Month: October 2021

I joined a fraternity my freshman year at Grove City college, and it has given me so many opportunities I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to experience.

Firstly, the fraternity has given me a stable community I have been able to fall back on throughout my entire college experience. After joining in the spring of my freshman year, I was immediately integrated into the group as a fellow brother. In the fall of my sophomore year, I got the privilege of being able to live on the hall with the rest of the fraternity and have done so during the rest of my time at the college. Grove City’s Greek Life doesn’t have off-campus housing, but the college still gives each group a designated hall in the on-campus dorms, and this ensures that the groups still get to grow in community together. One way we get to do this is through weekly Bible studies. Our fraternity chaplain comes up with the study plan for the semester, and we as brothers get to challenge our beliefs and grow closer to God in community. Knowing that I will get to have these enriching experiences every year by living on the hall has been a huge relief when it comes time to plan for housing at the end of every year.

I have also had the opportunity to partake in special fraternity events each year, like fall and spring parties, formals, and homecoming. These events give a great opportunity to decompress from academic stress with fellow fraternity brothers and make long-lasting memories. Greek groups also get to organize many of the campus-wide events during the fall rush season. For larger events, fraternities will occasionally coordinate with housing groups or sororities to throw joint events. This is a great way to form new relationships by bonding with other Greek groups on campus and meeting the new freshman class.

My time in my fraternity has also given me a lot of experiences that will help prepare me for post-graduation life. Firstly, I have had the opportunity to hold officer positions in my fraternity since my induction. In my time, I have been the historian, secretary, and president. These positions have helped me grow in my organizational, communicative, creative, event-planning, and leadership skills. Furthermore, I have had the chance to do a significant amount of community service with the fraternity. Getting to give back to local communities while bonding with my brothers has been one of the most rewarding experiences in college.

All in all, my time in my fraternity has put a positive spin on so much of my college experience. I have been able to grow closer with so many people I otherwise probably would have never come in contact with. I would recommend to any incoming freshman that they consider joining a Greek group at Grove City as it adds a significant layer of depth to the college experience.

It was never my dream to go to Grove City College. Considering the fact that I was born and raised in the small Western Pennsylvania town, I was ready to experience something new.

Growing up, I imagined going to college would look like it does on TV — moving cross-country away from everything familiar and starting a brand new life. That is not how it looked for me, though. On my freshman move-in day in 2018, I got out of bed, loaded up the car, and arrived to campus in less than five minutes. Saying goodbye to my parents was not too emotional considering this was their fourth and final time sending a kid to college. Also, I was within walking distance from home and knew I could see them any time. Quickly after they left, though, something happened that I wasn’t expecting — I felt like I was not in my hometown anymore. I had entered “The Bubble.”

Students and faculty often refer to the Grove as “The Bubble,” painting the image that, when you are on campus, you are living in your own little world. This is certainly the case.

Grove City College has its own tightly knit community. With a student body of about 2,300 young adults, it does not take long for campus to shift from feeling like unfamiliar, uncharted territory to a mini-world where everyone recognizes each other. People that were once strangers on move-in day quickly become classmates, neighbors, teammates, group project partners, SGA representatives, and more. By the end of the first year, you recognize most faces on any stroll through campus.

One of the reasons this camaraderie forms so quickly is due to Grove City’s small class sizes. While many colleges hold class in crammed lecture halls, a large class here would be one with 30 people. This intimate learning environment opens the door to in-depth class discussion where you build bonds with classmates and professors.

Another reason for this is that many people on Grove City’s campus share similar values. Because the college is so forward about their conservative Christian values, the school attracts many like-minded individuals. This creates an environment in which students can openly grow deeper in their beliefs and shape their worldview with other students. In the humanities courses that are required for all students, professors present challenging debates and ideas observed throughout history, helping students learn how to navigate them for themselves so they can grow deeper in their own beliefs and opinions that will shape them for re-entry into the “real world.”

This re-entry can be jarring at first. While Grove City’s campus community is inviting and enriching, it is still a bubble. Jumping back into everyday life outside school can feel like a bit of culture shock. This, however, gives students and recent graduates the opportunity to truly test the values they solidified in the classroom. Maintaining strong work ethic and holding oneself to a higher moral standard make Grovers stand out in a culture where it is becoming increasingly more common to have an apathetic attitude towards work and let go of traditional values.

Standing out in this way, though, is not a negative thing. Grovers catch the eye of employers quickly and often find fast roads to success, with an average placement rate of 96% within six months of graduation.

While I was pretty indifferent about going to Grove City before I got here, I am so thankful for the experiences I’ve had and the friends I’ve made while being here. Graduation is just around the corner, and even though I’ll have to prepare for yet another major life change, I can rest easy knowing that The Bubble laid a strong foundation for me to launch forward.

College – “the best four years of your life.” Sound familiar? While college is rightfully not for everyone, those who choose to go to college typically go with expectations of what is to come – rigorous or easy classes, Greek life, campus events, activities to do in the surrounding area, clubs to get involved in, dorm life, food, and campus culture. Once college becomes reality, expectations are then unmet, met, or exceeded and no one ever seemingly discusses how these play into peoples’ perception of college. My hope is to begin this open-ended discussion for prospective students before they step onto campus by interviewing students who have diverse opinions of college.

As I personally considered my answer to the question, “What does college mean to me?,” I enjoyed being able to look back on where I started, where I am headed, and how college has significantly impacted me in ways I could have never predicted.

I walked into my freshman year with little desire, excitement, or optimism for Grove City College, mostly due to unfortunate personal circumstances. Despite my involvement in Young Life, campus events, bible studies, and other opportunities, I found myself floating through freshman year and maintaining an existence, rather than a presence, on campus. There was no true place for me on Grove City College’s campus – I believed it. I found myself lost in my major, lost in community, and lost in direction. “College will be the best four years of your life” was seemingly becoming a lie that had greater impact on me, as I found myself struggling to enjoy my time spent at Grove City.

While I would love to share with you how my circumstances drastically changed, I would argue that the issue was not rooted in my circumstances as much as it was in myself. I never loved learning in a classroom; I never found my best friends; I never discovered the best four years of my life; I never achieved anything great; and I never truly felt like I found my place in college. What college did become to me was this, though: an opportunity for me to gain an experience that continually further equipped me to step into the Lord’s active calling for my life, the place where I learned that I do not have to achieve great things to achieve greatness in Christ, and the place where I also recognized that if I am, ultimately, living purposefully to be in the world but not of the world, belonging is not a part of that equation.

College – the most transformative four years of my life…a more accurate depiction of what college has meant to me.

Preparing to go to college can be daunting. But for a student with learning disabilities, thinking about all the projects, reading assignments, exams and finals can be completely overwhelming! I felt this way. I was diagnosed with dyslexia in third grade along with other learning disabilities that commonly accompany dyslexia. From elementary school through high school, I changed schools seven different times, all because my parents were trying to find the right place for my education as a student with dyslexia. I received some amazing help throughout my schooling, and I have even overcome some of the major hurdles dyslexia presents. However, I was nervous to be on my own at college to navigate completing assignments and understanding concepts in class. I was concerned that I would not be able to keep the academic success I was able to achieve in high school. Fortunately, in my senior year of high school, I became a dual enrollment student at Grove City College where I was able to meet and become familiar with the Disability Services on campus. Zach Brown, the director of Disability Services, was able to work with me to figure out what accommodations could best help my academic success. Some of these included extra time on exams, peer note-taking, and even permission to use a special recording pen that he recommended. I have utilized all of these, and they helped me tremendously.

I have access to all of these resources, and I know that they will help; however, this can only take you so far. I have been able to gain a lot of experience when it comes to completing assignments and studying for exams. I learned quickly that if you do not stay on top of things, you can make life really difficult, really fast. Here are some tips that I have learned as a student with learning disabilities to keep from becoming overwhelmed and help with learning the material instead of just trying to get it done.

1. Time management. As a student with learning disabilities, I can take longer than other students to get things like reading assignments done. That is why being careful about how you spend your time is important. Time management is a difficult but invaluable skill. It is easy to get distracted, (especially since I have ADD) but creating a plan for how you will get things done each day and sticking to it will help you in the short term so you do not have to stay up till two in the morning. Time management will also help you in the long run, by creating a valuable habit that will serve you your entire college career. I write out all of my assignments for the entire semester on a desk calendar so I can see what is coming. I then plan out what needs to be completed and when. This helps me to make wise choices and stay in control of my time.
2. Talk to your professors. I cannot stress this enough. The professors are amazing at Grove City College. They all desire to help each student achieve success and to learn well in their classes. All of my professors have been very accommodating when it comes to my learning disabilities. They want to help!

I have had a wonderful experience at Grove City College, I am in my fall semester of sophomore year and have achieved the Dean’s List academic excellence award for each semester I have completed so far. Do not be afraid to dive into learning amazing things!

• If you have any questions or would like to hear more about how I have navigated through college with learning disabilities, do not hesitate to email me. I would be happy to answer!
  • Daviden19@gcc.edu
• If you would like to learn more about Grove City College’s Disability Services, you can visit their page on Grove City College’s website: https://www.gcc.edu/Home/Experience-the-Grove/Campus-Life/Disability-Services or email them at DisabilityServices@gcc.edu.

Being a student at Grove City College is one of the things in my life that I take a lot of pride in. There are so many amazing things about the College that make it unique, from our founding principles and community to the professors that so faithfully work to promote truly educational experiences within the classroom. One of the great offerings that Grove City College provides is the opportunity for dual enrollment. High school students can take classes with the College, which helps students get ahead on college credits. I was fortunate enough to take advantage of this opportunity during my senior year of high school. Throughout the duration of my senior year, I was able to take four, three-credit courses as well as a one-credit lab. These classes ranged in topics from environmental science to a course specifically focused on the book of Romans. Before my first year of college, I was able to get some experience taking college-level courses and do a little bit of experimenting into what type of classes or majors I might be interested in. I was able to learn a lot about my study habits, and, after becoming familiar with new ones, it became clear to me what type of habits would  and would not work when it came to studying for exams and quizzes as well as working on projects.

One of the bigger reasons that I decided to do dual enrollment classes with Grove City College was to get ahead on credits so that I could potentially lighten my course load in the future if I needed it. I struggle with dyslexia as well as a few other accompanying learning disabilities which has made academics somewhat difficult. I work hard to achieve successful grades and learn the best that I can in all of my classes; however, I still struggle with those learning disabilities, and it affects my ability to work at the same pace as other students. With the credits I earned from being a dual enrollment student, I had built up a small cushion to fall back on for my first semester in case I felt like I could not maintain a typical course load.

Fast forward to my first couple weeks of class my freshman year where I utilized the cushion I had built up the year prior. As a student learning with dyslexia who was still trying to figure out what study habits worked best and what the rhythm of college life looked like, it was a huge help to be able to have a smaller course load my first semester. I was able to get settled into college life and figure out the best practices for learning without feeling like I would be behind.

I am now in my sophomore year at Grove City College, and I am currently double-majoring in Entrepreneurship and Biblical and Religious Studies and have a course load of six classes compared to my first semester freshman year I only had four. The only regret I have is that I didn’t start sooner. Dual enrollment is an amazing opportunity to get ahead on college credits as well as help create some familiarity with college-level courses. My favorite course that I took as a dual enrollment student was a course on the book of Romans taught by Dr. Bibza, and, because of that course, I made sure I took more classes taught specifically by him. I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to be a dual enrollment student. I highly encourage any high school student to take advantage of this amazing program.