Senior spotlights: Looking back and looking forward

By Lacie Strouse

With the end of the semester approaching, everyone is in a hurry to finish up their classes. Some students are even wrapping up their journey at Cedarville. Featured are three seniors who will be graduating at the end of this semester. Here is what they have to say about their experience while at Cedarville and what their plans for moving forward are.

Jenna Gulick is a Super Senior Professional Writing and Information Design major from southern Illinois. She transferred to Cedarville in the fall of 2020. When Jenna is not in the midst of a good book, she can be found seated at the piano. She has been gracefully playing the piano since she was five years old. 

Throughout her time at Cedarville, she found her identity in Christ and grew in her relationship with Him. She had doubts about her religion when she first came to Cedarville but has since become firmly rooted in her faith. The community, chapel and Bible minor helped with bringing her back to the basics of the Bible. All of these aspects have helped her to grow in confidence and her relationship with God. 

When it comes to studying, Jenna advises prioritizing what needs to get done first. But she wants students to know it is also important to prioritize your social life and mental health. The relationships you have with others, and yourself, affect you and are just as important as homework. 

“Since coming to Cedarville I learned that my identity is not found in what people think about me but that it’s found in Christ,” Jenna said.

Some passions Jenna is looking to pursue after graduation is playing piano for her church and getting into reading more books. Jenna is looking into using her professional writing and information design skills to serve at her church and potentially at pregnancy resource centers. She is looking to get a full-time job as a copywriter or a content writer, hopefully in the marketing area.

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Grace Kohler is a senior English major who is graduating a semester early. When she isn’t catching up on her latest reading venture, she enjoys crafting creations through crocheting. Her favorite book in the Bible is Ecclesiastes because it showcases hopelessness without God and gives a sense of hope that all will be fulfilled in the New Testament with Christ. Grace is currently taking a German class and has learned to say the Lord’s prayer in German. 

“It has been so comforting to know that I can worship the Lord through other languages as well as English,” Grace said.

One of the biggest struggles Grace faced as a senior is maintaining the balance between finishing classes well and applying for jobs. She acknowledged the importance of reaching out to jobs and making sure you keep your grades up to obtain said jobs. Graduating early will give her less time with the Cedarville community, but a chance to enter the workforce early. 

Grace enjoyed decorating for Campus Christmas and is excited to experience Deck the Halls for the last time with her roommate. She will miss her favorite academic building, Williams, due to its cozy comforts and English community. The English major is small yet mighty, as they cling to one another during the highs and lows of life.

Some passions Grace hopes to pursue after graduation is becoming a librarian at the Cedarville Cenntenial library and pouring into the community and her church. She also aspires to dive deeper into theology and study God’s word.  

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Callie Steves is a Psychology major with a love for music and writing. Callie has been playing ukulele and piano for her church since coming to Cedarville, and she has written over 200 songs. She is a published poet and her website can be found here. Callie also writes short stories and is in the process of writing two Dystopian books. When Callie isn’t writing she can be found reading a good book. 

Based on Callie’s experience at Cedarville she advises making your boundaries well when it comes to relationships. It is very important to choose your friends wisely and to evaluate each friendship. Callie expressed that you shouldn’t feel the need to sacrifice yourself in order to maintain friendships. Her friend group taught her to be herself and be confident in who she is.

Every single night at ten her friends would go to the Murphy/Rickard courtyard and blow a horn. This small moment served as an act of bonding with one another. Callie advises others to be spontaneous in their friendships and serve God while doing so.

“The people who are going to be your truest friends are those who love you, cherish you, respect you for being you and respect the boundaries that you make,” Callie said.

A passion Callie hopes to pursue after graduation is obtaining her Master of Science degree in counseling at Clarks Summit University. She also plans to play piano for her home church and help with teaching her younger sister to play.

Laci Strouse is a freshman Professional Writing and Information Design major as well as a reporter for the Cedars. She enjoys reading Christian Fiction, embroidering, running, and golfing with her brothers.