Month: January 2019

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Swimming and Diving: An Inside Scoop

The swimming and diving program at Grove City College is centered on competing for each other and for God’s glory. We all work hard together to build each other’s strength, skill and faith to pursue our best selves both in the pool and in the classroom.

Here at Grove City, we are a Division III team. What that means for the program is that the athletes cannot be paid to train, and the program has restrictions on how much it can train the athletes, but what it means for us as swimmers and divers is that our motivation goes beyond money or status. When we chose to come to Grove City for swimming, we came looking for a community of people striving for two goals: success in the classroom and success in the pool. The entire team then strives to build each other up to achieve these goals.

We achieve success in the classroom by putting studies first. When freshmen first come to Grove City, we require them to attend study tables twice a week for their first semester. This helps them build solid study habits for the rest of their time here. However, it is not just the freshmen that go to these work nights. The entire team makes an effort to come and study alongside each other. The juniors and seniors often are scholastic support systems to underclassmen that are going through the same courses they once went through. In addition to study tables, classes and exams always come first before practices and swim & dive meets. Whether it is an interview for a job, a big exam, or an extra lecture, practice will always be second.

Our success in the pool stems from our dedication to push each other in every training aspect we pursue. At lifting, dryland workouts, and swim or dive practices, each member of the team is pushing themselves to make every set count. When each individual is dedicated to pushing themselves, they can push their teammates that are working right alongside them. Since both the men’s and women’s team trains together, the entire team works together and builds an amazing community. We get meals together, study together, go on fun outings together, join other groups together, and even room with each other. All of the bonding we do through our sports in the pool helps create a community of people who care for each other and pursue greatness together.

Our motivation outside of our individual and team success is the desire to put our best out for the glory of God. Alongside our training together and studying together, both the men’s and women’s teams host Bible studies. These studies are lead by juniors on the teams and help to encourage each other throughout the season. Whether the team has a tough practice, a big meet, or a big paper due, we all remind each other that God will carry us through.

While we are very dedicated to our time in training and studying, we do not forget to have a little bit of fun on the side! The team does all kinds of traditional fun things outside of work. We go on annual outings to corn mazes, bowling, and Chipotle. On the weekends after meets or practice we will have game nights, movie nights, or just time to hang out and laugh together.

The Grove City Swim and Dive Team are a support and a family that come together to do a sport we love, study as hard as we can, and love God with all our hearts.

Check out our feature video below!

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Professor Spotlight – Dr. Downey

Dr. Jim Downey, PhD

This year I took my first-ever science class at Grove City College. The class was Fundamentals of the Universe (SCIC 201), also known as “Baby Physics” and the class was on Wednesday nights, taught by adjunct professor, Dr. Jim Downey.

Dr. Downey is a very interesting guy. He has an extensive background of education and is very experienced in his line of work. Dr. Downey graduated from Grove City College in 1981 with a B.S. in Physics. He then took a career in the Air Force, both active and reserve Air Force, and he stayed there for 27 years until her retired as a Colonel. Dr. Downey also has a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Illinois, which means yes, he is a rocket scientist! Dr. Downey was a professor at Grove City College from 1992-2003, and then a Harvard Fellow from 2003-2004. He said Harvard was a very cool place to be and to learn. He also taught at the Army War College, which also was an incredible experience for him. Over these different educational experiences and career paths Dr. Downey has lived in six different states, with 11 different moves.

I asked Dr. Downey how it feels to be back on campus as an adjunct professor, and he said, “I have enjoyed the opportunity to teach physics again and particularly this course. When I was a full-time professor, I always loved teaching SCIC 201 as it was a way to expose mostly non-science people to a subject that I love and believe is important for people to know something about. I will admit when I first stepped back on campus it was a bit strange as so many years had gone by. However, it did not take long for the students to remind me how much fun teaching and learning with them can be. And it is always great to see my friends and former colleagues.”

Dr. Downey mentioned some differences in being a full-time professor and an adjunct professor here at Grove City College. He said that as a full-time professor you have essentially committed your life and career to the academy. But he said you also have the opportunity to interact with students on multiple occasions and in a variety of capacities. He said as an adjunct you also have a few advantages, such as, “the ability to focus on only one thing (assuming you are teaching just a single class). Another is a little bit of extra freedom in how you might engage the class because it is not your main job and perhaps the only thing that can happen is you are not invited back to teach again!” He also said the opportunity to bring in your professional experiences and perspectives can also be useful. Dr. Downey said the largest downsides are having to engage and disengage between your regular job and being an adjunct and a lack of opportunity to develop deeper relationships with students. You also are not really part of the rhythm and flow of campus life, so you can feel a certain detachment from the school.

I asked Dr. Downey if he finds it difficult to balance his day-to-day career and teaching here at Grove City. He said, “Yes. Clearly my priority must be to my work at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. What this most often means is that everything related to teaching at Grove City is accomplished in the evening hours and on the weekends. I know there have been times when I would have liked to work more on the class and have had to make choices just to stay on track. And any good professor will always be asking how they can improve what they are doing. However, there are also opportunities to try and share how something like physics can relate to certain aspects of my day job. And the Seminary is committed to having faculty and staff serve outside of the institution in a variety of ways. Ultimately, as in all things in life, you must figure out how to balance it to best serve all interests – not always an easy task yet a reality of life.”

Lastly in our discussion, I talked to Dr. Downey about Grove City College, and what he likes so much about this place from once being a student, and professor, and now coming back to teach once again. Dr. Downey said, “I suppose this could sound trite, but it is, in fact, the students. I am often asked what I miss most about teaching since the last 15 years of my career have predominately been in administrative roles. The answer is always the same – interaction with students. It is a joy and a privilege to speak into the lives of people with the hope that you will play a small part in preparing them for their future and whatever God is calling them to do. My time at Grove City now spans a couple generations between when I was a student and my most recent experience as an adjunct. So, I now have the entire spectrum and hope that giving back in this way closes the loop on how Grove City influenced my own life path.”

Currently Dr. Downey is Vice President for Planning & Institutional Effectiveness at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and he resides in Franklin Park with his wife, and daughter who is a senior in high school, with another daughter in graduate school. Dr. Downey is also an avid Steelers fan!

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Program Spotlight: Strength and Conditioning

The Strength and Conditioning (S&C) program here at Grove City is focused on helping student athletes achieve success in both their sports and their studies. Coach Caleb Thrasher and his team of assistant coaches are working to build the program beyond what it has ever been before. Thrasher’s definition of success is reaching and helping every athlete that comes to Grove City.

In an interview with Coach Thrasher, I asked what his goals and aspirations are for the program as well as for himself as a coach. Here is what he has to say, “I want to reach inside the athletes’ heads. I want them to be able to take their skills in the weight room through the rest of their lives.” My first encounter with Coach Thrasher was when I started weight training for the swim team my freshman year. Two years later, I can truly say he has given me new skills that I will take with me when I leave Grove City.  Even though we may be training for a specific sport during our time here, we can still use those new skills outside of our regular training. Thrasher highlighted this aspect by saying that, “The athletes’ pursuit of their sport will change once they graduate, but they can train in the weight room exactly as they did in their college careers in order to achieve lifelong fitness.”

Since Coach Thrasher is a coach for every varsity team at Grove City, he wanted to ensure he was creating programs specified for certain teams. During our interview he said, “I don’t want a cookie cutter approach to training the athletes” at least six times. He has proven how much he believes in this statement by showing just how much he cares about every individual athlete. Even though he has over 200 athletes under his leadership, every single one of has been personally helped by Thrasher in lifting and conditioning technique.

When I asked him what he was doing to make the program better, his theory was that, “Being an S&C Coach means you have to be a lifelong learner. I am challenging myself to teach techniques more effectively when I am in the weight room and when I am implementing mobility work. I go to conferences and see other coaches and learn from them so I can provide more knowledge for the students to access.” With Thrasher’s goal to “take people wherever they are physically and make them better movers” he is constantly working on finding ways to connect to wider varieties of athletes. Before working with the swimmers, Thrasher did not know too much about the sport. But just in the two and a half years that I have been training under him, he has constructed and implemented a program specifically suited to help swimmers excel in the pool.

But strength training is not the program’s only focus. Thrasher highlighted this by pointing out that, “People don’t care how much you know if they don’t know how much you care. Having a support structure and supplying a support structure is the key part in helping our athletes be the best they can be. Helping the athletes in this way aligns with the Christian community of the school itself. Physical training is part of one’s growth as an athlete and I want to come alongside our athletes and mentor them in their journeys. We take people wherever they are physically and we make them better movers. It doesn’t matter where you start, as long as you want to get better.” Coach Thrasher and his entire team have come alongside the athletes of Grove City to support them in both their physical and psychological journeys.

For more on the Strength and Conditioning program check out our info video below:

 

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Faculty Led Study Trips (Part 2)

As a sophomore, I have had the privilege to partake in one of the faculty led study trips abroad during the May 2018 intersession. I signed up to take the three-credit humanities course, Western Civilization. With Dr. James Bibza and Dr. Paul Schaeffer as the professors teaching this course and leading us in our travels, the trip was guaranteed to be a success. These two professors had experience with the travel route that we would be taking, and had worked closely with a tour company to ensure we would have smooth travels. The objectives they had set for our class to accomplish seemed reasonable. It included some readings from a text book, and attending lectures while we were on our trip. However, they ultimately hoped that we would immerse ourselves in the new cultures that we would be experiencing.

Our studies began in London, England for four days. Following a day trip to Oxford, our group headed for Dover. At this point, we took a ferry across the English Channel to Calais, France. Once we were 0n the continent, our stops included Paris, Geneva, Zurich, Innsbruck, and Heidelberg. In total, our trip visited six European countries in a 14 day period.

Once we had safely returned to the United States, our final task was writing a paper that discussed any of the topics that we discussed in lectures. The paper may have been a requirement of the course, but I know that many of my fellow travelers felt that it helped them to thoughtfully compose the incredible experience that we shared.

The trip itself was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I will always cherish the memories that I made through it. However, I was also lucky enough to also make lasting bonds with people that I may not have had the chance to meet without this course. My experience with faculty led study trips was incredible, and in the future I will absolutely look to do more of them.

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Faculty Led Study Trips (Part 1)

Grove City College offers unique opportunities to take your learning outside of the classroom. The Office of International Education, along with many professors, work together to provide students with the chance to take classes abroad. While Grove City does provide more traditional study abroad experiences for those interested in doing so for a semester or entire academic year, the faculty led study trips are a shorter and more condensed way to learn in foreign countries.

Professors work with the College to design specific trips that they feel will help to provide the most beneficial learning environment. This is why Grove City is able to offer such a broad range of excursions including trips to England, France, Guatemala, Greece, Italy, Japan, and many more countries. Parents and students may worry about what the costs may be, but Grove City is careful to keep prices as low as possible while ensuring that each trip is a wonderful experience.

These trips are designed to allow students to take up to a three credit class in a condensed period of time. Faculty led study trips tend to be between 10 and 15 day experiences. The goal is to allow students to learn about and immerse themselves in different cultures, while also ensuring that the academic requirements of each course are fully met. Students of all majors have the opportunity to participate – this means students also network with one another and make friendships outside their field of study.

Grove City is actively looking to broaden our horizons in regards to faculty led trips. With new trips comes new opportunity and new corners of the world for students to explore. With chances to go during both the January and May intersessions, every student has plenty of opportunities to partake in one or more of these very impactful experiences. In my next post, I will give an insiders view of what my experience on a faculty study trip was like.

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Exercise Science Internship Opportunities in Pittsburgh

Nate Sprunk is a senior Exercise Science major with a minor in Psychology.  Nate is from Wexford, PA. He is currently treasurer of the Beta Sigma fraternity on campus. The summer after his junior year, he had an internship at Pittsburgh Veteran’s Administration Hospital located in Pittsburgh, PA.

Nate happens to be a good friend of mine. I roomed with his fiancé my junior year. Priya was a senior at the time and Nate was a junior. This past June, I was a bridesmaid at their wedding! The two of them had a busy summer working out their jobs, living arrangements, and adjusting to married life. I did not have the opportunity to keep in touch as much as I had hoped. This semester I have been able to catch up with Nate and hear more about his summer.

When I asked Nate about his role with the company and what he accomplished that summer he replied, “I was an undergraduate rehab intern. I assisted in the inpatient and outpatient clinics. I observed, cleaned equipment, escorted veterans back and forth from their rooms to the clinic, performed wheelchair follows, and I conducted an educational in-service project for the inpatient staff.”

I followed with, “Did you enjoy your experience?” Which he answered, “I did. I learned more about the field of physical therapy and how clinics operate. After my experience, I feel more comfortable working in a clinical setting.”

Nate did not receive a job offer from Pittsburgh Veteran’s Administration Hospital. He still has to attend graduate school to work as a Physical Therapist, but Nate could potentially complete one of his clinical rotations at the same VA clinic in the future. He plans on staying in the Pittsburgh area after graduation to live with Priya and stay close to their families.