Gabi Chamberlain, a math education major from Abington, PA, has found that her time at Geneva has been defined by deep, meaningful relationships.
Gabi first visited Geneva in a very unofficial capacity, staying with friends of friends. She came in the winter, and got to experience the beauty of the campus covered with snow. But what really struck her was how welcoming everyone was. People were excited about Geneva. “They were very open to taking me around and showing me their rooms,” explains Gabi, “I just fell in love with the campus.”
Gabi spent her freshman year in Clarke Hall, and developed great relationships through that experience. She says, “I loved the community that was in Clarke. I loved the energy of all of us freshman.” She also enjoyed the environment and activities established by the Residence Life staff.
Gabi appreciates the avenues for building relationships that the Residence Assistant (RA) position affords. “I had two years of great RAs who developed relationships with us outside of just their RA role,” she remembers, “That was really inspiring to me.” So much so, as a matter of fact, that Gabi herself served as an RA. “I just love ministering to people through relationships,” she says.
Another relational aspect Gabi loves about Geneva is her connection with faculty. “I have fantastic relationships with my professors,” she says, “Even outside of just academics they know about my life, I know about their lives. They come and eat with us, steal our French fries.” She appreciates how much the professors and support staff care about her life and the work she is doing.
As a math education major, Gabi has a commitment to student teach. She wants to teach in a high-need area after graduation, so remarks, “I want my student teaching to be in a setting that is most like where I’ll be after college, so I wanted to go to that type of school.” Gabi wants to be a part of the work of the Christ’s Kingdom in an at-risk or urban area. She explains, “I also just have a heart for urban ministry opportunities. I see myself teaching more in a city setting and becoming a part of the restoration of a place.”
Gabi’s time at Geneva has already given her some experience in classroom settings. One assignment she had for a content literacy class required her to complete a multi-genre project. She had to choose an area of interest to her that she might present to her students someday. “We took on the role of the students as if it was a project that we had been assigned and had to present to the class,” she says, “So I chose Fibonacci numbers because I like numbers and conspiracies.” She completed the project and had a blast doing so. “That was probably the most fun project I have ever done.”
-Caleb McCracken ’16