By Sylvie Johnson (Colorado) I wanted to love. It was something I struggled with, but I attempted to learn how to love wholly and wisely. I never progressed beyond memorizing 1 Corinthians 13 and sticky notes on my mirror. I wasn’t applying what I needed to implement in my life: genuine love. So, coming to Summit Semester there were many things I wanted to take away from my three-month experience and one of those was… Read More →Called To Love One Another

By Sarah Whitaker (Kentucky) There are a few major events in the average person’s life that are recognized as great, and which permanently impact him or her for better or worse. While some are easier than others, these events are nonetheless viewed as accomplishments. Difficult or easy, almost every person in the world will accomplish one of them: Graduating High School and/or College Getting Married Having a child The Death of a Loved One Starting… Read More →Saying Goodbye to Semester

By Michael Frost (Iowa) On Monday, November 5th, we embarked on the adventure of reading the entire New Testament in one day. We read from the Books of the Bible edition of the New International Version (NIV), which prints the text without chapter and verse numbers. I found that this allowed me to read more smoothly, and thus it is ideal for reading large portions of scripture. Without the artificial divisions of chapter and verse,… Read More →New Testament Reading

By Liberty Mildner This past week we had the privilege of learning from Eric Smith (to whom we gave an honorary doctorate). He was the original director of Summit Semester and loved being back. From stories he told, to the classes he taught, he imparted a heck ton of wisdom to us, which many people took to heart. He was humble, intelligent, compassionate, humorous, and loving. He shepherded us, giving a wonderful example of what… Read More →Eric Smith, the Sour Patch Kid: Gluten Free, Sour, Sweet, and Gone

By Charity Matson (North Carolina) It was such a beautiful day, one of my favorites. It had snowed the night before so everyone was dressed in their coziest sweaters with a cup of coffee or tea and a fire was crackling in the lodge’s wood stove. Tripp Almon spoke that morning about the origins and traditions of Advent and you could feel the excitement build as he told us what our Christmas activities for the… Read More →Advent Celebrations

By Noah Gorman (Colorado) Jeff Myers was and still is my favorite Summit speaker, and his visit to Summit Semester was no different. His lectures and classroom time were incredible. He always takes the time to talk with you or answer your questions during meals or outside of class. His ability to use stories to prove his argument is something I love to witness and look up to a lot. The first time I attended… Read More →Jeff Myers: Storyteller and Mentor

By MaryAnna Prahlow (Michigan) Dr. Don Williams’s exuberance and love for poetic and wholesome literature and for Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy overflow while he is in the classroom at Summit Semester. This week was personally enjoyable as I was guided through the mind of a philologist whose straightforward, understandable lecturing, and teaching style was a refreshing change after recent visiting philosophers and more Socratic professors from past weeks. Dr. Williams, a professor at Toccoa… Read More →Dr. Williams: A Heart of Gold

By Christine Chamberlain (Minnesota) Summit Semester gifts young adults with experience. The 2018 Semester class jumped on a roller coaster ride of a journey in September, and since then, there has been no time for stopping. This is to be expected. Fast-paced adventuring is the very nature of the program. Learning life-altering lessons, gaining invaluable knowledge, and participating in Summit Semester’s traditions is the norm. On October 30th, my classmates and I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to… Read More →Farvest Hall

By Micah Berberich (Colorado) I do not think I realized when first signing up for Summit Semester how rare of a community it truly is. Initially, I referred to it in jest as a kind of social experiment, and in a sense that is exactly what it is. That a community as authentic and as rare as this one should upon the first impression be considered nothing less than an anomaly, an unnatural experience so uncommon… Read More →Community, Balance, and Taco Bell Chalupas

By Kayleen Ramsey (California)   With arms full of a blanket and bag full of books I trudge through the grass and stones, a chattering squirrel my only companion, Into the trees and downward slowly finally resting in the woodland valley where all the gold has pooled.   Thank you Lord for making Autumn   Solitude time. Ah. To find a space in the peace of the forest To clear one’s mind as the leaves slowly,… Read More →Solitude Time: A Poem

By Morgan Showalter (Virginia) Around the fireplace in the lodge, we all gathered for the awaited moment – the assignment of characters for our impromptu reenactment of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. “Who will be Hermia, Lysander, Puck?” Eventually, all the characters were decided, with our speaker Mr. Matt Anderson staking claim to Nick Bottom (the most important character in the play, he would argue). Everyone followed along with their own copy of the play while… Read More →The Lost Art of Reading Well

By Michael DePiazza (Arizona) This past week I had the pleasure of taking a vow of silence with several fellow students. The rules were basic (or so it seemed): no talking for two full days so we could read our bibles and pray. For many of us, this was a daunting task, as we were a talkative group in the first place. This difficulty proved itself as the first day went on. The time was amazing,… Read More →A Vow of Silence