College is one of the most exciting, yet challenging parts of a person’s life. Choosing where to go is a complicated decision. What friends you meet, the quality of your education and the opportunities you could have are all based on what school you decide to attend. We at Edge acknowledge this and strive to make that transition from high school to college as easy and comforting as possible.

That’s why we decided to start “Faithfully,” a blog about the college experience and growing in your personal faith. Since Gannon is a Catholic University, we feel it is important for you to be informed on what exactly that means and how that could impact your experiences here.

What does being a Catholic University mean? Are there religion requirements as part of my education? How can I grow in my faith? Can I develop a non-Catholic faith? What if I’m a non-believer? These are just a few of the questions that I hope to answer for you in this blog.

To better understand what you’ll be hearing from me in the future, I thought it would be helpful for you to know some things about my experiences. I am not Catholic and I’m not afraid to admit that. However, I am a believer in Christ. I grew up in a small Methodist church and have continued to grow in my faith.

Since coming to Gannon, I have found that my belief in God has been challenged more so than ever before but is probably stronger as a result. My experiences at Gannon are definitely a large part of why I find myself a strong believer today.

Outside of my faith, I am very active on campus. I am just finishing up my term as president of Delta Sigma Phi fraternity, sing in the mixed choir and operate a radio shift at Gannon’s radio station. I spend whatever time I have left with the theatre, performing and hanging out with Alpha Psi Omega, the theatre honors society. To sum it all up, I am a typical busy college student who likes to have a good time, yet maintains a strong faith.

Before I let you go, I want to challenge you. First, don’t let the term “Catholic university” scare you from looking at Gannon or any school for that matter. Gannon is not out to force the Catholic religion on anyone that looks our way.

Second, decide what you want out of your college experience in terms of religion or simply maturing as a moral human being. Once you know what path you want to take, picking a college will be one hundred times easier.

Finally, explore what college life can do to help you get to where you want to go. Don’t think in terms of just academics either. How your faith may change or develop as a result of your college experiences is just as important and isn’t something to be taken lightly.

If you have any suggestions or questions feel free to let me know.

God Bless!

Shawn

Interested in living in a faith sharing environment when you come to college? Take a look at how that is possible here at Gannon.