An Open Letter to Calvin College

Much to my dismay, it's about time for me to process and come to terms with my new label of "alumni", "new graduate" and "employee". This upcoming weekend I will be visiting Grand Rapids for the last time in what will be the foreseeable future. This means, the end of my college career and my life in GR are coming to a rapid and emotional close. So, I guess I can't avoid the sorrow any longer.

At Calvin College, the administration, professors and orientation staff drill the following mission statement into your mind: "Calvin College equips students to think deeply, to act justly and to live wholeheartedly as Christ's agents of renewal in the world." Much to the satisfaction of my professors and bosses at Calvin, I typed that from memory. It wasn't until senior year that I actually stopped to process what this mission statement means to me and how it has become evident in my life. This short and simple mission statement has become more than just the tagline of my Alma Mater, it will continue to serve me as I move into my workplace, my new community and my relationships. It's become a motto of my life, keeping life in perspective for me. Through my experiences, education and opportunities over the past four years, I have learned to think deeply, act justly and live wholeheartedly as an agent of renewal. Thank you Calvin College for creating and living out such a humbling yet encouraging mission. 

Thank you Calvin College for giving me the opportunities to become whatever and whoever I wanted. In high school, I wasn't what you would call "involved". I floated through high school only being involved in choir. I was encouraged by many people in the Calvin community to "put myself out there" and to "get out of your comfort zone". I was about as involved at Calvin as you possibly could be. Each year I tried something new and challenged myself to grow whether it was going to Ghana, West Africa for almost six months or joining Calvin College Orientation crew as an Orientation leader. It was because of Calvin College that I realized, grew and honed my leadership skills. These were skills that I didn't see in myself but people at Calvin saw them in me. 

Thank you Calvin College for giving me the space to be an adult. More often than not, Christian colleges and universities require specific things from their students such as mandatory chapel attendance, strict clothing guidelines and a testimony of faith. Calvin, thank you for creating your student body with people from any and every background. Thank you for not requiring all students to be from the same stuffy, smothering and stagnant religious background. I am grateful that I was able to choose to attend or not attend chapel, lectures and programs. Calvin College, you gave me room to make mistakes and suffer the consequences while also giving me the ability to thrive just like every adult has to. 

Thank you Calvin College for my five best friends. It sounds cliché but meeting my five best friends was such a God thing. All six of us just so happened to be on Second Eldersveld within a couple of rooms from each other? What are the odds? I don't have sisters and never really wanted any, but if I had to choose these girls would be it. Thank you each for all the belly aching laughs, midnight McDonald's runs, and endless pieces of advice and wisdom you've given me the past four years. We made it through two 24 hour long road trips, four semesters in a single house, two Christmas cards, a handful of breakups, an engagement and soon to be a wedding. Y'all are stuck with me. I love and cherish not only my Rosewood girls but all the other friends I made along the way. Or you're thinking that you're included in that group then you probably are. Without Calvin College, we would have never met and my life would be incredibly dull and 110% boring. 

There are countless aspects of Calvin that I could mention, but for the sake of your sanity I'll tell one last story. At the end of senior year, I was in the thick of papers, projects, meetings and preparing for finals. One of my bosses/directors at Calvin asked if I would participate in a panel for the parents of incoming Calvin students. This panel was made up of a professor, my boss Bob Crow and myself. Bob told me that he wanted me to share my stories while walking parents through a slideshow of Calvin statistics and whatnot. As I was preparing, it dawned on me just how many stories I have. I kid you not, I could have and would have spoken to those parents for multiple hours but I only had 8 minutes. I talked about my time in the dorms, my semester in Ghana and my experience with student leadership. It was a joy for me to speak into what life is like for a Calvin student. I wanted to end with a bang so I pondered, typed, deleted and typed again for nearly an hour. In the end, I think captured it pretty well "I have this unbridled love of this place. I have truly, in every sense of the word thrived here and leaving this place will be one of the hardest things I have to do." 

Sincerely, 
A Knight for Life, Class of 2017