Academics

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I would say that most college students when they start off aren't really sure exactly where they want to go and what they want to do. They're a little nervous about their chosen major or a little bit nervous about what they might do in the future. What we see happen with them and for them as they go through the program, and they have a chance to not only learn about business, but also practice it along the way, is that they grow in their confidence.

Well, students usually come in from a high school experience where they're told everything to do. They mostly have to memorize things and just spit that back out on tests. When they come to college, I kind of take an approach where the first class is sort of more like high school, in that I do a lot of lecture. We do in-class exercises. But then tests are both a combination of memorization and applying the knowledge. That stretches students quite a bit, some students a lot.

So we move from kind of a high school lecture to a non-lecture where you have to learn to learn.

I think one of the ways that God has blessed Grace in a unique position is equipping them with strong professors, strong leaders that make it something special. It's much more than a program or a degree that you'll get where you'll have the proper credentials and the classes that you've taken. It's much more about equipping men and women to be strong leaders in their areas of study, whether it's accounting, finance, marketing, things like that.

One of the things that has always been consistent with the school of business has been our passion for integrating scriptural truth into the disciplines. Not only general business disciplines, but also marketing, and accounting, and finance, and all of the other particular areas that we study.

I've started a class called entrepreneurship and services practicum. And it's really exciting, because you get to start a business on campus. And you get to sell a product. And the students get to start the business themselves. They pick what product they want to sell. And they come together as a class. And they set up management. And then they go in, and they get the product made. And then they go out and they sell the product. And they get to learn hands-on experience how to start a business.

There's opportunities for students to join competitions and to be creative with thoughts of how they could start a business or things that they would enjoy doing.

Always make it a point to communicate that, yes, we're coming in here-- we are being trained to be in business down the road or in whatever field that we choose after we graduate. But the main reason is not for our own benefit or to do what we think we want to do. The main reason is that we're doing this because it's for God's glory.

What we're trying to do as a school of business is to get them in the mindset that they're not here by chance, that they're not in their job just to make money. But they're in their job to influence people for Christ.

Our desire is to graduate men and women of God who would be Daniels, and Josephs, and Lydias, and Ruths in their environment. That they would be incredibly competent at what they do. And their life and their character would make a huge difference as they serve other people.