How can a college education prepare you for the real world? What does it actually take to be adequately prepared? Do we need all the technical skills, or are soft skills equally important? Jess (Wilson) ’20 and Josh Tygert ’20 give us valuable insight into how education can masterfully equip someone to engage with the real world. As they reflect on several years of post-undergraduate work, they share a deep respect for Geneva’s strength in this area, as it seeks to send young people into the world with excellence. 

Jess and Josh both attended Geneva, graduated amidst the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020, and were married in 2022. Both were initially drawn to the vibrant community at Geneva. During their respective school visits, they appreciated the chance to meet with professors, attend classes, and stay overnight with current students. That taste of community became a central memory of their time at Geneva. Josh fondly remembers the friendships he forged at college, the adventure trips he participated in through the Center for Student Engagement (CSE), and the personal attention he received from professors due to small class sizes. Jess’s decision to join the cross country and track teams led to a “ready-made” group of friends, which enabled her to begin cultivating relationships right from the start.  

Today, Jess uses her study in communication as a social media manager at a marketing department in Harrisburg, PA. Josh uses his dual computer engineering and computer science degrees in his work as a software engineer designing microchips for electronics. As they serve through their church’s youth group in Oil City, PA, they get the opportunity to speak with youth about why they pursued a Christian education. Their love of Geneva has led them to support the College with the hope that future young people will receive the chance to experience a transformative college education.  

Josh and Jess believe a primary benefit they received from their Geneva education was the ability to think critically in unknown circumstances and make decisions rooted in practical wisdom. 

Jess says, “[My education] conceptually made me think in ways I’d never really thought before and that’s really shaped how I’ve been able to move forward in my job and my life. I didn’t graduate with a ton of technical skills, but I really knew how to think about the world and life and that put me in a good position to do a lot of ambiguous things well.” 

While Jess learned the functionable tools for her specialized work after college, she feels that Geneva prepared her to communicate efficiently with people different from her and equipped her with skills she didn’t even know she would need. In challenging situations, she can now figure out unique solutions because of the critical thinking skills learned as an undergraduate student. 

Similarly, Josh appreciates the broad nature of Geneva’s engineering program, which allows students to experience various types of engineering during their college years. He recognizes the value in “learning how to learn” and “learning to figure out something when you don’t know how to do it.” For example, he learned several computer languages during his time at Geneva and, although he doesn’t use those specific ones in his current work, the discipline of studying them shaped his ability to learn other languages and work well with others in his field. 

Geneva equipped Jess and Josh to live well in an imperfect world. Living in a close community has its challenges, but the Tygerts also recognize the immense blessings and opportunity present when you choose to surround yourself with good people. For them, Geneva created abundant opportunities for a melting pot of people who love the Lord and are actively seeking to serve Him. Ultimately, they hope that others can experience this gift of community at Geneva that launches students into the real world with knowledge and grace. 

If you’re interested in learning more on how you can support future generations of college students at Geneva, visit genevacollegefoundation.org. 

By Sarabeth Sangrey ‘25