Category: Campus Life

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Hang-out Hot Spots of Grove City College

Grove City College is a much smaller school than most, and with a small campus comes a tight-knit community. As an incoming freshman, you will be practically bombarded with new friends–but once all the fun Orientation Board events die down, where can you go to spend time with your newfound friends? Here is a rundown of some of the best hangout spots on campus.

Several of the dorm buildings on campus also have lounges in them. Some of my fondest memories from here on campus are from movie nights in the lounges of Memorial Hall. Memorial is the freshman-only men’s dorm where I began my Grove City journey. On each of its three floors are lounges equipped with a TV and some comfy couches. While the second and third floor lounges are reserved for the building’s residents, the first floor lounge is fair game for anyone on campus and is a cozy spot for a movie night.

Any list of hangouts on campus would be incomplete without mentioning the Breen Student Union, which is commonly referred to as the SAC (Student Activity Center). The first floor is home to both our mailroom and the Gedunk café. The second floor has a lounge for commuter students and a multipurpose room called the Great Room, both excellent spots for game nights with friends. With plenty of tables and places to sit throughout, the SAC is home to many late-night study sessions. 

Our next spot lands itself among my personal favorites: MAP South basement. Belonging to the women’s dorm called “Mary Anderson Pew South,” this basement (also called South Rec) is one of the coolest spots on campus. It has everything: a ping-pong table, a TV, a full kitchen, several tables and couches, and a fully functioning jukebox. If you want a cool retro atmosphere for your game or movie night, South Rec is the place to be. The kitchen is also fully equipped with pans and an oven if you want to do some baking while you are at the Grove. On weeknights it is usually a quiet spot to study, but on weekends you might be out of luck. 

So far everywhere I have mentioned has been inside, but sometimes you might want to get outside and have some fun in the sun. This brings us to the Quad. The Quad is a large section of lawn situated between the chapel and Crawford Hall. A line of trees creates shade along the edges which makes for great picnic or study spots. Whether you need a spot to relax in the shade or just need some space to play frisbee with your friends, the quad is for you.

Last but certainly not least, is the biggest recreational room on campus: Ketler recreational room. Belonging to the men’s dorm Ketler, it is known by most students as KetRec. KetRec has two ping-pong tables, two foosball tables, three pool tables, a games cabinet, and two TVs, in addition to an adjoining kitchen that can be reserved for student use. KetRec is one of the only rec rooms on campus that is open to all students 24/7. On top of its many fun features, it also has several good spots to read to or do homework in peace.

These are some of the best and most popular spots on campus, but this is by no means a comprehensive list. There are many other spots for you and your friends to explore. Each student has their own personal favorite spots. I will leave it to you to find your own favorite during your time at Grove City. I hope you have as much fun exploring campus as I did, and I wish you well on your college journey!

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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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Workout Facility Adaptations

Grove City College provides its students with an excellent workout facility that has flexible hours to accommodate each student’s schedule. But what happens when a global pandemic hits and harmful germs can possibly be spread through the air?

After pivoting and adjusting to the new normal, Grove City College has done an exceptional job of shifting its workout facilities to make sure we are socially distant compliant and germ-free. Though this disease has impacted shared spaces, the College has still been able to monitor and continue to provide students with an area to work out and relieve stress.

The gym facilities here have undergone quite a few changes, with the biggest being the location switch. Formerly located in two separate rooms, the mechanical and free weights machines have now moved into the College’s Intramural Rooms. The IM Rooms are composed of four basketball courts, each separated by curtains, that allow for students to participate in various activities. The new workout facility has now consumed one of the basketball courts, which unfortunately has limited the number of participants that can play sports in the IM Rooms. Another change that the gym has undergone is a new set of block times to allow for cleaning and sanitizing the equipment after participants have finished.

There are numerous rules now in place for the new workout facility to ensure that everyone can use them safely. The first of these rules is that workouts must be limited to 40 minutes or less. Along with limited workouts, there is also a limited number of participants allowed in the gym at one time. No more than 25 people may workout simultaneously, which allows for social distancing. Masks must be worn at all times in the workout facilities, and equipment must be sprayed down before and after each use. Lastly, student IDs are now being collected upon entry for tracking purposes, in case there is a COVID case reported in the gym. These restrictions may seem aggressive, however, they are vital to ensuring that gym-goers and those that they come into contact with around campus are safe. Grove City is putting their students’ safety at the forefront of their minds, and it shows through the precautions they are taking with the gym.

This is the former free weights workout room.
This is the former mechanical weights room.
After undergoing COVID adaptations, this is the new combined workout room. Free and mechanical weights are offered here.

 

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A Culture of Worship

When I walk down to the coffee shops on Broad Street, right off of campus, I sit down to enjoy my coffee and pull out some textbooks and begin reading. As I read I can hear the conversations of Grove City College (GCC) students nearby, asking about faith, sharing their stories with one another, and discussing what ways God is working in their life. By now you may already know about Grove City College’s chapel program, which happens on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. But here is some insight on the spiritual growth happening in the daily lives of GCC students outside of the regularly scheduled programs.

Someone once said that worship is genuine relational interaction with God. If that is true, then I know that Grove City College is truly a place of worship. One of my highlights of my first year was getting to hear people’s testimonies. I was able to hear so many stories about how God has moved in people’s lives. It surprised me how many people I spoke with who were willing to share stories of how God has been working in their life. I have known that there are groups that hold testimony nights, where people share their stories with the group. There is truly a culture of loving the Lord and eagerly expecting Him to work in our lives and sharing the testimonies of His goodness. 

To add to that, there is a richness I see in people’s relationship with God here. People are eager to spend time worshiping the Lord. I see small friend groups getting together to sing worship songs randomly. People are often out on the Quad (a grass field in the middle of campus) journaling and listening to worship music. I hear others singing hymns underneath the stars. Sometimes some girls in my hall have art and worship times, where people get together to paint and color as worship to God. I pass by the guitar players who play randomly around campus, and hear them pouring out their heart to God in song. I have even talked to runners, who wake up at sunrise to run and they say that their early morning runs are a time they can focus on God. 

There are also many groups dedicated to prayer on campus, beyond the regular clubs that have prayer meetings. Every so often I am invited somewhere to pray with a group of friends, or to study the Word of God with people. To me, there is something truly beautiful about these unorganized, student-led times of worship, prayer, and study. It shows me that people here authentically love God and want to know Him. The culture here is so unique and beautiful: college students who love God and want to spend time with Him. 

 

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Almost Pro: Intramural Sports

Giving up your high school sport to solely pursue college academics can be a difficult and daunting task for a senior. Sports have an interesting way of grabbing our hearts and gripping tight until we completely fall in love with them. You start as a young kid, maybe because your parents forced you to, or you were sitting around the house bored. Whatever it is, the bonds and memories formed during the participation of that sport hold near and dear to your heart. However, God did not create every high school athlete to go on and play Division 1 or professional football, so like me, you go to college and those exciting sporting events become distant memories.

Going to college and deciding not to play soccer was a difficult decision for me. I constantly weighed the pros and cons of joining the Grove City Men’s Soccer team with my parents, coaches, and teammates. In the end, I decided that sticking to just academics and hanging up the soccer cleats was the best decision for me. This was truly a bummer because I had been playing soccer since I was 3 and felt that a part of me going to be lost. This could not have been further from the truth.

Within my first week at Grove City College, I had multiple friends, upperclassmen, and hall-mates excitedly describe and inform me about various intramural sports that happened on our campus! They explained to me that intramural sports, or IM’s, are a great way to continue playing your favorite sports competitively at a lesser than collegiate level, form new relationships with people, and take a study break from exams and homework. I was instantly intrigued and decided to form various IM teams myself. Everything I heard about IM’s was spot on. They were very competitive, made for a great study break, and helped me to make a ton of new friends. This was the perfect place for a washed-up high school athlete, like me, to go.

Grove City College proudly offers over 20 IM sports that any student can participate in. A few of these sports include but are not limited to soccer, football, basketball, ultimate Frisbee, spike-ball, softball, rocket league (e-sports), and tennis. Almost all of the IM sports offered have a men’s, women’s, and co-ed section. Within these sections, there are different leagues, such as A-League, B-League, and C-League to monitor the level of competition. Winning an IM championship means more than bragging rights over your fellow competition, as each member of the winning team receives a free t-shirt that you design. Grove City College has recently switched over to a fully functional website and app called IMLeagues, which allows for easy signups, game reminders, and stat recording availability. Participating in intramural sports has been one of my best college decisions, and I would highly recommend any incoming freshman looking for fun to give them a try.

This is a picture of my freshman year IM Soccer team winning our first championship. We have played together for four consecutive years now and the bonds could not be stronger.
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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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Orientation Board Spotlight: Religious Committee

Orientation Board, Grove City College

Orientation Board is well-known around the Grove City College campus as the hyper-excited upperclassmen in charge of making incoming freshmen feel at home the first week of college. One member of this group is junior Faith Rock, who enjoys sharing her love for music and God with freshmen students. When she is not helping with Orientation Board events, Faith is busy pursuing a degree in Marketing and a minor in Design. She is also graduating from Grove City College a year early to get a jump start in the “real” world. If you are interested in learning more about Orientation Board and in particular the Religious Committee, check out the interview below.

How did you get chosen to be on the Religious Committee?

For everyone in Orientation Board, there is an interview process where you go through interviews with all five committees. I actually spoke with the Religious Committee last and I really liked it, even though I was originally interested in the Publicity Committee. Also, I was thrilled to find out that I was chosen to be a part of this committee because they are involved with a number of cool events for the freshmen.

Who encouraged you to do Orientation Board?

Nobody directly influenced my decision, but during my freshman year, I was yearning to meet more people. So, I thought joining this organization would be a really good way to meet new friends. In fact, Orientation Board is a very involved group on campus and their energy was infectious.

What would you tell a student who is debating on joining Orientation Board?

https://vimeo.com/359596844

You have been a part of Orientation Board for two years, what have you enjoyed most?

This past year, the Religious Committee met weekly, which was different from the year before because it was more of a Bible study instead of just a get-together. I really enjoyed this aspect because I think it really brought the focus back to what Orientation Board is, and that is serving the freshmen and growing closer to God through it all. As far as Orientation Board as a whole, my favorite part was moving the freshmen in and preparing them for the events we planned all summer long.

Speaking of Bible studies, how has Orientation Board impacted your faith throughout the year?

It has definitely made me a stronger Christian because the people I am surrounded by are really strong in their faith and they give great advice. It is nice to have people to turn to when I have questions about my faith or even my personal life. I always know that there is a group of people keeping me accountable as a connection group leader (connection group leader is the leader of a specific group of freshmen) and other members are there to listen.

What has been your favorite memory from Orientation Board?

During my sophomore year, the All-Campus Worship really stands out in my mind, and I will never forget that night. My committee was in charge of putting this event together and we made a playlist throughout the summer to ensure that it was a successful and impactful event for the freshmen and upperclassmen. I had the opportunity to sing and share God’s message with everyone, so I could not have asked for more.

If you are interested in learning more about Orientation Board or other service organizations at Grove City College, please visit the College website.

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Video: From Roommates to Brothers – Part 1

Grove City College allows freshman the option to choose their roommates. Most of the time, students change rommates after freshman year. Marquis and Luke are a rare example of roommates who lived together for all 4 years at Grove City College.

Marquis and Luke come from two totally different backgrounds.  In this 2 part video series, they explain how their different perspectives have come together and shaped them into better men in Christ. Click and watch the video to get specific insights on how Luke and Marquis have managed to be roommates throughout college and how they plan to remain as friends throughout their lifetimes.

In this video, Marquis and Luke answer the following:

  1. How did you guys become roommates?
  2. Where have you lived on campus?
  3. Do you have any problems with your roommate?
  4. What are your favorite/funniest memories?

Click here for part 2: https://blogs.gcc.edu/insider/2020/02/29/video-roommates-brothers-part-2/

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Video: From Roommates to Brothers – Part 2

Most of the time, students change roommates after freshman year of college. Unlike the rest, Marquis and Luke have managed to stay roommates at Grove City College for all 4 years. In Part 2 of “From Roommates to Brothers”, Marquis and Luke continue to discuss their journey and growth as roommates, and offer some advice to incoming freshmen.

In this video, Marquis and Luke answer the following:

  1. What are your favorite parts about being roommates?
  2. How have you stayed roommates all four years?
  3. Do you have any advice for incoming freshmen?

If you have any questions regarding life at Grove City College, feel free to contact Marquis or Luke on instagram @1.quislew and @lukeurbanik.

To view part one of the series, click this link: https://blogs.gcc.edu/insider/2020/02/29/video-roommates-brothers-part-2/

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Varsity Women’s Track and Field Spotlight: Rohanna Foote

Grove City College Track and Field

Rohanna Foote, class of 2020, is well-known at Grove City College as one of the top sprinters for the Wolverines Track and Field team. The Ardmore, PA native had a standout season in 2018 and is looking to capitalize on her success for her final year as a sprinter. Academically, Rohanna is majoring in International Business with Marketing and French concentrations. Off the track, Rohanna enjoys spending time with her discipleship group and Students Excited About Diversity (S.E.A.D.). I had the opportunity to sit down with Rohanna and discuss her upcoming track season and the impact Grove City College has had on her life up to this point.

Why did you choose to come to Grove City College and compete on the Track and Field team?

https://vimeo.com/359596786

What would you say is unique about Grove City College’s Track and Field team?

I think the community here is really special. I visited Geneva and Westminster before Grove City, but I felt most at home with the track team here. Also, I enjoy how we are all brought together by Christ. We do Bible studies, team events like tie-dye, and team worship.

Do you find that the coaching staff is approachable when you are seeking advice?

Yes, I think all the coaches are open and great at giving advice. My freshman year, the current Athletic Director, Todd Gibson was the track coach and I remember him inviting me into his office one of the first days of class. He told me if I ever needed help finding a tutor or help with anything, his office was always open. I have found that this is the same with our current track coach, Jessica Smith. I have gone to her office to talk about my personal life, family, track, and academics. She is always easy to talk to and makes herself available.

What has been your favorite track team memory?

My favorite memory was traveling to Ithaca, New York for the All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference Championship. It was really fun, from the bus ride to the actual meet. We were all focused and performed our best, then we got to hang out as a team for the remainder of the weekend.

Do you have any specific goals going into your final season?

I want to continue getting personal records in my events, the 60m, 100m, 200m, and the 4x100m relay. In addition, I hope to set a few school records in my respective events. Aside from sprinting, I am trying long jump for the first time this year and my goal is to get a mark!

What advice would you give a current high school senior who has one track and field season left before college?

Based on my high school experience, I was in my peak condition and I think it is important coming into freshman year of college to continue training throughout the summer. Also, when you get to college stay focused on your academics, but also make time to go to the gym. Track is a team sport, so have a good team spirit because you are contributing to how well the team does overall.

Track and Field