When Suzanne Ehst described this class to me I knew I needed to take it. Serving, building, and learning all in one class is an opportunity that I could not say no to. Since I was diagnosed with Chrons’ disease eight months ago I have made some serious changes in my life. For the first time in my life, I was away from basketball for a prolonged period of time, and in that time of being on my own and figuring things out I came to a realization of what I want to do with my life. I wanted to serve people, whether that means I do that through coaching, teaching, or through my personal life I want to help people, and learning to serve in a different state for a class was something I desperately wanted to be a part of. However, one thing that threw me for a loop was when I showed up to the first meeting and realized that I was the only male in the classroom.
When looking back at this moment I think about why I was so surprised and now realize that maybe this was just me knowing that these three weeks were going to be a great opportunity to make immense growth as a person. Fast forward to now, writing this blog, I have been blessed with the opportunity to have made some true friends here. However, there were some perks to being the only male classmate. I got my own room, and I didn’t have to worry about shower times either. Those were definitely nice as alone time was in good supply for when I needed it. I have also been blessed with the friendship that I have made with the TA of the class, Joel Lara. It did not take long for me and Joel to click as we had a mutual interest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and were pretty excited about the new movie that was coming out our first Friday in the Rio Grande Valley. We decided that as a group it would be a good idea to see the movie together.
From when we met on the bus to right now I have enjoyed the friendship I have made with Joel. From the jokes that we would make together to annoy my classmates, to talking to each other through the wall we share between our bedrooms, to putting together a short choreographed dance, me and Joel have made this experience very enjoyable.
Joel is also someone that I look up to. His kindness, considerate nature, and work ethic is something that I wish one day to have. He would always stay after dinner and help the dish cleaners, and while he always had some extra work to do he always found time to enjoy himself as well. When I am twenty-two I am hoping I can become the person that Joel is. I will be forever grateful for the friendship that we have made, and I cannot wait to see what life has in store for him. He is a person that will succeed in life and will withstand whatever is thrown at him. Joel and I have created a great friendship, but I have also been blessed with creating many great friendships with all of my classmates.
New experiences. New friendships.
For all of my classmates, I could not have asked for a better group of women to become friends with, and to learn from all of them as well. Of course, there was a lot of teasing, annoying, and general jesting from me and them dishing it back as well. Those moments are what have made this class fun, but the real learning came from truly getting to know them as people. While the class learned of immigration and the tragedies that come from it I also learned the emotional impact that it had on my classmates. In particular, one classmate was struggling with what we were hearing, and I was able to pull her aside after and just talk to her. I just sat there and listened to her and afterwards there was an understanding that we would have to have each other’s backs if we were going to make it through these next few weeks. It was those interactions with my classmates that was what made this class a class of growth for me.
Seeing the varying personalities as well as views of these people was what helped me grow my ability for empathy. My classmates also did a lot of correcting of me as a person. They held me accountable for a lot: From things I said, to how I approached working in the kitchen, to getting my assignments done they made sure that I got that work done as well as doing a good job on getting it done. It was also a class where I was able to put myself in different situations. During one of our reflection sessions over this class I was able to be very vulnerable. I was able to say things on my mind, and was able to show the emotional side of myself that I do not show often. Being able to show that vulnerability as well as hearing that I am not alone in this moment was something that was emotionally game changing for me. This was a group that kept me grounded.
I prayed for these people, and will continue to pray for them. I was able to pray for some of them in front of them, and I was even able to personally pray multiple times with one of my classmates, Izzy Love. That prayer time with Izzy was a huge blessing, and is something I will never forget as this trip wraps up. Another person that checked me and gave me a lot of knowledge was Hannah Guthrie. Probably one of the most important things I have ever heard from someone other than my parents was Hannah in this class. After my moment of vulnerability with the group I had gotten food with Joel, and Hannah had tagged along. We were reflecting on the group meeting that we had, and during that conversation Hannah looked straight at me and said, “You don’t have to start sentences with ‘As a man’, when you are being vulnerable we don’t care. We accept you for who you are, and we care about you.” That statement definitely took me back, and is something that I will remember for a long time. Izzy and Hannah are definitely people I would consider family now, and I am very blessed to have been able to talk to meet them.
I was able to get to know these people as more than just people I would pass on campus. Getting to know people like Giovana Gaona, a classmate who is only twenty-one years old, but has a five year old daughter and has taken this course with her daughter in mind constantly. She has been someone who has been so kind, and someone who is truly selfless. Getting to know a fellow history major in Emma Gingerich has been wonderful. Someone who always had a great sense of humor, and someone that I can always work with and talk to in my history class. She made this trip a lot of fun, and we truly had some great conversations in this class. One other person that I was blessed to have made friends with was Jadyn Kaufmann. Someone who is in my graduating class, and someone who I had had classes with many times, but had never had an interaction with her. She is a nursing student who brings a great energy every day, and is someone who I am blessed to take this course alongside. There were many other students in this class that I am grateful for, and will continue to pray and talk to them as we go back to our communities. The last experience that I can write about is the growth I have made as a basketball player.
Take me back to Saturday!
Choosing to take this course away from campus I was told by my coaches to not worry too much about working out, and just enjoying the experience. However, being the person that I am, I wanted to still find ways to get better. During the time down here I got into a routine of doing up to four hundred pushups a day as well as other exercises that would continue to improve me as a player. I would do defensive stance slides with a band, and I would re-enact myself celebrating after those workouts as that is the vision I have for this upcoming season. I also was blessed with the teachers of this class, Brianne and Kyle, buying me a basketball. While I did not have all the time to work out with a basketball, the workouts I did get in helped me improve in a big way. (A big shout out to Joel and Kyle for rebounding for me!!!) All the workouts that I put in while I was here will pay dividends when I get back with the team. I am a better basketball player for it. I constantly found ways to get better even when I was not on a court or in the weight room all the time. This has given me the confidence to know that when I am presented with the opportunities this year to play I will make the most of that opportunity for my team and for myself.
Daily workout at the park!
As this class comes to an end I cannot begin to express the thankfulness I have for this experience. I am thankful for the growth, the people, and the love that I have received. I have grown as a person, as a basketball player, and as a believer in God. This was a very short part of my life in the grand-scheme of it, but it was nothing short of being one of the most impactful parts of my life.
-Micah Spatt, Goshen College Class ’25, History major
