Junior Is Thankful for the Impact of CU Vox
By Peter Surin, Dartmouth ’23
When choosing which colleges to apply to, one of my requirements was the presence of a good, healthy, strong Christian community on campus.
Through research of Christian Union Vox online and a conversation with a past Dartmouth professor, I clearly saw that the Vox community was exactly what I was searching for. And when I arrived at Dartmouth, all my assumptions were assured. I showed up to an ice cream social on the lawn of Tuck Drive, and quickly sensed a healthy environment that was part of the body of Christ.
Peter Surin, Dartmouth '23That fall was a time of growth, especially through my mentor, (former Ministry Director) Chad Moore, whom I met with weekly. I’d never had such a close and regular mentorship role with anyone before. These meetups continued into the winter when I experienced spiritual growth like never before. A student-initiated prayer group had just started on campus. God’s providence led me to attend that group daily, an experience which was deeply spiritually edifying.
I spent every morning communing with God through communing with other believers, and I felt God’s presence so much that term. I’m still good friends with the other regulars from that prayer group, as we continue to regularly pray for and encourage one another as friends and Christian siblings. Additionally, a spontaneous worship night during Winter Carnival weekend is my fondest memory of Dartmouth so far. And even when COVID hit, we continued to meet regularly for daily prayer over Zoom.
It was during that time spent at home that God called me to be an ABCL (Assistant Bible Course Leader). It was not some Pauline vision, but it was rather just an obvious thing I wanted to do. When I arrived back at Dartmouth in the fall of 2020, I went through weekly ABCL training at (Ministry Fellow) Dori Willeman’s house. She treated us to delicious food as we discerned how to best guide the “younger generation” (i.e. the students slightly younger than ourselves) in their walks with Christ. It really helped me develop as a mentor for my peers, a role which I have absolutely loved.
In the year that I have been an ABCL, I have grown close with the freshmen I have mentored. They are some of my favorite people. They have their compasses pointed towards God, and they pursue Him with both their hearts and brains. I have grown fond of mentoring them and watching them grow in Christ at Dartmouth.
As I sit at the halfway point of my time at Dartmouth, I can reflect on the many, many friends that I have met through CU Vox. I have such a strong Christian support group, full of kind, loving, and fun people who are there for me. They support me on my walk with Christ, through guidance and through bearing some of my yoke. In fact, some of the people I look up to the most are other students I’ve met through CU Vox. My Christian Union friends are also just incredibly fun people, with whom I share laughs, hugs, and good times. Christ has given me so many of His graces through CU Vox, through learning about His goodness and through the edification of the body of Christ.
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