When you finally arrive at college, you'll experience a lot of different feelings. You'll no doubt be excited to be on your own. Even so, another part of you may wonder: What am I doing so far away from my friends and family? What if those feelings don't fade and your loneliness grows into homesickness? Or what happens if you face a difficult issue and you don't know where to turn? Don't worry. You may be away from your parents and close friends, but there will be plenty of supportive and caring people on your campus who will walk with you through your struggles. That's the message we got from four students we recently interviewed. Here are their stories.

Christine Crawl
Junior, Christian Ministry Major
Alaska Bible College
Glennallen, Alaska

When Christine Crawl started school at Alaska Bible College, she thought the toughest thing she'd deal with was occasional homesickness. But as she started her sophomore year she found herself getting physically sick.

"I'd get these terrible headaches and couldn't go to class some days," she says. "I didn't know what was going on with me. By January, I was spending entire days in bed. The other students were great about getting my assignments for me and stopping in to take care of me when I was having a bad day. The professors gave me extensions on my assignments when I needed them, which was often. They took time outside of class to help me get caught up. But I kept getting sicker and eventually I realized I'd probably have to go home."

When Christine went to the health center on campus, the doctors and nurses asked questions about her health history. As they asked questions, the doctors learned that Christine had been born with hydrocephalus, a condition where cerebral fluid accumulates in the brain, causing pressure. She had undergone surgery when she was less than a year old to place a shunt in her head. The purpose of the shunt was to safely redirect excess fluids from her brain to other places in her body. Right away, ABC's medical team helped her schedule an appointment with a specialist. The specialist discovered that the shunt placed in Christine's head almost 20 years earlier was breaking down. She'd require surgery to replace it.

Christine was amazed at how much concern the medical team showed for her. In fact, they seemed to worry over almost every little detail regarding her situation. Members of the campus community shared their concern for her.

"I went home for my operation knowing that more people were praying for me back at ABC than in my own hometown," Christine says. "The campus practically shut down to pray for me during my surgery and the medical team stayed in touch with my family to keep tabs on my recovery. I'm convinced their prayers, concern and encouragement played a big part in my recovery."

The surgery went so well that Christine was able to travel back to school two weeks later to watch some friends graduate. Only two months after her surgery, she was working at her summer job and taking some classes. "Everyone on campus was so supportive," says Christine. "One of the things that really stuck with me was the way the medical ministry on campus saw me as a person, not just a patient."

Rashindu de Mel
Junior, Sociology Major
Eastern Nazarene College
Quincy, Massachusetts

When Rashindu de Mel became a student at Eastern Nazarene College, she faced a whole new world of experiences. First, there was the challenge of emigrating from Sri Lanka, complete with paperwork and legal details. Then, in addition to the adjustments of college life, Rashindu had to adjust to a different culture. "Back home people had time to relax," says Rashindu, known as Rashi to her friends at Eastern. "But it was so fast-paced in the U.S. Everything seemed to be about achieving something. It was hard to adjust to all that."

Then something happened that made the adjustment even more difficult. The devastating tsunami hit her homeland in December 2004, and Rashi's family was affected emotionally and financially. "They couldn't send money anymore, but I still had two years of school left," she says. "I had no idea what I was going to do."

But the caring faculty and staff at Eastern worked together to help Rashi figure out how to keep attending the school. Dean Anita Henck and members of the student development staff found her a place to live off campus with Donald and Elva Reeds, a retired professor and his wife with a heart for international students. Living with the Reedses saves her the cost of room and board, and Rashi feels at home with them. "They treat me like their own grandchild," Rashi says. "I feel absolutely honored to live with them." Staff members helped Rashi find and apply for loans. An anonymous donor paid part of her tuition, and the staff helped her find a part-time job to cover her living expenses.

"Everyone is so good to me here," Rashi says. "I was afraid that they would be too busy for me when I needed help. But instead, they always had time for me. I feel like I'm really blossoming in this nurturing, Christian environment, and I'm thankful to Dean Henck and the rest of the staff and faculty for all they've done for me."

Renato Freitas
Senior, Marketing Major
Carson-Newman College
Jefferson City, Tennessee

One Friday when Carson-Newman's campus was covered with fresh snow, a few of Renato Freitas' friends decided to teach him to snowboard. Born and raised in Brazil, Renato had never experienced snow until he came to Carson-Newman.

"I'd watched my friends board a few times, and it looked like fun," says Renato. "But, the very first time I tried it, I fell backward and hit my shoulder on the ground hard. I thought I'd just dislocated it, but it started to really hurt. My friends took me to the hospital and the doctor told me I had broken my collar bone."

His injury required surgery. Afterward, he started rehab. He was recovering nicely. Then the bills started coming from the hospital and the surgeon. "The way insurance works here and the way it works in Brazil is different and I didn't understand it," Renato says. All he knew was he owed $3,000 and he didn't have it. He had no idea what he was going to do and was worried about what would happen if he couldn't pay it off.

Then he remembered the International Global Service office on campus. "They help foreign students with everything from shopping at Wal-Mart to getting to the airport and back. They'd helped me before and I prayed they could this time too."

At the International Global Service, Barbara Shoemaker stepped in to help Renato. Barbara took a look at Renato's bill and realized there had been a mistake. There had been some miscommunication between the two about the costs of Renato's surgery and rehab. Over the next six months, she called the hospital, the doctor's office and the insurance company, explaining the situation. Eventually, Renato was billed the $150 he actually owed. "Without her help, I would have paid the full $3,000 I'd been improperly billed," Renato says. "I'm so grateful that Barbara saw my problem and said, 'I am going to help him.' I don't know what I'd have done without her and the Inter-national Global Service at CNC."

Jesse Walhof
Sophomore, History Major
Dordt College
Sioux Center, Iowa

When Jesse Walhof thinks about his first two years at Dordt College, one word rings in his ears. "It's been grace, grace, grace all along for me," he says. During his senior year of high school, Jesse started heading down the wrong path, drinking, smoking pot and blowing off schoolwork.

He didn't change his habits during his first year at Dordt, and ended up earning a 2.0 GPA. "That should have been my wake up call, but instead I started hitting the party scene even harder," he says.

At that time, the campus counselor, Ron Rynders, met with Jesse to help him rethink his choices. Ron was a lot like an older caring uncle. "He encouraged me and tried to talk sense into me," Jesse says. "But I didn't listen.

By the end of his second year at Dordt, Jesse had earned a .36 GPA and was expelled. Jesse floundered for a while, worked a "lousy factory job," attended community college, and realized that he really wanted a second chance at Dordt.

"I contacted Ron Rynders and he pleaded my case for me. Dordt had no reason to believe I'd behave any better, but I was still allowed to come back. That's grace."

Unfortunately, Jesse fell right back into his old habits. In his first semester back, he was pulled over for drinking and driving. Another night, he was discovered by his RA passed out after drinking too much at a party. He was kicked out again. "I finally got it that time. I realized I was wasting my life. I got in touch with Ron again and asked if he thought the school would give me one more chance. Amazingly, it did."

Now back at Dordt, Jesse's happy to report that he's staying away from the party scene. He attends alcohol counseling on campus, has pulled his GPA up to 3.25 and is thinking about graduate school. The community at Dordt has helped him stay focused on his goals of staying away from destructive choices.

In many ways, the people at Dordt have become like a caring family. Jesse even refers to his counselor as "Uncle Ron." "Uncle Ron checks in on me to make sure I'm staying on track," Jesse says. "I realize now how much time I've wasted and I don't want to waste any more. I couldn't have made it without the mental and spiritual support I've gotten from my professors, my RA, Uncle Ron and everyone."

For Jesse, his experience at Dordt is a humbling reminder of what it means to have a second—even third—chance. "I'll never understand what they saw in me that made them keep trying to help me straighten up instead of just giving up. I'll never understand why Dordt gave me so many chances. They probably shouldn't have, but I'm grateful they did."

Caring people and helpful services are available on Christian college campuses. Although you may never need the services these students used, don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it. Whether you're facing a bout of homesickness and need someone to talk to, or need help figuring out a major health issue, you'll find people on your campus who are able to help.

Copyright © 2006 by the author or Christianity Today International/Campus Life's Ignite Your Faith magazine.
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