Kayla Hubbs - Geneva College
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Kayla Hubbs

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Kayla Hubbs, a soon-to-be graduate of Geneva College and current Army Sargeant, has taken the same classes and will leave with the same degree as many Geneva students, but her story looks much different.

Kayla came to Geneva College in 2018 to play soccer as an undeclared major. Kayla is from Ohio, about an hour away from Geneva, and was recruited by the head soccer coach. Kayla attempted to join the military right out of high school, but tore her ACL so was not medically cleared. Although she was not sure what she wanted to study and college was not her first choice, she chose Geneva because she felt at home and like she fit in on campus.

web-thumbnail-size-4.jpgDuring that first fall semester, Kayla recovered from her injury and decided to join the military. This led to a 9-month gap in classes as she left for basic training and ended up doing IT work in the Army.

“I decided to change my path to include school and the military rather than just the military. I wanted to try something new and push my boundaries.”

After this time away, Kayla returned to campus and decided on a Cybersecurity major.

“Dr. Richards was the one who walked me through transitioning back to school after being away.”

Gordan Richards, DSc, Associate Professor and Chair of Computer Science, enjoyed nearly a 28-year career in the United States Air Force, retiring at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and the 171st Communications Squadron Commander under the 171st Air Refueling Wing in Pittsburgh, PA. During his service, Richards deployed to Iraq (2005), Guam (2006), and Afghanistan (2007).

Kayla found that having someone with experience in the military, and in the Geneva College community, to be crucial to re-engaging with campus and college life.

Throughout her sophomore year, Kayla remained on campus, participating in military training and education one weekend a month. Junior year led to more change after Kayla applied for deployment, resulting in leaving for Honduras in October of 2020.

web-thumbnail-size-1.jpgBy working with our faculty and Military Enrollment Specialist, Kayla was able to keep up with some of her classes while she was away by attending virtually when she could. In Honduras, Kayla received care packages from fellow students in our Student Veteran’s Association group, soccer team, and others on campus.

“A year later when I came back to campus the transition was much harder than the last time. I was transitioning from being deployed out of the country, not just training. Catching up on school and personal life was challenging. A lot of my friends had graduated in the spring, and I was a semester and a half behind. I put my civilian life on pause while friends graduated, got married, and lived on without me here.”

While the transition was hard, Kayla was not alone. The SVA club, soccer team, friends, and our Military Enrollment Specialist surrounded her in community. Kayla found SVA to be especially helpful.

“Having a resource of people on campus to help you get back into the swing of things makes things so much easier. It gives you a sense that even though you spent a lot of time away, you still belong here.”

As Kayla approaches her graduation in December, she has done a lot of reminiscing about her Geneva experience. The further into her education she has gotten, and the more life she has experienced, the more valuable her time at Geneva has become.

web-thumbnail-size-2.jpg“Coming to Geneva I didn’t know who I was. Even though I have had a limited time on campus, I have seen a huge amount of growth because of my professors, classes, and other things Geneva has given me. I used to think a lot of the classes or things I was learning didn’t do much for me, but now I realize the impact my education here has had. Geneva has given me knowledge and a perspective I didn’t have before.”

Kayla began to realize this impact while deployed.

“When I was deployed, I was in a situation where I didn’t know what to do and was able to determine the right decision because I applied things I learned in classes like Humanities and Bible. I have received knowledge here that will impact me for the rest of my life.”

Kayla transformed from a high school senior who came to Geneva as a backup plan, to a college senior who is on the soccer team, Treasurer of the Student Veterans Association, an L&T Mentor, and founder of the Geneva College Chapter of Morgan’s Message, an organization dedicated to created safe environments for open conversation in athletic communities to prevent suicide and improve athlete mental health.

Throughout Kayla’s time at Geneva she has been challenged, grown, and experienced rich Kingdom Community that will leave a lifelong impact.

Nov 10, 2022

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