I started college later than most people my age had. Whereas most at nineteen were in their second year of classes, I was just starting. It made things a bit harder, especially since I wasn’t fully happy with the school I was attending. Finances made it difficult for me to be able to go to a full university and most colleges didn’t offer what I wanted to learn to start my career. Mission work is not a common career choice in secular schools, and all Christian universities handled mission in a way that I found dissatisfying and took away from the true goal and meaning of missions. In addition to that there was a passion in me that needed to be able to understand all the different cultures that I could possibly be encountering I the mission field. I felt that it was extremely important to have knowledge so that I wasn’t going into an area blind to their teachings and culture. How are we to claim that we are helping if we don’t properly understand? Who is to say that a people will even want help from people who are ignorant?
I was at my community college for five semesters before coming across Eastern University. My mother introduced me to the Missions & Anthropology program that she had read about. What intrigued me the most was the very unique way that Eastern put Missions and Anthropology together to create a single degree that encompassed all that I felt was most important about missions and being a missionary. I took one look at the school and the program and knew that Eastern University is where I was meant to be, and I was determined to make it here. A year after learning about Eastern and absorbing all the information about the school I could, I took the twenty-hour, two-day drive to St. David’s.
Not once have I regretted coming to Eastern. Everyone I have come across has been extremely nice and helpful. The professors extremely understanding and proactive in their student’s progress and are willing to help however possible. My transfer advisor was extremely patient with all my unending questions, and the staff are always there to help. Eastern most certainly makes it possible to feel welcome and at home in an unfamiliar place. All the academics are given with a biblical background with very open minded discussions that allow students to agree, disagree, and ask questions about everything from the material being covered to how it pertains to spirituality and Christianity. The Missions & Anthropology program that I am in is a very well rounded and well-informed program with amazing professors that really know what they are talking about.
It isn’t just the academics that are great. Eastern provides a lot of spiritual support and nourishes all their students in any way that they need to succeed. The clubs and programs offered are fun and the weekly activities help promote community. I have very greatly enjoyed being a part of E.T.H.E.L.S., the Swing Dance club at Eastern, and getting to know those involved and having something fun to do in between all the studying.
Eastern has an amazing community that I have yet to see in another college. It is supportive and nourishes amazing relationships and academics that are extremely hard to find elsewhere. I am very happy that I made the choice to transfer to Eastern and can’t wait to get my B.A. in Missions & Anthropology in the coming semesters. Thank you Eastern for being everything I have needed while I’ve been here!