April 2017 - Page 3 of 3 -

Posted on April 10, 2017April 10, 2017 by Lindy Bowser — Leave a comment

What Happened at Admitted Students Day?

What is Admitted Students Day? ASD, for short, is an event by the Grove City College Admissions Office specifically for admitted students. This year the event took place on April 1. The purpose of the day is two-fold. First, students who have already deposited their down payment can have the opportunity to meet their fellow classmates, professors, and ask any final questions before the summer. Second, students who have been invited to come in the fall but have not made their final decision can explore campus more. It truly is a fun day for students and parents to visit campus one more time before the magical May 1 day where all college decisions are final. So what happened? I was the event photographer for the day so I have plenty of pictures to show you step-by-step what went down on ASD.

9:30-10:45

A bunch of guests came and spoke to the crowd.

To start off, Director of Admissions Sarah Gibbs warmly welcomed all in attendance.

After her, President McNulty gave a persuasive argument about why students should be excited about coming back in the fall.

Dr. Thrasher of the Career Services Office took the stand and spoke about the influence the CSO has on student life post-graduation.

The CSO even used text-polling to answer FAQ based on what question the audience voted on.

11:00-2:00

Students and parents were then free to visit the major of study they were interested in. Professors and current students were there as well to answer questions and discuss required courses.

To show the resources available for research and art, departments opened their labs, machine shops, and studios for families to peek into.

2:00-2:45

Students then listened to mock lectures close to the topics they would learn about as a Grove City College learner.

While the students were in lecture, parents had the opportunity to ask questions to parents of current students.

Still separate from their parents, students moved onto the Arena again for a Student Life and Learning presentation – including games about campus life.

3:00-5:00

After the closing presentation by President McNulty, families had numerous options on how to finish out the day. One of these options was taking a tour of campus.

Overall, ASD is designed for students to get to know the campus resources and one another better. In the end, the Admissions Office hopes students are walking away wanting to be Grovers.

Posted on April 5, 2017April 5, 2017 by Abby Cunningham — Leave a comment

Team Up India Part 1

Each year Grove City College selects up to eight students to spend their summer in another country doing missions work. At the beginning of the fall semester, students apply to the Red Box Missions program. Students selected by the program are given money to fund their summer abroad on missions. The program is funded by alumni and generous donors.

This past summer Lindsey Reichert ’17 traveled to India. Continue reading to learn more about Lindsey’s summer abroad.

What got you interested in Red Box?

It goes back two summers ago. I was living in Washington, DC doing an internship and was planning on studying abroad the following year. I was looking into study abroad options and began the planning process. However, all of the study abroad planning became stressful and I felt like this wasn’t something I was supposed to do. I wanted to go abroad but I wanted to do it with purpose and to serve the Lord.

I started considering missions organizations in Europe which is why Red Box caught my attention. When I got an email about doing Red Box and heard it announced in chapel I decided to apply.

Why did you choose India?

When you get accepted to Red Box they provide the funding and you find the missions organization. You get to plan what you want to do for the summer. I was thinking Europe so I started looking at organizations over there that I could work for. A lot of doors were being shut on those opportunities. I did get an offer for an opportunity in Ireland but felt that it wasn’t the right place for me. I was out of options.

At one point Dr. Keehlwetter said that Dr. Mech runs a missions organization called Harvest Bridge. I decided to look into the possibility and went to his office to talk about my Red Box opportunity. I told Dr. Mech that I wanted to use this opportunity as a chance to do photojournalism and writing. Dr. Mech said that his organization needed that in India. The opportunity with Harvest Bridge about seemed like a fit.

Initially I didn’t want to go to India. It was out of my comfort zone. I started talking to people who worked for Harvest Bridge and prayed about the opportunity.

After praying about it one day I remembered that I had to read a book about a missionary as part of my Red Box requirement. I went to the library looking for a book that I had in mind. The lady at the desk didn’t have the one I wanted but got me a book about a missionary who goes to India. I knew this wasn’t a coincidence and that the Lord wanted me in India over the summer.

What is Harvest Bridge?

Harvest Bridge is a mission’s organization that supports missionaries in East Asia. They provide financial support, pastoral training, education, and support for women. Their main focus is to provide help for native missionaries.

How did you prepare to go overseas?

I did a lot of research. We had a project for Red Box where we had to research and answer questions about the culture. I had to read books. I dove right in.

I also prepared spiritually as I prayed a lot over my trip. I was nervous about some things and prayer grew my relationship with God

More practically speaking, I had to fill out a lot of paperwork for my visa and passport.

What were your first impressions of India in the first two weeks?

My first impression of India was the heat. It is overwhelmingly hot. You feel like you just walked into a wall. A cultural wall as well.

I was homesick the first night as I was accepting the reality of being thousands of miles from home. Those first few days we saw a lot of things. It was a lot of just trying to take everything in. I took thousands of pictures in the first few days.

What exactly did you do?

I spent the summer in four main locations alongside Blake Bear ’18 and Zach Pitcher ’17.

Chennai

In Chennai I helped Blake at the medical clinic in the Gypsy camps. I assisted in unpacking supplies and helping him organize. I also did a lot of photojournalism work and interviews in Chennai. I spent time with Prahba, a woman who does work with a women’s ministry in the Gypsy camp. I would sit with her and some of the women. These women would talk about their lives and I would record their testimonies.

Delhi

We were in Delhi for only two days. During this time I helped some more with the medical clinic.

Patna

In Patna one day, we helped with a children’s ministry. It was kind of like a youth group. We led worship and ran games. Blake gave a bible lesson. We had a full house of kids ages three to 14 years old.

We also continued running medical camps in Patna.

At the end of one of our weeks in Patna we ran a Bible school. Throughout the week we prepared for Bible school by prepping crafts, practicing songs and preparing Bible lessons. Between 100 to 200 kids came to the Bible school.

On night in Patna we helped out with a young adult ministry for college students. We sang songs and Zach gave the Bible lesson that night.

Jaigaon

In Jaigaon we taught in the school every day. Pastor John (a local pastor) started the Christian school that a number of non-Christian kids attend. A lot of nationalities and religions are represented because so many countries surround the border of the town where the school is located. It was neat because no matter the child, they were all taught about Christianity.

During our time there, we would lead the morning assembly, lead worship songs and act as guest speakers in their classrooms, talking about American culture, running games, or singing songs.

How is Christianity received in India?

The government is not very open to the Gospel in India and Christians can be persecuted in different areas but there is a small and growing presence of Christianity. Because it’s growing people are more open to it.

What was the hardest part of your summer?

Some parts of the culture were very hard to understand.

I also struggled with figuring out why the Lord sent me to India. It wasn’t revealed over the summer but I had to trust that the Lord was doing things with a greater purpose.

What was the biggest lesson learned?

In India they say “India Time,” which means that time is flexible and will happen when it happens. I think in life this happens but we need to call it “God’s time.” We live in a culture that is very time sensitive. We want things to happen at certain times. But on God’s time, he is flexible and will act when he wants and how he wants.

What piece of advice do you have for people considering Red Box?

If you think you might want to apply, you should apply. God puts desires on your heart for a reason.

What piece of advice do you have for people who are set on applying for Red Box?

Go into it with an open mind. Be open to wherever God will place you. You have to be flexible and willing to see how the Lord will change your plans.

What impacted you the most?

When people ask me what I loved most about India, it’s the people. A lot of my time was spent with the kids. My heart was broken for them when I saw that a lot of what was holding them back in life had to do with education.

Look for Part 2 of this post to see how Lindsey is combining her passion for Entrepreneurship and love of India to make a difference in the lives of the people she met last summer.

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Emily Lyon — Leave a comment

Quidditch at Grove City College

Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Cameron Buchalter. Cameron is a freshman at Grove City College and recently became a member of the Beta Sigma fraternity. He has a love for musical theater and sports. Upon arrival at Grove City College, he joined the Quidditch team and he is now a certified referee. I didn’t know much about Quidditch until I spoke with him one day and he eagerly taught me the ins and outs of the sport.

In order to create a team, there must be 10 official teammates. At Grove City College, the team also allows for unofficial teammates that cannot fully commit to all practices and games. Some other official members of the Quidditch team at Grove City College are Robert Dacey, Noah Newell, and Alyssa Holden.

Many people may not know, but Quidditch is a full contact, full tackle sport. The goal of the game is to get the “Quaffle” – a deflated volleyball – through the hoops at the end of the field that act as goal. Each player has a broom, much like in the Harry Potter movies, that they must stay on the entire game. At any time during the game, there are six to seven players on the field. The “Keeper” acts as the goalie. They have a keeper zone around their goal where they stand to block the Quaffle from entering the hoop. The defensive players of the game are called the “Beaters.” The Beaters have dodgeballs called “Bludgers” and their goal is to throw them at offensive players to knock them off their brooms and prevent them from scoring a goal. If a player is knocked off his broom he must run to his team’s hoops and touch them. After that, he can join in the game again. The offensive players are called “Chasers” and there are three in any given game. Their goal is to get the Quaffle through the hoops by whatever means necessary. This means they can throw the Quaffle, stick their hand holding the Quaffle through the hoop, or even dive through the hoop holding the Quaffle! If you get the Quaffle through the hoop you earn 10 points for your team.

The final person on each Quidditch team is known as the “Snitch.” The Snitch appears at the 18 minute mark of every game. He wears golden shorts and on the back of his shorts is a sock with a tennis ball inside. At 18 minutes they go onto the field and begin running around. At the 19 minute mark the “Seekers” are released. Their goal is to get the tennis ball from the snitch. If they get the ball, they earn 30 points for their team.

The typical Quidditch uniform resembles a soccer uniform. At Grove City, our uniforms have a name and number on the back, and the Grove City Quidditch “Legion of Broom” logo on the front. Quidditch is a national sport separated into six regions. Our team has played games in West Virgina, New York and has traveled to Maine for regionals. This year, the “World Cup” will be held in Kissimmee, Florida on April 8-9. This is where the top 60 teams in the U.S. play in tournaments to determine the World Cup Champion.

Our team begins practices during the official season, which is in the fall. These practices are once a week on Saturday. During the off-season, the team does condition which consists of three practices a week. If you are interested in playing a sport at Grove City College, but aren’t sure exactly where you’ll fit in – contact Cameron Buchalter and he can get you connected to the Quidditch team. I would highly recommend it!

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Abby Cunningham — Leave a comment

Travel, Romance, and GCC

Have a travel bug? Do you scroll through social media drooling over pictures from other people’s travel adventures? Do you have a bucket list of places you’d like to go and see someday? We’ve got you covered.

Grove City College is a great place to jump start a lifetime of travel and adventure. Whether you are interested in studying abroad, interning for an international business, or doing missions there are many ways to see the world during your time in college.

Shane and Julie Murphy graduated from Grove City College in 2010 and 2012, respectively. After graduating from Grove City they got married and began their jobs in Washington, DC. A year into their marriage, they quit their jobs, packed their bags and headed off on an adventure of a lifetime. Grove City helped foster a love for travel in both of them. I interviewed Julie to hear about their trip, how they prepared for it, and the role that Grove City played.

How did you and Shane meet?

Shane was a senior and I was a freshman. We met the first week of the year at a study abroad fair. There was pizza so I went for the food. Shane worked for the study abroad office and was at the event helping out. We got talking about travel and my interest in studying abroad. Pizza, travel, and a cute guy. The rest is history. We got married in December of 2012.

What first got you interested in travel?

Shane has always gotten excited about the idea of meeting people from different cultures. But the first trip that got him interested in traveling was a surf trip that he took through Central America during high school. Following that trip, he worked each summer to save up money to travel more in the future.

As for me, I got to travel with my family growing up. My parents instilled that love in me. In high school I had the opportunity to tour Europe with my high school music program. After that trip, I knew I wanted to study abroad in Italy some day in college.

What was your life after college like?

When Shane graduated he worked for Charles Schwab in Ohio and then he moved to DC and worked for Fidelity. For him, this time was about building his career in finance.

For me, we got married and I moved to DC. I had a temp job for a few months. Through a friend, I was able to land a job with Wedding Wire. It was my first job and I really loved it. It was fun working with young people and it had great benefits. Shane and I both loved the city feel and living on Capital Hill.

When did you decide that you wanted to take a trip?

We had always had it in the back of our minds that we wanted to travel long term or move abroad in some way. It was always something we talked about as we met at a study abroad got engaged abroad, honeymooned abroad, and had both traveled a lot. A big trip was something we decided we would budget for and save up for. Since we’ve been married we’ve always put money aside for travel out of every paycheck.

When there came a promising job opportunity for Shane at another company in PA, we decided it was an ideal time for us to travel. We wanted to travel before we moved and Shane got settled into his new job. We quit our jobs in December 2014, began our trip in January 2015, and returned stateside in May of 2015.

How did you go about planning the destination?

We had always wanted to go to Southeast Asia. We felt that we might as well go as far away as possible. We knew it would be harder to make a quick trip (a week long) to this area of the world. Places in Europe were easier and more convenient to travel to. We wanted to take this opportunity to go farther away.

We planned our trip along the way. We bought one way tickets to Australia and planned the rest of our trip from there. We had places we definitely wanted to go such as New Zealand, Thailand, Vietnam, and Bali. These were all on our bucket list but once we arrived in Australia we had no firm agenda. We just rented motorcycles and cars and went from there.

We ended up spending three weeks in each country in this order: Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia/Bali, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Turkey.

How did you prepare financially?

Like I said, we had kind of always planned to do something like this. We started budgeting for a long-term trip early on. It was probably a total of one or one and a half years of saving, but then six months of more intense saving leading up to our trip. In those six months we cut a lot of unnecessary expense out of our lives. We stopped eating out, using cable and paying for other unnecessary things. In addition we only had one car between the two of us.

We actually didn’t pay for any flights because we took advantage of credit card points. This is key.

We also set a budget for ourselves before we started our trip. With the exception of Australia and New Zealand, we could stretch the dollar really far in every country we traveled to. We knew that Australia and New Zealand would be more expensive and spent about 60% of our budget during the first month of our trip because of these locations. In contrast, places in Southeast Asia were inexpensive. For example, in Vietnam we spent roughly $10 a night on lodging and a meal would cost about $4 for the both of us.

In addition, a majority of our stays were at Airbnb’s. It’s easy to find lodging through Airbnb in practically any country for affordable prices.

What was the best place you went?

Shane’s favorite place was Vietnam. We also really loved Bali, New Zealand and Turkey too.

What was the best experience of your trip?

A few of our favorite experiences were bungee jumping in New Zealand, a motorcycle food tour in Vietnam, and a hot air balloon ride in Turkey.

We had some guide books for activities, but a lot of things we found through travel blogs and meeting people along the way and asking for recommendations.

Do you have any travel plans for the future? Where’s your next destination?

The next trip we have planned is to southern France. We are traveling there to help with a photography workshop that one of our good friends is putting on.

We would like to work on continually building in time for longer trips, but because of our jobs we probably won’t make quite as big a trip in the near future.

We’re hoping to work towards going to South Africa. Shane is constantly playing games with credit cards to find ways of racking up reward points to use on airfare.

How can students start preparing now for a life of travel?

Talk with the people in the study abroad office and those that have studied abroad or gone on ICO trips. There are opportunities to work abroad as well that professors can help you with. Shane lived in Tanzania for a summer by just sending out dozens of emails to companies in other countries.

Be creative and do research. Talk to professors and other students about what you wanna do and how you can get there. I knew I wanted to study abroad but I did it in the summer so that I would get credit but didn’t miss a semester on campus. Research different options and what would be best for you.

Destination recommendation?

We went to Austria a few months ago which was awesome.

We also took a trip to Iceland a couple of years ago. We are pretty obsessed with it and think everyone should go. Its accessible, and affordable.

Posted on April 3, 2017April 3, 2017 by Emily Lyon — Leave a comment

Alumni Stories: An Interview with Craig Gyergyo ’96

Craig Gyergyo is an associate pastor at Highpoint Church in Memphis, TN. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Craig for many years now and believe he sets a great example for anyone looking to pursue ministry as their career. He graduated in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. Please enjoy this insight from Craig!

Tell me a little bit about you, your hobbies and your family.

My wife Lisa (Keehlwetter, 2001) and I have been married for nearly 17 years. We have three daughters that range from age 12 to age 7. Our girls are homeschooled and are active in our local community. Family life is a major focus in our household, as well as ministry. Those are two of my passions! Other than that, I enjoy early morning walks, long bike rides, visits to the movie theater with my wife and curating my vinyl record collection.

What is your specific title?

Currently I serve as an associate pastor at Highpoint Church in Memphis, TN. Highpoint is a non-denominational church comprised of three campuses in the Memphis area.

Image result for highpoint church memphis tn — Highpoint Church in Memphis, TN

What does being as associate pastor entail and what do you love about it?

I have had the opportunity to oversee college and young adult ministry, local missions, and small groups ministry during my time at Highpoint. Currently, my focus is on building a student ministry (grades 6-12) from scratch at our newest campus.

What I love about all of the roles that I have served in at Highpoint is the focus that we have on the Gospel. Simply put, we preach Christ! With this, we are seeing incredible stories of life-change emerge from our congregation. The combination of that focus and those stories generate a life-giving cycle, as well as a ton of passion, enthusiasm and fun.

What activities were you involved in at Grove City?

During my GCC years I was a member of the Alpha Omega housing group and also a four-year athlete as a part of the varsity football team. I was also active in a group called Warriors for Christ.

Looking back, I wish that I had been more involved on campus. Grove City College certainly provides a wide array of opportunities to both contribute to student life and develop as an emerging leader. At the time, I just wasn’t there. In hindsight, I can clearly see how I would have benefited from taking the initiative to be more active on campus at GCC.

How do you feel Grove City College prepared you for and benefited your future career?

Grove City College’s greatest legacy in my life is the development of a Christian worldview. I grew up nominally affiliated with the church as a result of my parents dragging me to worship and Sunday School throughout my middle school and high school years. But coming into college, I really didn’t have a sense of faith ownership – that is, I wasn’t personally committed to Christ. That all changed early on during my years at GCC and God used the environment at the college to install a new operating system in me, if you will, that was rooted in an understanding of God through the scriptures.

How available were the professors after class time if you needed additional help?

The professors were incredibly supportive and helpful to me personally. There are a few that I think of – for instance, Mrs. Barbara Stephens, Dr. Gary Smith – who had a major influence on the trajectory of my life. I feel like the faculty made a significant effort to generate a family feel on campus. Being available to help students after class time was a big part of that, I’m sure.

What does the school offer that you wished you had taken advantage of while at Grove City College?

GCC provides a faith-rich environment that is unique to pretty much anything else one will encounter in life. The opportunity to couple academic excellence and a faith focus is really, really special. I took advantage of both to a certain degree, but I left something on the table, I believe. The experience of living on a campus where such a high density of passionate Christ-followers exists…the opportunity to get involved in mission work…never ending opportunities to worship and fellowship in the context of Christian community…it really is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. I wish that I had appreciated it more at the time.

After graduation, were there any classes you wish you had taken to help with your degree?

Not necessarily. I just wish I had taken the classes that I did take more seriously!

If you could change something about your college experience, what would it be?

People historically have a tendency to think of Grove City College as having a restrictive environment. For years, the jokes from both insiders and outsiders were about walking on the grass or curfew rules or about the campus being “a bubble.” I see Grove City College now as being an environment that actually promotes freedom – real freedom. If I were an incoming freshman, I’d want to take greater advantage of that God-given freedom to explore whom it is that Christ has purposed and called me to be.

What is your best advice to give an incoming freshmen at GCC?

Take in the beauty of the experience! The campus, the western Pennsylvania setting, the walks to the cafeteria, the late night conversations with friends in the dorms, the classes, the early morning chapel days (shout out to my father-in-law Dr. F. Stanley Keehlwetter!), the intramural sports – all of it! Grove City College is truly a special place and you only have one opportunity, one season of life to take it all in. Make the most of the time!