After a delicious meal of “make your own subs” in our school’s cafeteria, (I always put on extra black olives!), I sat leisurely at a table with a handful of students. While at the table I took the opportunity to interview them in an effort to give us all a snap shot of some of the characteristics of a Bethany Bible College student.

The first question I posed to them was…

“As a Bethany student, what are you looking forward to this year?”

Many of them agreed that even though the semester is well on its way, getting to know everyone on campus is very important. We have students here from all over the continent including Haiti, British Columbia, California, Alaska, Colorado, Wyoming, Manitoba, Nebraska, South Dakota, Ontario, Jamaica...

Jonathan Hatt, a Youth Ministry major from Letang, NB and Sara Milligan, a Christian School Education major from Alberton, PEI said that they are excited about both ministering on the streets of Saint John with the Personal Evangelism class and playing hockey for the Bethany Blazers!

I next asked them…

“What has given you the greatest blessing so far this year?”

Relationships seemed to be at the top of this list, which isn’t surprising considering the answer to question one. Furthermore, Jason Stein of Kentwood MI., expressed his appreciation of upperclassmen who have come alongside him and formed a strong bond of friendship. One student even said that God has been loving her in “practical ways” through her friends. Once again, hockey came up as Jonathan and Sara said they anticipate a blessing will come when the ice comes in at the local arena.

A third question asked was…

“What do Bethany students enjoy doing in their spare time?”

Sussex isn’t exactly a booming metropolis, but the students here find ways to entertain themselves with activities such as playing sports on campus, playing ping-pong and pool in the Mitchell Student Centre, chatting over a coffee at (guess where?) Tim’s, or traveling to Moncton, Saint John or Fredericton for more options. When asked this question, Jeff Rehm of Bethlehem Pennsylvania thought that “staying up too late talking” was a common activity. Tanya Campbell, a Global major preparing for her internship in New Zealand had the most unique answer—“I unicycle to class.”

One last question asked…

“What do you feel are the biggest challenges facing Bethany students?”

The overwhelming answer to this question by each student was avoiding the pitfall of spreading one’s self too thin. Chris Horsman of Fredericton, NB was the first to voice this, followed by a loud and hearty, “Umm hmm!” by Laura Mitchell of Charlottetown, PEI. There are many ways of being involved in ministry here at Bethany, but there is also a lot of term work that demands the attention of our students. I can remember the difficulty of balancing these two, as I am sure our alumni can who are reading this!

Well, there you have it! Do you feel like you know what life as a Bethany student would be like any better now? If not, why not try visiting the college and getting to know some of them? We have some of the best students in the world attending our fine institution and I’m confident that if you got to know them like I have had the privilege to, you would love them as much as I do!