Andrea Kniss
Major: Culture, Religion, and Mission, TESL minor
Why EMU: The honors program was a big part of my decision; this is the Mennonite college that gave me the most financial aid. Besides that, I liked what I saw when I looked at the academic offerings, and the fact that there were clear opportunities for personal and spiritual growth if I wanted to get involved.
Plans: Ask me in April...and I still might not know.
Impression: While my relationships with my peers and professors in the Bible and Religion department have been some of the most meaningful, my focus on liberal arts and extracurricular involvements have helped me make broader connections across campus. There's an intriguing mixture of people here if you pay attention...it's not the Mennonite monoculture you might first expect.

Nick Meyer
Major: Culture, Religion, and Mission
Why EMU: Attending a Mennonite university is important to me, because I want an education consistant with my Anabaptist beliefs. EMU offers Bible classes that really interest me, but more importantly, I feel like I can trust the professors' view points.
Plans: I don't have a clear sense of direction at this point, but it will be a ministry of some kind.
Impression: It seems like there is a real emphasis on community, and I appreciate the fact that the faculty have made an effort to get to know me outside of class.

Derrick R. Charles
Major: Biblical Studies, Spanish
Why EMU: I chose EMU as a small liberal arts college with an Anabaptist approach to faith and vocation. Beginning without a declared major, it was a good place to experiment with some different classes to find a department where I felt like I could really feel at home.
Plans: Although details are still unclear, I hope to find work that serves local immigration needs. In the future I see cross-cultural work (likely overseas), church work, and teaching as exciting possiblities.
Impression: I have been impressed by the dedication of my professors, who care deeply about their material and their students. Education is seen as a process of becoming aware and engaged with the reality around us. Their approach asks how we might live in right relationship with God and our neighbors, and not just how to gain a degree for a well-paying job.

So Hyun Kim
Major: Philosophy and Theology, Psychology
Why EMU: EMU has new ways of looking at and dealing with the world's problems, such as that ofconflict transformation, and views ethnic diversification in a genuinely positive light. I believed EMU's out-of-the-box way of thinking might compliment my struggle to integrate philosophy, theology, and psychology in wrestling with global and personal issues as well as seeming inconsistencies within my own understanding of Christian faith.
Plans: Graduation is still some ways off for me, and I am not thinking specifically about what I will do after graduation (as long as I am able to pay off the ever-increasing school debts) because I want to be as open as possible to where God wants me to serve him. If I were to think and plan too much ahead of time, I fear that I might use my own judgment in placing myself where I think I should go, be it missions overseas or vocational, and miss the still, small, and quiet voice of the Holy Spirit that gently beckons me to where God wants me in order that I will serve him best. I read once that one should have a willingness to follow God and be open to his leading in the best direction as opposed to a willfulness which has one going where one wants to go - a decision which does not factor in the far reaching guidance of God's hand, thus straying from the best or most altruistic place.
Impression: I had not expected to find the wealth of cultural diversity - in quality, not necessarily quantitatively - and respect for other cultures that I did on this small campus. Additionally, I was inspired by the ideological diversity and the necessary respect for different opinions, which fosters growth. Most of all, I have been impacted by the community's empowering of ethnic females in a traditionally white and male dominated society. I urge others to remember that evolution and change does not have to be an obvious or ostentatious process but can instead take place by giving persons the chance to live out their potential one person at a time.