Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes that “of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.” One could probably stretch this to also say “of the touring of many schools there is no end, and much travel is a weariness of the flesh.” As for me, simply being the father of eight has been a soup of weariness, but stir into that soup a strong mixture of child diversity and spice it with a highly (overly?) engaged parent, and you may end up being one of those dads who:

• Conducts many deep internet searches of colleges  
• Visits over 15 colleges across four time zones 
• Asks questions about six different majors (two children yet to come)
• Has additional college conversations regularly (8 kids x 4 friends = 32 discussions)

Whew! Why didn't I listen to my inner Solomon?

So, what wisdom does this “Solomon-ignoring,” excessively engaged father wish to depart to you and, what’s more, should you even listen? Before you respond, let me say that my college searches combined with my own large state university education have given me a strong appreciation for Covenant College. 

My quick Covenant sales pitch is, "They have fun, and I am jealous."

I know it is a bit dangerous to use that word “fun” in a parent-read blog that advocates for a Christian college, but I am sticking to it because the fun that happens at Covenant is so rich, so deep, and so wide that I must. 

The fun is deep because it reaches into the classroom, dorm life, spiritual formation, and student participation in a way that is inconceivable at most other schools. It reaches from the classroom where truth is real and worked out with you by professors that care about your name and see you as beautiful creatures of God to dorm floors that have an identity and work to draw in all students; to spiritual formation that does not pamper with protections but strives to disciple students into adults who wear an armor made for engagement; and finally, to an area where student employee, athlete, actor, or musician can find college-level participation that grows the breadth of their abilities and experience without sacrificing a balanced life.

What a contrast to my own BS/MA large state university education where sport was limited to the full-time athletes, music to the future professionals, robust work-study to the chosen few, survival to the fittest, and meaningful professor interaction to fantasy, and fun was defined relative to alcohol and promiscuity. 

At Covenant the exposure to people and experiences is rich because it is done in an environment of academic excellence delivered with no compromises by those who know God is the Creator and that evil is evil. Try finding that at a public university or private school.

Finally, Covenant is on the mountain—a mountain with views, trails, caverns, history, forests, hang gliding, valley lights, drifting clouds, and all the other natural beauties of the surrounding states. In the last 40 years, I have visited 15 colleges, attended two, and have probably seen another 20, but none of these have had the environmental presence of Covenant College’s mountain location. 

All of this “fun” has combined to make me a jealous father who knows my daughter will leave Covenant with an education, set of experiences, relationships, and spiritual grounding that far exceed what I received at a public university and is not found at many other colleges. 

 

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