New Life Ministries at Grove City College is an organization that sends groups of six or seven students to George Junior Republic each week, to go into cottages of the boys living in the residential treatment facilities. There are about 10 boys living in each cottage. A cottage is basically just a “group-home” where all the boys live like it is a normal home, and they have two cottage parents, which are employees of George Junior Republic. Those cottage parents oversee the boys and their well-being and live in the cottage full time with them.
George Junior is an all-boys institution, working to help at-risk youth re-enter society with more of an education, and better life skills. George Junior is one of the nation’s largest private non-profit residential treatment facilities. According to the George Junior Republic website, their mission statement is: “George Junior Republic is dedicated to helping at-risk youth become successful, well-adjusted adults, capable of achieving a higher degree of citizenship and a better understanding of his responsibility to society, family and self.”
Each group of Grove City students goes to George Junior once a week, on the same day every week. They spend about two hours there, and they visit the same group each week to continue building up their relationships with the boys. During those two hours the students “hang-out” with the boys, and form relationships and bonds. During that “hang-out” time they do multiple different things, such as play basketball or other sports, play games, eat snacks, talk about life, and most importantly, at the end of each visit the Grove City students are able to have a time of Bible study and prayer with the boys. They can pour into the hearts of the boys, and pray for them, and teach them about the Word of God.
When talking to sophomore New Life Ministries member Linnea Fairfield, I asked her what New Life means to her. “New Life is an opportunity to pour into other people’s lives,” she said. “For me, that means forming relationships that are more than just social, shallow friendships, but rather reflections of Christ’s love. The boys are hurting. Their pasts are filled with years of broken relationships, abuse, and betrayal. Getting to show them what real love is, and what the love of Christ is, is an opportunity I will never take for granted.”
I am excited to be joining this awesome ministry this year, and start going to George Junior and forming bonds and relationships with these boys. Thursday, Oct. 11 the New Life Group and I went to the George Junior facility. There we met with the Chaplin and had a meeting about different rules to follow for the year. The New Life team plans to start heading out to George Junior on Nov. 4!
Signing up for an Inner City Outreach (ICO) trip over spring break was the very best decision I made my first year at Grove City College. Since then, I have been a part of three ICO teams, and I am leading a trip this spring. That, however, is another story altogether. Most recently, I traveled with 18 other students to Providence, Rhode Island over Thanksgiving break to volunteer at a rescue mission.
While there, we gave out over 300 turkeys, organized a pantry, painted a room, served Thanksgiving dinner, smashed cardboard, set up cots, and bagged at least 300 pounds of potatoes (I still have nightmares about the potatoes). We worked hard all week long, and accomplished a lot for the mission. By Thursday, they even began to run out of projects for us to work on.
I was amazed at what 19 people were able to accomplish in less than a week. Not only did we help prepare and serve the Thanksgiving meal, we also got to meet some incredible people. The people who work at the mission are so loving and giving, working with them was truly inspiring and humbling.
The real story here is not the work we did, but rather how God worked that week. God used the stories of the people I met to constantly remind me of how blessed I am. The entire week was a lesson in humility and gratitude.
Needless to say, student-led mission trips are one of my favorite things Grove City College has to offer. The experiences I have had, the people I have met, and the friends I have made through these trips have been among the biggest blessings God has given me in my time at the college. I would absolutely recommend them to anybody looking for a way to serve God by serving others over school breaks.
In the fall, Professor Sweet taught a class endearingly called Internet Content Marketing. In this course, students learned the importance of tailoring content to particular audiences in order to make a profit or showcase credibility. Towards the end of the semester, Professor Sweet asked the students to put their lessons into practice and write articles for this blog. As the editor of this site, I had the awesome opportunity to read all of these articles and choose the ones that I thought our readers would find most interesting. This particular piece is by Anna Walker, she describes her work with the prison ministry on campus. Enjoy!
You do not have to go far to hear people call Grove City College “the bubble.” More than not, the bubble is not referred to as a good thing. After being here two and a half years, I can confirm, Grove City College is in many ways a giant bubble – we leave our wallets everywhere, never lock any doors, can find people praying almost anywhere on campus and almost everyone you encounter on campus is abnormally friendly. But are not we called to be salt and light? What does that look like on a Christian college campus? I have one of many solutions to that question through getting involved with Prison Ministry.
Grove City College’s Prison Ministry all began with one student getting a group of their friends together to go to neighboring Mercer County’s Prison to lead Bible studies. Since then the ministry has continued to grow and became an official organization in 2016. I found out about the ministry at the Org Fair, which is an all campus event hosted in the early fall where students are able to learn about all the different organizations on campus. I knew I wanted to get involved with an off campus ministry, but prison ministry never crossed my mind. Like many of the students at Grove City, I grew up in a Christian family, attended a Christian school am now at a Christian college – my qualifications for working with prisoners’ backgrounds was nonexistent. Which brings me to perhaps the greatest reason why Prison Ministry is such a powerful ministry to be involved in: It does not lightly penetrate the “bubble” students live in at Grove City, it tears it to pieces.
Every week, two or three individuals from the ministry are sent into the prison. Girls go into the women’s pods and the guys go into the men’s pods. It’s typical to work through a Bible study curriculum and use whatever remaining time to get to know the prisoners and to spend time praying with them. With that being said, some weeks I have gone in and never touched the planned lesson because the girls had big questions about faith or because what they needed most was simply a loving ear to listen. I quickly learned how little we as Christians know about sharing the gospel with nonbelievers. It’s so easy at a place like Grove City to feel like the ultimate superstar Christian between being involved with hall Bible studies, attending chapel twice a week and talking about God on the daily with other Christians, but we miss the mark. We so easily overlook the major component of our faith which is to share the gospel with nonbelievers.
To listen to a girl tell you she is sentenced to 30 years behind bars, to see the tears well up in her eyes as she tells she has no family, that she has lost everything because of a meth addiction and hear her say that there is no purpose for her life, it changes you. I learned that talking about God with other Christians on the daily is not a substitute for Jesus’ command to share the gospel with nonbelievers. Being a part of Prison Ministry has been one of the most challenging, growing, joyous things I have done with my time at Grove City. The ministry works as continual reminder that we are not called to merely know about Jesus, but to be Jesus’ hands and feet to this broken world. Spending time with the prisoners forces you to trust the Lord to give you words when there are none, to give you wisdom where you lack and to fully rely on His spirit for guidance. One of the most amazing parts of going to the prison is that the individuals who come desperately want to know God. It fans into the flame the love you had for Christ when you first came to know Him and ignites a deep passion in your heart to share the life-changing news of God and what His son did on the cross.
When I come back to campus after spending time at the prison all my priorities are realigned. The trivial things of college such as the quiz I failed that morning, the research paper I have looming over my head, the stress of getting a successful job after college and selfish pursuits all fade. The Grove City bubble has been broken. I recommend this ministry to anyone who is looking to be pushed out of their comfort zone and be exceptionally challenged in their faith during these college years.
When I was a freshman at Grove City, I remember filling out an application for something and it asked me “How will your college be different because you have been there?” To be honest, this question completely stumped me. At the time, I had no idea how I (an average student from a tiny high school in the middle of nowhere) would be able to have any impact at all on Grove City College.
Now, two and a half years later, I can look back and see how that question has shaped my college experience thus far. It struck a chord somewhere within me and I began to search for opportunities to impact people and the college community during my four years here.
My search was far more fruitful than I could have imagined. For the sake of simplicity, I will summarize my results in three categories:
1. Opportunities for learning…outside the classroom
Grove City College hosts numerous guest lecturers and discussion events every semester. The topics range anywhere from Ronald Reagan to worldwide missions to “Wasting Time Well.” I have enjoyed events like the annual Reagan Lecture, Missions Conference, and tea time with Grove City women. There are also numerous Bible studies and smaller discussion groups. These types of opportunities have allowed me to learn from both my peers and renowned speakers, and attending them offers support to the College and the types of events that they will continue to hold in the future.
2. Opportunities for leadership
More often than not, this goes hand-in-hand with point number three. Here at Grove City, opportunities for leadership exist everywhere you look. Students have leadership opportunities in over 150 clubs and organizations. These range from Student Government to Greek groups to campus ministries to professional and academic organizations to intramural sports to academic honoraries, and the list could go on. Personally, these opportunities have helped me find my voice and built me into the person I am today.
3. Opportunities for service
Service opportunities abound on this lovely campus. Many, if not all, of the leadership opportunities mentioned above are fantastic ways to serve both your peers as well as the student body and community as a whole. Students have the opportunity to become Resident Assistants, to serve Christ on spring break Inner City Outreach (ICO) trips, and to take part in numerous campus and community ministries including Young Life, Project Okello, and a prison ministry. I have traveled to Ashland, Kentucky on an ICO trip every year over spring break, and those trips have been an excellent time of service, learning, growth, and blessing for me.
So Grove City College provides all of these magnificent opportunities, but what does that mean for students? It means that Grove City students have more opportunities to impact (and be impacted by) their peers and college community than you might realize. It means that Grove City College gives its students so much more than a four-year degree in their subject of choice – it offers them four years of personal growth and impact.
ICO (Inner City Outreach) trips are a unique component of the campus ministry opportunities offered at Grove City College. These trips, often taking place during breaks within the school year, allow teams of students to travel and share God’s love in cities around the world. The teams often partner with a church or a local mission organization during their stay. Being a part of ICO trips myself, I have first-hand experience with how impactful these experiences can be. With so many options for interested students, it can be difficult to choose. In order to hopefully remedy this situation, below is a list of many trips offered at the College and a short summary that can provide insight to frequently asked questions.
ICO Arizona (Tucson, Arizona)
During Spring Break, the Arizona team stays at Life in Christ Community Church. The church is located right in the middle of a neighborhood located in the outskirts of Tucson. Throughout the week, the team spends time completing labor-intensive service projects at the church. The church building is quite old, and congregation members often do not have the time or finances available to keep up with projects throughout the year. The team also spends a lot of time engaging in outreach projects alongside Life in Christ Community Church. For example, spending time assisting a feeding ministry at the church and aiding local homeowners in the neighborhood with home projects. The team also enjoys hearing radical testimonies of many members of the congregation. The cost fluctuates with air fare, but is usually around $550.
“[A favorite memory from the trip] was walking up Mt. Tumamock the last night and seeing the beautiful view of Tucson. Here, the team shares stories of how they saw the Lord work each day.” – Sarah W.
ICO Arizona 2017
ICO Guatemala (San Andres, Sajcabaja)
The Guatemala team travels to Hogar de Vida Orphanage in San Andres, Sajcabaja over Spring Break. They spend time playing with the children and helping complete service projects at the orphanage. Typically, these projects include painting and laying concrete. Sometimes, the team makes a trip to a nearby aldea (village) to minister and serve the people that live there. The team strives to show the love of Christ to whomever they serve. The cost of the trip is between $1500- 1800, but due to fundraising usually a small fraction of this is out of pocket.
“My favorite memory was having a cookout and bonfire on our last night at the orphanage. The leaders in charge of the oprhanage, Sebastian and Oralia, shared their testimonies and spoke on how God had led them to Hogar de Vida. Everyone from the orphanage and on our team gathered together to fellowship and spend one last evening together. It was a great time to wrap up our trip and had another chance to spend a little more time with the people.” – Joel S.
ICO Guatemala 2017
ICO Chicago (Chicago, Illinois)
During Spring Break, the Chicago team resides at Central Assembly of God, a church on the outside of Chicago. Generally, the team splits their time three ways during the day. This year, they are going to spend their mornings partnering with Pacific Garden Missions, where they will help serve lunch and set up dorms for the homeless. In the afternoons, the team will spend their time working on a construction project at Living Hope Church. In the evenings, the team will return to Central Assembly of God to run a Vacation Bible School for the neighborhood kids. The cost for the trip is around $230.
“My favorite memory would be VBS at the end of week my second year. One of the kids asked for a Bible, but we couldn’t find any children’s Bibles available to hand out. One of our trip participants offered her own personal Bible to this kid, and watching this exchange happen was an incredibly experience I will never forget.” – Alex H.
ICO Chicago 2017
ICO Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California)
The Los Angeles team spends their time serving at the Dream Center – an outreach organization in Los Angeles for the duration of Spring Break. The team doesn’t know their specific schedule until they get there, but they generally do two outreaches every day. In the past, these experiences have included a Skid Row outreach, food truck outreach, “Kidzjam” which is like a VBS, cleaning churches, assisting the men and women in the discipleship program with their daily tasks and chores, after school tutoring. The team has an abundance of opportunities to do street evangelism during the week. Although this is daunting for some team members, they have seen God’s faithfulness through and through. The cost for this trip is dependent on air fare, but usually around $850.
“I’ve been on the trip two years in a row and the first year, I met a woman named Katie who was in the discipleship program. I remember her giving her testimony in church the first day we were there and then me and a few other girls on the trip got to hang out with her during the week while we helped her clean a classroom. She had grown up in an abusive home and got into some pretty rough stuff throughout high school, which eventually led to a meth addiction and various unhealthy relationships. She said she had come to the Dream Center as a last resort after recognizing the hopelessness she felt. The next year I went on ICO LA, we were on a food truck outreach and I saw Katie. She was no longer in the discipleship program – she had graduated from it, free of addiction and with a solidified identity in Christ. She is now serving full time through the Dream Center – leading the food truck outreach every day. I got to talk to her and was SO encouraged by how the LORD has transformed her life. How drastically her life had changed in just one year! God is SO GOOD!” -Rebekah R.
ICO LA 2017
ICO Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA)
The Philadelphia team works alongside the Philadelphia Project. The team stays with the Philadelphia Project interns’ house during Spring Break. The team serves by completing construction projects, serving the homeless, and helping with the Philadelphia Project’s preschool and after school programs. The cost is around $330.
“My favorite memories include all the car ride jams, Chinese fire drills, and silly games we play with each other and the staff at the Philadelphia Project. On a more serious note, the time sharing testimonies was very influential and good for personal and team growth.” – Darla M.
Deciding what church to go to while in college can be a challenge. Grove City College does not offer Sunday morning church services in Harbison Chapel. The reason is to have students get involved in the local community and to interact with those from their particular denomination. According to Admissions, “Grove City College is not affiliated with any denomination. Because students and faculty come from a wide variety of backgrounds, the College is best described as a broadly evangelical Christian institution.” Sunday mornings give students the opportunity to join a local congregation outside of Grove City College. Grove City College does offer Sunday evening services in Harbison Chapel at 6:30 p.m called Vespers. Dr. Keehlwetter, dean of the Chapel, is preaching a sermon series this semester during Vespers based on the life of Elijah, the prophet.
As a senior, I have done my share of church hopping through the years. I enjoy attending various churches and experiencing what each one has to offer. I will share a handful of the churches that I have visited, as well as some of the programs that each one has to offer.
East Main Presbyterian
The denomination of East Main is ECO (Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians). I have visited this church often. It is a 10-minute walk from campus which is convenient since freshmen are not allowed to have cars on campus. There is a traditional service at 9 a.m. which includes various choirs, traditional hymns, and organ playing. The 11 a.m. service involves more contemporary music and a band. The sermon, however, is the same regardless of what service time you attend. There is also a College Sunday School meeting at 10:05. I like this church because the attendance is quite large (many college students attend), there is a wide variety of ages in the congregation, and there is a Sunday School class just for college students. To find out more information visit: eastmainpc.org
First Baptist Church
I have also enjoyed attending First Baptist Church in Grove City. It is about a 10-minute drive from Grove City College. A van comes to campus to pick up students for both Sunday School and church if students do not have a car. There is Sunday School at 9:45, followed by a traditional church service at 11 a.m. There is also Sunday night worship at 6 p.m. and during the week there is a Bible study for college students. This church also has a healthy attendance. I appreciated the welcoming atmosphere and strong sermons taught here. When I visited here for the first time, I was greeted by more people than I had been greeted before in any other church I have visited. To find out more information visit: fbcgrovecity.org
Covenant Orthodox Presbyterian Church
This church is a member of the OPC (Orthodox Presbytery Church). It is located directly behind East Main Presbyterian, about a 10-minute walk from campus. I visited this church with some friends last semester. There is a large Sunday School service at 10am and then morning worship at 10:55 a.m. An evening service is also held at 6 p.m. There is no college Sunday School, but one adult class which is for high school students to adults. The church service is traditional, and many college students attend since it is within walking distance. My favorite thing about attending this church was the high-level of college students in attendance and the solid sermon. To find out more information visit: covenantopcgc.org/
Many other churches that are not within walking distance offer vans to take students to church. A complete list of local churches in the area can be found at:
Today, I talked to Tara about her life at Grove City College. If you have ever met Tara, you know how kind, welcoming, and warm she is. She is a wonderfully sweet person. Her academic life is awesome, too. Tara was originally a biology major but then switched to a communications major in her sophomore year. She has a minor in studio art and spends a ton of time in the Pew Fine Arts studios because of it. Honestly—I always see her there.
She is also passionate about growing in her walk with Christ. A leader on Grove City College’s Intervarsity group, Tara is no stranger to high levels of extracurricular responsibility. I have seen her lead in group settings many times. It is a joy to watch.
I wanted to introduce you to Tara because she has a lot of insight on cross-departmental academic life, being in Studio Arts and Communications. Plus, I do not know anyone as good and consistent at organizing fun activities for friends as Tara. In this video, I asked her about her involvement with Intervarsity, talked with her about some of her favorite professor moments, and got her advice on making friends when you get to college (something she excelled at). I hope you will watch and get a better feel for the type of campus Grove City College is, and the opportunities we have here. Tara is certainly a great example of how multi-faceted a student on this campus can be.
Many students who attend Grove City College are musically gifted. This unique campus trend was something I noticed very early on in my time at the College. Because of the wide variety of organizations and events, there are many opportunities for students to engage in worship. Students who wish to take a leadership position often hope to take a role as a worship leader. The College’s worship leaders are students who excel musically, and have a strong desire to spiritually support others.
I have been close friends with Grace DeMember since the beginning of my time here. She has been leading worship since her freshman year, when she was part of a chapel worship team. As a senior, Grace is now a worship leader on a handful of teams including chapel worship, Young Life and Warriors. Recently, I had the pleasure of sitting down and hearing about her experience as a worship leader at Grove City College. Grace is obviously very passionate about leading worship and it was humbling to hear her perspective. I hope that if you are interested participating in worship at Grove City College, her responses will be beneficial and applicable to you.
How did you first get involved in leading worship?
My parents both led worship at the church we went to when I was little and I grew up pretty immersed in worship music. We had band practice at our house, and my brothers and I loved listening to them play. They often practiced right after we went to bed (they had a full band, so I’m not sure how my parents expected us to actually go to sleep) and one of my brothers and I used to sneak downstairs and watch during their practice. Sometimes they would catch us and let us come mess around on the instruments. It was so much fun. Some of my favorite people were in that worship band and I looked up to them from a very young age.
I grew up seeing so many people I loved and admired leading worship onstage, and I wanted to learn guitar so that I could play and sing at church. When I was in 7th grade, my dad started teaching guitar to a couple people in our youth group with the intent of preparing us to lead worship for our peers. There were a couple of leaders in my youth group who saw a lot of potential in me and encouraged me to really pursue leading worship. They gave me opportunities to play and sing with the youth band pretty early on (they had a much better high school student playing with me so I could learn from her) and I learned pretty quickly. For a period of time, I alternated between singing and playing guitar, but eventually I was able to do them both together. I had a piano background as well and started playing keys and singing some weeks.
What skills are necessary to lead worship?
First of all, you have to have a personal relationship with Jesus and want to serve Him; your heart needs to be in it. Secondly, you have to be musically solid enough to actually worship and lead others into that experience. If you’re too caught up in what chords you’re playing, you won’t be able to enter into that sacred time with the Lord. Also, if you’re making a lot of mistakes, it’s incredibly distracting to people who are really trying to worship. It also helps to have experience being in charge of a group of people. You have to be confident in what you’re doing for people to really respect you and buy into what you’re doing.
What challenges do you face as a worship leader?
Pride – wanting the glory of singing/playing in front of hundreds of people for myself instead of giving it to God.
Having to hold “auditions” – it’s hard to tell someone that they’re not the right fit for a group of people who are serving God.
Getting so caught up in “performing” well that I forget about the reason I’m singing/playing.
How have you seen yourself grow or change because of your experience as a worship leader?
I have grown so much in my relationship with the Lord through leading worship. It has been so cool to have such a practical and tangible way to use my gifts and talents to both glorify God and serve others. I have also learned so much about putting my identity solely in Him and not in what others think of me, or even in what I think of myself. Leading worship has also given me so many opportunities to grow as a leader of people, and I am so appreciative for that.
Does your role change based on what organization or team you lead for?
Honestly, the heart and purpose of it isn’t all that different from group to group. As a worship leader, my job is to provide an opportunity for people to encounter the Lord through music, and that purpose is the same for every team I have led. The size of the congregation/group, skill level of the team, sound of the team (acoustic vs. full band), and age of the team obviously changes from group to group, but my role mostly stays the same. There are times when my job is more to mentor and help younger worship leaders as opposed to leading a team myself, my even then, my job is to lead them into a time of encountering the Lord.
What suggestions do you have for students who aspire to lead worship in any manner at Grove City College?
I would say to simply look for opportunities to get involved. Freshman chapel worship is how I got started with the Grove City community, and once other people knew that I had experience leading worship, I got asked to lead for other groups as well. I would also introduce yourself to current members of a team you might want to be on because people are always graduating and moving on and teams are often looking to replace people.
What is your favorite part of being a worship leader?
I love music, and I love that leading worship is an opportunity to glorify God with the gifts He has given me. I especially love getting the opportunity to enable lots of people to have an intimate experience with God. Corporate singing is so powerful, and it always amazes me that God would choose me to be a leader of something that significant.
When I arrived at Grove City College as a freshman, I was shocked at the abundance of organizations and activities available for students. From what I expected to be offered at a small liberal arts college in Western Pennsylvania, walking into the Org Fair (an event at the beginning of the semester that allows students to be introduced to the various organizations and groups on campus) was a humbling (and honestly overwhelming!) experience. The room was loud, filled with excited voices, eager to share stories of experience and involvement. As I spent time navigating the tables, I signed up with my email to hear more information about a few organizations.
Fast forward. After a semester of trying to find where I wanted to become involved on campus, I was still very much unsure where I wished to invest my time. I attended many informational meetings. I met with many students who were very passionate about organizations on campus, but when I thought critically about the prospect of my involvement, I was simply not as passionate. I wanted to be sure an organization I joined aligned with my interests and what I wished my college experience would look like. Some of my best friends introduced me to Young Life as they were in the midst of training to become volunteer leaders. The more I learned about the vision of Young Life and the role of being a Young Life leader, I knew it was an organization I wanted to be a part of. Young Life is an international organization whose mission is defined as “introducing adolescents to Jesus Christ and helping them grow in their faith.” The ministry of Young Life hopes to do this by building on what are called the four C’s: Contact Work, Club, Campaigners, and Camp. What really struck me was how Young Life was focused on relational ministry. Young Life leaders go where kids are, this is called contact work. Leaders are present in school hallways chatting with kids, at sporting events helping coach a team, supporting kids at plays and concerts, and simply living life with kids to the best of their abilities. I loved that this ministry model was clearly based on Jesus’ life. Young Life leaders do not wait for kids to come to them. They travel to where kids are and show them an unconditional love that can only come from Jesus.
It is typical for a freshman interested in Young Life to be trained during their entire first semester at Grove City College. The thought is, this is a new time full of challenges and changes. Adding an intensive spiritual training may do more harm than good, and could ultimately leave a student feeling burnt out. Also, as Young Life is a relational ministry, it is important to make sure students are ready to be part of kids’ lives for the next few years. For many kids, becoming close to a Young Life leader and then losing this friend is a devastating experience. Taking a semester to train allows students to think critically about whether they could realistically be part of Young Life. During the first semester, interested students meet once a week on Sunday nights to engage in fellowship, listen to messages about the Gospel, and learn what it truly means to be a Young Life leader by going through a handbook. However, students who feel called to the ministry may also be trained at any point during their time at the college. I know many dedicated, passionate leaders who became involved during their sophomore, junior, or even senior years. (I went through an accelerated training second semester my freshman year).
I am now a senior. I can honestly say that my choice to do Young Life has challenged and shaped me more than any other choice I have made in my college career. The friends I have made at Mercer Middle School (where I lead) and on campus (with a community of 55 other college students who are Young Life leaders) have taught me important lessons and provided me with a great community. My faith has grown exponentially throughout these past three years. Young Life has provided me with many spiritual challenges. With each one, I am constantly reminded of the greatness of God and His providence and grace. Young Life is not for everybody, but I would urge you to get involved if you are interested. As Christians, we are called to fulfill the Great Commission. So why not spend your college years to serving in a fun, humbling, and rewarding way?
I am a Junior now. At this point, I know Grove City College was the right choice for me; however, I was not always so sure. As any student knows, we all question what college is the best for us. What do we want to major in? What do we want the student-professor ratio to be? Does the food quality matter? And on top of all that confusion, how do we wade through the promises to make life awesome that countless schools are offering us?
When I was in my senior year of high school, I struggled in my college decision process. I have high standards for myself and big dreams for my future, so I felt a lot of pressure to choose the ‘perfect’ place. I was vulnerable, confused, and bombarded with messaging from all sorts of colleges. Every one of them tried to tell me they would meet my college needs in the ‘best’ way. Promises like these can be overwhelming and even tempting, but I wanted more. I wanted a school that proved itself worthy of my time, and a place that would allow me to grow both academically and spiritually.
Something major that set Grove City College apart was the fact that rather they refused to consider themselves the bearer of all my dreams.In fact, the stance of the people I talked to was glaringly different. The stance here was—and is—only God can fulfill you. Only God can truly get you where you are meant to be. The job of the college is simply to facilitate and provide a platform for the influence of Christ on student’s life.
This was a level of authenticity and integrity that I had not seen among the other promotional messaging of schools I was looking at. It spoke to the heart of a question I feared as a high-schooler: Is my college experience going to be enough for me? Instead of claiming that they would be the ‘have all, be all’ ofschools, Grove City College reminded me that only God could be my key to an amazing future.
Looking back, I almost feel surprised that I was able to distinguish this subtle difference in messaging at that point in my life. Amidst all the stress, all the pressure, and all of the uncertainty of being a rising college student, I was often tempted to forget how important the permanent things in life are—God, family, curiosity, being good to people, and so on. Rather than take advantage of my lack of perspective, Grove City College helped bring it back to me and continues to do so. For that, I am forever grateful.
As you continue your search, I hope to leave you with these reminders that Grove City put in my heart. Wherever you end up, remember that a college is not going to fulfill you. A great sorority is not going to fulfill you. An awesome cafeteria is not going to fulfill you. And they are not going to take you places, either.
Only God can do that.
So work hard, do right, and remember to leave the fulfillment you get from your college years up to Him.
Wishing you the very best as you continue your search.
