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By
Emily Wierenga
In high school, the social margins are wide and treacherous. Teachers pester students for
homework, cool kids tease the nerds and jocks date the cheerleaders. Every
morning takes courage, as you re-enter the hormone infested pool of
insecure individuals cautiously called friends.
Then there’s college. Suddenly peers don’t
look so strange, as we step into unfamiliar
territory for a common purpose, tied together by the transient thread of
transition.
Bonds develop – not only between students, but
between professors and their students. Age is less of a bonding factor;
relationships are instead made easy by a range of uncanny similarities that
drew us into the world of higher education.
Carol Everest, professor at The King’s
University College in Edmonton, remarks: “The professor is less of a
classroom policeman, and more of a mentor – hopefully inspiring
students to an excitement and love of learning that coincides with their
maturity. For some, it’s the first time away from home; college profs
can offer a kind of familial support. “A cup of tea and a sympathetic
ear can help in many cases where mom is not at hand,” Everest shares.
University of Canterbury alumnus Emma Byrne describes
her overseas college experience as “a real family environment.”
Byrne’s professors encouraged her to articulate her ideas and
opinions, which in turn helped her figure out who she was. “They were
the first adults who I had a proper friendship with . . . This made me feel
a lot more confident, like I wasn’t just a kid anymore,” she
says.
Kings’ graduate Justin DeMoor credits the
school’s small size with the formation of strong relationships.
“It allowed students to really connect in a non-threatening
environment,” he says.
Besides fostering a kind of family, college is also a
place where passions coincide and like-minded people congregate. Students
actually want to learn, and professors therefore enjoy teaching them.
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“We walk with the students along the learning
path, often learning from the students, and certainly benefiting from the
freshness of their insights,” says Everest. “It was probably
the first time in my life I felt I could be myself and be loved for
that,” admits Mount Carmel Bible School alumni Teneale Blackmere.
Byrne agrees, saying: “The friends I made at university understood me
a hundred times more than those from high school.”
Common denominators such as hopes and dreams, outlook
on life and faith – and insecurity about the future – often
lead students to Romance 101! Bible College is often referred to as
‘Bridal’ College, where singles strive to earn degrees in
matrimony.
In all seriousness, post-secondary relationships often
serve as stepping stones for graduates, and are incredibly synergistic,
giving them the gumption to take on the world.
Recently, college social networking has taken a new
turn, consistent with the changing use of the internet, (referred to as Web
2.0). People are connecting with each other as never before –
especially at college – using the fast growing social networking
phenomenon, facebook.com. It is a free personal website, simple to set up.
Kathleen Busch, a former professor at Mount Carmel
Bible School, is grateful for the way her students’ Facebook entries
demonstrate the impact her teaching has had on their lives. “I get to
see what many are doing, and how their faith has impacted them as adults,
parents and workers,” she says.
Everest agrees, thankful for an alternate method of
relating to past and present students. Facebook, she says,
“allows me to show a human face, rather than simply my
professional one.”
For others, Facebook is a great way to pretend
you’re still friends with all of those people you thought you’d
never see again; one Briercrest alumnus, Keith Dow, currently has 317
friends!
“The ease at which I can be located and can
locate others is quite remarkable – [and] worrying,” says
DeMoor. “That said, I have experienced only the positive side of
reacquainting with friends gone by.”
Options Fall 2007
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