Sarah Saunders, who has deep ties to Waxahachie through her extended family, had no need to pound the payment looking for work after her college graduation.

She graduated from the Conservatory of Acting at SUNY Purchase College in New York on May 16 – and landed her first major acting job by 6 that evening.

“I was in New York, in my final two weeks of college, and I auditioned for ‘Army Wives’ via e-mail,” Saunders said. “I grabbed a couple of friends, put myself on camera and e-mailed my audition to the casting director in Charleston, S.C., where they film the show.”

“Army Wives” is in its second season on the Lifetime Movie Network and has had quite a reception from its audience. The season premier set records with more than 4.5 million viewers tuning in.

“Not to mention, both presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama have endorsed the show,” Saunders said. “It’s a gripping drama that sheds light on the lives of women and men who are married to the military – these unsung heroes who face life on the army post.”

Since she hadn’t received an immediate response from the studio, Saunders was sure she’d been passed over for the part.

“A week had gone by and I was certain that I didn’t get the role. In this business, no call means no job,” she said.

There was a surprise in store for Saunders, however.

“I graduated from college at 1 p.m. May 16 and, after the ceremony, I saw that I had missed several calls from a strange phone number,” she said. “Then my phone started ringing again – right there in my hand. It was the casting director of ‘Army Wives’ calling to offer me the role of Darcy Tate. In a nutshell, I graduated by 4 p.m. and had a job by 6 p.m.”

In “Army Wives,” Darcy Tate is a young nurse who works in a hospital on the army post.

“I notice that Denise (Catherine Bell) goes on some suspicious motorcycle rides with a new doctor (Seamus Dever),” Saunders said. “My character knows that she’s a married woman and that her husband’s in Iraq, so she confronts her about the new doctor. I basically play the gossip on post for this story in the show. It’s really fun playing a snitch.”

Though much of her family lives in Waxahachie, Saunders grew up in Mesquite and graduated from Poteet High School. She went on to Collin County Community College, now Collin College, to either play volleyball or do theatre – she wasn’t sure which.

“I got scooped up into the theater department, where I believe I got my legs for the theater,” Saunders said. “That’s where I made up my mind to be an actor and try to make a career out of doing something that I found so much fun to do. I reached a point, after three and a half years there, when I wanted more. I wanted to be a better actor and I wasn’t sure how to do it. So I auditioned for some prestigious training programs and I was one of 22 out of 1,000 selected to join the class of 2008 at Purchase.”

The daughter of Richard Saunders and Monica Wilson and granddaughter of Gene and June Saunders and Lonell and Betty Wilson, Saunders is no stranger to Waxahachie.

“I grew up spending long weekends and vacations on Lake Waxahachie, having both sets of grandparents living out there at one time in my young life,” she said. “I have extended family all over Waxahachie. I’m one of those Saunders-Wilson kids you might’ve seen running around C.A. Wilson Co. and playing between the television sets, singing for the congregation at Farley Street Baptist Church or having a root beer float down at Trinity Pharmacy. I am proud to have deep roots in that sweet little town.”

“Army Wives” airs on the Lifetime Movie Network at 9 p.m. every Sunday. Saunders’ episodes will air July 6 and 13.

Full episodes will also be shown commercial-free at www.mylifetime.com/on-tv/shows/army-wives.

E-mail Amy at amy.burk@wninews.com.