So you’ve decided to pursue a college education. You’re dreaming about the future and making plans for the next step in your life. In the midst of all the details, it can be easy to lose sight of the purpose of higher education.

We asked some Covenant College alumni and staff (the true experts) for their thoughts on higher education.

“The best part of higher education is learning how to think and having difficult conversations with professors and friends. As a soon-to-be teacher, I am constantly learning from anything and everything, and Covenant has prepared me well for this.”
- Ashley Luchenbill ’21

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“Higher education has much to do with finding your calling and preparing for your career, but it has even more to do with the foundation of who you will be for the rest of your life. To find the right institution, you have to ask, "Who do I want to be?" not just, "What do I want to do?"
- Hannah Tippens ’18, Admissions Counselor

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“Higher education, specifically residence life at Covenant College, helps you not only learn in the classroom but also outside the classroom. Our residential environment gives you opportunities to build deep relationships through the joys, struggles, conflicts, and thrills of life together.”
- Jon Wylie, Associate Dean of Students

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“Traditional, residential, Christian higher education is foundational in forming faithful, thoughtful, and loving adults who are equipped to live a life that embodies and proclaims the Gospel.”
- Jeff Hall, Vice President for Academic Affairs

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“From my experience at Covenant, I’d say there are two purposes to education. The first is to refine your knowledge and expertise in the areas you feel most drawn to or skilled in, equipping you to go out and serve the world in that area.

“The second purpose is to develop a framework through which you continue to engage in and explore the world for the rest of your life. Specifically, my art education taught me how to listen to and learn from others, how to see other's experiences, the joyful and painful things in them, and to sit in those gray areas with compassion, grace, and hope.

“At its core, higher education is a reminder of how complex we are as people, how much there is to explore and learn, and thus, how big and mysterious God is. You might think that the more you learn, the simpler things are, but I think it’s quite the opposite. The more you learn, the more you realize how much you don’t know, and thus how big the role of faith, rather than answers, is in our relationship with God.”
- Rachael (Luther) Porter ’15, Owner of R Porter Films

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