Student Spotlight: Jose Reyes '19
Jose Reyes is part of the Class of 2019 at Brown University. The biology major, on a neuroscience track, hails from El Paso, Texas. In addition to being a student leader with Christian Union at Brown, he tutors peers in organic chemistry and immunology, and he is also part of an Alzheimer's research lab. Recently, Jose shared his thoughts about the important qualities of a leader and mentor:
"Christian Union has helped me develop some very practical leadership skills. Planning the leadership lecture series event each week has taught me organizational and problem-solving skills. But, just as importantly, Christian Union focuses on discipleship. Spending time with students from other grade levels in the ministry creates a great environment to gain spiritual and academic advice, which can otherwise be hard to find at Brown.
Practicing and cultivating discipleship is extremely important in this intense environment. So this fall, as I helped Christian Union welcome freshmen, one of the highlights for me was mentoring a freshman student. I was lost and overwhelmed during my first year, and I would have liked to have had an upperclassman ask me how I was doing and offer advice.
Even more important than giving advice, however, is checking in—for instance, when midterms roll around—to see how the freshman is holding up. I know from personal experience that as the pace picks up, and students take their first exams ever in college—at a school like Brown—it can be discouraging and intimidating. My experience helped me to appreciate how important it is, in mentorship and discipleship, to be a source of encouragement to those going through challenges I have already faced.”
Please pray for undergraduate students like Jose at Brown, as well as Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale. As these students work diligently to prepare for a wide variety of fields, may they hear and respond to God's call to dedicate their influence and very selves to serving Him and seeking the good of others in all that they do.
