Category: Student Stories

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Q&A With Redbox Missionary Adrienne Scrima

Senior Communication Studies major Adrienne Scrima is currently studying abroad at the King’s College in New York City. This past summer Adrienne was one of the students accepted into Grove City College’s unique Redbox Missions program, where accepted students are granted funds to complete mission work of their choosing throughout the summer. 

Why did you decide to pursue the redbox program and what did that process look like?

I applied my sophomore year and was rejected, but encouraged to apply again my junior year. I applied because it was a great opportunity to do any kind of mission work on scholarship. I applied my junior year after Dr. Graham stopped me in the hallway to follow up and encourage me again. That happened the day after I asked friends to pray for my summer plans. I applied, interviewed (funnily enough my interview sophomore year went far better), went to the theology/missions training sessions, met for meals with the Red Box students, and spent months and months researching, consulting, and praying about my missions decision.

Can you describe your program and the calling you felt towards that area?Adrienne

I applied to Athletes in Action after a speaker at Fellowship of Christian Athletes spoke about how he was impacted by his experience at an AIA camp. I definitely didn’t feel called. It was the last thing I wanted to do. I thought God had better plans for me, ones that would be more sacrificial and less fun. However, God’s plan was easy to see when every other option for the summer fell through.

What were some favorite moments from the summer?

I began to see that God has gifted me in ways that are advantageous as a journalist. I started to see journalism as ministry. It actually prepped me for my King’s College study abroad journalism program. By far, the best part was the community. Everyone was extremely intentional on being open, vulnerable, and gritty about personal issues. Interns for example, initiated group discussions on homosexuality, beauty, and diversity.

How your experience affected you and impacted those around you, relationally and in your faith?

Relationally, I get to live the rest of my life miserable that I may never experience community like that again. But actually, it just showed me how valuable intentional Christian community is. And how fun it is. I entered the program with the goal to get to know myself better. I felt as though I had a ton of blind spots and wasn’t sure of how I came across. I made sure to ask people why they complimented me or get feedback, criticism on my actions. And my faith is always on a high when I can dialog with others freely and openly about God.

Adrienne2What would you say to a student considering applying for the redbox program? Is it worth it?

Yes. You can do whatever you want. Red Box isn’t for a specific kind of person, Its perfect for any Christian, regardless of calling, with a willingness to serve. Also, learn from my mistakes and don’t think too hard about it. I tried to be the best steward of the scholarship I could be, thus indecisively passing decision deadlines.

Anything else you might like to add that isn’t covered above?

GOD KNOWS WHAT YOU WANT/NEED BETTER THAN YOU DO.

 

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The Center for Vision and Values

vvWould you believe me if I told you that Grove City College hosted an opportunity for students to work at a real economic think tank while still on campus, gaining invaluable relational and professional experience while learning about and dealing with complex political and economic issues? Well, you should. The Center for Vision and Values at Grove City College was founded in 2005 through funding from the Koch Foundation. The center’s website tells us, “The Center for Vision & Values provides a valuable opportunity for engaging in political advocacy.” It does this, by example, through dual student fellows programs (research and marketing), educational lectures and programs on the Grove City Campus, countless research projects and op-eds, as well as a conference every spring.

The on-campus lectures cover a wide array of topics from effective poverty alleviation, to income inequality in the 2016 election, to problems with federal economic regulation. Not only do these events provide invaluable opportunities for students on campus to learn more about the world, but they offer the student fellows a great amount of experience through running them. Brianna Buczkowski a senior marketing fellow with the center expressed great appreciation at being able to work in a professional environment while still on campus, and stressed how much help that will be, regardless of where she ends up after graduation.

The spring conference regularly brings in several thousand attendees, including junior marketing fellow Brooke Dymski’s parents. Her parent’s attendance is how Brooke knew of the center before ever arriving at Grove City College as a student, and how she knew she wanted to be a part of the fellows program. The conference deals with timely cultural issues, such as 2015’s theme of ‘The Family’ and brings in a diverse array of speakers including the lawyers who argued before the Supreme Court on behalf of Hobby Lobby during the 2014 conference on religious liberty.

The Center for Vision and Values is just one example of the culture that is fostered at Grove City College promoting critical thought about issues vital to the shaping of our society. All the opportunities and organizations work together to prepare students to enter the world well-rounded in their education and readiness to make a difference for God’s kingdom.

You can visit the website here to learn more about the center and its work.

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Streamlined: Politics to the Point

Politics. The word conjures a feeling of complexity. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard a variation of “I don’t even know, it’s too complicated” in response to political current events. However, this response will not suffice for much longer. As college students, politics is transforming from something we learned in our text books while in high school into something that affects the “real world” in which we will work and raise our families.

This was the concern of a group of students at Grove City College. Political science majors David Kirk, Bryan Denny, Brooke Dymski, Jamieson Weaver and Christina Vilbert saw a problem in our society. There were news sources that spoke to millennials and there were news sources that aimed to simplify political news, but there lacked a news source that combined both. Upon this realization, the website Streamline was born.

Still in its beginning stages, Streamline aims to be a non-profit organization that partners with donors of older generations who value its worthy cause. Streamline will provide an online, un-biased, concise news source for millennials to become engaged and interested in politics. One of the many advantages that Streamline has over other new sources is that it is led by millennials themselves who understand the overwhelming nature of current events. In turn, Streamline will do the hard work for their readers by summarizing pertinent political news in an engaging way, choosing both topics and examples that apply to millennials.

Furthermore, the brilliant idea of Streamline is a great reminder of the power of ambition and creativity. Freshman year, the crew of Streamline would never have guessed their idea would stand where it is now. Now, a little over 2 years later, Streamline has been awarded Grove City College’s Venture Lab and will be funded to become a legitimate business that, hopefully, will carry far past graduation. Their success is an inspiration to other Grove City College students to work with their fellow students, to foster creativity, to build upon one another’s strengths, and to build upon an idea that will benefit others.

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Inner City Outreach – New York City

At Grove City College there are many unique opportunities, not the least of which are the inner-city-outreach trips which are planned, led and manned by students. These trips are an incredible opportunity to take the Christian truth and grace taught and fostered at the college out into the world to serve. ICO trips take place during Thanksgiving and Spring breaks, and both intercession sessions, and range in location from the Dominican Republic to Guatemala to Canton Ohio. This year saw the second Thanksgiving trip to New York City with a team of 12 students, including the three leaders James Leach, Kira Hellwig and Aurthur LaMotta.

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Team members in Times Square

When asked about what differentiated the NYC ICO Leach responded that, “ICO NYC is special in that we don’t have as many clear deliverables as other trips. NYC has better facilities then a team of 12 could ever build in 4 days. This lack of deliverables really focuses the trip on human on human interaction: the stories, emotions, philosophies, mindsets, religions, prejudices, ect. That focus makes this trip something special to me.” With a relational focus there were many unique ministerial opportunities including reaching out to the homeless of NYC which number over 60,000. The ICO NYC team also worked with the Christian Youth Theater, the New York Rescue Mission and conducted street surveys to start conversations about thankfulness with city residents.

The experiences were varied and exciting, from jumping through closing subway doors to rescue a team member stranded on the platform, to worshiping with fellow believers at the Big Apple Chapel on Sunday morning, to debriefing at the end of each day by sharing highs and lows. The team had grown close throughout the semester leading up to the trip by weekly meetings and bonding activities, but came together more than they could have predicted as they worked closely to bless the people of New York. As Leach put it, “I would totally recommend the experience!  It has definitely opened my eyes to a depraved humanity in our own backyard.  Along with that, how good it is to have the Hope which has the answers for that depravity.

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Team member Elaina Kimpel with pigeons while surveying in Central Park.

 

The team kept a daily blog here, where you can read stories and see pictures from their ministry.

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Project Okello Funds Living Water

Though nicknamed “the Pearl of Africa” by Winston Churchill for its “magnificence and profusion of brilliant life,” the Uganda we know today is far from the “fairy tale” depicted by the British Prime Minister on his visit in the early 1900s. Its lush landscape and friendly people are still intact, no doubt. But poverty’s grip on Uganda is tight, wringing her people dry of the chance to truly thrive.

And dry indeed, for over 8 million people lack access to clean water, which not only harms health but also hinders crop production and other means of livelihood. For decades, numerous organizations have poured relief efforts into Eastern Africa, providing temporary fixes to keep people going. Too often, though, this sort of relief is just a drop in the bucket for the poor—whose problems go deeper than the material surface and can only be conquered when individuals are empowered to tap their potential for the long haul.

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Here at Grove City, Project Okello seeks to do just that. Founded in 2006, Okello is a passionate student group whose mission is “to be an instrument of hope, healing, and Christ’s love” to the people of Uganda through prayer, fundraising, and awareness. Throughout the year, Okello puts together a wide array of events to support its three Ugandan missionary partners, including the Ugandan Water Project—a nonprofit founded in 2007 that has served more than 170 communities through sustainable development projects and community building.

This past November, Okello joined forces with UWP to hold its featured fall event, Wells for Hope—a music and arts festival that funds the installation of rain water collection systems in Uganda with the greater goal of clearing a path for living water to flow through the Gospel. Recruited vendors including students, alumni, and local artisans set up shop around the Student Union, selling a variety of goods from button rings and stationery to photos and hand-carved walking sticks. Through a donated percentage of vendors’ profits and other generous contributions, altogether exceeding $5000, Okello and UWP were able to fund a tank and supply at least 30 years’ worth of clean drinking water to the 350 students of St. Joseph Kakonda Primary School in the district of Nakaseke.

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                         (Photos above courtesy of Ugandan Water Project)

So, not only were students stopping by the STU that Saturday able to tackle some early Christmas shopping and enjoy fellow students’ musical talent. More importantly, they got a unique chance to reach outside the “bubble” and contribute to an eternally worthwhile cause.

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“Everyone has the right to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” says Okello’s president, Dan Schafhauser (Finance, ’16), “and the fact that we’re American college students doesn’t give us the right to ignore this in other parts of the world.”

Looking ahead to next semester, Schafhauser and his team hope to continue making an impact here on campus and abroad as they enable fellow Grovers to engage with communities in need. Whether they’re selling chicken patties to send kids to camp in Kenya, hosting Ugandan natives on campus to share their insight, or simply praying for God’s hand to heal the broken, the members of Project Okello are staying thirsty for more opportunities to revive a lost and needy world.

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Follow Project Okello on Instagram here.

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Rigorous Academics at GCC: A Student’s Perspective

Marcs-2015-001-449x304I’m a person who likes to do it all. When I was in high school, I always had the longest spiel at every senior night, leaving the announcers breathless as they rattled off every sports team, club, and activity in which I had participated for four years. Naturally, when I was about to start my freshman year at Grove City, I was ready to come to this school and take it by storm.

But I was afraid. I had heard the stories from my brother and friends about how rigorous the academics were. Yes, I wanted to devote myself to my studies first and foremost but what about the rest of the college experience? What about continuing my college career as a track and field athlete? At the end of August, I had plenty of butterflies in my stomach about the prospect of starting my freshman year of Grove City College.

I wish I had been able to read a blog post to soothe my nerves then like I am doing for you. If you are wondering if you will be able to handle the academics that Grove City College offers, as well as have a healthy social life, the answer is 100% yes. If you are wondering if Grove City is a school full of people sticking their noses in books, I am here to assure you that the answer is no. If you are wondering if you can be an athlete as well as have a good GPA, it is completely possible.

I am currently a junior at Grove City and for the past two years I have kept myself plenty busy with activities like varsity track and field, Orchesis Dance Troupe, New Life, Alpha Beta Tau Sorority, and Orientation Board. All of my friends and fellow students have just as busy schedules if not more. All these activities don’t account for all the late night talks about life and faith in a college dorm, endless dances, numerous Coffaro’s pizzas consumed, and intramural sports games.

Yes, Grove City is going to prepare you for your future job. Yes, they are going to push you academically and there will be many nights where you will be writing papers, reading, or doing lab reports, but Grove City will teach you many more valuable life lessons than just that. Grove City will surround you with lifelong friends who will be there for you when you do poorly on a quiz and when your heart gets broken by a Christian boy who felt like “God called him” to break up with you. Friends who you get so close to that it blows your mind that you only have known them a semester. Friends who will pray for you when you are struggling with anxiety, depression, and faith issues. Friends that will encourage you to be in the word and post sweet notes with Bible verses on your door in the dead of night.

Grove City will help you to seek God first, each and every day. You will find yourself in classes where the teacher doesn’t tip toe around controversial issues from a Christian perspective and where professors actually pray before your tests and quizzes. You will find yourself even becoming friends with your teachers, who will remember your name and even invite you to their houses for meals. At Grove City, you are so much more than just a number you are precious daughter or son of Christ and no one lets you forget it.

Grove City College isn’t just a school that will grow you academically. In just the two short years I have been here, I have grown so much—socially, spiritually, and in every area. I look at the person I was coming in freshman year and I don’t even recognize her. I have grown to become someone I would have admired in high school and, though God isn’t close to being finished with me yet, I know that I am so much closer to Him than I ever was in high school.

If you’re looking for a school where your GPA is all you’ll have to show for your four years, Grove City College is not the place for you. If you’re looking for a college where you’ll remember all the memories and good times at college, pick Grove City. You should pick Grove City if you are ready to be pushed in every area of your life, if you are ready to go home on breaks and have your family members notice positive changes in you, and if you want the whole college experience. I can guarantee that you that you will not be left unchanged.

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Grovers Abroad: Samantha Parry

During her sophomore year at Grove City College, Samantha Parry (‘16) received an e-mail inviting her to apply to the college’s study abroad program in Nantes, France. Samantha, who had always wanted to visit Europe, decided that this opportunity was too good to pass up.

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Samantha in Nantes, France

The following year, Samantha spent the fall semester with twenty three other Grove City College students, from a variety of majors, at the Grove City College European Study Center in Nantes, France.

One of the unique aspects of the Nantes program is that it gave Samantha the opportunity to earn credits for her mechanical engineering major. Through one of her classes at the Université de Nantes, Samantha gained helpful insight into the field of engineering beyond learning technical skills.

“We took most of our classes through Grove City, but one class that we took with French students was called Engineering Management and it was basically learning about different cultures and then learning how to manage projects cross-culturally,” Samantha explains. “We learned about how cultural nuances can affect how you make a business deal or work on a project and things like that, so that was cool to learn about but also cool to get to know French students…I think that getting to know them, doing projects with them, and learning about French culture helped me be more objective in how I treat people and situations and I think that learning more of the business and personal relations side of things is something that engineers don’t really get through engineering school,” Samantha explains. “If you are going to be an engineer one day, you’re going to have to deal with things internationally. Technology is worldwide and it [studying abroad] gives you so much more of a global perspective that I think is really important for anyone, including engineers.”

Samantha and GCC students in Paris
Samantha and GCC students in Paris

Although Samantha says that it was an adjustment to live in a different culture, she explains that Nantes became like a second home to her. She distinctly remembers a moment when she felt at home in France.

“I was out in town during the day and we went down to do some shopping and I think we went to get lunch crêpes,” she recalls. “Sometimes there are street performers, but on this particular day there was a whole drum line and choreographed dance group. They had all these different types of drums and there was a huge group of people around who were enjoying them. It was so cool that a lot of people took the time just to watch them. Even just that day, realizing that I could get around the city totally fine—I knew where to go, I knew where to shop, I had my favorite crêpe place—it was like it became my home city…being totally immersed and getting to the point where I felt really comfortable in the city and in a different culture and being able to enjoy it with them [the locals] was a cool moment.”

Not only did Samantha learn more about French culture, but she was also able to explore other European countries during breaks. One of Samantha’s favorite memories from her study abroad experience was meeting up with a Grove City student who was studying abroad in Italy at the time.

Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy
Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy

“The second [favorite memory] would be in Florence, which is the place we went during Thanksgiving break. I had previously contacted a Grove City student that was studying in Florence and we met up at the steps of the Il Duomo and he walked us around and took us to his favorite gelato place and then we sat on a bridge there, looking at the famous bridge in Florence. Sitting there, at nighttime, eating gelato, with someone else from Grove City in Florence at a popular landmark was surreal,” she says.

After returning home with gifts for her family members and a camera full of photos, Samantha says that she would love to go back to Nantes.

“If you would have asked me which country I would have wanted to study abroad in [before college], I wouldn’t have said France because I would have rather gone to Spain or Italy, but after going to France and living in Nantes, I realized how much I loved it and how much France had to offer. I learned so much and I loved it there” she says.

Learn more about the Office of International Education here.

Learn more about the mechanical engineering program at GCC here.

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Faith, Freedom, and Family

Faith and freedom are the founding principles that Grove City stands on, but after being on campus you’ll come to realize that it also stands for Family. Grove City seems to attract generations of students following in their parents’ or siblings’ footsteps. Why is that? What makes high school students want to come to the same college as their parents? I decided to talk with one of these legacy students to get some insight.

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Clifford Hovis ’16, an entrepreneurship major, knew at a young age that Grove City was the place for him. His career at the college started a little earlier than most of his peers; he attended Pre-Kindergarten in Pew Fine Arts. He talked about coming to various college functions with his parents while growing up, whether it be football games or Homecoming. Grove City was a family affair to Clifford, with his parents, sister, 1 uncle, 3 aunts, and various distant relatives attending the school. He describes attending Grove City as an old family tradition.

With so many members of his family that had attended Grove City, he grew up hearing stories about professors, the campus, Greek life, and other traditions. His father, Cliff J. Hovis, graduated from Grove City with a degree in Marketing in 1989. While his mom, Lynn (Johnson) Hovis graduated with a degree in Business Administration in 1989. When the time came for Clifford to start looking at colleges, he knew exactly where he wanted to go. Much to his mother’s nervous dismay, GCC was the only school he visited and applied to! Luckily his parents’ nerves were calmed when he was accepted to Grove City in 2013.

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What does Grove City College mean to you?

It is a place where I feel like home. Grove City has played such a major role in the lives of my family members; it gave them a solid foundation to start their lives with. They are all so thankful when they look back on their time at Grove City, because of the things they learned and people they met. For my family, Grove City is their legacy and I hope to continue that legacy.

Why do you think Grove City College attracts generations of students?

Grove City is a conservative Christian school that instills strong values into its students. These students leave GCC and pass them on to their peers and family. People care here, what other school can you go to where your professors actually care about you? Grove City is like a big family, I can’t imagine going anywhere else.

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The Lascell Girls

group_shot_lascell_houseThis year I got the amazing opportunity to live in a quaint house just a few feet from campus with eight other girls. During this semester, this house became a home to me. I cried there, I laughed till I fell on the floor there, I became someone there. I know it sounds cheesy, but it is true. These girls have become some of my closest friends and confidants. This house has enabled us to become a family. Some of my favorite memories are Saturday morning brunches with chocolate chip pancakes, going around the table saying our highs and lows of the week and most importantly the late night conversations.

After I tell people I live with eight other girls they typically give me the same look of “yikes, how do you have so much estrogen under one roof.” First, let me preface that like most girls, my housemates and I are not completely alike. We range from horseback riders, to lacrosse players and even writers. Some of us don’t talk at all while some of us talk way too much. No matter our differences though we agree on two core values. We all adhere to a no drama policy and we all want to use our abilities to serve one another, others and most importantly the Lord.3girls_1stdayofschool_lascellhouse

One of our service events this semester was our thanksgiving party. The party wasn’t the typical thanksgiving cuisine. Instead of the usual turkey and mashed potatoes, we had different types of food ranging from Italian to Polynesian food. We invited a bunch of our friends, made about six different pies and had our guests bring canned goods that we donated to the local food bank.

One of my favorite memories living in the house was our Halloween party. For weeks leading up to the event, we worked hard painting, crafting and creating this Pinterest based party. My friends Palmer and Megan made this unbelievably lifelike tree out of newspaper, cardboard boxes and spray paint.

The Lascell girls and this house have shaped me into the person I am today and I will always be thankful for all the great friendships and memories I have made at Grove City College.

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The Second Annual Innovation Club Christmas Party

For those who don’t know, the Entrepreneurship Department can throw a great party, as is evidenced by the success of the innovation club’s second annual Christmas Party at Beans on Broad. The party featured many key events, including games like Settlers of Catan and Bananagrams, a white elephant gift exchange, a chili cook-off, and of course an open tab that allowed students all the coffee and pastries they could handle! Throughout the night, more than seventy five students from all different majors joined us for an evening filled with holiday cheer and of course Christmas music.

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The beauty that resides in this party is hard to describe. It is the culmination of a semester of great meetings for the innovation club, and a time for the whole department, and those from other departments, to unwind from a crazy semester and enjoy each other’s company. One of the times that makes this party so great is that many of our professors and staff are able to come and play games with the students. This year, professor Howley, professor Mech, and Mrs. Stillwaggon got themselves into an epic game of Settlers of Catan against reigning champion Karolina Lagerquist. Additionally, the party had a chili cook-off featuring Chicken Chili and Buffalo chili made by professor Howley, and beef and bean chili made by professor Carson. They were all so delicious that it was impossible to chose a winner!

The party has been the brainchild of the innovation club’s board of directors (Logan Hammerschmitt, Karolina Lagerquist, Ben Che, and Jordan Jensen) for the past two years. The party takes a lot of planning, but the end result greatly exceeds the effort put in. There is little doubt that this event is one of the highlights of my fall semester here at Grove City College, and the party shall continue on for years to come.

For those of you who missed the party, experience it here! Here is a 360 degree video of some of the things that happened at the party!

https://youtu.be/CZX5Ppz3e0E