This story is featured in the 2023 edition of the HPU Magazine.
Listen to the audio version of this story,
Narrated by Niyah Williams, Class of 2025
Meet the couple whose campus involvement at High Point University led them to not only extraordinary opportunities, but to each other.
As a high schooler in Simi Valley, California, Rachel Callaway, ’17, ’18, had heard all about the big universities in her state, but she was seeking a school with a more individualized focus on her success.
She first connected with High Point University at her high school’s college career fair. Once she learned about HPU’s diverse extracurricular offerings and dedication to preparing students for the real world, she knew it was a perfect fit. She also knew she wanted to study communications and was interested in working with politicians.
That interest led her to interview with HPU’s Student Justice Program, where students are selected to act as voting members of the University Conduct Board and University Honor Board.
That’s where she first found her lasting match.
“As I left the interview, I texted my mom to say, ‘I don’t think I got the position because there was a cute boy in there, and I couldn’t really focus,’” she says with a laugh.
At the time, Josh Gilstrap, ’16, was a junior majoring in computer science and philosophy and a Student Justice who had overcome his homesickness for Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Where It Started
Josh first heard about HPU while visiting family in North Carolina and spontaneously scheduled a campus tour with his mother.
On that tour, Josh and his mom saw that HPU was special. What they would eventually go on to see were all the special moments that would shape Josh into who he is today.
“Walking on the promenade, we both knew it was the place for me,” says Josh.
He became active in HPU’s Student Government Association, helping to update the system students use to submit funding requests for their campus clubs and organizations. Josh went on to serve as chief of staff.
As a Student Justice with Rachel, Josh admits he was initially oblivious of her interest in him, although she gave him her phone number and connected with him on Facebook.
“He wasn’t really getting any hints,” she says. “I finally asked him if he wanted to go to the Starbucks in the Slane Student Center for coffee. I had to clarify that I was hoping it would be a date.
“He finally caught on.”
Connecting Over Coffee
“I think by the time I bought the coffee, it clicked for me that this was probably not just about coffee,” Josh says.
The two later discovered they shared similar interests and bonded while watching “Star Wars.”
“We fit together quite easily and quickly,” says Josh. “I do things intentionally and deliberately — Rachel might say ‘slowly’ because she had to work to make me understand her interest in me. That showed me she was intentional.”
Rachel also became involved in the Student Government Association and served on the inaugural Student Supreme Court. The two were dating by the time Josh was elected student body president for the Class of 2016, and Rachel took on the role of chief of staff to help him. Rachel was later elected student body president for the Class of 2017.
“I was the first female president in nine or 10 years at that time,” says Rachel.
Matched with Mentors
Rachel earned her B.A. in strategic communication in 2017 and her M.A. in political and health communication in 2018. The caring mentors she met at HPU always offered support throughout her undergraduate and graduate journey.
“I was in an environment that allowed me to interact with not only fellow students but all people on and off campus to learn how to be an effective communicator and global citizen,” says Rachel. “HPU really helped me dive into the skills I had.”
She served as chief of staff for sales and marketing for Shopmonkey, an automotive software company based in San Jose, California, and works as a marketing project manager with Montway Auto Transport.
Josh agrees HPU faculty and staff supported his ability to be a leader. He still values the influence his professors had on him as a student and the weekly lunches he’d have with his philosophy professors.
While his computer science degree was key to his successful career as a program manager at the online pet supply giant Chewy, Josh says his studies of logic and critical thinking are foundational to every aspect of his life.
“The extracurricular involvement and leadership opportunities in various clubs and activities at HPU taught me a lot,” says Josh. “The life lessons and skills you gain at HPU are just as important as the academics. They teach you how to live and interact in the world.”
A Family of Their Own
Rachel Callaway is now Rachel Gilstrap. The couple married in November 2020 in Mount Pleasant, North Carolina, with limited attendance due to the pandemic. They repeated their vows a year later with the support of more friends and family from across the country. Rev. Dr. Preston Davis, minister to the university, was the officiant in November 2021.
“High Point University brought us together,” says Rachel. “We have our own marriage and family, but HPU created a wider community for us.
“Every time we go back, we feel so supported and cared for. It is a wonderful place to call our alma mater.”