Category: Campus Events

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ICO Aliquippa Experience

After going on ICO Aliquippa in the fall semester, I knew I wanted to go back in the spring. When preparing for this trip, I kept thinking back to the fall trip and wondering how similar and different it would be.

During the fall trip, we were always busy helping others, focusing on fixing things and meeting people in Aliquippa. We focused on going to the different neighborhoods and housing plans, walking around to hand out food to families and play with little kids. With the kids, we taught them about Jesus, played with them, and did Bible studies with them. A majority of our time was creating relationships and becoming familiar with Aliquippa to then come back in the spring and continue building those relationships.

When we came back in the spring, it felt like we picked up where we left off. We got to see all the people we met in the fall and spend days working and serving with them. Compared to the fall, we focused on being servants and serving others well while building the relationships we created. For a few days, we got to talk with Marie and help repair and clean parts of her house and learn more about her life. This was the most difficult part of the trip for me but also was an important lesson and reminder. Everyone has a different story and some people are not as fortunate as you, but they are the ones who are most joyful and grateful. We also spent time working at Uncommon Grounds Café and food banks, helping serve them in any way that they need. For a majority of our week, we worked with Communicycle, a non-profit organization, repairing and replacing bikes to give them to a kids’ summer camp. We spent a lot of time with Brownie, who helps out at Communicycle, and got to see how much of an impact he has left on people and how God has performed miracles in his life. One of my favorite parts about being on an ICO trip are the relationships and the people you meet and spend time with. We still talk to everyone we worked with during the fall and spring and go back to Uncommon Grounds Café to help them, in anyway they need.

Every night, we took time to talk about our highs, lows, and God sightings of the day. Thinking and answering these questions helped to keep our focus on why we were on this trip, to serve others through God. The fall trip had a positive impact on me but this trip really pushed me in my faith. If you are looking at Grove City College or have decided to come in the fall, I recommend looking into an ICO trip or going on one. Not only do you get to spend time with your peers, but you get to meet so many people in a different area and serve with them while doing it for the glory of God.

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Election Night 2020

Grove City College is such a special place for so many reasons, but one reason why I particularly find the college to be such a unique place is because of the students’ passion for politics. Many college students have little interest in politics – but not Grovers!

Being that Grove City College is a conservative Christian college, many students are Republican. Weeks before the election, students wore their “Trump gear” loud and proud. I have seen more MAGA red hats and “Trump 2020 T-shirts” on campus than anywhere else. Students here are passionate about what they believe and they are not afraid to show it. I find it so wonderful that students can express their beliefs and be supported by so many others.

Even though many Grove City students may be the minority for being Republicans (most college-aged students are liberal), we are not afraid to show it! Election night was on Tuesday and it was a pretty tense day around campus. Students did not know what to expect and were eager to see the results. In the Student Union, students gathered to watch both the presidential and vice-president debates. There was a great turnout for both events. Tuesday night, students gathered outside of the student union from 7 p.m. to midnight to watch the results of the presidential election come in. The election was projected onto a large white screen outside, chairs and heat lamps were set up, and there were plenty of snacks. Like I said, many students here are passionate about politics – so passionate that they are willing to sit outside in the cold to watch the election. This election was especially important for our country and it is really neat that students could gather together to watch the results. Obviously, we did not find out the results of the election that night, but I am really glad that I got to experience this election at Grove City College. I am so proud to attend a college where I can voice my opinion freely and where students are in such strong community with each other.

As a senior, election day 2020 is one day that I will always remember. It was so fun to watch the election with other students. Grove City College truly is a unique place and I feel so blessed that I am able to experience the values that many students share.

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Spooky Season Strategics: Your Horror Movie Guide

It’s October, you’re stuck inside your dorm room with nothing to do, how about a horror movie? As spooky season approaches, the weather gets colder, the days become shorter, and sleep schedules everywhere are thrown into chaos because of scary movies. Guys confidently ask girls to come over to watch “The Conjuring” or “Get Out” only to realize they can’t make it through the movie without frequently crying and nervously checking the dim lit hallway on the other side of the house. Having a boo to watch horror flicks with makes everything better, and a bowl of popcorn and a blanket doesn’t hurt either, but regardless of your tactics to reduce the fright factor, these five movies are sure to stick with you long after the credits roll.

1. The Shining:

An oldie but a goodie, this serial killer thriller stars Jack Nicholson in a role you won’t soon forget.

2. The Conjuring:

Warning: for experienced horror movie fans only! There’s no other way to say it, you will not sleep for at least a week after viewing this movie. Watch at your own risk, and with others. That said, it’s an excellent movie staring Patrick Wilson, a top tier actor.

3. Poltergeist:

Another oldie that illusively contains some considerably scary moments for a 1982 film. The shot for shot 2015 remake is good as well, and the advanced special effects make it even scarier.

4. Get Out:

Jordan Peele directed and wrote this psychological thriller that catapulted Daniel Kaluuya into the national spotlight. You might want to watch a Disney movie directly after this film for recovery because it plays with the mind and introduces true fear into a seemingly loving relationship in a way that will haunt you for days.

5. A Nightmare on Elm Street:

Everyone knows about Freddy Krueger, the burnt faced, claw handed, hat wearing, dream killer. The lines are cheesy, the special effects are elementary, and the scares won’t leave you trembling but for some reason, A Nightmare on Elm Street is a must watch in the horror genre.

As October rolls along and we creep toward Halloween, it’s vital to have a base foundation of go-to scary movies for the season. When asked about his horror movie preferences, Nick Grasso, creator of GrassyFilms said, “Scary movies are elite and effective, especially at Halloween. Watching some new ones and some old ones can make for a great time for a group of friends or a couple on a date. There’s just no feeling like being scared.” Don’t forget to do some research before hand and make sure to find at least 1 other person to watch with, because face it: only crazy people watch horror movies alone. Grab some snacks and soda and a seat on the sofa for a hauntingly good time this Halloween with any of the movies listed above, and don’t forget to check the cellar door before you go to bed! Happy watching, and happy Halloween.

 

 

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Event Spotlight: Humans Vs. Zombies

Imagine a quiet afternoon in Grove City. Most students are peacefully heading to and from their classes without a care in the world. But for a few students, an apocalypse is brewing. These students carry Nerf blasters and sock-balls to defend themselves. They quickly slink between buildings, checking corners and dashing across clearings. There are zombies on the loose. This is Humans vs. Zombies. 

Humans vs. Zombies (or HvZ for short) is a week-long event open to all students that takes place once every semester. HvZ is effectively a game of infection tag that lasts an entire week, with students needing to defend themselves on their way to and from classes. The human team must wear an identifying armband while the zombies wear headbands. The humans’ goal is to survive the week while completing objectives to keep the zombies at bay. The zombies’ goal is as you might expect: to turn all the humans into zombies. Zombies do so by tagging the humans. But the humans are not entirely helpless–they get Nerf blasters or other foam-flinging items that stun the zombies. There are also those who forego blasters and instead use sock-balls to stun zombies. If you want to participate in HvZ but do not have any Nerf blasters, fear not! The HvZ community at Grove City prides itself on never having run out of loaner gear for students to use. 

One of the best parts of HvZ is the afterparty, where survivors get to swap war stories and heroic moments over pizza. During the afterparty, awards are distributed. Among them are “The Best Human,” “The Best Zombie,” and “The Best Moment” for each team. My first semester, the best human moment was taken by a junior named Haddon. He was rushed by five zombies at once and managed to live to tell the tale. He took down the first three with three quick shots from his blaster. But as he took his fourth shot, his blaster jammed. In the blink of an eye, he un-holstered his secondary blaster, threw a sock-ball, and shot the last zombie. This heroic stand earned him the title of Grove City’s own John Wick. 

You will hear this story and many more from the students that play HvZ every semester. If you want a heart-racing, action-packed week to add to your college experience, I cannot recommend anything more than HvZ. And do not worry if you feel like you cannot commit to a full week. Starting in 2020, HvZ has added smaller Saturday afternoon events that you can join in on for as long or short as you like. If you are interested in HvZ, or have any questions, you can email them at grovecityhvz@gmail.com. I hope to see you out there!

 

 

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Grove City College Career Fair: When is a Good Time to Go?

Grove City College’s Career Fair is the best recruiting event of the year on campus. Not only is it a great recruiting event, but an amazing networking opportunity. The Career Fair is not only an event to find a job, but a way to obtain internships or a spot in graduate school. With over 160 graduate schools and employers attending the event, there are many options available for each student and their needs. One specific question that may be asked prior to this event is, “When is the best time to start attending?”

Although this event is especially directed toward juniors and seniors, this is a valid question, as a freshman is not yet looking for a career and possibly not an internship either. Although this event may not seem applicable in a freshman’s college career, there are many benefits to attending at this point. Getting familiar with the layout of the Career Fair will help someone become more comfortable for future years and talking with different employers is great experience.

Networking is one of the best aspects of this event as well. Talking to multiple employers can not only help improve your social skills for future interviews, but it also helps an employer get familiar with an individual, which could possibly lead to a future internship and/or job if they are impressed. As a freshman specifically, talking to these employers can even help give guidance as to a career path one may want to go down with a specific degree if a job sounds intriguing. Also, if a freshman comes in as an undeclared major, going to this event could help give a better idea of what does and does not appeal to them.

Attending the Grove City College Career Fair is a very important event for juniors and seniors to attend if an internship or job is not already in place, but it is also very beneficial for freshman and sophomores to attend to expand their knowledge, options, and social interaction skills.

 

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Grove City College Chapel Credits: How Does it Work?

Grove City College has many different opportunities and experiences to offer than your typical state college or university. Having the Christ-centered academics and environment make it much different than many other academic choices. With the selecting of a private college such as this, also comes the academic integrity and the hope of creating a well-rounded adult after graduation. Among many different areas of study and requirements, chapel credits are one selection of criteria that need to be met each semester at Grove City College.

Many prospective students may be curious as to what it means to fulfill chapel credits each semester. I know that when I was about to enter Grove City College, I still did not have a clear understanding of what exactly fulfilling chapel credits entailed. Chapel credits are not credits that are put toward your course load, but are rather their own section of requirements set aside each semester.

Students are required to obtain 16 chapel credits each semester. There are many opportunities to receive these credits, so it is not difficult to fulfill 16 credits. Credits are offered at Sunday night vesper services, Tuesday morning chapel, Thursday morning chapel, and many other credit opportunities offered at randomly stated times throughout the semester. Some incoming students may be concerned about not being able to attend chapel on Tuesdays or Thursdays because of a morning class, but there is no need to fret, as there are no classes during the time of chapel on Tuesday and Thursday morning. There are also double chapel credit opportunities offered throughout the semester as well. Speakers or missionaries are brought onto campus frequently and often times they will speak at chapel services and occasionally in the evenings at appointed times for single or double chapel credit as well.

There are many chapel credit opportunities offered throughout the semester at Grove City College, so it is not a difficult requirement. Also, it is ultimately a great time to worship the Lord as well as learn more about Him through music and sermons.

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A Glance of Pledge Week

Pledge week is a lot of fun for students at Grove City College. It is the process of becoming a member of a Greek group. The Beta Sigma fraternity was founded in 1922. Its colors are red, which represents loyalty, black, which represents strength, and white, which represents pride. The fraternity has 4 main symbols, the bulldog, the handshake, the brick, and the stars, which all symbolize something different. The Beta Sigma Fraternity holds 2 main events a year, the Monster Mash and Professor Preach off. David Bereck, the pledge master (PM) for the Beta Sigma Fraternity, says that it is a week that “unites the pledges with the fraternity as brothers of Christ”. It is a week of building relationships, community, and commitment to the group. A PM is one member of the sorority or fraternity that leads pledge week. He (or she), is in charge of making the schedule of events, attending the events, and leading the rushes from task to task. The PM must act a certain character for the week. He is to act scary and intimidating so that the rushes can build a tighter bond and endure the week together. David says that the most difficult part of being PM is acting the part and not breaking down and helping the guys out. Each morning, the pledges have a time of devotion together before breakfast. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, they attend chapel together. Each evening, they have dinner together, usually with a different sorority each night. The purpose of this is to meet new people who are also involved in Greek life. Throughout the week, pledges must complete certain tasks that are created by the PM. They can be anything from counting the number of cars in the parking lot to presenting a five-minute presentation about the difference between bread and toast. It is a week of endurance, fun, and loyalty. At the end, it is all worth it because you have life-long brothers or sisters.

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Grove City College Camp Fair Spotlight: Alex Berrios

One of the many opportunities offered at Grove City College is the Camp Fair, an event that takes place in the early spring, providing information to students about the various camp opportunities that are offered from many different areas. This is where Alex Berrios, a sophomore elementary education major with a minor in Christian Ministries, received her interview and job placement as a camp counselor at Camp Carl in Ravenna, Ohio.

Alex spoke to me about her experience at the camp fair and how it helped open the door to this amazing opportunity. Camp Carl is a Christian summer camp run by Tom Sullivan who is a resident of Ohio. Mr. Sullivan reached out to Alex and came to Grove City College to interview her for this position. Not only did he leave the Camp Fair with Alex signed up as a camp counselor, but with 12 other Grove City College students as well. With 13 students from one school, it resulted in one of the largest, if not the largest, population of student counselors from one school.

From the Camp Fair experience, Alex was lead into a very fruitful summer. Throughout this 12-week summer camp, there were new age groups of campers rotated each week. Alex and her co-counselor were given between eight to 16 girls each week in whom they invested. Alex stated that she was able to, “witness to them the life of Jesus and demonstrate to them what it meant to be a ‘child of God.'” She was also given the opportunity to form close biblical related relationships with other staff members which she will cherish for many years to come.

From this unforgettable experience the camp fair helped Alex receive, she not only got to help encourage many campers in their walk of faith, but also continue to grow and strengthen her relationship with Christ. She was even given a night to speak and share her testimony to the campers. Alex highly recommends not only Camp Carl, but attending the Camp Fair as a whole.

 

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New Addition To Campus: Food Truck Fridays

Who’s Hangry? During the month of September, Grove City College hosted a variety of different food trucks on campus, and one of those trucks featured Who’s Hangry, Extreme Mountain Pies Food Truck. Even as a busy college student, I made sure I had an extra 10 minutes to stop by the food truck because the food was fantastic. It may not surprise you, but the line was pretty long. This gave me time to decide what I wanted to order from the menu. I mean, check out this menu, it all sounded delicious:

  • Mountain Pies
    • Pepperoni Pizza (#1 favorite, according to the workers)
    • Turkey Rueben
    • President McNulty’s Irish Stew
    • 3 Cheese Grilled Cheese and Bacon
    • Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese
  • Mountain Chips (loaded with bacon or “naked”)

The Big Decision

Finally, my friends and I were ready to order and I opted for President McNulty’s Irish Stew, while my two friends both got the Pepperoni Pizza. Before getting this fluffy, warm mountain pie, I have never had traditional Irish Stew, but I know exactly what I am telling my mother to cook me when I go home for Thanksgiving Break, it was that good! Of course, my friends both loved the Pepperoni Pizza Mountain Pie since it is the number-one seller. Char-Leigh Bates even exclaimed, “I did not know what a mountain pie was before today, now I think I need to travel to Mercer where Who’s Hangry is located to buy more!”

Food Truck Friday

Food Truck Friday 

The majority of students around Grove City College have loved all the food trucks, especially Romeo’s BBQ & Asian Food and Chick-fil-A. The Chick-fil-A food truck was a huge hit and they sold out of sandwiches within an hour! Below is a photo from a student who enjoyed the first food truck, Wieners Gone Wild.

Food Truck Friday

So, if you are a prospective student looking to expand your food palate, the new Food Truck Friday is the perfect opportunity to do just that.

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Campus Spotlight: ICO Fair

What is the ICO Fair? What does it offer?

The Inner City Outreach (ICO) Fair is an event held in the student union every fall semester. The goal of this event is to inform the campus community about what ICO trips our college offers and how they can learn more about the details of these trips. This year we had informational tables set up for ten different ICO trips, most of which will be serving during spring break and the others over Thanksgiving or fall break. The trips in attendance were ICO Los Angeles, Rhode Island, Tucson, Guatemala, Philadelphia, Czech Republic, Chicago, Buffalo, and Grove City.

How did the campus community respond to the fair?

There was a great turnout from the community at the fair. Each trip had a table with their respective leaders there, ready to answer any questions about their trip and offer some insights that might help any fresh faces decide which ICO could be a good fit for them. Although the trickle of students coming in and out of the fair was steady, there was no one trip that dominated the students’ interest. Each table consistently had a number of students around and ready to hear what the leaders had to say about their trip. Most students made it a point to cycle through the room, hearing the stories of each individual trip in attendance, making sure to really get a feel for all of the trips and see where God might be leading them on this journey of service.

How can the students receive more information?

Students can sign up for email lists for individual trips to receive updates as well as look to various posters around campus. This will allow students to know when and where info meetings are being held and how they can take steps toward being on the team of their choosing.