College is a busy few years. Between schoolwork, sports, clubs, and Greek life, many students have trouble managing a schedule, and having a job is not even a thought. Being a teacher’s assistant is a flexible and rewarding job. A teacher’s assistant is a student that helps a professor with grading assignments, such as homework and papers. It is a pleasant college job because you often do not have to be present somewhere for a set schedule. Often, the professor hands you a stack of homework to grade with an answer key and you can do it from the comfort of your own dorm. All you need to do is keep track of your hours and log them into the system. It is often even therapeutic and rewarding to not only feel like you are accomplishing something while getting paid, but you are helping a professor that has a lot of his plate as well.
Professors are very appreciative of students who offer their time to help them with their coursework. The job also allows you to form a stronger connection with the professor. It is often refreshing after a long day of classes to meet up with the professor for a few minutes to go over some work and maybe even chat about life. It is an enjoyable job because it is flexible and often professors are very lenient on deadlines. It is rare that I have been told that something needs done by tomorrow and that it is urgent. Usually, there is little pressure to complete your assignments because professors understand that like them, we are busy too. It is a relatively easy and enjoyable way to earn some extra cash while being a college student.
It does not take long for anyone to see that Grove City College students typically find the College through their relatives. I am no exception. Both of my brothers attended Grove City College before me, and both have been out in the real world for several years now. Bill is 28 and currently works for the WebstaurantStore, while Sam is 25 and works as an accountant for RKL. Since they are older and maybe even wiser than me, I thought I would ask them what tips they had for seniors in their last year of college. Here is what they said:
1. It is okay to not have a job
As senior year comes around, you will become more aware and worried about how many of your friends already have careers ahead of them. When you start to see this, it begins to feel like your friends have somehow “got it figured out” and you do not. This can seem frightening, but it is important to remember that they are still in the same period of life as you and college is just a small portion of what is ahead. As long as you can make up some excuse as to why you are better than them and your dad can still beat their dad in a fight, you are good to go. Just kidding, but just remember that life is pretty complicated and almost no one gets everything right on the first try. In fact, most students will end up with careers later in life that have little or nothing to do with their major. It is okay to not have a job right away, but do not lose faith in the process.
2. Practice common interview questions
Although it is acceptable to be jobless for a bit, you do want to put yourself in the best position you can for a career. A great way to do this is to practice some of the most common interview questions so you do not freeze up when they inevitably come your way. Here are a few examples:
“Tell me about yourself.”
“What are three words you would use to describe yourself?”
“What are your strengths/weaknesses?”
“Give me an example of conflict you have had in the past and how you resolved it.”
“If your dad and my dad were in a fight, who would win?”
You would be surprised how hard these questions are to answer, so make sure you are prepared.
3. Enjoy the last year
Since it will be your last year at the Grove, try to enjoy it as much as you can. It is unlikely that your GPA will change much as a senior, so make sure you stay focused on the important things. In a year or two you will not remember that test you took, but you might look back on being with your college friends as your best memory.
So, there it is! The last few tips you will ever need as a college student. If you keep these in mind, I promise that it will improve your senior year.
Sophomore Katelyn Bartley talks about coming to Grove City College without having a declared major. She says she decided to be undeclared because she was not confident in what she wanted to do for a career. Katelyn also felt that as a home-schooled student she had not explored all the options of possible career paths well enough to make an informed decision. She says she knew that she enjoyed some subjects she had learned about in high school, like English and History, but did not think that she wanted to pick a major based on that.
Katelyn says that as an undeclared major she was able to take different classes and learn more about her options for majors. She was able to avoid falling behind by taking a lot of required classes. One of these core classes was sociology and, from there, she developed an interest in social work. After taking more social work classes her second semester, she declared her major as Social Work.
Katelyn says she does not regret coming to college as an undeclared major. She says the decision was very helpful because she did not take classes she did not need by coming in as another major and then having to switch later on. She had the opportunity to take general classes that would apply to any major while exploring a few classes that sparked her interest. She credits this decision to not putting her behind in her major requirements now.
When asked if she has any advice for rising freshmen that are facing the same decisions, she says they should come in undeclared if they have a couple options and are unsure of one specific major. Katelyn points out that the professors are really helpful with students that want to explore options or have questions. She also says that student advisors are helpful in transferring from being undeclared to finding a major. She says that career services also personally aided her in her decision.
“There are always people here to give you advice and help you figure it out,” says Katelyn.
Sophomore student Lilly Klein knows what it is like to come into college without being set on a major. Although being undeclared can be stressful, Lilly says she does not regret the decision.
Lilly says she always knew she always enjoyed writing, but was not sure what career options would be available to her in the field. Due to this, she made the choice to hold off on choosing her major. She also says that she did not want to decide on a major and then have to change.
During her freshman year, Lilly took mainly general education classes that would apply to most (if not all) majors. During her sophomore year she branched out and took an accounting class. Lilly says that it was this class that helped her decide on a major. During that semester she declared an Accounting major with an English minor.
“I liked it a lot and I would nerd out about it with my mom and my friends. That’s what convinced me,” reflects Lilly.
She says she is grateful for her year and a half without a declared major because she says otherwise she might have never found her passion for accounting. Although her mom studied accounting, she had not considered it as an option for herself.
Lilly believes that the main benefit of being undeclared is that it gives the student a lot of flexibility and they can explore different classes without feeling like they are putting off classes in their major.
When asked if she has any advice for younger students faced with a similar situation to hers, she says, “Don’t be afraid of not having a major. I’d also say make sure you take a lot of diverse classes. One thing that I kind of regret is that I took a lot of required classes in my spring of freshman year. It wasn’t a bad decision necessarily because I got them out of the way, but it put off my decision-making process a bit more. Try to balance required classes with exploratory classes.”
If you were like me in high school, I was happily winging my schedule at any given time. Small group meeting tomorrow? Totally fine – I will just file that away with the rest of my life’s schedule that I have memorized! When I arrived at Grove City, however, I realized that my laissez-faire attitude toward planning was not going to work anymore. Juggling anywhere from four to six syllabi in a given semester on top of any internships, jobs or social events that I had planned was not going to be covered by a note jotted down in my phone. Learning how to effectively organize your school, social and work life is pivotal to being successful when you transition into college. Here are three easy tips that can jump start your college planning.
Your first order of business: get a planner! This handy little notebook will become your best friend as you navigate the busy waters of life at Grove City College. The real first thing you should do, however, is write out your entire syllabi schedule in your planner. From every homework assignment, group project and exam, make sure you know when everything is due and what resources you may need to complete the assignments. If your planner has margins, write in the office hours of each professor or their email addresses so you can contact them with any questions. No matter how organized you try to be, you will probably lose at least one syllabus in your college career; make sure that information is written down in a planner so you do not have to worry as much about lost syllabi.
Second, make sure you write down every social engagement or when you have to work. When I say every single event, I mean it; the amount of times my friends and I have double-booked ourselves because we forgot to write down who we were having lunch with is embarrassing! This will not only help you keep a clear schedule for any additional meals or events you want to attend, but it will help you see when you have free time for yourself. College is hectic, and finding alone time can be important for your mental and emotional health. Being consistent with your schedule can help ease the stress of being in college.
Finally, schedule in time for homework. When you do not specifically plan to do homework, it can be easy to flip on Netflix and squander the next several hours bingeing the latest TV show. Instead, schedule time in your day to work on specific homework in your favorite workplace. When you have a homework goal and it is scheduled into your planner, you are more likely to get it done before it becomes last minute. It may feel tedious, but the feeling of freedom on the weekends when you have already finished your homework is totally worth it.
These three tips are simple, but powerful. Learning to schedule wisely can do wonders for easing you into your college career.
Where you go to school does not limit careers you can have if you work hard enough. This is the quick version of how I went from intern-managing an indie band to having an internship with Innovate Records in Ohio.
Growing up, I always loved music and had an interest in the entertainment industry. I come from a practical Pittsburgh family who wanted me to stay close to home for college. Because of this, my dreams of working in the music industry had vanished – or so I thought. I proceeded to enroll at Grove City as an English major.
Music Marketing Course
Everything took off at the beginning of my junior year. While optimizing my schedule in the summer, I noticed Dr. Lewis’ Music Marketing course, which he only offered once before, had an open space. I immediately emailed him and he signed me into the class. During this time, students split into teams and intern-managed an assigned band. Fortunately, I love the band I worked with (Atlantic Wasteland, check them out on Spotify or wherever you stream music). We ended the semester with a 50-page marketing plan, which we presented to a panel of artists and record label representatives.
Knowing my experience was coming to an end, I asked Dr. Lewis if I could take an independent study with him in Artist Management (an independent study is when you and a professor create an in-depth mini course to look at a specific topic. I would highly recommend!). He approved, and I was able to continue learning more industry specific marketing techniques.
Relay for Life Benefit Concert featuring Atlantic Wasteland
During the course I used analytical tools, such as Spotify for Artists, to gather data on Atlantic Wasteland’s target audience. After discovering the main demographic is college students in the Pittsburgh area, I knew this was the perfect opportunity to bring a new kind of music to campus. I then paired up with my sorority, the sisters of Sigma Theta Chi, and the Pansophic fraternity to create the Relay for Life Benefit Concert featuring Atlantic Wasteland.
We spent long hours searching for local sponsors and coordinating with other bands. The set included the campus-renowned professor band, Crimson Floyd, the Pittsburgh alternative rock band, Young Lungs, and the headlining alumni band, Atlantic Wasteland. The event went well and in four days we raised $230 for The American Cancer Society.
Innovate Records Internship
While this was happening, I received surprising news from Dr. Lewis. Due to the timing of our paperwork, my independent study would not work. To make this happen he contacted Grove City alumnus Jordan Biel, who owns the Christian record label Innovate Records. He also owns its secular sister label The Cellar Records.
Currently
I am working with Sol Virani an artist under The Elite AllegianceRecords. Also, I recently received acceptance to study at the Contemporary Music Center in Nashville next semester.
With this I leave you with one piece of advice: Never be afraid to ask for anything, the worst response you can hear is “no.” Which is not too bad anyway.
If you want to find out how you can pursue the music industry through Grove City College, feel free to email me any questions at Funderlichsr1@gcc.edu or talk to a Grove City Ambassador head over to the official website at http://www.gcc.edu/
Me with Atlantic Wasteland after the benefit concert.
Are you one of those people who has always had a profound interest in art? The kind of intense intrigue where you look at the piece of art and cannot help but wonder what the artist was thinking or how it is even possible that the creator was able to make such a complex and beautiful work simply with paint, a brush, a canvas, and their mind? This type of curious mind was one which I possessed and which always drew me to art… no not as some artist who loved to draw and was extremely gifted, but rather a terrible artist incapable of drawing a simple shape but who was simply intrigued by the work and precision others were able to produce in their works. In having never possessed the capability to draw or paint I somewhat gave up on exploring the field of art and had just stuck to simply observing and enjoying others pieces, that is until my junior year of college when I found a form of art that I had not had the opportunity to experiment with earlier in life. This new medium for art supplied me with the opportunity to use the strength of my hands and machines to create my art rather than the steadiness of my hand or my ability to blend colors. This new opportunity supplied me with confidence that I could in fact contribute something artistic for once.
The medium I was introduced to in the second semester of my junior year was ceramics, more specifically wheel throwing. For those of you who do not know what wheel throwing is, it is a form of art in which one uses clay, a spinning wheel, and various other tools to create pottery. Being that a wheel is used this allows symmetry in these art pieces to be acquired quite easily and allows for enhanced focus on other areas of the art form. As noted above, this form of art allowed me to avoid my shortcomings and inability to be steady, blend, and draw and allowed me to focus on new skills and techniques. In one semester of work I had fallen in love with this form of art as it supplied me the ability to contribute and inspire others as I had been my whole life.
After the close of the semester my interest only grew greater for this field of art which drove me to pursue more classes and more opportunities to work with this artistic medium known as clay. I am now in the second semester of my senior year and before graduation have made space for a few elective credit hours which have allowed me to add two more ceramics classes to my college transcript and which allow me the opportunity to both work with clay in a different manner and to hone in my wheel throwing skills one final time. The two ceramics courses I am currently taking are beginning hand building where I will be able to use different equipment to make more intricate and varying shaped pieces and advanced ceramics where I will be able to keep improving my wheel throwing abilities and creating new more complicated pieces.
With my story I hope that this encourages you to pursue your interests in college, whether these interests are something you already enjoy or something you did not know existed. Explore the various opportunities of your college or university and use your elective hours to learn about things that interest you, you never know what you might learn or what you might grow to love.
While the names of some college courses seem quite up-front and self-explanatory (i.e. foundations of sociology, principles of accounting, etc…) some courses are quite the opposite. This means you look at the course code, read the name aloud, and you’re still unable to even draw an intellectual guess at what the class could cover or what the purpose of the course could be. ACCT 410 was one of those courses for me. It took me until my junior year to figure out what the class even was, and my senior year to find out the importance of this course to me. In order to help inform you about this very valuable accounting course that Grove City College offers, and to prevent you from suffering the same confusion I encountered, I have written this for you, the reader, the future Grover, the future certified public accountant.
As you may have heard, the CPA certification is a great certification for anyone going into the field of accounting, whether you are planning to go into public accounting or not. This being said, would it not be nice to have the opportunity to take a class specifically created to assist you in studying for the CPA exam? That is exactly what ACCT 410 does. It was created to help students work through the material covered on the Financial Accounting & Reporting (FAR) section of the exam. It allows students the opportunity to work with CPA review software that covers topics found on the actual CPA exam and in a format similar to that of the exam. The significance of this course is not only found in the value provided by the course material and the topics covered, but also in the ability of the course to assist students in getting over the biggest hurdle in studying for the CPA exam – simply starting to study because students get the opportunity to slowly get used to the format and process of preparing for the CPA exam.
While this may not seem extremely significant to you, take it from a senior who will be sitting for this challenging exam in the upcoming months, this class is a blessing in disguise. Yes, a course like this is intimidating to think about and sign up for, but once you immerse yourself in the CPA review software and material, and begin to study, this will help you greatly in the following months and years as you continue your studies and one day obtain your CPA certification.
College is hard. It is an unpleasant truth, and one that we often have trouble admitting. Between keeping up with classwork, joining extracurricular clubs, trying to find friends, and being apart from family for extended periods of time, living at college can take its toll. This rings true especially for people who arrive on campus already struggling with personal issues.
I discovered this my freshman year. I have dealt with depressive episodes since my junior year of high school and have had anxiety since my senior year. Because of my unawareness about mental health, I had not sought out any resources. By the end of my first month at college, I felt overwhelmed by everything I had on my plate. I struggled to adjust to the stress of classes, clubs, and looking for a solid group of friends. Being away from family and not having someone to be vulnerable with added to my stress and anxiety levels. My anxiety got to the point where it distracted me during class and isolated me from my friends.
I talked to a few friends about mental health since that seems to be a huge struggle for college students recently. One or two of them mentioned that they had visited the Counseling Center. This was the first time I had ever heard of a conservative college offering mental health resources to their students. I hesitated to schedule an appointment, mostly out of fear that the counselors would tell me that I had imagined my symptoms and that if I prayed more, none of my attacks would be happening.
After some serious consideration, I did eventually start seeing a counselor regularly. Contrary to what I expected, the counselor showed me love – God’s love – instead of giving me criticism. My counselor gave me both spiritual advice and practical tips to manage my issues. I would love to say that my mental struggles disappeared after my first appointment. Unfortunately, progress takes more than that. It involves falling and getting back up only to fall again. But each time I fell I had an older mentor to help me to my feet. She gave me guidance on how to handle the next fall. The counselors at Grove City care deeply for each individual that they see. It shows in the time they take getting to know students so they can best meet the students’ needs, whether those needs relate to mental health or simple stress management.
I think many people overlook the Counseling Center at Grove City while touring campus, but as the semesters have continued, Grove City has brought more attention to the mental health and stress management resources that they offer. This really sets them apart from any other college I toured in high school.
We all have our personal battles, which makes people like Grove City’s counselors all the more important in our moments of need.
“If you can go to school out of state and meet all new people and become comfortable in an all new place-you can easily enter a new job, neighborhood, etc. one day”- Julia Knepper
Choosing a college can seemingly be one of the most stressful decisions and important decision you can make. With thousands of different schools that offer the same majors and degrees, the decision gets even more challenging. To add on top of all of that comes the decision to stay in the state, or leave and go farther away from home. Being an out of state student myself, I know first hand the excitement and nervousness that comes with making that decision. Although a large majority of students at Grove City are from Pennsylvania or the surrounding states, our campus is fairly diverse in the sense that many of our students are from states all across the US. In order to better explain what going to school out of state is like, I reached out to some students on campus to share their personal stories.
Julia Knepper is a sophomore from Detroit, Mich. She heard about the College through family, which is a common reason why people come to Grove City. When asked about struggles that she went through during her first year she said, “It was hard being far away from my family and having to miss out on seeing my siblings grow up.” Not being able to go to your own home on the weekends and feeling like you are missing out are things that most out of state students experience during their time at Grove City. In my opinion, the best way to overcome all of the emotions would to begin being involved in the community on campus. This can be intimidating at first, but once you break down the potential barriers it is so rewarding. There are several different way to be involved on campus whether it be through clubs, Greek life, small groups or so many other things. One piece of advice that Julia would give to upcoming freshmen looking to go out of state would be, “Do it, learn to break away from what’s comfortable because it will force you to not only rely on God more, but to build a new community.” The community on Grove City’s campus is something worth emphasizing.
Molly Seirs, a sophomore from Colorado, found that having friends that live in Pennsylvania has been a blessing. She said that, “Knowing so many people that live near the college really helped my transition because I knew that I had so many different friends I could go home with if I needed a weekend off campus.” Having friends from around Grove City is a huge blessing to any out of state student, and since most of the students are from within the state, those types of friends are not hard to find. When asked to give one piece of advice to a prospective student, Molly said, “Trust God and go day by day trusting that He has a plan and purpose for your time here. College can be challenging for everyone even the people who live ten minutes away, but it’s also one of the best times of your life, so don’t waste it! Don’t be afraid to reach out to friends or even professors for guidance and direction when you are struggling.”
-All of the photos in this blog were taken and edited by Julia Knepper.
