Having taken dual credit courses here as a high schooler, Kristian is now attending full time in his Sophomore year in our new Elementary Education program. He currently teaches the four- and five-year-olds in the MOPS ministry at his local church. Additionally, he is looking to start a writers’ appreciation club here at the school. Communications Director Cameron Peters recently sat down to ask him a few questions. What brought you to ABC? A good measure of the Lord’s providence and a desire to learn whilst among a Christian community. Whatever learning I may do after here, I’d like to have begun my academic journey with a Biblical basis. This is kind of my second time at ABC, andthe foundation laid then has definitely made an impact on how I viewed and approached school. I just didn’t find what I needed in the public university setting, and I was missing something I didn’t quite understand. I failed at trying to lead my life at my own command, and so now I find myself following the opportunities that the Lord lays before me. I am grateful for the time I spent stubbornly walking to my own tune, because it brought me here and walking down a path not of my design. How has ABC impacted your relationship with Jesus? I would say that my foundation in Christ, what I truly believed, was always very strong. What ABC has done for me is deepen my understanding of why I believe what I believe and shown me ways to share that with those around me. I will never abandon my faith in Christ, and now I can truly defend it from opposition. That is probably the benefit from my first stint here at ABC. Nowadays, I find that the Lord is teaching me to abide more deeply in Him. Showing me the things that I didn’t have anyone teaching me, and giving me an ever deeper desire to know and love Him. Tell me a little of your thoughts behind starting the Writers’ Club. So, there’s three things I want to do with Writers’ Club. I want to provide an avenue for creativity in the community here, I want to create an opportunity for students to bond over the activity of writing that can assist them in both creative and academic pursuits, and Iwant to provide a platform for them to share their works with the rest of the school and maybe even further out. I think its a great opportunity for students to practice a craft that can be used for the rest of their lives. Also, being able to share your work with others magnifies the effectiveness and joy of writing, because there will be people to appreciate it as well as give helpful feedback. So, what’s the story behind wanting to start the club? Well, in a previous English class, I had papers due weekly, but instead of making them all lone-standing, I was able to string them into one continuous story over the whole semester. It really challenged my ideas of what it meant to write stories, to create. Ultimately, it changed the way I look at things in general. It really developed me as a creative person and profoundly shaped who I am today. I want to give the community that opportunity as well as continue honing it in myself. What is writing to you? For me, it’s a tool in the bag for expressing myself: it’s an open door from my mind to the world. Writing is very important to me because it helps me codify what I am trying to say for myself and to other people. My creativity primarily comes through drawing. I like to say I think in pictures. “A picture’s worth a thousand words,” but if you can find a way to create that picture then you have to try to find the words to express the picture. There is this great fantasy within my heart and mind that I enjoy cultivating and shaping into wonderful things, but then, how do you share that with other people? I think it calls back to God’s own creativity. God made this unimaginably amazing thing, and when you create something that you really enjoy creating, you want to share it with other people, you want them to look at it and say, “You did a great job.” You want praise for it, and it can be painful when it is disregarded or overlooked. When I connected that with what God must feel about his own world, that really opened up my understanding of bearing His image. So, writing is a tool that helps me express and shape my creativity. Ultimately, it’s a way that I honor God.
Creativity that Honors God – Student Highlight
