For Jonathan Moore ’16, Covenant College offered the powerful gift of sincere friendship, and the education gave him a firm base for his career. From working with The Bagpipe (the student-led newspaper) to serving as a resident assistant, and from involvement with Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) to living in three different dorms, Jonathan’s experience impacted and prepared him for the rest of his life.

Lifelong Friendships Formed 

Some of Jonathan’s fondest Covenant memories are of times spent with his halls. He says, “I found that across all three halls and the off-campus house that I lived in, groups of people would do fun, stupid things with me like go to Taco Bell at one in the morning, wear goofy costumes for The Tartan (Covenant’s yearbook), and other shenanigans. But that same group could get together and share things that they’d never told anyone else before. Throughout all four years, I experienced both deep, thoughtful conversations and extremely fun times with the people I lived with.”

While Jonathan has fond memories of hall pranks and traditions, he says that the best times were when Covenant students gathered anywhere across campus just to talk. “They were places for college men to be vulnerable and real with each other. I can’t even put the importance of those friendships into words. Coming into college, I had a big hunger for deep friendship. I hadn’t seen a lot of people in the church being honest with each other and wrestling through hard things, but that’s what I was looking for and found at Covenant. My friends from Covenant bring me up, reminding me of what’s important. They’ve remained my closest friends.”

Becoming a Storyteller

As an English major, Jonathan’s classes prepared him to communicate effectively in business settings. “I started a communications job right out of college. I entered the business world and felt like they were speaking a foreign language, but I found out that if I wanted to learn something, I could. My classes at Covenant, including core classes and electives, gave me a broad experience before entering the business world and taught me how to be curious and seek answers.”

In his first few jobs out of college, Jonathan handled things like nationwide communications, project management, and some analytics. “I would not have gotten either of these jobs without going to Covenant. I heard about the jobs through Covenant connections, both fellow students and employees. You meet people who are smart and capable and who are connected to other people who can connect you with jobs.”

Jonathan enjoyed studying literature as a student and found that understanding stories impacts the business world. He says that storytelling is a compelling form of communication, which is necessary in the business world. “When people consistently tell a compelling story, that’s how things happen in the business world. People cast a vision and others get on board with it.”

Telling stories is a big part of Jonathan’s current job because he is the creative director for a marketing agency called Roundtree. He comes up with big picture themes, concepts, and strategies for the content they produce for clients. He not only thinks with a business mind but also creatively to best tell the client’s story.

Church & Community

Church involvement was also an important part of Jonathan’s time at Covenant and still is to this day. As a student, he visited several churches before committing to New City Glenwood, where he attended for six years. Once he moved to Washington D.C., he started attending Grace Meridian Hill. “When looking at churches, I look for a neighborhood focus. Of course a church must be biblically grounded, but I also want to see if the church is involved in the local community. Do they actually know their physical neighbors?”

He says that while at Covenant, “I remember realizing that my friends and I might be deacons and elders someday and how weird that seemed. But I’ve also learned that there are other ways of leading in church, like initiating a small group or Bible study.”

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