Messiah is not for Everyone - By Lyqa Maravilla (Senior at Messiah College)

  Once in my twenty-one years of life, I sat on one of those seats and listened to people who listed all the privileges and benefits of going to the colleges they represent. I remember representatives from four major colleges try to persuade me that their university was for everyone, including me. That’s something you probably heard from the ones who went before me and you’ll probably hear from those who will follow me. That, however, is not something that you will hear from me.

  Messiah College is not for everyone.

  We are not the highest ranking university in Asia, or in the Philippines, or even in Metro Manila. That’s something we are still working at. We are not the university with the most number of students. In fact, we’re on the running for the lowest number of student population. We are not the university with the largest grounds. We don’t have a soccer field. We don’t even have our own building. We don’t have fancy television commercials with choreographed jingles or a widespread reputation to boast about. The truth is, when people ask us where we study and we tell them Messiah College, they respond with big question marks written all over their faces. That’s why we always have to be ready for a quick introduction of our college.

  I told you. Messiah College is not for everyone. Messiah College is for someone, for a chosen few who believe that their college education is more than just earning their degree or getting through the prescribed number of units to get some school’s letterhead on their diplomas and transcripts. Messiah College is for students who believe that their college should build up not only their reputation and credentials, but their character as well.

  Messiah College may not be the top-ranking university in the Philippines, but we are the one and only Christian College with secular courses that are tailor-made for people who are ready to take the world for Christ. We don’t have hundreds and thousands of students, but that gives the professors more time to mentor the students personally. We don’t have a big campus, but our famous lobby couches bear witness to friendships that would not exist if our campus was big enough to allow students to have anonymity. We don’t have a reputation yet. But that is something that we are asking you to be a part of. Messiah College’s reputation is not based on how famous our professors are or on how grandiose our college is. It is on the shoulders of each and every graduate that walks out of our glass doors. It will be built on the fact that the graduates of Messiah College are competent, able, and willing Christian influencers whose ultimate goal is to change the world for the Christ.

  Do you want to be defined by the college you go to? Or do you want to help define your college by the person you will become after graduation?

  You will have to choose. As I told you before, Messiah College is not for everyone.