Category: Community Involvement

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Sophomore Spotlight: Lucca Baccari

Whether you are a prospective student looking at Grove City College or you have decided to attend Grove City in the fall, college is a time for people to learn and grow. You may not know what the “college experience” looks like, but that is okay! The best advice you can get is hearing from current students who found ways to adapt to the college environment and succeed socially and academically.

Lucca Baccari, a sophomore mechanical engineer, decided on Grove City College not only because of the baseball team but because of the reputation of having strong academics and a small, tight-knit community surrounding the campus. When asked about adjusting to “college life” he said to schedule out your weeks so you know when assignments are due but also what events or activities are happening so you can go to them. This method works best for Lucca as he is very busy juggling his workload, baseball, and being in the Beta Sigma fraternity. Finding a balance between a sport and academics in college is difficult but he makes it work by planning ahead on the weekends and working ahead on assignments, especially when he is in season. His best piece of advice for student athletes is to “have good time management and not procrastinate on assignments. You don’t want to fall behind in academics or your sport because it can be hard to recover.”

When asked about the impact that Grove City College has had on his faith, Lucca said “It’s grown to a whole new level. You’re surround by people who have come from completely different walks of life who teach you different things to help you in your walk of faith.” Faith is important to campus life, but also to the community that surrounds the college. The community of Grove City focuses on “building each other up and creating a positive experience on campus, whether it be academically or socially.”

The best piece of advice Lucca has for prospective or incoming students is to “participate in campus life as much as possible. Not only does it benefit you by helping you meet people but continues to build the campus community.” Do not be afraid to get out of your comfort zone to meet people. The community at Grove City College creates many opportunities and experiences for people!

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Thrifting in Grove City

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As a typical college student, you may not have an exorbitant amount of money to spend at the Grove City Outlets or other stores in the Mercer County area. Thrift stores are a great way to be able to get new clothes while barely spending any money, and it is also a great way to support local businesses.  In this blog, I am going to list some of the best thrift stores in the area, and some recommendations for stores in the Pittsburgh area.

  • Salvation Army: This is a Grove City College staple. Usually referred to as “Salvo,” it is a great place to get some quality clothes at a really good price. They will restock the new items on Thursday afternoons, so that is always the best day to go. Also, there are deals on Wednesdays, which is a fantastic way to get cheap clothes for an even cheaper price. Salvation Army is a great store that encourages you to give to a good cause.
  • All Good Things: This is a much smaller thrift store right across the street from Memorial Park. It is a nonprofit organization that has a great selection of clothing and other items. They have great vintage clothes and there is a building in the back that has old furniture which is great for furnishing your dorm room.
  • Thrifty Threads: This is the closest thrift store to campus. It is located right on South Center Street, and it is by Coffaro’s, a pizza shop that is home of the college special. It also very cheap for clothes there, though you may have to do some digging because they have a large selection of clothes, but you will definitely find some quality items.

These are the top thrift stores in Grove City, however if you have a car you can go down to Butler you will find more stores. For example, there is a Salvation Army, Goodwill, and some other small business thrift stores that have great character and you can find some great items. I highly recommend going to thrift stores in the area; it is a great way to find cheap clothes that look great, while supporting local small businesses!

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Halls and Doors: the Hubs of College Culture

When I first came to campus, I had no clue that dorm hallways were going to be pivotal to my time as a student. It sounds crazy, but it is true. So much time is spent in transition – walking up and down hallways, heading to your room, visiting someone else’s room, going to the bathroom. Thankfully, for me, these hallways are like campus cultural hubs – which makes for really interesting walks. Most hallways on campus have themes and are decorated, and some students do really interesting things in their halls like open up shops on their doors or sell art. With that said, here are some of my favorite hallways/door events from campus: 

  1. Sticker Shops. As I mentioned above, some students turn their doors into little pop-up shops. One door last year used to sell stickers we could buy for our laptops. There were lots of plant and “feel good” stickers on it. The stickers were super cheap and convenient; just drop in a dollar on the way to class and slap a sticker on your laptop or water bottle. 
  2. Hobby Sales. I have seen a few of these around campus. Some people make paintings and art you can use to decorate your room, and many of the pieces are impressive. Others I have seen have made crochet hearts, pot holders, and some homemade patches to put on backpacks. It is a fun and easy way to make extra cash on campus, and I think it adds to the fun of my afternoon walks through the dorms. 
  3. Celebration doors. These doors are always fun to look at, and they usually are the result of life events. When a girl in the hall gets engaged, all her friends decorate her door with congratulations cards and cute sayings and balloons. On birthdays, people cover their friend’s door in streamers and birthday wishes, often taping candy or gifts to the front of the door. Or maybe someone has joined a sorority – it is likely her door and the entire wall surrounding the door are going to be covered in Greek lettering and glitter. 
  4. Holiday decoration contests. While I am not sure if there will be door decorating contests this year with our extended breaks, I know last year’s Christmas door contest was so fun. Some completely covered their doors in wrapping paper, while others made their door look like a massive chimney with Santa hopping in. My personal favorites were the doors that were decorated to look like paper Christmas trees. 

When you arrive at college, remember to look up as you are walking around your hall. It is one of the best ways to get a feel for the culture of the people around you. Who knows–you may end up finding a good deal on some stickers or potholders!

 

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Summer’s Best Two Weeks: Counselor Spotlight

Ashley, SB2W

Ashley Mietlicki, Class of 2021, is a kind-hearted student here at Grove City College who loves sharing her passion for the Lord, playing softball, and enjoying time with friends around campus. This past summer, Ashley had the opportunity to go back to Summer’s Best Two Weeks (SB2W) and work as a camp counselor for the second year. SB2W is a well-known summer youth camp and family recreation park on the shores of beautiful Lake Quemahoning in Somerset County. A number of Grove City College students work at SB2W. In the following interview, you will get an inside look at life as a camp counselor at SB2W and the impact it had on Ashley’s faith.

What does a typical day look like for a camp counselor at SB2W?

As a counselor, I would wake up around 7:30 a.m. and prepare for the campers (aged 6-18 years old) to get up at 7:45 a.m. As soon as everyone in my cabin is ready for the day, we partake in morning exercises. During this time, counselors have the opportunity to share a devotional with our campers. This is a special time for myself because it allows me to share the Lord’s word with others. After devotionals, we ate breakfast and had competitions where campers could win points for their team. This allows campers to grow closer to one another and learn the importance of working in groups. Finally, after dinner, we have summer life nights where counselors put on skits and the camp director shares their thoughts about a passage in the Bible.

How has SB2W strengthened your faith?

It has given me the opportunity to learn not only from people my age but through the lives of campers. Watching the kids at camp interact with each other and show God’s love and forgiveness is always rewarding. I truly believe God has a plan for everyone’s life, and I got to witness this every day in the summer.

Is Grove City College affiliated with SB2W?

They are not directly affiliated with SB2W, but there are several Grove City College students who work at camp or have been campers themselves. There are flyers about camp displayed around campus and our camp director visits a Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) meeting. During their visit, they show a video from past summers and talk about their mission and vision.

What advice would you give to an incoming staff member from Grove City College?

One point of advice I would give an incoming staff member would be to go into camp open-minded. It might be very different than what you expected, even if you were a prior camper. Also, be super excited for all the opportunities that will come your way because there are ways that the Lord will work in your life that you would have never imagined, and there will be incredible people that you meet.

What is your favorite memory from this past summer?

My favorite memory is from our overnight trip during the last term of the summer. I led a biking excursion with one of my really good friends at camp. We got to spend time with our campers while bonding over God’s word, our love for nature, and the joy of biking.

Summer's Best Two Weeks Counselor Spotlight

If a prospective student wishes to get involved with Summer’s Best Two Weeks, please visit sb2w.org.

 

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ICO Spotlight: Philadelphia

What is ICO Philadelphia?

ICO (Inner-City Outreach) Philadelphia is a short-term missions trip to the city of Philadelphia over the first half of Spring Break. Partnering with The Philadelphia Project (TPP), the student group works alongside those working and volunteering with TPP in three different ministries.

What are the different ministries the student work with?

The mercy ministries focus on going out into the parts of the city with a heavy population of homeless individuals handing out food and supplies, as well as taking time to pray and just talk with some of these people.

TPP has many different work sites in the area outside of Philadelphia, renovating the homes of those who sorely need it, but cannot afford it. The students go and work alongside trained professionals, doing projects ranging anywhere from painting to tearing down walls; the students have the opportunity to serve in a more hands on manner, making direct connections in the community.

Another ministry has a few different areas the students can go, one of these is the Whosoever Gospel Mission. The Mission on the surface is an establishment similar to the Salvation Army, complete with a thrift store and locations to donate goods. However, looking deeper, there is an amazing ministry happening just above the store. The Mission offers a place for recovering male addicts to land, recuperate and go back out into the world with a renewed mindset and a more stable (faith based) foundation. In this ministry, the students get to hear the incredible stories of some of these men. They will also get the chance to work alongside them in the sorting section of the thrift store.

What has ICO Philadelphia shown its participants?

Based on what past participants (and personal experience) have taught me, the strongest thing this trip

has brought its members is community. The community forged on this mission lasts far longer the the constraints of the trip itself. The relationships built, faiths strengthened and wisdom’s earned are those which cannot be broken and will last for years to come. Trips like these bring people together for a common goal that cannot be accomplished in such a short amount of time, but every bit (regardless of length) help tremendously. Working in the kingdom alongside other like-minded individuals, for the greater good, is truly something to marvel upon.

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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.

 

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The Collegian: What it is Like to Edit a Newspaper at Grove City College

The Collegian
The Collegian
Copies of the Grove City’s newspaper, The Collegian, are available all over campus.

Grove City College offers students who enjoy writing and editing many opportunities to utilize their skills, such as working for The Collegian, Grove City’s campus newspaper.

Sophomore Britney Lukasiewicz is a copy editor for The Collegian at Grove City College. Britney has had experience in copy editing prior to attending Grove City, thus, when coming to campus she knew that copy editing was something she wanted to continue pursuing.

When asked how The Collegian has affected Britney since arriving on campus, she responded, “Being a part of the newspaper has given me a chance to meet new people and learn more about journalism.” Additionally, Britney describes the responsibilities of a copy editor for the school newspaper along with the time commitment in joining The Collegian in this specific position. She says, “Copy editors get an assignment sent to them each week of what type of articles they will edit (sports, entertainment, etc.) and then they get a day or two to correct them…Joining The Collegian is an easy way to get more involved with the campus, and it does not require a lot of time out of the week to complete.”

From Britney’s perspective, working for The Collegian as a copy editor is not all together a time-consuming task, however, it is incredible experience in the field of work she wants to pursue after graduating from Grove City. Britney explains how working for the Collegian, in any capacity, is a great way to dip your toes into the world of editing and/or publishing. She describes how working for the campus paper is not an overbearing time commitment, but the job does teach you valuable lessons in the world of writing, editing, and publishing.

All in all, working for The Collegian at Grove City College, provides students with the opportunity to gain experience in their field, while not being overwhelmed with an overbearing time commitment alongside of being a full-time student.

 

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Inside Grove City Ministries – DRIVE

Grove City College prides itself on incorporating faith into its academics and extracurriculars. One of the notable aspects about the College includes its variety of campus ministries. Students can choose to be a part of the Redbox Ministry, the International Justice Mission, or they can go on an Inner-City Outreach. A lot of these ministries focus on spreading the gospel to cities around the world, but one group has a slightly less traditional approach.

DRIVE is a ministry group on campus that tells the gospel through silent dramas performed to music. Their acronym stands for “Dramas Reaching Inner Cities through Visual Evangelism.” They minister to those living in inner cities near the College, including Youngstown, Pittsburgh and New Castle. Every few months they go to one of these cities to perform their dramas. When not doing dramas on the streets or in shelters, DRIVE holds a few on campus events a year. At least once a semester, DRIVE members do “flash mobs” where they spontaneously start doing dramas somewhere on campus. They also plan to host a “DRIVE”-in theatre event where students can view the dramas and get to understand the group’s mission better.

I sat down with some of DRIVE’s student officers and members to ask them some questions about the group and what they stand for. Because the group is so unique and focuses on off campus ministry, not everyone knows what DRIVE truly accomplishes.

The biggest theme I noticed in the answers to the questions was one of community.

During all of the interviews I filmed, everyone talked a lot about the community in DRIVE and how it not only drew them in, but kept them coming back to meetings. The mission of the group centers around giving back to communities, both spiritually and practically. Several of the members and officers give insight into this and into what being in the group is like.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QWLWfAQKoE

 

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Exercise Science Internship Opportunities in Pittsburgh

Nate Sprunk is a senior Exercise Science major with a minor in Psychology.  Nate is from Wexford, PA. He is currently treasurer of the Beta Sigma fraternity on campus. The summer after his junior year, he had an internship at Pittsburgh Veteran’s Administration Hospital located in Pittsburgh, PA.

Nate happens to be a good friend of mine. I roomed with his fiancé my junior year. Priya was a senior at the time and Nate was a junior. This past June, I was a bridesmaid at their wedding! The two of them had a busy summer working out their jobs, living arrangements, and adjusting to married life. I did not have the opportunity to keep in touch as much as I had hoped. This semester I have been able to catch up with Nate and hear more about his summer.

When I asked Nate about his role with the company and what he accomplished that summer he replied, “I was an undergraduate rehab intern. I assisted in the inpatient and outpatient clinics. I observed, cleaned equipment, escorted veterans back and forth from their rooms to the clinic, performed wheelchair follows, and I conducted an educational in-service project for the inpatient staff.”

I followed with, “Did you enjoy your experience?” Which he answered, “I did. I learned more about the field of physical therapy and how clinics operate. After my experience, I feel more comfortable working in a clinical setting.”

Nate did not receive a job offer from Pittsburgh Veteran’s Administration Hospital. He still has to attend graduate school to work as a Physical Therapist, but Nate could potentially complete one of his clinical rotations at the same VA clinic in the future. He plans on staying in the Pittsburgh area after graduation to live with Priya and stay close to their families.

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BEST Robotics Competition 2018

On Friday, Oct. 26, Grove City College hosted the BEST Robotics competition. Dr. Bright, professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, began Wolverine BEST at Grove City College several years ago. This competition provides middle through high school students in the Western Pennsylvania area exposure to engineering, science, and technology. The Wolverine BEST challenge is one of only two BEST Hubs in the Commonwealth of PA. The event serves as an opportunity for Grove City College to showcase its nationally ranked engineering program.

This year, I participated as a Marketing Judge for the competition. Twenty-three schools participated in this year’s competition and I was to judge four of them on marketing presentations for their robots. The volunteer judges met before the competition to go over the rules and rating system we would be using that evening. The marketing presentations took place in different rooms in the Hall of Arts and Letters. There were four judges per room. The students, either middle or high schoolers, would have roughly 20 minutes to present their robot to the panel of judges. The last 10 minutes were set aside for any questions the judges may have. In my room, I was the only judge that was a student at Grove City College. The rest of the judges were faculty members at the College or local businessmen or women. It felt very much like I was on an episode of Shark Tank. After the students exited the room, the judges would converse about our thoughts on the presentation. Of the four groups of students, there was quite a wide range from students who were beyond prepared to those who were very nervous.

To me, I was very impressed with all of the presentations I had the chance to witness. These students clearly had ambition and drive, and at such a young age. I was thankful to have had this opportunity to meet new faculty members and the determined middle school and high school students.

A question one of the judges in my panel asked every group that presented was, “What would you like to do in the future?”

The answers varied from “I would like to be a mechanical engineer,” to “I want to graduate high school.”

My favorite answer was actually said by five of the students that went through our room that evening, and that was, “I am hoping to get accepted to Grove City College.”

Hearing this from such impressive and inspiring young men and women reminded me of how appreciative and thankful I am to attend an institution like Grove City College.