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Grove City College offers its students many different, and unique opportunities to not only better themselves, but to experience unique adventures. Many of these adventures take place on United States soil, but several of them are abroad. Unique partnerships with international institutions offer GCC students exceptional opportunities to explore their vocational interests, obtain outstanding job experience, and gain appreciation for new professions. In this post, one of the more unique opportunities Grove City College offers will be explored — Welcome to archaeological conservation in Sardinia, Italy.

Now, I’m sure you have several questions probably rolling around in your head. They may include:

“Archaeological Conservation? Is that when they dig stuff up from the dirt?”

“Sardinia…I’ve never heard of that. Where in the world is that? Is it really part of Italy?” 

“Great, so you’re going to tell us about how you dug up rocks all summer? Sounds like so much fun.”

The subject might sound as dry as the rocks we worked with, but you might be surprised at how you are wrong. First, what is archaeological conservation? Archaeological conservation is the preservation of items which make up our history. Conservationists repair structures, art, pottery, sculptures, mosaics, and so much more.  Yet they also work with museums, governments, and private individuals to clean, categorize, reassemble, and display ancient pieces which were discovered in archaeological digs. Every statue that you see in a museum, every piece of pottery, has been preserved by a conservationist.

There are very few conservationists around the world, and opportunities to experience their work are few and far between. This makes the fact that Grove City College offers a month long archaeological conservation trip all the more exciting. The school sponsors students to go, in a group, to Sardinia to work on the Mont’e Prama Project. Dr. Nardi is a world renowned archaeological conservationist who not only is very good at what he does, but also is extremely kind and friendly. He loves meeting students, working with them, opening their eyes to a new world, and building community with them. We handled pieces of art which were thousands of years old, and were extremely delicate. If a paintbrush pressed too hard against a stone, there is a high possibility it would crumble away. Considering how fragile these artifacts are, the Italians never gave anything but patient, level-headed instruction.

The Project of Mont’e Prama

The research assignment we worked on was called the Mont’e Prama Project. We studied two different types of figures; the Giganti, and the Nuraghe. The Giganti, or the Giants, are eight-foot-tall warrior statues made out of sandstone. The Nuraghe are primitive castles figurines which vary in size. Some were small enough to hold in your hands, and others were big enough to need a truck to move. The Nuraghe models are believed to be based off of full size ‘castles’ which are scattered around the island.

While both are important groups of artifacts, the Nuraghe models have been found across the island while the Giganti have only been discovered in one small piece of land. A farmer found these artifacts while plowing on the archaeological site. The Giganti were in an ancient graveyard, but their purpose is unknown, as is the purpose of the Nuraghe models. The archaeological dig site itself unearthed the fragments we worked with in the 70’s. There were 27 crates of fragments that we students worked with. The crates contained anywhere from one large fragment to 80 small fragments. It is estimated that by the end of the month, we handled over 500 individual fragments — quite the number.

Conclusion

All in all, the experience was amazing. I developed an appreciation for how much work truly goes into, not only the archaeological process, but the curation and museum work that goes into preparing and presenting a piece. I was also astonished at how many fragments and pieces are not on display. For every piece you see in a museum there are hundreds of pieces not on display, and thousands of unidentified fragments sitting in the basement. I learned patience in the process, and I got to see first-hand how much passion for the subject is required from those who chose it as their profession.

Baja is a club composed mostly of Mechanical Engineering majors. Members build vehicles and race them at competitions across the country, competing against international teams. I talked with Paul Kenney, who is an avid member of the Baja Club to learn more about the club. Baja Racing is a competition sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and is an awesome extracurricular that helps apply the skills students learn in a fun, tangible way. Baja cars are built from scratch by Grove City students and then taken for test drives at our test track located on campus. After months of fine tuning and careful building, the cars are transported to competitions in New York, Kentucky, Illinois, Florida, and other states to compete. Cars that can survive the most laps and drive the fastest win. The tracks at the competitions are designed to test the durability of the vehicles.

At Grove City, there are two cars that are available for competition. The club is also building a new one this year, which will replace the older of the two cars. One of the member’s favorite parts of Baja is being able to race the car in the competition, against dozens of different schools and being able to drive the car on the test track on campus. In addition, Baja is a great way to develop one’s engineering skills through design and construction. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) is a prestigious organization that has a broad network across several different engineering fields, including the Aerospace, Commercial Vehicle, and Automotive departments. So while Baja racing is a fun activity, it is also a great tool to build your professional profile as an engineer. Many employers are impressed with one’s involvement with SAE and are eager to work with students who have build Baja cars.

Julie Dieffenbach is a winter graduate of Grove City, graduating in three and a half years, rather than four years. She is a Psychology major with a Business minor.

How did you graduate early?

I completed several heavier semesters, with 18 credits, rather than the normal 16 credits. In addition, I took a few intersession courses, which are courses that are offered in between the fall and spring semesters. I was surprised at how easy the process was to complete all of my required classes. The intersession courses were easily integrated into my normal schedule. I am glad that I was able to graduate early, because it saved me money and also allows me to get into the real world faster. I am extremely excited to get a job and enter into adulthood.

What are some of your favorite things about Grove City?

I love my friends. Many of them I met three years ago, on my freshmen hall, and we are still extremely close today. In addition, I was able to be a part of Young Life, which was an awesome opportunity and ministry experience. I was a leader at Sharon Middle School, and was able to make many close friends within the community of Young Life. I also like how my relationships and opportunities helped me grow closer to God.

What was your favorite class that you took at Grove City?

My favorite class was Wellness Promotion and Programming. It is an Exercise Science class that I just took as an elective, but it turned out to be one of my favorite classes that I have ever taken! The class was taught by Professor DiDonato and taught me so much about leadership and good communication.

What are your plans for the future?

I’m moving back home to Downington, PA. I plan on continuing my ministry with Young Life there. I eventually want to be a guidance counselor at a high school or middle school. I’m excited for what the future holds, but am still sad to leave Grove City College. It is definitely a bitter-sweet transition.

 

This summer Lauren Bimber had an exciting opportunity with ReachAcross. Lauren is a senior Accounting major from Lombard, Illinois. She came to Grove City College because her brother previously attended the College and loved the people along with the godly atmosphere. She loves how the campus feels like a family, how wonderful the professors are, and how happy everyone seems to be here.

What did you do this past summer? Did you get connected to this opportunity through GCC?

This summer I was an intern for an organization called ReachAcross in the United Kingdom.  I went through the Red Box Missions program at Grove City, and I was connected with the organization through a friend who was in the program the previous summer.

What is ReachAcross? What do they do?

ReachAcross is “a network of Jesus-followers who are dedicated to sharing the Good News with Muslims and serve them in practical ways, no matter how difficult or inaccessible they may be.

What did you do specifically?

This summer I was able to experience different forms of outreach to immigrant communities, while learning about the religion and cultural aspects of Islam. I helped some with teaching English, working at Kids Clubs, helping out at community center for women, and spending time at prayer meetings with networks of people and churches who are dedicated to serving the immigrant communities. I was basically learning how people are reaching out in practical and simple ways through friendship to show the love of Jesus to their neighbors.

What was your favorite moment from this summer/what was most rewarding?

It’s hard to pick a favorite or most rewarding aspect of my summer.  There were a few days where I was able to spend time talking and coloring with a small group of elementary-aged girls from the community.  We talked about stories from the Bible and different aspects of being Christian or Muslim. There was no efforts in trying to convert one another. We wanted to learn about each other the same way that any set of friends would. We laughed a lot, there were some tears over ruined pictures (not on my end), and there was a lot of love that was shared with these girls. The time I was able to spend with them was unique and very special to me.

How has this opportunity prepared you for life after college?

After college, I am planning on doing work very similar to what I did this past summer, but to add some accounting to the mix. Refugee and immigrant communities are growing in this country, and there are needs within those communities that can easily be met by willing people. God has provided us, as a Christian community, with access to so many opportunities to serve Him by serving and sharing with the people around us. Are we/will we be willing to take those opportunities?

The Big Scary World of After College

There are plenty of reasons to attend Grove City College, but few things are more convincing than the words of an alumna. I spoke to Karolina Lagerquist, a 2016 graduate of Grove City, and an outstanding member of the Entrepreneurship Department. She played on the Grove City tennis team, and was certainly involved in mostly everything.

Why did you decide to attend Grove City, and why did you pick your particular major?

I chose to go to Grove City because I wanted to go to a school that would push me in all areas of life as a disciple of Christ. I also wanted to attend an institution where I could get to know my professors and classmates on a personal level – and that deep, challenging community was definitely what I found at GCC!

What was most rewarding about attending Grove City?

The most rewarding part about being a Grover was getting to join a community of driven, enthusiastic students, devoted to learning not only their academic discipline excellently, but also willing to engage and take ownership of their faith.  To be both vividly present in one place for four years is incredibly formative and is a great way to lay a foundation for the rest of life!

In what ways do you think Grove City has best prepared you for after-college life?

GCC prepared me very well, specifically in the comprehensiveness of the entrepreneurship program. Respectively, in the sense that everything that I have been asked to do at my job has been something that I have either done already for a class project or at least know how to wrap my head around.  Additionally, learning how to juggle way more than you think you can handle has been invaluable – and not just for life at the office!

How has your transition from college to the workplace been?

Transitioning to the working world has definitely been easier coming from a GCC education.  At Grove City, you have to develop a strong work ethic to survive – and coupled with the opportunity the receive a liberal arts education, you are set up well for flourishing.  It is not easy leaving the Grove, but prepared to succeed.

If you could give potential students some advice about college, what would that be?

Taking ownership has always been a really important concept to me (and seems to be to many GCC students) – but one thing I wish I would have done more as I got closer to graduating was recognize that God has a plan. No amount of angst-filled, wheel-spinning on my part was going to help me trust that fact.  One of God’s names is Jevhovah Jireh, which means ‘the Lord who provides’ and my advice to current Grovers – especially those heading out in the next few months – would be to really internalize this notion because it is something that I have drawn on countless times since graduation.

Hopeful Conclusion

Speaking to Karolina really eased my nerves and made me realize that I go to a great school that will prepare me for my professional and personal life. Not only will I “make it” after college, but I’ll thrive. Being a senior myself, it was a scary time to stare down and look at the real world. Freshmen and prospective students do not have to worry about it quite yet, but it is important to pick a school which will help you along that path (once its time to walk on it).