It was sometime in the summer before my senior year of high school when I started researching Christian colleges. I was a missionary’s kid on the rural north coast of Honduras, and the complications and expense of international travel meant that my college search would look different than many. I wouldn’t get to walk the quads, eat in dining halls, chat with professors about study abroad opportunities, or tour the set shops of different schools’ theater facilities. I would probably have to choose a school site unseen — with one exception.
I had been on exactly one college campus in my life, and it was Grove City College. As a middle schooler, I had followed my older brothers along to their clubs, cheered at their lacrosse games, and played ultimate Frisbee with their friends. I had sat in the back of their classes and pretended to understand the discussions. I had eaten chicken tenders in the Student Union and worshiped next to them in Harbison Chapel. Even from a distance, I had watched as my brothers became thoughtful, intelligent, and kind leaders during their years at Grove City. And sitting there 3000 miles from the Grove, as I clicked back and forth between collegiate webpages, I realized that my brothers’ experiences at Grove City College were exactly the college experience that I wanted. I had visited the campus and I loved it. But more importantly, I had observed the friendships my brothers had made, the visions they had honed, and the ways that God had used the College to transform and grow them. And I knew I wanted all that in my life, too. And I really wanted more of those chicken tenders.
About Me
If there’s one thing that my life has taught me so far, it’s that God’s direction is never predictable. My fairly normal childhood in northern NJ took a shift when God directed our family to Balfate, Honduras to serve as missionaries. During the ups and downs of those middle and high school years, God taught me much about the world, His church, and Himself. While studying English and Spanish at Grove City College, I suspected that I would return to the mission field, likely in South or Central America — after all, that was a culture and a language that I knew. To my surprise, God clearly directed me to a small international boarding school in Kandern, Germany. I served at Black Forest Academy for seven years as a resident assistant, theatre teacher, and director. When I left BFA, I had my own ideas for the future, but God surprised me again by leading me back to Grove City College.
As part of the Visit team, I am privileged to introduce you to my alma mater and help you discover how Grove City College might fit into your journey. My journey has been full of unexpected turns, but Jesus Christ has been faithful through it all. I pray that as you seek His guidance in your own life journey, you will hold on tightly to His hand and trust that while He is sometimes surprising, He is always good.
Favorite Scripture
“But this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:21-23
Favorite College Memory
It has to be a three-way tie between ridiculous themed dinners with my freshman hall, playing Snail in the Children’s Theatre production of "A Year with Frog and Toad," and participating in prank wars with my fellow North RAs.
Favorite Activity on Campus
Watching any production that happens in Ketler Auditorium.
Hobbies
Walking through the woods with my dog, binge-reading young adult fiction series, hosting movie marathons, writing bad poetry, acting, and directing theatre.