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Community Spotlight: December Graduate

When it comes to thinking about who makes up the community of Grove City College, often the first thought is students and professors. However, there are many more components – past and present – that play a vital role in the community here. I talked with Josh McFall, a December 2017 graduate. He studied accounting and participated in many camppus activities. Here is the interview that transpired:

Can you tell me a little about your academic journey?

I started my pursuit for higher education at Kent State University Trumbull Campus in the fall of 2013 as an undecided business major, after a semester I declared my major as Business Management before changing my major to accounting.

I stayed at Kent for two years before transferring to Grove City College. Three of my siblings had attended Grove City and I wasn’t convinced that it was the place for me. One of the turning points in my decision was at my sister Lizzy’s wedding at Harbison Chapel in the fall of 2014. I got to walk around the campus with my sister’s husband Joe, who also graduated from there. During this time, I got to talk with him about my preconceived notions and what I wanted from the remainder of my college career. Ultimately, that conversation and overall experience was the first event that led to my decision to attend Grove City College and I would end up applying about eight months later.

What has been the most difficult thing about graduating mid academic year?

Leaving my fiancée, sister, and friends in a rather anti-climactic way. I am a sentimental person, so I like having solid beginnings and endings as they help me compartmentalize my feelings and emotions. Graduating and leaving campus halfway through the academic school year is rather akin to walking out of a movie theater 10 minutes before the end of a movie while your friends all stay and watch it. You miss the last semester excitement and relief you share with other seniors who are about to graduate and walk to receive their diploma in May. I felt that excitement and relief mostly alone, and there was no fanfare or send off when I left campus. The vibe was just that of another winter break, and everyone else would see each other in a month.

Mind you, this is no fault of Grove City’s. There is nothing they could do to change the way things are. I was privileged to attend a dinner for the few seniors graduating in December at President and Mrs. McNulty’s house and it was a lovely time. Also, I will be back in May to walk, but if I’m being honest that is more for my parents than myself. If I had my way, I would choose not to walk simply because I have closed that chapter of my life and I am in a new one now (like I said, solid beginnings and endings).

What do you miss the most about Grove City?

What I miss may not be something unique to only Grove City, like chapel requirements, or jokes about rings by spring, but are unique to my personal experience and how it shaped my life. I miss the shenanigans and community of my transfer hall in Hicks, while living in the room with the window right above the trash cans everyone walks by to go to dinner. And I miss bonding with the guys of Pan Sophic while being their RA, and being given the opportunity to help foster community on my hall. And I miss having to amend my plan to get engaged multiple times due to inclement weather, another fraternity’s rush event, and a marching band competition this past October (I did finally pop the question and she said yes!). This is a tiny sliver of all that I value from my time and are they exclusively things that could have happened at Grove City? No, they could have happened at any college, but they didn’t, they happened at Grove City. And for that reason, I miss and reminisce about my time there. Those buildings and grounds will always be hallowed to me, not because they had uniqueness or specialness that was intrinsic to them (though they certainly do and that does play into it), but because that is the place where I built part of who I am today. So what I miss most is basically everything, the whole chapter beginning to end. I can’t think of one thing without being reminded of five other things.

What have you done post-graduation?

I work at Schneider Downs & Co in Pittsburgh which is a public accounting firm, and I am studying for the CPA exam.

How would you describe GCC’s community in your own words?

When people look at Grove City College, diversity is not necessarily the first thing that pops into their head’s, but to assume that the community here is totally homogeneous is very far from reality, I try to avoid making blanket statements for this reason. Like any other place, the overall community is like a patchwork quilt, and each patch in the quilt is itself another patchwork quilt, all the way down to the individual level. It’s true but ironic because I did end up just making a “blanket” statement… quilt… get it?

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Alumni Profile: Anson Hadley

Anson Hadley

Class of 2017

Biology/ Pre-Med Major

Campus Involvement:

  • Fellowship of Christian Athletes
  • Tri Beta Honorary Society
  • Tri Rho Housing Group
  • Varsity Diving
  • New Life
  • Mentorship Project

I had the immense pleasure of meeting Anson my freshman year. We were both new to the diving team, him as a senior and me as a freshman. I also got connected with him as he was my mentor in the Mentorship Project, a campus organization that pairs up upperclassmen to underclassmen for mentors in their college lives. Anson joined diving his senior year as a new experience and we both learned how to dive together.

Anson currently attends Palmer College of Chiropractic in Florida (are you jealous yet?) after graduating in the spring of 2017. How did Grove City get a New England beach boy to the beaches on the other end on the country? I had the pleasure of talking with Anson on how Grove City impacted and prepared him for his post-Grove City plans. “I would say that Grove City has challenged me to be who I am, not so much who other people want me to be,” said Anson. When it comes to Grove City College’s academic’s Anson said “It’s challenged me academically, which is good for where I want to be now in Chiropractic school.”

Anson also mentioned how Grove City College had an effect on his spirituality, which is not something many people get to have developed in their college experience at other colleges and universities. He mentioned that he came in religious and yes, Grove City College maintained that, but there was a message of “being scared of complacency” that grew inside him that hugely impacted his faith. From the experiences I have had with Anson his senior year and what I have learned from his persona is that he is very outgoing and outspoken with his faith. It is an impact that Grove City College has also had no me. Being a part of a community that is so strong in their faith has made me more confident about who God made me and to not let anything stop me from pursuing God’s destined role for me in the world.

Photos of Florida (I know right!!!)

 

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Alumni Profile: Molly Gallant

Molly Gallant

Class of 2017

Mechanical Engineering Major

Campus Involvement:

  • Treasurer ODK
  • Orientation Board
  • Co-Captain Swim Team
  • All-Campus Sing
  • Swim Team Bible Study Leader
  • FCA
  • Ta/ Tutor Physics
  • ICO Rhode Island
  • Team Leader Senior Design Team
  • Water Polo

Where are you at now and what are you doing?

I am living in Phoenix, AZ and I am teaching high school physics in a charter school network that adheres to a classical liberal arts curriculum. I also doing some swim coaching for their high school and middle school teams.

How did you see Grove City College help you to the career you are in now?

I feel like Grove City gave me a lot of opportunities to lead groups and communities on campus. I think I got a lot of practice just leading groups of people like bible studies, the swim team, or a senior design team and that really helped me learn how to lead a classroom. TAing and tutoring even. I’ve had lot of opportunities to practice and I think that’s really cool. I had to seek out these opportunities, but they were definitely there.

Also, I had some really great professors. Dr. Edwards and Dr. Harvey recommended this network I’m teaching at right now. While I love engineering and physics (what I’m teaching), I also love the classical teaching methods that I obtained from the Humanities classes. Dr. Edwards helped me combine my love for physics and my love for education.

The biggest push would be because I think that I had teachers that were willing to push me to do things differently than I thought they were. In my humanities classes, I was challenged to think about things differently. I had teachers willing to tell me I was wrong and forced me to think of things differently. It wasn’t atmosphere where I could be willing to fail but be supported in my academics and I strive to continue that atmospheres in my classes now. I’ll say stuff to my classes that professors said to me in my classes, which is cool.

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Catching Up with Alumni: Lauren Schmitt ’15, Music Education

Grove City College Music Education

Knowing how four years and a degree from Grove City College can help you will help make your college search so much easier, so I caught up with 2015 graduate, Lauren Schmitt, to see how her Music Education degree from Grove City College was helping her now.

Q. For what age range is your teaching certification?

A. My education certification is K-12 and I am also certified to teach both vocal music and instrumental music.

Q. I know you live in New Jersey. Since Grove City is located in Pennsylvania did you have an trouble getting your certification to transfer from Pennsylvania to New Jersey?

A. I had no trouble getting my PA certification to transfer to an NJ certification. All I had to do was send in a copy of my PA cert and they sent me an NJ cert. PA and NJ have very similar expectations and requirements for their teachers so the certifications transfer over really easily.

Q. What is your current position and who is your current employer?  Did your Grove City degree help/hinder you in getting that position?

A. I currently teach 4th and 5th grade instrumental music (band) in the Parsippany Troy-Hills School District. I’m not really sure if my Grove City degree helped or hindered in me getting this position. Since I grew up in the district that I’m working in, I have a lot of connections with the other music teachers in the district. I think that helped me a lot in getting an interview as well as getting the position. The one thing that certainly helped in the interview process was that when I did my student teaching, I got to student teach with all grades K-12. Most colleges in the NJ area don’t have that opportunity for their students. On the secondary level they either student teach at a middle school or a high school level. When I did my student teaching at Lakeview, they had one band teacher for both the middle school and high school so I had the opportunity to work with beginner students as well as the most advanced students in the school.

Q. I know you are also working on grad school classes, what has that experience been like?  Has your Grove City degree helped/hindered you in any way?

A. I am currently about half way done with my Masters in Music Education through Boston University’s online program. It has been a great experience so far, but completely different from any other education experience I’ve ever had. Since I’m taking all of my classes online, I pretty much get to set the pace of everything I’m learning, I just need to make sure I’m handing in all of my assignments on time. Most of my contact with my professors is all through email which is something I’m still getting used to. Grove City College definitely helped me with figuring out the best way to balance my schedule. I’m still working while I’m taking classes so my schedule can sometimes get a little crazy. In the fall, along with grad school and work, I was also working with our high school marching band five days a week. I am constantly trying to find a balance between getting work done and doing school work. Thankfully, at Grove City I was a member of a lot of musical ensembles and most of my nights were spent in rehearsals. I usually never got back to my room until about 9:30 every night. Because of this, I had to find time to get all of my homework done, which is kind of like what I’m doing now. I’ve also been able to take a lot of the material that I learned in my classes at Grove City and apply them to my grad school classes.

Q. What do you miss most about Grove City College?

A.  The biggest thing I miss about Grove City is the community of friends I had out at school. As a music ed major, I was taking most of my classes with the same people every day for four years. Because of this, we grew really close pretty quickly. Two out of my three roommates my senior year were also music ed majors. I also became really close with a lot of my professors. Since most of the music professors teach multiple classes, we were able to have them over a number of semesters. Since our class sizes were small, we got to know our professors really well. I miss how much the professors cared about you as a person and not just as a student. I still remember my senior year, I had a midterm review in my Issues in Education class an hour before my senior recital jury. I remember talking to the professor about it a few days before the class and she told me that she knew I wasn’t going to be able to focus on class that day so I should get the notes from someone else and focus on my jury. When I saw her after my jury, she made sure to ask how I did and you could tell she was genuinely interested to hear how I did.

Q. Would you recommend Grove City College to prospective high school students?  Why or why not?

A. I would recommend Grove City to prospective High School students, especially if you do well in small classroom settings. When I was first looking at colleges, I knew I was looking for a smaller classroom setting because I knew that’s how I learned better. I wanted to be able to ask my professors questions and have them know who I was. This is exactly what I got at Grove City, even in my humanities classes.

Q. What is your best piece of advice for an incoming Grove City College student?

A. I have two pieces of advice or incoming Grove City students. My first piece of advice is to get to know your professors. Once I got to know my professors well, it changed the way I learned at Grove City. I wasn’t afraid to go in to their office hours and ask them questions. It also helps because you are going to be sitting in their class two or three times a week. If you can get to know them and they get to know you, it makes class more interesting. My other piece of advice is to get involved in activities on campus. My freshman year, I didn’t participate in many things outside of class. I thought it might help to make my transition into college a little easier. I was in marching band, but other than that I didn’t participate in many other activities. My sophomore year, I joined every major performing ensemble on campus (marching band, concert band, wind ensemble, orchestra, and choir) as well as a few other performing groups (woodwind quintet, flute choir, pit orchestra, etc.) and it changed my whole GCC experience. I got to know so many more people and experience a lot of new things. I even got to play with the woodwind quintet at the president’s house. Yes, it may make your schedule a little more crazy, but it is totally worth it.  

Q. Is there anything else that you would like to share about experience during or after your time at Grove City College?

A. Because of my time spent at Grove City, I felt really prepared for life after college. With the information I learned in class, I felt completely ready to take over a classroom of my own. Grove City prepares you for what you are going to face in the future. Also, just because you leave school, it doesn’t mean that you stop learning. Don’t stop looking for opportunities to learn outside of the classroom. There is always room for improvement.

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Catching Up with Alumni: Joe Hanson ’17, Mechanical Engineering

Grove City College Mechanical Engineering

While your college experience is certainly formative and the environment at a college is definitely a huge factor in choosing the one that is right for you, you also want to know that your degree will be worth something after your four years are over.  I recently caught up with 2017 graduate, Joe Hanson to see how he is using his degree and how his time at Grove City College impacted him.

Q. What is your current position and who is your current employer?  How did you connect with this employer?

A.  I am a mechanical engineer at Karpinski Engineering. Taking the Career Fair seriously was the best decision I made in my four years in college. I was able to talk to many companies and gain valuable insight and experience in talking to professionals in a professional setting. It was much easier than expected; I talked to around 10 companies, and each was engaging and offered unique insight into the working world. I talked to Karpinski for about 10 minutes and received an email with an interview invitation a couple weeks later. I ended up interviewing with three different companies in late September and early October, and all companies were present on campus at either the Career Fair or in a separate campus event.

Q. How did Grove City/your Grove City degree help/hinder you finding employment?

A. A mechanical engineering degree made my job search fairly easy. My opinion, from personal experience as well as seeing others’ experiences, is that someone pursuing a mechanical engineering degree can expect to find great success as long as he/she is active in the job search. The Career Fair is a very easy and accessible opportunity to meet potential employers and allows people to personally connect. Applying to jobs online is much less personal and often made me feel reduced to a number.

Q. What do you miss most about Grove City?

A. I miss the community most. I made great friendships at Grove City, and, while many have continued past college, I miss having everyone all together on one campus.

Q. Would you recommend Grove City to perspective high school students?  Why or why not?

A. Grove City offers a great value of an education. The price is right, and employment opportunities are plentiful. Humanities courses were informative and well-rounded as well, and a few classes forced young Christians to evaluate and challenge their personal beliefs, a very important part of one’s spiritual journey. I would recommend Grove City to anyone wanting a balanced, wholesome education and experience with a job offer at the end of it.

Q. What is your best piece of advice for an incoming Grove City student?

A. Hit the ground running. Talk to professors, get ahead in your classes, get involved in clubs on campus, find ways to meet upperclassmen. Form as many connections as you can upon arrival, before you and your peers are buried in the books.

Q. Is there anything else that you would like to share about your experience during or after life at Grove City?

A. It was a wonderful experience. There were many difficult semesters (everyone learns that Grove City classes are not a cakewalk), but they were well worth the effort. There are few places you’ll encounter in life that offer a plethora of social and educational opportunities that are generally wholesome throughout.

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10 Reasons I am Grateful to be a Grover

1. I have a new home-away-from-home, and it’s beautiful!

Seriously, have you seen this campus? If you have not, you need to! Here are a few pictures to hold you over until you can come visit us.

2. So many amazing people have been Grovers.

All it takes to be impressed by past Grovers is a quick perusal of the alumni achievement award winners. Find them here: alumni.gcc.edu 

These stories just scratch the surface. Countless entrepreneurs, business executives, authors, lawyers, and engineers have used their Grove City degree to make an impact.

3. So many amazing people ARE Grovers!

Did you catch that subtle difference? Hint: I put it in all caps to help you out. 

I could go on for hours about the phenomenal people I have met here, but I will save some time, and let you find out for yourself.

4. As a Grover, I have the privilege to learn from some of the best professors around.

I couldn’t imagine going to college without these professors. The faculty here is more caring and understanding than I expected college professors to be. They really are here to help their students learn and grow as people. Not only are the profs incredibly intelligent, knowledgeable, and helpful, they are also fun and enthusiastic about their respective areas of expertise. Fun story: I once had a professor jump off of a table because he was so excited about Vivaldi. That is the kind of passion you find at Grove City.

If you want to find out more about our outstanding faculty, check out some of the faculty feature blog posts or this link: Faculty Directory

5. Being a Grover means I am challenged everyday.

Grove City College prides itself on rigorous academics, and there is a reason for that. The nature of the curriculum ensures that you will not be able to get away with sleeping in class. But why would you want to do that anyway? You will learn so much (even in the humanities core) that your tuition dollars will be well worth it.

6. It has taught me what it means to live, learn, and worship in community.

Because Grove City is a relatively small school, students have the opportunity to a much larger proportion of the student body than at a larger college or university. I personally know the majority of people in my major, but I have also had the opportunity to meet people outside of my major through core classes that all students are required to take.

Not only do Grovers live and learn in community, we also worship together, both during weekly chapel services and on Thursday night Warriors services. Warriors is a student-led worship service held in the chapel. If you want to read more about it, check out this student blog:

7. I understand things that only Grovers get.

King McNulty. Shoe in the door. The swim test. The scooter gang.

Hierarchy of people at Grove City:   1. Jesus    2. Ronald Reagan    3. C.S. Lewis    4. President McNulty

These might not make a lot of sense to you right now, but Grovers get it.

8. By the time I graduate, I’ll have spent four years in a community that strives to glorify God in all things.

Yes, even sports.

9. I get to learn from the unique successes and failures of Grovers who have gone before me and come back to campus just because they care.

I can’t count the number of alums who have come back to speak on campus. Their stories are always inspiring, informative, and insightful. The best part is that they come back because they love the College and they care about the students.

10. Most of all (as you may have guessed already), I am grateful to be a Grover because of all the wonderful people here.

Considering five of my points have been about people, this should not be a surprise. These ten points can be summed up as follows: You will not find people like those at Grove City College anywhere else!

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Entrepreneurial Successes: Homecoming Businesses

The Center for Entrepreneurship + Innovation at Grove City College

The Entrepreneurship department at Grove City College is a high-energy, supportive, and fun community, but perhaps the best part is that students come out of the program fully equipped to start businesses and many start them even before graduation! The Center for Entrepreneurship + Innovation at Grove City College hosted a tent at Homecoming this year, and I took the opportunity to get to know some of our alumni and student business owners and their businesses. Everyone in this video is either a current student here, or graduated this past year, in May 2017. The Entrepreneurship department and the Center for Entrepreneurship + Innovation serve students of all majors, so be sure to check them out regardless of what you’re studying!

For more information about each of the businesses see each of their websites:

Graphrite (Keith Meikrantz ’18, Austin Zick ’18, Maddie Williams ’18, Samuel Kenney ’18): https://www.graphrite.com

PeeWee Packs (Ross Harrington ’17, Hannah Vaccaro ’18): https://www.linkedin.com/company/peewee-packs/

Hoot Book Revival (Natalie Webb ’17): https://www.hootbookrevival.com/

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Parents’ Perspective: Grove City College and an Ivy League University

I am part of a loving, wonderful family of four. Three out of the four of our family members are Grovers. In typical Grove City College fashion, my parents met at the College, graduated in ’86, and were married later that year.

On a daily basis, I navigate the challenges and joys that come along with being a senior in college. However, I am not the only one in my family who is a senior this year. My twin brother, Joe, attends an Ivy League university where he studies as a pre-med student.

Compared to other parents of college-age students, my parents possess a unique prospective. They have seen Joe and I tackle each year in our higher education experience. They have witnessed how we responded to new and exciting changes, amazing opportunities, and difficult struggles at our respective schools. Additionally, they have constantly supported my brother and I throughout our college endeavors and trials. Recently, I had the pleasure of sitting down and questioning my parents about their experience as parents with kids attending two very different schools.

Overall, please describe your opinions of each college.

We think that both colleges have a high level of academic quality in their programs. We believe both colleges have the right fit for certain students. Not everyone can successfully navigate Grove City College or [the Ivy League university]. We like that Grove City College promotes strong Christian values. On the other hand, we like that [the Ivy League university] has a wide diversity in both its student body and academic staff. We have a high opinions of each college, but for different reasons. We would recommend both schools depending on the prospective student. It seems to us that growth is emphasized at Grove City College while multi- cultural inclusion is emphasized at [the Ivy League university].

What stands out to you about each child’s college experience?

Both of our children have matured and gained not only book knowledge but also practical life skills during their college experiences. [The Ivy League university] has provided raw exposure to many new and diverse opportunities, limited only by the choices made. Grove City College always reflects a Christian worldview lens.

How has each college supported your child?

Both of our children have had positive interactions with their advisors. With student volunteer EMS squad and a variety of research opportunities in practically every field, our son was able to pursue his interests and be active in exploring new activities. With so much “noise” out there, Grove City College has supported our daughter by consistently lifting Christian values and making Jesus bigger than anything in the world.

What can be said about the value of each college? (Price)

[The Ivy League university] meets the financial need of a family; we found that the financial aid package offered to us put an Ivy League school within reach (with sacrifice and loans, but there was a way to do it). Grove City College has more limited financial aid and does not participate in federal financial aid programs. For our family situation, it turned out to be relatively costly (again, sacrifice and loans). We found that our love for a special school (we are alumni) and belief that a Christian college is providing more than simply just an opportunity for academics factored in. We feel good about the value of both schools.

What is your favorite thing about each college?

We love the beauty and size of the Grove City College campus as well as the commitment to be Christian to the core. [The Ivy League university] has strong academics, reflecting a place of learning and hard thinking as well as the varied choices of study.

What advice would you give parents who currently have a child selecting a college?

Do not look exclusively at their programs. Make sure that the colleges being considered are a good fit with the child. Additionally, understand your child. What does he/she need in an environment? What does he/she need in terms of programs and activities? What does he/she need in terms of academics and studies? We think it is a matter of helping your child select a school that matches most naturally with what he/she needs to transition into adulthood.

 

 

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2017 Veterans Day Assembly

From left to right: David Post, Colonel Chris Miller, and Dr. Bruce Ketler

Veterans Day is a time to remember those who have served our country. To spend a day commemorating the sacrifices of the military seems like such a small token to show my gratitude. I believe the men and women serving, both actively and those who are veterans, should be remembered and prayed for daily. My family is very involved in the military and when I see a military member in uniform, I go up to them, shake their hand, and thank them for their service. It is the least I can do. We cannot understand the horrors of war if we have not experienced them. Thankfully, there are those brave enough to answer the call to serve others and our country before themselves.

At Grove City College, there have been many graduates who have answered that call to serve. For Veterans Day 2017, the Delta Iota Kappa fraternity at Grove City College sponsored a Veterans Day Assembly. The assembly was held on Friday, November 10th in Sticht Lecture Hall. When I saw the poster in the Student Union announcing the assembly, I knew I wanted to go. My brother-in-law is currently an Air Force pilot, my uncle went to West Point, my dad was an Air Traffic Controller, and my great-uncle died in Iwo Jima at age 19.  Having family directly involved in the military makes me appreciate their sacrifice even more.

The assembly began with a showing of a Vietnam War documentary film by Liam Hughes. The film was very informative about the sequence of events leading up to, during, and after the Vietnam war. There was also historical footage and scenes of the war itself. Seeing the footage makes the war come to life. When I read about wars in textbooks, it seems just like a story. Watching footage of bombings and the causalities of war makes me realize the horrors that occurred and the strength that it took to endure.

After the documentary, three Grove City College graduates and all members of the United States Air Force, spoke about their experiences serving. Colonel Chris Miller attended Grove City College from 1978-1982 and was a member of the ROTC. He served 25 years as a C-130 navigator. The C-130 was used mostly for tactical airlift operations. Colonel Miller shared many stories from his years of service. Dr. Bruce Ketler is a veteran Air Force pilot. He served in the Vietnam War, Desert Storm, and Iraqi Freedom. David Post graduated from Grove City College in 2014 and is a 1st Lieutenant and a C-130 navigator in the Air Force. Hearing their stories and some of the close calls and dangerous situations they have been in was really an eye-opening experience.

So, make sure to thank a veteran or anyone in the military. I do not think that we should wait for one day a year to show our appreciation for those who serve. What are some ways to show your gratitude? First, you can approach anyone you see in their military uniform, or if they are wearing a veteran hat. Thank them for their service and shake their hand. It means so much to them. In airports, I often see military members in their uniform, so that is a great opportunity to approach them. Secondly, look online for websites that do service projects for veterans and military members. Many accept care packages, handmade scarfs and hats, and paracord bracelets. Once, I ordered some paracord and taught myself how to make the bracelets and then send them to a military care package facility. Thirdly, write a thank you note. A heartfelt note can brighten someone’s day! Lastly, pray for our military daily. Prayer is so important and it is the least that we can do to show our support.

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Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Mobley

Dr. Jennifer Mobley is a Communication Studies professor and advisor here at Grove City College. She’s taught several classes, including Research Methods, Public Relations, Writing for the Media, Professional Communication. I have taken Research Methods and Public Relations with her, and I can say that I have experienced her unique, hands-on, student-focused teaching style firsthand. She always jokes about the coincidence that she ended up teaching at Grove City, her alma mater, because she had always been extremely opposed teaching for her whole life. I was lucky enough to hear her story of how she ended up here, and how her unconventional teaching style plays such a big role.

How is Grove City different now than it was when you were a student?
Mobley said that a lot of things here at Grove City are still similar her second time on campus, and in some ways it feels as though she’s never left. The campus itself has literally changed, however, as some iconic buildings at Grove City such as HAL and the Student Union hadn’t been built yet when she was a student here. Culture-wise, Mobley said, the college has somewhat changed. For example, the term “Grover” used to have a positive connotation, being associated with hard-working students, but now it is somewhat more negative and synonymous with “perfectionist” or “over-achiever.” Positively, though, there is now an openness to creativity that wasn’t here when she was a student. She said that there is more diversity of opinions, it is less homogeneous, and it is more complex and nuanced than the Grove City stereotypes like “Groverachievers” and “Ring by Spring” make it out to be.

Dr. Mobley has many fond memories of her time here as a student, one of which being the ability to see how close and tight-knit the English and Communication professors were. She feels lucky to be able to return and be a part of the English-Communication family here, especially since it is a part of a greater intellectually and spiritually transforming community that so closely embodied her own values.

You were at first opposed to the idea of teaching. What did you want to do instead?
Dr. Mobley started out at Grove City as a secondary education major; however, the more she experienced it, the more she disliked teaching. As a matter of fact, it got to the point that Mobley swore to herself that she would never become a teacher. By her junior year, she had changed majors from Education to Communication, and most of her schedule was filled with comm classes such as journalism, public relations, public speaking, and persuasion theory. Within this new discipline, the opportunities were wide open for her. After this, Dr. Mobley gained a lot of communication-related experience during her time as a Grove City student.

Mobley worked as a writer and a journalist, and eventually she became the editor of The Collegian, the campus newspaper. She spent the summer after her junior year in Poland and then in Israel with the Anti-Defamation league, which is a summer-long fellowship helping newspaper editors understand Middle Eastern peace issues. In Poland, she was exposed to Jewish history, and then in Israel, she got to witness it as it happened. Mobley wrote a series of articles as a part of this program, and so far she liked journalism; although when she began her senior year, her writing interest shifted from journalism to creative writing.

Creative writing allowed Mobley to do things her own way and take her time writing without the deadlines that come with newspaper writing. At this point, however, she didn’t have a solid career path, but she was encouraged to enroll in graduate school as a placeholder until she knew what to do. Mobley, on the other hand, believed that when it came to grad school, one should know why they are attending or not attend at all. With no other post-graduation plans, however, Mobley found herself attending graduate school while applying for advertising jobs, writing jobs, or whatever she had to do. The first job that she landed was in event planning, followed by career services, public relations, grant writing, and program design and development. Mobley was invigorated by the ways that these jobs allowed her to bring people together, and she didn’t see a way that teaching would allow her to accomplish that.

How did you end up teaching?
Dr. Mobley wasn’t specifically opposed to teaching at Grove City. She was opposed to teaching at all. The reason for this was that she believed that she wouldn’t be able to fit the traditional mold of what a teacher should be. She isn’t the type of person to assign worksheets and textbook readings, talk about right and wrong answers, and grade quizzes.

Dr. Mobley fought the idea of teaching every step of the way, because she needed to be able to make a real difference for people and for the community. If she were to teach, she wanted to be able to take an experimental, applied, unconventional approach to learning. As a Grove City student, Mobley had gotten the chance to work with the college on a massive bicentennial celebration campaign in both her PR class and an independent study. This was the first time that she got to apply what she had learned in her communication classes and work outside of the classroom to make a difference. She knew that this was the style of communication work she wanted to do. Her passion could not be contained within the four walls of a classroom.

Unfortunately, during her graduate education, Mobley was required to teach a course in order to graduate. Still fighting it, she said that she wanted to do the work, not teach it. The only way that they were able to convince her to teach was by telling her that she could do both. She could apply real-world communication experience into the classroom, and she could work alongside her students. So with her luck, Mobley was assigned to teach a public speaking class. This was a required course for all students at that university, it was two hours long, and it was at 8 o’clock in the morning. The students didn’t want to be there, and Dr. Mobley definitely didn’t want to be there.

Cliché as it turns out, however, the rest is history. Dr. Mobley walked in on the first day of class and instantly fell in love with it. Convinced that the first day of class was a fluke and it really would be terrible, she approached the next class skeptically. Again, though, she loved it. It turned out that she didn’t have to teach out of a textbook, she didn’t need to make everyone do the same thing, and she didn’t have to be the traditional teacher. In the public speaking class, she worked alongside students to help them develop usable speeches, she brought in speakers from the community, and she was able to be herself: and this is why the students loved her so much.

What brought you back to Grove City?
While in grad school, Dr. Mobley was invited back to Grove City to speak to the Women of Faith group, and while she was here, she stopped into a classroom for a moment. In the room was a janitor who had been her classmate during her undergrad in an education technology class. He mentioned that he had seen a sign for her speaking to the Women of Faith, and he told her that she had been so kind to him in their class and she had helped him a lot. Mobley said that this reminded her of how personable everyone is here, and she said that the community truly does stick with you. By this time, she had decided that she would indeed like to teach, but she was more interested in possibly moving to the west coast, possibly teaching at a secular institution. She had been urged to teach somewhere that offered tenure and allowed her to do research. Those around her saw her return to this private liberal arts college as a step back from where she was headed.

Mobley, however, had an intuitive feeling that she could bring out the creativity in Grove City’s students. She knew that she wouldn’t fit the mold here, but she would be able to do her own thing and fulfill a need for unconventional students without linear career paths. She could show them that even if they don’t follow the straightfoward way of life, there are so many opportunities for everyone. She could show them because she had lived through it: after college, she hadn’t known what she was going to do, but she had worked in so many different areas of communication that she would bring out the creativity in students and increase their confidence in an unconventional career path. She ended up manifesting this ideology into students by replicating professional experiences within the classroom, being involved with nonprofits and companies, meeting with students one-on-one and in small groups, and tailoring her communication specifically for different students.

If you could give one piece of advice to incoming freshmen, what would it be?
Dr. Mobley said that she lives by a quote from Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet that says “Live your questions.” There is always a pressure to come up with answers today, but she believes that this puts unnecessary pressure on oneself. She doesn’t want her students to miss the greater part of being present and building relationships here and now, because there is no one day when you wake up and say “I have arrived.” Life is an ongoing process, and even as an adult, she still wonders daily where she will end up in six months or in a year. The future is a mystery, and she says we ought not to be afraid of it, but excited about what could happen. Mobley said that becoming is a process, and it is bigger than a job title or what you do from nine to five, but rather it is the person you are in the midst of those titles. She said that for her, it is about helping students become who are created to be in those small moments, because those small things are the things themselves. For her, it’s not about the destination. It’s about the journey.