The Blue
Tribune
The Blue Tribune is your place to learn about all things Covenant and keep up with stories from campus and beyond. By guiding you through the different aspects of Covenant, we'll help you decide if you want to pursue your very own Covenant experience.
The Purpose of Higher Education
So youāve decided to pursue a college education. Youāre dreaming about the future and making plans for the next step in your life. In the midst of all the details, it can be easy to lose sight of the purpose of higher education.
We asked some 17³Ō¹ĻAPP alumni and staff (the true experts) for their thoughts on higher education.
āThe best part of higher education is learning how to think and having difficult conversations with professors and friends. As a soon-to-be teacher, I am constantly learning from anything and everything, and
Covenant has prepared me well for this.ā
- Ashley Luchenbill ā21
āHigher education has much to do with finding your calling and preparing for your career, but it has even more to do with the foundation of who you will be for the rest of your life. To find the right institution, you have to ask, "Who do I want to be?" not just,
"What do I want to do?"
- Hannah Tippens ā18, Admissions Counselor
āHigher education, specifically residence life at 17³Ō¹ĻAPP, helps you not
only learn in the classroom but also outside the classroom. Our residential environment
gives you opportunities to build deep relationships through the joys, struggles, conflicts, and thrills of life
together.ā
- Jon Wylie, Associate Dean of Students
āTraditional, residential, Christian higher education is foundational in forming faithful, thoughtful, and loving adults who are equipped to live a life that embodies and proclaims the Gospel.ā
- Jeff Hall, Vice President for Academic Affairs
āFrom my experience at Covenant, Iād say there are two purposes to education. The first is to refine your knowledge and expertise in the areas you feel most drawn to or skilled in, equipping you to go out and serve the world in that area.
āThe second purpose is to develop a framework through which you continue to engage in and explore the world for the rest of your life. Specifically, my art education taught me how to listen to and learn from others, how to see other's experiences, the joyful and painful things in them, and to sit in those gray areas with compassion, grace, and hope.
āAt its core, higher education is a reminder of how complex we are as people, how much there is
to explore and learn, and thus, how big and mysterious God is. You might think that the more you learn,
the simpler things are, but I think itās quite the opposite. The more you learn, the
more you realize how much you donāt know, and thus how big the role of faith, rather
than answers, is in our relationship with God.ā
- Rachael (Luther) Porter ā15, Owner of R Porter Films