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rove City College produces fantastic teachers, and we have for a long time. These talented and determined graduates have touched an incalculable number of young lives across America and countless places around the world. In fact, this legacy is one of the College’s greatest accomplishments. One case in point, and please forgive the shameless parental pride, is Corrie (McNulty ’14) Johnston. While I was stepping into my presidential duties in the fall of 2014, our daughter Corrie was launching her teaching career at Dominion Christian School in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. Transported in only a few months from the idyllic confines of campus, she found herself alone in a classroom with 18 second graders for nearly six hours a day. I recently asked her how she managed to survive that challenge, one that might cause most of us to suffer a serious breakdown before the morning recess. She identified two factors that made the difference between success and failure: a set of critically valuable teaching skills and an infectious love of learning. Her education classes equipped her with a teacher’s toolkit that she immediately put to good use. She learned how young minds were developing and how to spot and respond to learning challenges. She picked up some essential tricks for restoring order when the classroom was on the brink of chaos. Corrie also discovered that her love for learning, strengthened at Grove City College by professors in a variety of disciplines, found its way into the hearts of these precocious eightyear-olds. Her professors’ enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and wise engagement with history, biblical studies, literature, and other subjects reinforced a passion in Corrie for discovering all that God has created, which she passed along to her students. Of course, this is not just Corrie’s story. One alum interviewed for this issue expressed a similar inspiration. He described how he tries to model the clarity, passion, and personalized approach of his professors for his own students. “I feel like I am simply passing on what I received from my own professors to my students,” he said. Not surprisingly, school administrators love our graduates. They are both well-prepared and firmly principled. Our students are populating the teaching ranks of public schools, Christian schools, charter schools, and classical schools. And while programs and pedagogies may vary, the one constant is that Grover teachers are called to make a positive impact on their students. These young professionals leave this campus with a clear sense of purpose to advance with excellence the knowledge and well-being of the children they have been called to serve. This is an encouraging ray of hope in a world that desperately needs all the light we can find. Please enjoy this issue spotlighting our impactful graduates and catching you up on other exciting developments at Grove City College. Prayers for the health and safety of the campus this semester continue to be greatly appreciated. We hope to see you Oct. 8 to 10 for the Best. Homecoming. Ever.
EDITORIAL BOARD Jeffrey Prokovich ’89 Vice President for Advancement Melissa (Trifaro ’96) MacLeod Senior Director of Alumni and College Relations Jacki Muller Senior Director of Marketing and Communications EDITORIAL STAFF Nick Hildebrand Managing Editor Janice (Zinsner ’87) Inman Associate Editor, Class Notes, In Memory, Babies Brad Isles Associate Editor Joanie L. Baumgartner Director of Advancement Communications Amy Evans Associate Director of Advancement Communications OFFICE OF ALUMNI & COLLEGE RELATIONS Tricia Corey Carrie Sankey Charlene (Griffin ’83) Shaw Michelle (Jeffries ’19) Vogt COLLEGE ARCHIVES Hilary (Lewis ’09) Walczak OFFICE OF DEVELOPMENT Brian Powell ’03 Kelly Conger Karen (Irwin ’85) Daum Elizabeth (Smith ’81) Hanley Zach Jew ’11 Adam Nowland ’07 DESIGN Justin Harbaugh Art Director/Graphic Designer ALUMNI ASSOCIATION Carol (MacGamwell ’79) Yannuzzi President James Dudt ’07 Vice President Cover photograph by Maria DiStasi ’22 Interior photography by Jason Jones, Andrew Stein ’18, Mac Hancock ’23, Liney Parker ’20, Josh Wanek ’21, Matthew Schoonover ’23, Grace David ’24, Justin Harbaugh, Nick Hildebrand, Brad Isles, Kiley (Hajek ’19) Miranda, I Promise School
Paul J. McNulty ’80 President
Grove City College 100 Campus Drive Grove City, PA 16127 724.458.2300 888.GCC.GRAD alumni.gcc.edu
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