Hello to all Vose Students both returning and new…

As I write this, the start of the new semester is just around the corner and I cannot help but feel like I am ready to burst through the doors of the new year of study in anticipation of the things God has in store for 2012. All the learning, the challenges of assignments, having set ways of thinking being challenged, and growing more and more towards becoming the people God would have us be at the end of our courses of study.

I am also looking forward to all the things I find make my time as a student at Vose so special. It is my experience that learning not only happens in the classroom, but also in the times of 'iron sharpening iron' while hanging out with other students and lecturers, engaging in the conversations (and sometimes debates!) in the dining room or under the tree, or simply spending time with others at the student events such as the movie nights or having a hit on the table tennis table. It all comes together in the student experience and hopefully you are all looking forward to it as well.

I would like to pass on a simple piece of advice that someone gave to me just before I started at Vose. They told me I should not let my studies be simply a means to an end, or a way to get a piece of paper with my name on it. Instead, they suggested allowing myself to be transformed by what I learn and find myself growing closer to God through it. While this advice seems pretty obvious, it is sometimes good to be reminded of the simple things! And it is my prayer that every student will be able to look back over this coming year and see they have been challenged and grown both in faith and knowledge.

May you be blessed as you make your way through this year!

Ben O'Reilly
Senior Student 2011