Angela
TCNJ
What do you love about Eastern Christian School?
There are many aspects I love about Eastern Christian, but the most prominent one is the aspect of community. Because I have been blessed to attend Eastern Christian my entire educational career, I have been able to watch both myself and my classmates grow into young adults from the early age of 6 to 18. The communal bond between these “lifers” is unique, but certainly not excluding. Over the many years at Eastern Christian, I have become close friends with many new students who choose to enter this community and are accepted. Sometimes, I am able to hear stories about other school experience from these friends, and they all remark on how the community at Eastern Christian is very unique and valuable.
Another aspect of Eastern Christian I am grateful for is how faith-centered this environment is. Although as a young child I oftentimes took prayer times and morning devotions for granted, as I grew older and witnessed the state of the world around me, I found myself incredibly blessed to be in a school where one can openly express religion, and ask for spiritual guidance to any faculty member. One such example I will greatly cherish is walking in the halls and seeing two teachers praying together on the side, alone together with God while crowds of students casually walked by, giving some space. Another example of seeing this faith-centered community is when after a late-chapel, the remaining audience who chose to remain for an extra few minutes gathered around in a circle and prayed. However, these are just only a couple experiences of faith I have witnessed. My faith has also been nurtured and strengthened through teachers, through their expression of faith and their desire to help integrate God into the classroom, regardless of what subject they teach.
Therefore, I treasure the community and expression of faith at Eastern Christian High School. I am well aware that I will be leaving the comforts of daily devotionals and prayer time at my next school, where there will most likely be no popcorn prayer time, no daily devotionals, and not the same Bible teacher who is genuinely willing to help guide and educate me on my faith.
Describe one of your favorite teachers and tell why he/she is a favorite.
Mr. Bailey, the Bible teacher I have mentioned in my previous response, is one of my favorite teachers at Eastern Christian High School. This was a very hard decision, because I have close relationships with several teachers at EC. However, I chose Mr. Bailey based on the amount of spiritual guidance and education he has offered me and my classmates. Mr. Bailey is an amazing Bible teacher because he chooses to tackle historically controversial topics in the Bible and reveal the truth, give us realistic advice on how to become or better oneself as a follower of God, and never steps down from being asked all sorts of questions regarding religion. He is very educated, and although I know I can ask Google, I find myself making a mental list of questions to bombard him with because 9/10 times he actually knows the answer, and the other 1/10 times he tries his absolute best to give at least an opinion founded on his faith. Also, unlike the Internet, Mr. Bailey will always tie in Christianity and how our faith is involved in his replies to these questions.
In what ways have you grown in your faith as a result of your experience at Eastern Christian School?
Although I live in a Christian household, where many of my grandparents on my mother’s side have been pastors or heavily involved with the Church, I am confident I would not have been able to have grown in my faith as I did at E.C. I say this because I believe that every person is partly a culmination of experience and environmental factors, and the environment I was placed in has certainly allowed me to grow mentally, and thus spiritually. I cannot point to a specific event or person, because the constant witnessing of faith in others have consistently healed and strengthened me in my times of weakened faith.
At Eastern Christian we talk about an education that is “Engaging. Nurturing. Transforming.” How did you experience this kind of education at EC?
In my personal experience, I believe that the education at E.C. is relatively engaging, meaning that each class is engaging based on the teacher, subject, etc. But while the “engagement” aspect of education may relative to each individual and classroom, the nurturing and transforming aspects of E.C. can be observed across the school. Although I was not able to be taught by all the teachers at E.C., from my personal experience, every teacher I have encountered has genuinely shown their love for teaching materials of both educational and spiritual means to students. To me, this is important, for with nurturing comes transformation.
How do you feel that EC prepared you for graduation, college/career and life?
Eastern Christian has prepared me for graduation through specific classes, such as Personal Finance Literacy, an awesome College and Career office crew, and a faculty who will give advice and retell personal experiences about college and career.
In terms of graduation, I feel that the many events leading up to the graduation date has been immensely helpful in beginning the “goodbyes”, and giving us enough time between each event to both process emotions and be excited for the next event.
In terms for college and career, many teachers have been helpful in offering me advice into what I am specifically looking to study in college. For an example, Mrs. Post and Ms. Bazanowski have both been of great help in the past in helping me decide if I want to go into biology in the first place. Their stories of experience, adventure, and education have solidified my motives to go into the field of biology. Furthermore, Mrs. Lindamoulder’s dedicated appreciation for language and of how we as Christians can use it to spread our faith have inspired me to take language courses in college.
In terms of life, E.C. has prepared me for life by cultivating an environment where I am able to grow my faith and be strengthened before I set out into the world.
What opportunities did you experience at EC that you don’t think you would have gotten to experience anywhere else?
I believe I would not have been able to experience being a part of Chapel band or being part of student governments whose goals and guidelines are rooted in Christian beliefs. Being part of the Chapel band was a challenging and rewarding experience, and I believe that our specific Chapel Worship program (and also the Bible Worship Committee) is something especially unique to E.C..
What would you say to a prospective student considering joining Eastern Christian School?
I would say that anyone can join any school, but the impact a school can have on you depends on how much you open yourself to the community around you. E.C. has a unique array of students who come from various backgrounds of both socioeconomic and cultural means, and the stories and experiences one will share with these people are mind-opening. At E.C., you will encounter students on all different paths of faith; some may be open about it, and some may not be so open about it. However, wherever YOU are, you can always, always, be assured that there is more than one person here at E.C. who is always more than willing to help you find your way in both the educational and spiritual world.
