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To the Seniors


Hey UA '19!


You've started your last year as an undergrad. Here's our advice for the beginning of senior year:


Part one: buckle down. This last year may be easy or your hardest yet, but either way, it’s still a year of college. Be serious. Work hard. Don’t lose energy now.

Part two: look around. It’s important to work hard and fulfill your obligations, but don’t get so focused on yourself that you forget to see the people around you. Keep in touch with friends. Make friends. Repeat: make new friends. Keep growing. Keep connecting. Don’t rob yourself and others of a year’s worth of friendship!


Dude. So much happens senior year. Interviews and looking onto whats ahead and EVERYONE asking you what you’re doing with your life. It can be *pull over bc you’re crying too hard in your car* terrifying. But please know that our God is faithful. He loves you and cares for you, even when following His plan is scary (or when you don’t know said plan because hey IT HAPPENS TO MANY OF US). And I beg, I BEG you to keep chasing after God. He is the only thing that satisfies. No person, no partying, no alcohol, no popularity compares to Him and His goodness. Its easy to be complacent and just coast through these last semesters of college, but even though you’re swamped with a million things, show up. Be there for the freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. Still look for lost people on campus (and in the BCM!!!). They are everywhere and they are searching for fulfillment, and you have it... so share it.


Step on up. This ministry doesn’t belong to Kim or Brooks or whoever the next intern might be. It’s yours. If you want to see something happen, do it. Don’t just take it to leadership as an idea you have, make it happen. It’s on you to do that. Obviously they’re here for a reason and their experience is here to guide us and help us know what works best, but it ultimately rests on you. One way or another you’re going to leave an imprint on this ministry. When there’s a disconnect within one part of the body of Christ, it’s apparent in the entirety. I’ve seen--and I’d say almost all of us would say the same thing--the way toxic attitudes impact the efficiency and effectiveness of this body. Don’t be that here. Open yourself up to whatever God’s calling you to do, be bold, pick it up and run with it--then bring a younger student alongside you so they’ll do the same thing. You don’t want to look back and realize you missed some pretty awesome opportunities to make a positive difference in a place that’s been so good to you.


I would say that you should really be prepared for the exhaustion you're going to face next year. You'll be tired of going to class, you'll be tired of doing work, you'll be tired of people, and sometimes you'll just be tired. You've been going through a strenuous routine for three years and it gets harder when that finish line is so close. You'll have to continue to do all the hard school work you've been doing, but also plan for your future and continue to try to be proactive with other people around you. Some of the hardest days will be when you haven't got an ounce of energy left, so make sure to work extra hard on those days because these ones count the most. And if you have a chance to stay in bed all day, take that opportunity, because everyone needs to recharge, but don't make a habit of it or you'll miss out on those final memories with each other.


Don’t neglect the freshmen. I know that you’re a senior, and you’re ready to graduate and be done with college...but the freshmen look up to you. They might be new and a few years younger, but y’all can learn a lot from each other in the short year that you have together.


Galatians 6:9-10

Never tire of doing good. You will be tired of much, but it is a red flag to tire of doing good. If you feel this way, examine your relationship with the Lord.


Go have fun. Go on a weekend trip with friends, stay up late and play games, try some new restaurants, and be involved with your church. Make memories happen.


A great thing about the BCM is that its a place were many feel comfortable and accepted. But we aren't here at UA to be comfortable we have to continually live out the great commission and Go. You will always have your BCM friends to fall back on, so be bold in building relationships with your classmates with intentions of investing in them and sharing the gospel...college is a once in a lifetime opportunity to reach people from all over this country and the world don't waste it being comfortable. In regards to Seniors keep investing in the lives of underclassmen, its easy to cruse through...dont do it.


Just be still in the Lord. Worry paralyzes. Worrying about the future, or about if you’re in the “right” area of life, worrying about being the most successful, or worrying because all your friends seem to have it figured out and you’re the last one, it’s so exhausting. Trust me, I’ve worried about it all. And a lot of you will say, “Ah, I’m not a worrier!” but there something about senior year tends to bring that out. Find rest and comfort in the Lord, knowing that he is powerful and absolutely capable of handling each fear and worry we have.


Senior year is different. You’re a leader, but sometimes that doesn’t look like you think it would. I thought at first that I had to be just as involved and around the BCM as I was every other year. But sometimes senior year doesn’t let you do that. Actually, a good bit of the time senior year takes a lot from you, preoccupies you, drains you. I know that when I couldn’t be around or as “invested” as I had been in the past, I felt like I was failing. But I had to realize that being a leader isn’t always being up front and center. Sometimes being a leader means working behind the scenes where you get zero credit or recognition. Sometimes it means earnestly praying for those your leading even if that’s in private, leading your people that way. Sometimes it means supporting, encouraging, empowering other leaders to step up and lead, not so you can be lazy, but so that work can still be done to glorify God. Do as best you can to be present, but also know that there is more than one way to do that.


Good luck!

BCM Alumni (UA '18)

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