Second-place op-ed: "A path for dreamers, achievers and culture creators"

I could have been bored by the perfect quad or the Christian-ese bubble at my previous college. Maybe I was struck by Sam Tran’s freshman charm or excited to bump into former Gordon friend Corinne Dubois at the April Inviso. I know I was impressed by Eliza Ohman letting me follow her to Broadway that Friday night and hearing about her fifty involvements that she seemed to achieve effortlessly as a sophomore. But even though transferring after two rich years at Gordon College tore an unrecoverable hole in my heart, I found a place that made it beat even stronger. At the core of my being, I am a dreamer and an achiever--and I want to be a culture creator. Fittingly, that is the vision of The King's College.

Although King’s mission is to transform society by training students and supporting faculty, its unique vision is to produce principled graduates who think, speak, write and exchange ideas with excellence and intellectual eloquence. It is competence. It is grace. What other college excellently pursues grace as well as competence? King’s does.

King’s is for dreamers. With only four majors, King’s attracts people like the girls in my house who dream of becoming missionaries, politicians, journalists, ambassadors, ministers, poets and presidents. In my wildest dreams, I would be a military journalist on the front lines in Syria or an advocate for those trapped in human trafficking around the world. Through King’s and New York City, I have already met and worked for multiple people in those fields.

King’s is for achievers. When I realized my old school had only one internship opportunity in my field, I realized I had to look elsewhere. In a year and a half at King’s I have held two internships and a job in my field and participated in two leadership positions. To my friends at home, I am insane and unrelatable. But here I am average. I am challenged by my peers who have started their own businesses, developed professional websites, held jobs at globally-recognized companies, and worked three jobs while remaining full-time students.

King’s is also for set-apart culture creators. I am absolutely convinced that each one of the individuals I have met at the school will impact their neighborhood or city or nation at a deeper level than their peers. My roommate may be an ambassador or she may be a stay at home mom, but she will speak eloquently and powerfully wherever she journeys. King’s students have well-prepared faculty and staff guiding us to a place where we can always be prepared to give an answer.

When I worked in the Admissions Office, I struggled to repackage King's for everyone. Because it is not for everyone. It is a path for dreamers, a network for achievers, and a springboard for culture creators.

It's not for the timid soul.