Our Stories

Kati

Class of 2023

Coming to college, I knew a spiritual community was a necessity for my experience. I had heard from older friends that there were many different ministries on campus, and, at first, I was overwhelmed — how was I going to choose, what if I made the wrong choice, etc. However, before I even stepped on campus, I was contacted by InterVarsity through members of their staff and leadership team. At the time, I felt so loved and cared for, but little did I know this would set the tone for the InterVarsity community as a whole. The way they so intentionally pursue and love each member so personally has drastically changed my college experience. 

From joining a small group, to now being a small group leader and learning their ways, I have a much deeper appreciation for the community as a whole. This community has been there for me, constantly guides me to Father, and reminds me who I am in Him. I am immensely grateful for the impact InterVarsity already has, and will continue to have on me in my time at W&M.

Bisola

Class of 2022

Coming into college, I always knew I wanted to be a part of a Christian community where I felt both loved and cared for as well as a place where I could make deep meaningful friendships. Joining InterVaristy was probably the best decision I made freshman year because I was blessed with all of these things and more. In addition, being a part of InterVaristy also allowed me to start a small group for Black Students called “Daily Bread”. I have felt so blessed by my friendships in the women’s small group I am a part of and I knew the William and Mary’s Black community needed this too.

Simeon

Class of 2021

InterVarsity has been a part of my William & Mary experience since the very first day I stepped foot on campus. I fondly remember moving in freshmen year and meeting two girls from InterVarsity who were leading a freshmen girls’ small group that year. They were originally at my dorm to meet my twin sister, who lived on the floor above me, but my mother convinced them to say hello to me as well. Joining a Christian organization was a priority coming into college, so this early introduction was unexpected, but welcomed. My expectations for InterVarsity were fairly low, however, because I had never developed any close friendships at any of my previous youth groups. Nevertheless, I was drawn in to the community early on thanks to the persistence of my freshmen small group leaders, Sam and Marc. I befriended the other freshmen guys in my small group, and my expectations of what Christian community could look like started to change. Building off this positive start, I threw myself headfirst into InterVarsity and made sure to attend as many IV activities as possible. Quickly, I found a home within my small group where I could comfortably discuss my faith while having fun with some great guys.

 

InterVarsity was the first community that I felt comfortable being myself in while exploring my faith. The student leaders at InterVarsity did an excellent job of modeling true vulnerability and openly discussing the highs and the lows of their walks with the Lord, which inspired me to do the same with my friends. I have passed through many clubs and organizations during my time at William & Mary, but InterVarsity stands out as the one that has had the most profound impact on me. I simply cannot reflect on my time at William & Mary without dwelling on my time as a member of William & Mary InterVarsity. I came into InterVarsity as a wide-eyed freshman, hoping to get a leadership position and leave my footprint on the community. In reality, the reverse happened: The InterVarsity community left its imprint on me. I have grown so much as both a Christian and a young man, that the person I was when I came into college is nothing like who I am today.

Jonathan

Class of 2021

Before I arrived on campus freshman year, I knew becoming involved in a solid Christian community would be one of the most important aspects of my college experience. The four years I spent at William & Mary would be some of the most formative of my life, and it was critical that I spent this time growing in my faith. After exploring and visiting the various Christian groups on campus, it became clear InterVarsity would be my faith home in college.

To say that InterVarsity has been a blessing would be an understatement. From worshipping on campus to taking trips to conferences and retreats, IV has been the single most impactful community in my faith journey and has continuously pushed me to be more like Jesus. I have been blessed with the opportunity to foster intimate discipleship relationships with others, and God has used those conversations to teach me about His character. The love and acceptance I have been shown in this community has allowed me to experience healing and growth in ways I never imagined possible. God has used my brief time in IV to transform my story and impact my life in amazing ways. I believe InterVarsity is one of the most special groups at William & Mary and I can’t wait to see what God does through this community in the future.

Josh

Class of 2020

Josh attended our Spring Break Service Trip to UrbanPromise in Wilmington, DE:

Throughout all 20 years of my life; from simple missions of hanging out and giving lower-income children school supplies as a 4th grader in the Philippines to constructing houses for disaster relief in rural North Carolina my sophomore year of high school, I have never experienced anything like UrbanPromise. Initially, I wanted to come to get the experience and learn to sympathize and to contradict my bias about inner-city children. When I first moved here from the Philippines, I went to school in inner city Chicago for 5th grade and I absolutely hated. I vividly remember the kids being extremely annoying and incompetent, they were rude to the teacher and never listened to the rules. The teachers as well were terrible, they seemed to have trouble gaining control with my fellow classmates, and would proceed to yell as a resort to maintaining control. I wanted to tell myself that I was wrong and that “No, inner city children aren’t all that.” I’m glad that is exactly what happened.

The first time at Camp Amen, a camp designated for middle schooler’s, I saw the kids so polite, so intelligent. They listened well to their instructor, Naomi, and sincerely enjoyed the activities. This middle schooler, James, was so dedicated to writing his speech for his contest that he gave up his snack time for that, at his age, I would’ve never done that! Naomi never had to yell at them and she was consistently dedicated to her job catering to all the campers needs. At first, I thought, “of course this happens at the camps, but school is different.” Quickly, I was corrected. The next day, my group was sent to help children in a classroom. All the students were extremely polite, they were all very curious about learning. I was talking to one of the student’s about WWII since it was what they were interested. He asked me “why people go to war” and I tried to make an analogy using the granola bars to represent taking resources. I said, “So now I took your granola bar, aren’t you going to fight back to get it?” He said “No, because it’s not the right thing to do,” I was so proud that the school succeeded in teaching him about selflessness. I wish they would’ve have taught the same in some public schools. Talking and learning from the kids brought me hope. Hope that organizations that target the nurture of marginalized inner-city kids exist and that they are successful. I look forward to seeing more places like Wilmington bringing out the best in their kids. To have kids come out from the dark with God’s love amidst the violence and darkness in these inner cities.

I would really want to see organizations working with the public school system. UrbanPromise deals mainly with private schooling so there is an educational barrier between public and private school. I pray that eventually, UrbanPromise would no longer be necessary to provide the equal opportunity for these kids, but as long as there is a need, there is a mission.

Emily

Class of 2018

I sat quietly by the lake at Rockbridge trying to focus my mind on introspection and prayer during our four-hour Retreat of Silence. I was restless and distracted. So I moved toward the sandy beach and stretched out on a beach chair. Finally I was able to focus. I began to mull over the verses we had been given, which were from John. One stuck out to me. It was John 15:3 “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.”As I contemplated how God’s message of healing applied to my life, an image came to my mind. I reached down and drew a heart in the sand. Then I drew cracks on it and wrote the word broken next to it. Below it I sketched another heart where I turned the cracks into individual crosses. Next to the second heart I wrote healed.This image was a powerful tool that allowed me to process that God doesn’t just heal once, but an infinite amount of times. My heart has scars from pain, but I praise God that he brings healing to my heart through his unending love and grace.

Jonny

Class of 2017

A few weeks ago, I went on the UrbanPromise trip to Wilmington, Delaware for the first time. During that week, I watched my brothers and sisters serve around me with such a profound sense of joy in everything they did.  This ranged from making their friends sandwiches for the next day, staying past our allotted time to make sure the floors were extra mopped, or doing literally a 3-hour affirmation game to tell people how much they loved each other. We spent lots of time playing games with the kids and helping with after-school tutoring.

The most profound things in life are things that we already know. However, it is when we actually experience these things for ourselves that causes radical transformation.  And it doesn’t get more profound than the Gospel! God has used InterVarsity to allow me to experience the Gospel in my life.

Marle

Class of 2017

As soon as I set foot on campus with my first year of college ahead of me, I knew that something that would greatly impact my next four years would be my spiritual community. I visited several Christian organizations on campus but what drew me in the end was the way the InterVarsity community loved me. As I attended weekly large group meetings, joined a small group and participated on the worship team, it became evident that this chapter was really pursuing Jesus. Fast-forward a few semesters and I can now look back and say that IV was such a crucial part of my college experience. When I encountered hard times – whether it was spiritual, relational, physical or academic – the IV community kept me encouraged and accountable. And at the end of the day, I love that this was a place where I was constantly reminded that it all comes back to Jesus