It's just a fact of student life: We rely on those A's, B's and C's to measure our educational successes. But sometimes, the greatest lessons we learn will never be reflected in our GPA. As these four college students can tell you, college classes can offer much more than an opportunity to exercise your brain.

Meghan Hedley, junior
Major: Studio Arts
George Fox University
Newberg, Orego

When Meghan Hedley came to George Fox, she was struggling with her faith.

Meghan says she was troubled by her own doubts—about salvation, about heaven—and even more troubled by the attitudes of some fellow believers. "Some believe they have all the answers and try to force them on everyone else," she says. "Some believe they're just better than everyone else."

Her struggles and doubts led to a "really dark time" in her life. She explains: "I wondered if I could have so many doubts and still be a Christian."

An Introduction to Philosophy class provided an answer to her soul-searching. "I took the class because I really liked the professor," she says. "He teaches philosophy and religion classes. I had taken a Christian Foundations class with him and he'd been helping me through my spiritual struggle.

"Learning philosophy has changed how I see Christianity. I see it's not just organized religion; it's a way of living my life. That has given me new hope."

Some of Meghan's struggles also came from feeling overwhelmed by the world's problems. She felt a responsibility to love and care for a hurting world, but the magnitude of the problem was too much to handle. "I've always been sensitive about things like that," she says.

After studying different philosophers, she found a way to deal with those problems. "Philosophy gave me a way to focus my thinking and control how I approach things," she says. "I realize I can't change the whole world at once, but I see how simple things really can impact others."

Studying Jesus in the context of philosophy was an eye-opening experience. "I see now that Jesus had a wonderful philosophy," she says. "I want to believe in, and I do believe in, a God who loves completely. Seeing Christianity that way has given me greater faith."

Meghan says she's no longer afraid of her doubts, and then adds: "I think facing your doubts will give you a deeper faith in the end."

Jonathan Hawkins, senior
Major: Bible/Ministry
Milligan College
Elizabethton, Tennessee

Jonathan Hawkins's life has been forever changed by a course in Greek.

"Greek has given me a completely different outlook on what the Bible actually says," he explains. "I'm not limited to English translations now. I can go to the original words that were written years ago."

Jonathan needed to take a foreign language for his Bachelor of Arts degree, and he believed Greek would be beneficial to his planned career in preaching.

"That first year was mostly spent on grammar and basic stuff," he says. "But toward the end of the first year, we were actually able to open up the Greek New Testament and translate it into our own words. It was amazing to take the Greek version to church and try to follow along with Scripture reading."

He was hooked. He took a second year of Greek. Now, he plans to get a minor in it.

"Learning Greek has really opened my eyes to the Scriptures," he says. "Now I can explore New Testament passages for myself in the original language."

Through his study of Greek, Jonathan developed a greater appreciation for the Bible. "The Bible is fascinating," he says. "Reading the New Testament in its original language gives great imagery and helps me understand concepts that were more difficult before I started learning Greek. I have a different outlook on the meaning of verses."

Jonathan, who is a part-time youth minister, says he always looks to the Greek before preparing his sermons and lessons.

While admitting that Greek is challenging, he says, "All the hard work has been worth it. I think I'm a better person for it. It's definitely helped with my devotional life; it's given me the desire to study the Bible a lot more than I used to."

Carrie Tedder, senior
Major: Music Education
Carson-Newman College
Jefferson City, Tennessee

"When I started college, I knew I wanted to teach music," says Carrie Tedder. "I wanted to share my love for music with other people."

But she had an obstacle to overcome.

"I'm naturally shy," she says. "I wasn't very comfortable in front of people."

While Carrie has always loved music, and is especially gifted with brass instruments, she dreaded each and every performance. "The first time I ever performed a recital solo, I was nervous and extremely shaky, to the point where my mouth shook and it affected my sound," she says. "I was quivering on stage. I was really disappointed with my performance because I had worked so hard."

Then, the summer after her sophomore year at Carson-Newman, she had the opportunity to study music in Europe. The experience changed her life.

"Europe is like the music capital of the world," she says. "Everywhere you look, there's a statute or landmark memorializing a famous composer or musician." Visiting musical meccas like Salzburg and Vienna was, she says, "very moving."

Carrie and her fellow students immersed themselves in the culture, visiting numerous museums and cathedrals. They also attended concerts and operas. "Getting to see others perform at that high level really inspired me," Carrie says. "I always wondered how people could perform with such ease and confidence. I found that for a very lucky few, it comes naturally, but for the rest of us, it takes time and experience. Experience is what the study abroad program is all about."

While in Germany, the students performed in a recital hall that was once a monastery. Carrie wasn't expecting a big crowd, but it seemed the whole community turned out for the recital. "It was the biggest crowd I'd ever performed in front of," she says.

Moved by the beautiful surroundings and the enthusiastic audience, Carrie says she wanted to put her fears aside and just enjoy the performance: "I had some initial jitters but nothing extreme. I convinced myself that it was a shame to waste all my hard work on nervousness. I had learned the only way to get past the nervousness is to make yourself perform at every chance you're given. Besides, how many opportunities would I have to play here again?"

Because of her study abroad experience, Carrie now enjoys performing before crowds. "Instead of just doing the minimum, I take advantage of each opportunity I have to perform," she says. "I'm more confident now, and I really have a sense of anticipation instead of dread."

The transformation has been so thorough that Carrie even added Instrumental Performance to her major, which will involve more performances in front of crowds. "The whole experience helped me to express myself better," Carrie says.

Dan Nichols, junior
Major: Pastoral Ministry
Baptist Bible College
Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania

Dan Nichols took a class that changed the way he views organized religion.

When he was in high school, Dan felt called to the ministry, but he was somewhat hesitant. As the son of a worship pastor, Dan had firsthand knowledge of the problems facing local churches. He had seen the consequences of poor leadership, and he was troubled by "churches that are more focused on themselves than on the world they are called to reach." When he entered college, Dan says, he was completely disillusioned with the local church.

During his sophomore year at Baptist Bible College, Dan took a church ministry class. The course, which was team-taught by five professors, opened his eyes. Throughout the semester, the class discussed what the world was like during Jesus' lifetime. Dan had a realization: "It's not like Jerusalem had a zero death rate when Christ was there," he says. "That realization is comforting to me because I know I will not be able to conquer AIDS or poverty or famine, which really burdens me sometimes. The incredible needs in the world are endless. It's helpful to know that not even Jesus himself saved everyone from their hurts, fears and sickness when he was on Earth."

In particular, Dan was moved by a lesson about the lame man who was healed by Peter and John (Acts 3:1-26). His professors presented the story in a way that brought it to life. He says, "I learned that Jesus probably went past that man all the time. The lame man probably had his own spot, staked out for years. But Jesus didn't heal him. Peter and John healed him. Jesus left it to Peter and John to take care of that man."

Dan realized that, like the disciples before him, he has a role in continuing and expanding Jesus' ministry. "When you see all the problems we face, you can just mope about it and get disillusioned," Dan says. "But after that class, I was re-energized; I wanted to do something about it."

Dan says he now recognizes that we all have a responsibility to do what we can. Instead of focusing on the people he isn't able to help, he focuses on those he can help. "God has revamped my thinking to not underestimate the local church anymore," Dan says. With plans to start seminary classes in the near future, he is now looking forward to a career in ministry—confident that God will use him to help build up the local church and reach the lost for Christ.