TKC Letters Project

Why The King’s College Deserves to Survive

Whoever sees this letter I hope will be willing to hear from a current sophomore who loves this school wholeheartedly. My name is Rachel Guerra, and I am a member of the House of Corrie ten Boom, a Dean’s List student, an athlete, the President of the Student Athletic Associate Committee, and the Vice President of TKC Students for Life. My hometown is Kent Island, Maryland and I am studying Politics, Philosophy, and Economics with minors in American Constitutionalism and History. I grew up in the Classical Christian tradition, and came
to King’s through that, so I had some idea of what was coming, but little knowledge as to how this college would transform my life, both academically and spiritually.

Every single student here has a passion for the school that I haven’t seen anywhere else. We were all thrown into a large city, being made to cook our own meals, balance homework and college life, and navigating the subway system often alone. New York City can be as lonely or as busy as one makes it, yet King’s has provided a safe haven for all 200 or so students that call NYC and King’s home.

What attracts students and faculty to this school is the cultural environment. Because of the House system, small communities are made and nurtured through the bigs and littles tradition, house Bible studies, and of course, Interregnum. I remember my first week as a freshman last year participating in the Great Race. For those who are unaware, Great Race is an inter-house competition that follows the rules of “Amazing Race” the TV show. Armed with a subway card and one phone, houses have to compete against each other to get to the finish line first. Just before the clues are given out to the strategy team, the run teams who have to dart around the city huddle up and do their house chants. Picture around a hundred students in a lobby screaming at the top of their lungs getting ready to run 12 miles in the heat. I will never forget my house chant “trample the living, step over the dead, no one defeats the House of Ten!” This event is only one of many examples that display the camaraderie King’s students have.

Apart from the cultural environment, King’s provides me with the academic rigor and spiritual development that I desire. My classes range from 10-20 students, giving me an opportunity to be known to my professors. The professors here have such a deep love of the Lord and their respective subjects that astound me. Each class, I either find my soul fulfilled by the explanation of the will in Medieval Philosophy or be deep in thought after Dr. Tubbs’s Political Philosophy and the Specter of Totalitarianism class. The professors sacrifice their time to have
one-on-one office hours with students after class, and I have had many conversations with professors about my life in general or a class question or just something I struggle with. Each professor has been gracious with me and my questions were always answered and time given to me. They care not only for the academic well-being of their students, but also their emotional and spiritual well-being.

New York City in general pushes you to either be a fully committed Christian or to fully not be. Pardon my language, but there is not a single “half-assed” Christian here because there is such a need for ministry, and I feel the city fighting me spiritually. There is an ever-present need to serve the homeless, give grace to those who are having a rough day on the train, and to go to church weekly in order to bolster your faith and perseverance. I participated in King’s day of service this year and served for a few hours at the Bowery Mission with a couple other students. We only sorted clothes in the basement, but this need was just what the Bowery wanted accomplished and I felt so rewarded knowing that all the coats, hats, and gloves that we sorted would be given to people who need them this winter.

King’s offers students an open dialogue for discussion of spiritual ideas and classes geared toward Christian leadership. I wrote a 10,000 word paper about the relationship between justice and piety for my “Christian Leadership and Statecraft” class with Dr. Brand that argued the only way for a leader to effectively govern a state is through prayer and a reading of the Bible. Any other institution I would have been at would reject this paper because it was “religious.” Yet, King’s creates this opportunity to incorporate my faith in everything that I write or read, which deepens my understanding of both Christ and my relationship to my community.

And yet, why should The King’s College be saved? It is because this institution shapes students to be Christ-filled well-read leaders who take their faith and allow it to permeate politics, philosophy, and economics. King’s vision to “transform society by preparing students for careers in which they help to shape and eventually to lead strategic public and private institutions” is one that I completely ascribe into. Our motto to “serve the King of King’s” is the bulwark of our institution, both inside the classroom and in the city at large. I am a better person because of this school; I cannot imagine myself anywhere else. And yet, because of our financial crisis, I may have to. King’s needs donations now more than ever, and if the Lord leads you, I would encourage you to give. Continue to allow The King’s College to be good, brave, and ready and survive in the years to come. Thank you.