TKC Letters Project - Life-Changing

To say that King’s was life-changing...

would be an immense understatement. I came to King’s in 2017 kicking and screaming. I had left Christianity early in high school and had no desire to attend a Christian college, but God had other plans.

One of my first classes was Old Testament with Dr. Johnson, and it was one of the first times I had actually opened my Bible. I was completely enchanted with everything I was reading but thought the Israelites were some of the stupidest people I had ever read about. I brought this up to Dr. Johnson and he said that I had a lot more in common with the Israelites than I thought. I was so offended I genuinely thought about transferring schools.

As I kept reading through the Old Testament, I felt a tug on my heart that I really was more like the Israelites than I had previously thought but was too proud to admit this to Johnson. Then, a week later I received a call from my mother saying my little brother was taken away from my family. I remember riding from Clark St. to King’s in a trance and trying to remember where my class was while not falling apart. Our house advisor, Katie Steele, took one look at me, pulled me into her office, and hugged me. Before she even knew what was wrong, she had called my Exec team to come up to her office. Our president, Evelyn Stetzer, came running in and wrapped me in a hug. Then the exec team prayed over me before walking me to class.

That night I knew that I could either acknowledge God’s provision in my life or I could run away to an idol that would pacify me for a moment, much like the Israelites, whom I hated so much, often did. So I sat on the bathroom floor of my tiny Clark Street apt and accepted Christ. Two weeks later I was baptized with an upperclassman from Truth and 20 Truthies cheering us on.

Like many other students, I had heard Pincin was a tough professor and I was terrified of him. Much to my terror, I ended up failing micro and had to take it again. I felt so stupid and was convinced Pincin would hate me. I cried every time he came into the library for a whole semester before I dared to take the class again. Turns out Pincin didn’t hate me and I definitely wasn’t the first person to fail one of his classes. Dr. Pincin poured into the rest of my time at King’s. He was patient when it took me longer to learn concepts, made sure I was going to office hours and gave me extensions when I had emergencies come up. Economics ended up being my favorite subject and one I excelled at. His classes and teaching taught me how to discuss high-level topics, think through problems in depth, and how to write with excellence. He taught with patience and kindness which made me a better human, student, and classmate. I am forever thankful for the economics and personal lessons he taught me.

I would like to thank Nick Swedick for always having a plan for one of my many medical emergencies, Megan (Phelps) Dishman for always being willing to broach hard topics with me, all 4 Truth exec teams for holding me to higher standards, and the House of Truth for giving me some of the world’s best friends.

I truly don’t know where my life would be without King’s. I don’t think I would be a Christian or even half the person I am today. King’s gave me a gracious environment to grow, held me accountable, and taught me that I can go through really tough things with grace and truth. My time at King’s truly changed my life and for all the memories, lessons learned, and friends made, I am deeply grateful.