Would you believe me if I told you that Grove City College hosted an opportunity for students to work at a real economic think tank while still on campus, gaining invaluable relational and professional experience while learning about and dealing with complex political and economic issues? Well, you should. The Center for Vision and Values at Grove City College was founded in 2005 through funding from the Koch Foundation. The center’s website tells us, “The Center for Vision & Values provides a valuable opportunity for engaging in political advocacy.” It does this, by example, through dual student fellows programs (research and marketing), educational lectures and programs on the Grove City Campus, countless research projects and op-eds, as well as a conference every spring.
The on-campus lectures cover a wide array of topics from effective poverty alleviation, to income inequality in the 2016 election, to problems with federal economic regulation. Not only do these events provide invaluable opportunities for students on campus to learn more about the world, but they offer the student fellows a great amount of experience through running them. Brianna Buczkowski a senior marketing fellow with the center expressed great appreciation at being able to work in a professional environment while still on campus, and stressed how much help that will be, regardless of where she ends up after graduation.
The spring conference regularly brings in several thousand attendees, including junior marketing fellow Brooke Dymski’s parents. Her parent’s attendance is how Brooke knew of the center before ever arriving at Grove City College as a student, and how she knew she wanted to be a part of the fellows program. The conference deals with timely cultural issues, such as 2015’s theme of ‘The Family’ and brings in a diverse array of speakers including the lawyers who argued before the Supreme Court on behalf of Hobby Lobby during the 2014 conference on religious liberty.
The Center for Vision and Values is just one example of the culture that is fostered at Grove City College promoting critical thought about issues vital to the shaping of our society. All the opportunities and organizations work together to prepare students to enter the world well-rounded in their education and readiness to make a difference for God’s kingdom.
You can visit the website here to learn more about the center and its work.
