Author: Tiffany Seitz

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Crimson & White Society

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One of the many things that Grove City College prides itself in is its plethora alumni connections disbursed throughout the United States. Grove City College is one of the few schools in the nation that has a unique relationship with its alumni, and one of the ways that relationship is maintained is through the Crimson and White Society.

Crimson and White Society is a group of select students on campus that bridges the gap between alumni of Grove City College and current students through on-campus events and meetings with alum guest speakers. This groups of select students works closely with the Office of Alumni Relations and the President of the college, President McNulty. Over the four years that I have been in this group, I’ve been able to make some really great connections and have built a great network of contacts.

Crimson and White offers a lot of unique aspects that many other college groups don’t have. There is an extensive interview process involved before students are chosen to be in the group. Because this group works closely with alumni, faculty, and the president, the group desires to prescreen all applicants before making a choice. Also, the fact that the group is working with alumni more extensively than any other group on campus offers a unique atmosphere to the college experience. Usually every third Thursday of the month, the group will host an alumni speaker to come in and speak about their experiences while they were at Grove City College, their professional career, life after Grove City and some tips for post grad life. These speakers have proved to be really helpful in my planning for post-grad life. I’ve learned a lot from the wisdom they’ve had to offer us and am looking forward to using that wisdom and knowledge in my professional career.

Along with monthly meetings, each member is required to volunteer their time at three campus events of their choice per semester. This includes anything from homecoming registration, to passing out programs at events held by the college, as well as things that are more kid friendly like the annual Santa Breakfast and Children’s Theatre Breakfast. Each event offers a new way to get connected to those who love GCC.

As sad as I will be to leave this group upon graduation, I will definitely remember all that it has taught me in terms of how to get yourself afloat in the real world with a good head on your shoulders. Get connected with an upperclassman to learn more information!

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Spring Dance Company

poodle girls

Over my four years here, Grove City has been what I like to call “a land of opportunity.” Countless positions to fill and committees to serve on has really made my time here at Grove City worthwhile. Spring Dance Company was another incredible opportunity that fell into my lap in quite a unique way; it’s an experience I’ll never forget and one that will always be close to my heart.

Spring Dance Company is a student-run dance concert that takes place during the spring semester (hence the name) on Family Weekend, which usually falls on the first weekend in May. Spring Dance Company is one of the largest attended events during Family Weekend and has gained much success over the years. I have had the privilege and honor of being able to serve this group as the Junior and Senior Head Choreographer for the past three years and have really enjoyed watching this group grow into what it is today.

It all started at midnight on a Friday – our first show was down, and the current leadership was taking applications for Junior Head Choreographer. This year in particular, I did not choreograph, so naturally I did not think that this would affect me in any way. Usually, the rules are that any rising sophomore that choreographed for the show that year is able to apply for the Junior Head position. However, when no sophomores applied, they extended the offer to freshmen. Thinking that I was not qualified or able to apply, I once again let it go…until I received an email telling me that they have now opened it up to freshman who didn’t choreograph for the show. I thought to myself long and hard about this, and it wasn’t until I went to brush my teeth and run into a close friend that I would consider this opportunity.

As I readied myself for bed that evening, a fellow freshman girl on my hall, Emily Owen (who, mind you, did choreograph for Spring Dance Company), happened to be doing the same at the time. I decided to go out on a limb and ask her if she was thinking of applying for the Junior Head Choreographer position. She had said that she was interested, but also concerned about the time commitment. I happened to find myself in the same boat. As we stood there exhausted from the day’s events, our tired minds came up with the most brilliant idea: tackle the task together. The applications were due in the morning, so we hastily filled out the forms and submitted them. By next morning’s meeting, Emily and I both found out that we would be serving as co-junior heads of Spring Dance Company. However, with us being freshman at the time, that means that we would be serving as Senior head choreographers for two years, which is a unique circumstance in itself. We were both elated and ecstatic to work with each other, and it has been quite a fulfilling three years serving this group. Sometimes, life’s best decisions can be made when *slightly* sleep deprived.

The group has made extensive improvements over the years and is in the process of undergoing many changes this year. We now for the past two years have had live emcees (instead of a slide show) and now are working to establish a social media presence. We have added a dance for beginners to our line up (anyone who may have never taken dance and wants to learn/be featured in the show) as well as weekly drop-in classes with some of our choreographers. The changes that we have implemented so far have really put the perception of Spring Dance Company in a positive direction.

This year will be my last year serving Spring Dance Company, and I am so excited to see this year’s show come together! Although I will be sad moving on from this organization, I will never forget the impact that it has left on me and all that it has taught me.

For more information about Spring Dance Company, check out our social media:

Instagram: @springdancecompany

Facebook: Spring Dance Company

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Major (Life) Changes – My Switch From Communication Studies to Entrepreneurship

When it comes to your college career – maybe you’ve got it all figured out, maybe not. I know I certainly didn’t upon entering college, and I’ve learned that’s perfectly okay! The college experience is uniquely different for everyone – no two experiences will be identical. I’ve learned so much throughout the change that I’ve endured, and it has allowed me to reflect on the past four years, to see how I’ve grown not only as a student, but as an individual. Many people come into college assuming that their academics will be their primary learning source. However, I believe that a bulk of my learning has been done outside of the college classroom.Image result for entrepreneurship

As a senior in high school, everyone asked me what I wanted to do. As any indecisive high school student, I answered “I don’t know,” and that was true up until the tail end of my freshman year of college.

I came in to Grove City College as a Communication Studies major, and it wasn’t until I took a Principles of Marketing course that I would recognize where my real calling is – business. As I sat in that course, I was deeply intrigued by the many facets of business that we discussed in that class. I loved the fast paced and ever-changing environment that the business world had to offer. It was that single class that made me ask myself the question – “what do I really want to do with my life.” It was because of this class that I decided to officially change my major to Entrepreneurship.

If you would have asked me what Entrepreneurship was my senior year of high school, I would have told you I had no idea. And to be quite honest, I still to this day sometimes struggle in spelling the word. My newfound major of Entrepreneurship has allowed me to experience a new side of life and a new side of me. I have found creative and innovative freedom through this major, as well as new skills to accompany those. I’m glad that I took the leap of faith in changing my major, because it has changed me for the better.

Now, I just made that sound like a piece of cake because I really enjoy my new major. However, sometimes it’s really hard to get where you want to be, especially if the major transition doesn’t work. Luckily, since I was switching disciplines within the school of arts and letters, I had very little issue in making the switch. I was a few credits behind, but I was able to make that up through some a summer class, an intersession, and some overtime credits.

If there’s one thing I can leave you with, it’s this – don’t think that if you come in as one major, you can’t graduate as another. As of now, I am on track to graduate with a major in Entrepreneurship with a minor in Communication Studies. And just think – I only started out as Communications! Remember, there’s no glass ceiling on what you can do when your mind’s put to it and your heart’s in it. Follow God’s call for your life – He won’t lead you astray. A lot of the time that leap of faith – whether it be changing your major, auditioning for the musical, or trying out for a sport – takes obedience on our part to get God’s blessing in our lives.

I encourage you – don’t settle for something you don’t want. Go after what GOD wants for your life!

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How I Found Grove City – A Personal Story

Just like every college student, every 18-year-old hates the question: “So, what do you want to do with your life?” Well, I was the same way. As a 17-year-old senior in high school, I really didn’t know what I wanted to do or how I was going to get there once I decided what I wanted to do. I had some plans, but those plans changed; changed like the days from one to the next. And it isn’t until one hot summer Wednesday afternoon that my decision would know where I was meant to be – Grove City College.

Like any typical high schooler thinking they knew what they wanted, I was the same way. All throughout high school right up until my Junior year, I had my heart set on attending Valley Forge Christian College (now The University of Valley Forge) to major in Music Performance. However, once I toured and saw how far away it was from home (six hours – located close to Philadelphia), and when I realized that Music Performance wasn’t any sort of “career” goal, my gears quickly shifted away from that.

Once I had no game plan, my mom stepped in to help me (thank goodness!). She suggested that I look into majoring in Dance at Point Park University. I’ve danced for about 19 years, so I knew that it was something I loved, and maybe that would be the path to take! The summer of my junior year of high school, my parents enrolled me at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. However, after a few classes, I realized that maybe that route wasn’t for me either. As much as I loved dance, the environment that I was in stripped everything that I loved about dance away. It was more about the competition and less about celebrating and enjoying dance for the art that it is. In other words, it just wasn’t for me.Grove City College

At a loss for what to do about me seemingly having no game plan to move forward from high school, I began to ask God where he wanted me to do with my life. After all, He’s the one with all the answers, right? I didn’t really know where to look at this point, until I heard of some people in my class looking into Grove City College. To be quite honest with you, I had no clue that Grove City College existed, which is why I proceeded to ask “why do you want to attend college at the outlets?” Silly me. Well, one Wednesday afternoon, Grove City College was about to become a lot more to me than just some “outlets” – and little did I know that it would soon become my home for the next four years.

As I toured Grove City College for the very first time, I felt a peace and a comfort that this was to be my place of study for the next few years. Upon the conclusion of that tour, both of my parents would also echo that same feeling. I didn’t know what I was looking for until I found Grove City College, and it all came into place on that day.

I took a leap of faith and applied only to Grove City College, and I ended up getting accepted. I took that acceptance as a clear sign that this is where God wanted me, and I’m so blessed to have been able to attend such a great college.

I’ve been richly blessed throughout my time here at Grove City College. I’ve taken upon a variety of leadership roles, administrative positions, and committees in my time here. I’ve met some amazing people and have built spectacular and life-long relationships that have brought true blessing in my life.

So, I encourage you, no matter who you are or where you are, I encourage you and charge you to seek the Lord in everything that you do. I really wasn’t kidding when I said that He had all the answers – all you have to do is ask. Luke 11:9 says: “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” If you look at the first letter of each of those verbs, it spells a familiar word to us all, and what God wants us to do – ask him. That’s the only way we’ll hear. Seek first His kingdom, and all blessing will be yours.