My dad graduated from Seattle Pacific, so it has always been on my radar to get my undergraduate degree here. But before I came to SPU, I attended an unaccredited ministry school in California as well as Everett Community College.
It was a professor at ECC who really inspired me to major in Communication because of how invested that professor was in the material. The professor explained how interpersonal communication deepens and enriches our relationships, and I loved what that class taught me about using language to connect with others.
When I first got to SPU, I was going to double-major in Nursing and Communication, but after an advising meeting with a nursing professor I realized I was much more passionate about Communication and dropped the Nursing major.
While I grew up Christian and went to ministry school, I feel I have still learned about God while at SPU. For example, in Dr. Lim’s UFDN 3100 class, I came to realize how merciful God is even in the Old Testament. Dr. Lim taught about the ancient cultures surrounding the Israelites so that we had the cultural context of the Old Testament and were able to understand some of the more difficult passages.
I describe the Communication program as “transformative.” The work has challenged me and made me a better student. Many of the professors have helped with this transformation, especially Dr. Rendelman. He is one of the most passionate teachers at SPU about his subject. His “Communication Theories” class was great, and I could tell he has a genuine interest in the academic success of his students. He made every effort to prepare us for exams and papers, and skillfully guided our class discussions.
Another particularly transformative class was Dr. Purcell’s “Foundations of Western Rhetoric.” The class was daunting at first, but Dr. Purcell made the material engaging and deepened my learning experience.