Abby Schmidt

Growing up in Newton, it was never a question in my mind if I would attend Bethel College after high school graduation or not. The answer had always been, simply, yes.

Perhaps less simple are the many, many contributing factors of that decision that got me to where I am today. Many of those factors included a similar attribute: the people. When I was looking at colleges to continue my basketball career, the Bethel women’s team at the time showed up to Newton High to cheer and support me, someone whom most of them wouldn’t even play with before they graduated. When I visited Bethel’s campus frequently growing up, for Fall Fest and similar events around the Green, I would often see teachers from Newton’s schools around the campus and realize that more often than not, a lot of them had also taken part in a Bethel education and that we shared a lot more commonalities than I knew.

And now, even years post-graduation from Bethel, the things that continue to be the same are the people. The ones that still care about you after you’ve left and remember the things about your life that show they truly valued you as a person. These lessons about how to treat people and the effect that can have on your life have stayed with myself long after my graduation from Bethel College.