Month: November 2018

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New Life Ministry – Helping At-Risk Youth

Photo courtesy of George Junior Republic

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Life Ministries at Grove City College is an organization that sends groups of six or seven students to George Junior Republic each week, to go into cottages of the boys living in the residential treatment facilities. There are about 10 boys living in each cottage. A cottage is basically just a “group-home” where all the boys live like it is a normal home, and they have two cottage parents, which are employees of George Junior Republic. Those cottage parents oversee the boys and their well-being and live in the cottage full time with them.

George Junior is an all-boys institution, working to help at-risk youth re-enter society with more of an education, and better life skills. George Junior is one of the nation’s largest private non-profit residential treatment facilities. According to the George Junior Republic website, their mission statement is: “George Junior Republic is dedicated to helping at-risk youth become successful, well-adjusted adults, capable of achieving a higher degree of citizenship and a better understanding of his responsibility to society, family and self.”

Each group of Grove City students goes to George Junior once a week, on the same day every week. They spend about two hours there, and they visit the same group each week to continue building up their relationships with the boys. During those two hours the students “hang-out” with the boys, and form relationships and bonds. During that “hang-out” time they do multiple different things, such as play basketball or other sports, play games, eat snacks, talk about life, and most importantly, at the end of each visit the Grove City students are able to have a time of Bible study and prayer with the boys. They can pour into the hearts of the boys, and pray for them, and teach them about the Word of God.

When talking to sophomore New Life Ministries member Linnea Fairfield, I asked her what New Life means to her. “New Life is an opportunity to pour into other people’s lives,” she said. “For me, that means forming relationships that are more than just social, shallow friendships, but rather reflections of Christ’s love. The boys are hurting. Their pasts are filled with years of broken relationships, abuse, and betrayal. Getting to show them what real love is, and what the love of Christ is, is an opportunity I will never take for granted.”

I am excited to be joining this awesome ministry this year, and start going to George Junior and forming bonds and relationships with these boys. Thursday, Oct. 11 the New Life Group and I went to the George Junior facility. There we met with the Chaplin and had a meeting about different rules to follow for the year. The New Life team plans to start heading out to George Junior on Nov. 4!

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Inside the Life of a Grove City College Tour Guide

As a tour guide here at Grove City, I am presented with the unique opportunity of working with the College’s Admissions staff on a regular basis. However, the most exciting aspect of being a Grove City College Student Ambassador is meeting and interacting with prospective students every week. It gives me a chance to share some of my wonderful experiences with others who are interested in Grove City.

Tour guides have anything but routine weeks. Each guide has a designated day and time in which they will give a tour once a week to prospective students and their parents. However, Grove City also offers a plethora of event days for students who are interested in a more specialized campus experience. The Admissions Office offers days like Senior Crimson Day, which is specifically for seniors who have expressed interest in Grove City but who may be interested in giving the school one last look before applying. We also offer more specialized days like Music Major Day and Hopeman School Discovery Day. These two events allow students who are interested in more specialized majors to talk with staff, and experience what an average day looks like for a student in that field of study.

This past week, the Admissions team worked tirelessly to put on Music Major Day on Monday, and then organized hosted Hopeman School Discovery Day on Saturday. Tour guides of the school have the distinct responsibility of interacting with prospective students and their families on all of these special event days. The other tour guides and I helped to give our guests a well-rounded view of what life on our campus is like. We did this by not only giving tours of campus, but also by facilitating meetings with department heads and helping the other events of the day to run smoothly. With several more Admission event days to come, every tour guide on campus will continue to work hard on perfecting their craft.

The Admissions staff is always looking for more tour guides who have their own unique skills and stories that will benefit the schools search for students. The tour guides on campus are enthusiastic students and we all love what we do. We all hope that we are able to make a positive impact on prospective students’ college searches.

To see what other event days Grove City has this year, click on the link: http://www.gcc.edu/Info/Events-News/Admissions-Events/Open-Houses

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CCO’s Jubilee Conference 2019

Two summers ago, I interned with the company Coalition for Christian Outreach better known as CCO. CCO puts on Jubilee every winter which is a Christian conference held in Pittsburgh, where thousands of college students gather and learn how to worship God. The CCO has been putting on the Jubilee Conference for over 40 years now and every year it attracts more and more people. Jubilee’s main purpose is to “bring together college students to experience powerful worship, incredible speakers, and engaging topics that may impact our lives.”

Throughout the Jubilee weekend, students experience four large group gatherings that follow the Biblical narrative of the creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. For students, it is a good place to connect and meet people in their vocational field. Students can network to discover their next internship, learn how to continue their education and even plan for their future career. The CCO believes both faith and future are one in the same. This conference is unique in the fact that it is built around college students by trying to expose students to the Christian faith, but also help them plan for their futures in the post-college world. Jubilee gives students the opportunity to be part of a community, even if it is just for a weekend, which expands on the teachings of the Bible and our calling as Christians.

You can sign up for Jubilee online. Tickets went on sale Thursday, Oct. 4. The conference takes place on Feb. 22-24, 2019. Online, you can see the different deals that take place for students vs. non-students. You are able to purchase a conference pass, which is just for the events that take place, or a pass for four people and a hotel room for the weekend. The CCO blocks off rooms at a Pittsburgh hotel every year for anyone who is coming in from out of town or anyone who would like to be close to the conference for the weekend. It is a great offer and a great weekend for a group of friends or a family to join and learn more about God and what it means to be a Christian. I promise you, Jubilee will not let you down. Check out the link below to sign up and view promo videos of 2019’s Jubilee conference.

https://www.jubileeconference.com/

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Interview Advice from Keystone Ridge Designs

The interview process can be a stressful time for anyone, especially when one is unsure of what to expect upon entering. Heather Starcher is Vice President of Keystone Ridge Designs, a company that manufacturers site furniture, and has been working in the business world for over 20 years. In her experience with interviewing, especially with students from Grove City College, she has focused on aspects that strongly affect an interview, positively or negatively. “Remember, they are hiring you to help their company. So they want to know what you bring to the table, how you can be an impact and help them succeed. They don’t want to hear from you ‘this is what I want’,” Heather said.

Followed by her few statements, employees Dave Starcher and Angela Maloney gave insight from their involvement with being both the interviewer and the interviewee.

Interview Advice from Director of Sales of Keystone Ridge Designs, Dave Starcher:

  1. Be prepared. Know the company and be prepared to ask questions that prove that you have done your research.
  2. Be yourself. Remember that you are interviewing the company just as much as they are interviewing you. Figure out if the company’s culture would be a fit for you. Ask what a typical day might look like or who are the team members with whom you would most often interact?
  3. Ask about the future. What could be worse than taking a job with a company that is about to fail?! Ask about their vision and how they foresee the future. What are they doing better than their competition to ensure success? Are there plans to spin-off other sister companies? How much are they growing?

Interview Advice from Director of Marketing of Keystone Ridge Designs, Angela Maloney:

  1. Take notes.
  2. Have good questions ready for whenever the interviewer says “What questions do you have for us?”
  3. Always ask for next steps at the end of the interview to show you are truly committed and want the job.
  4. Follow up. Thank you emails and notes help keep you top of mind and show your ability to follow through.
  5. Don’t ask about money in a first interview.
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Grove City College Homecoming 2018

Grove City College’s Homecoming weekend is a wonderful tradition of bringing back alumni, enjoying the variety of groups on campus, and celebrating the lasting culture of the college. The Saturday morning parade showcases floats created by the different sororities and fraternities, alumni class reunions, the College’s band, Homecoming court, and much more.

As a member of Sigma Theta Chi, our sorority float was representing the Mardi Gras celebration from New Orleans, after this year’s Greek life float theme “Around the World.”

 

Our brother fraternity, the Adelphikos, were crucial to the construction of the float and made the work fun. Members played live music during the parade to give a true Mardi Gras experience.

As a sorority tradition during the parade, Senior members ride on the back of a truck for their last Homecoming as college students.

As Greek groups prepare to enter into the parade route, intermingling and laughter occur among everyone. Friends took many pictures of one another, showcasing the hard work put into their amazing floats.

After the parade, people make their way to their reunion tents, campus group tents, or leisurely walking around socializing. Grove City College’s alumni enjoyed the delicious food provided by the school, along with real conversations about their meaningful and occasional embarrassing college experiences.

The majority of Greek life was located on lower campus, while groups like the Entrepreneurship Department and reunion tents were located on the “Quad” on upper campus. Later in the afternoon, the majority of people entered the stands for the Grove City College football game. With a win of 36-33 against Westminster College in the last 11 seconds, the Wolverines were just as enthusiastic as the crowd.

After another successful Homecoming weekend filled with laughter, excitement, and reuniting of alumni with current college students, the anticipation for next year awaits.