand his humor. He’s a little bit introverted, so I think everyone was shocked when he told us he was actually going,” said Vanderpool.
Anderson went into the show with an open mind to find love and plenty of learning moments.
“The show’s all about finding love, so I was open to it. I didn’t know if it was gonna happen, but I wasn’t against it, and really it was an experience,” said Anderson.
One of the greatest lessons he learned from his experience on The Bachelorette was how precious time is. According to Anderson, with little time allotted for each person to get to know the girls, he had to learn to make his count by being as open and vulnerable as possible.
“I met some amazing people, life-long friends, and learned a lot about myself and how to be more vulnerable,” said Anderson.
Trevecca is a place where Anderson gained a solid footing in his identity and learned not to waver in it, he said.
“You don’t have to be somebody different for someone to like you,” said Anderson. “I think that’s what I took from Trevecca into the show”.
According to Marcia Walker, director of clinical practices and field experience, his personality on the show well-represented him.
“John’s persona of him mirrored what we saw in him everyday. He stayed true to who he was and did not allow the environment to compromise his integrity,” said Walker.
His participation in The Bachelorette allowed him to meet people he found to be very genuine and great to be around, said Anderson.
