College life comes with a whole new world of experiences. Whether meeting people from the other side of the country or traveling to the other side of the world, you're sure to do things, learn lessons, meet people and go places that you may have never dreamed of. We asked these students and recent grads to share those moments they're sure they'll never forget.

Ben Katt,
Calvin College
Bio:Ben Katt is a 2003 graduate of Calvin College now studying for his Masters of Divinity at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Originally from Wisconsin, Ben enjoys playing the guitar and saxophone.

Ben's Story: After a long and hard week of studies, I boarded a bus on a bright Saturday morning with about five friends from my study abroad group. As we traveled from our "home base" town of Denia, Spain, I looked out at the vast waters of the Mediterranean Sea and watched as the city's hilltop castle faded into the distance and was replaced by the awesome scenery of immense seaside cliffs.

I couldn't believe the beauty of Spain, and I also couldn't believe I was there for a whole semester! Through Calvin's study aboard program, I was able to go to Spain to fine-tune my Spanish language skills—something I needed to do as a Spanish major.

I was soaking up all the experiences I could. While we studied hard in the classroom all week long, we also had incredible opportunities to learn the language by practicing it every day in the small coastal town of Denia. By Friday of each week, we were pretty fried. That's why we were on this bus on Saturday morning headed for Les Rotes—a bunch of little coves along the rocky coast. The five of us planned to spend the entire day hiking on trails and swimming in the coves.

After winding along a rocky trail for a few miles, we found ourselves standing at the edge of a cliff. About 30 feet below was a sparkling cove. Since we'd jumped into coves before, we knew it was safe to jump into the deep water. But we'd never jumped from this high up. Silently, we looked at each other, smiled and plummeted together off the cliff.

As we hit the cool water, our shouts and splashes echoed off the steep walls. We swam around the edge of the high rock walls and found that they led us into another cove. We soon came to a cave and decided to swim inside. As we swam farther in, the light grew dimmer and dimmer until the cave completely swallowed up the light—and the heat. My teeth chattered as the water grew colder and colder. It didn't take us long to turn back and swim toward the light and toward warmer water.

After a while, we got out of the water, pulled our jeans back over our swimming suits, and hiked some more. In time, we found ourselves standing on a cliff that was about 50 feet above a cove—although 20 years from now when I tell the story, it will probably be 100 feet up! We sat on the edge, taunting each other. "You go first!" "No, you go first!" We all went first. Joyous laughter soon replaced the scare of the fall as we bobbed up, one by one, from the clear-as-glass water.

After a few hours of jumping, swimming, and hiking—and much cheering and laughing—we decided it was time to head back to our bus. As we traveled along the hilly road to the village, we couldn't stop talking about how blessed we were to have the amazing opportunity to study in Spain.

The whole trip was incredible, but I will definitely never forget the day I jumped off that 50-foot cliff. Or was it a hundred?

Valerie Harle,
Taylor University
Bio:Valerie Harle is a senior at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. She grew up in Galena, Illinois, and plans to attend graduate school with hopes of one day becoming a college professor.

Valerie's Story: Every sound seemed to echo as we walked down the aisle leading to the pulpit at the historic Mason Temple Church of God in Christ in Memphis, Tennessee. I felt a slight chill as I then stood where Martin Luther King Jr. had given one of the most famous speeches in history. This was the very spot where King had delivered his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech with such passion and zeal. I closed my eyes and imagined hearing him quoting these words from the Bible: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream!"

My emotions swung from joy to sadness as I recalled that Martin Luther King was assassinated the day after he'd delivered that speech.

It was January of my junior year at Taylor and I was taking a month-long intensive study-tour class. Along with six other students and our professor, I traveled throughout the South immersing myself in the best-known historical settings of the civil rights movement. During the day, we'd travel and take in as many sights as possible. Our evenings were packed with intense discussions, journaling and assigned readings. There was little time for sleep, but when I finally crawled into bed, I found myself completely awake and thinking about what it must have been like to be in these places 40 years ago.

I can remember the chills up my spine as I listened to Joanne Bland, director of the National Voting Rights Museum in Selma, Alabama, recall the terror of the "Bloody Sunday" massacre during the famous Selma to Montgomery march. She was just a young girl at the time, but the events were still fresh in her mind, like they happened yesterday. The stories she and others told were like those dramatized in the movies, but they were very real.

Throughout the trip, questions swirled through my head at a dizzying pace: What must it have been like to have attack dogs turned loose on you in a crowded street? How did the other blacks feel as they stood on the bus and witnessed Rosa Parks refuse to give up her seat to a white man? What was it like for the Alabama community that mourned the death of four little girls when their church was bombed?

As we traveled, observed and studied, I was amazed by the courageous sacrifices people—black and white—made for freedom and equality during those years. I also became intensely aware of the racial prejudice and injustice that still exist in the very places where the civil rights movement had some of its greatest victories.

Our professor, Steve Messer, helped us put all of this into a completely new perspective. He took the context of the history we were experiencing and helped us connect the situations of the past with the conditions of the present.

In learning about the civil rights movement, I discovered that God desires to see justice done on behalf of those who still have no voice. I came away from 20 short days of intense study with a new perspective on prejudice and oppression, not only in the United States but also all over the world. Most of all, I discovered that God wants me to do what I can to become a part of the solution.

Carlos Galdamez,
Patten University
Bio:Carlos Galdamez is a senior at Patten University in Oakland, California. Born in El Salvador and raised in Los Angeles, Carlos dreams of someday traveling around the world preaching the Word of God.

Carlos' Story: I stood on a rickety ladder and steadied myself by placing the palm of my hand on the ceiling. With screwdriver in hand, I attached a light fixture, tightening the screws in place. I sure hope I remembered how to do this right, I thought to myself. When I was a senior in high school, I'd worked for an electrician. I was sure I'd never use those skills again. Not a Christian at the time, I also didn't think I'd end up on a Christian college mission trip helping build a home for a needy family. But when God comes into your life, you never know what's going to happen.

I was in my junior year at Patten and I'd joined nine other students on a summer mission trip to Tijuana, Mexico. As we traveled to Tijuana, I thought about the beautiful beaches along the coast and the chance to get away from a tough semester at school. But we weren't there to swim and take it easy. We were there to work hard and serve others. The bad thing was, only two people in my group had any experience building houses—and I wasn't one of those two. I can't count the number of nails I bent and boards I sawed crooked before I got it right!

Amid the laughter, sweat and occasional arguments over how to best get the job done, we managed to build a house that was so much better than what the family had been living in. This family of four had been living in a cramped shack with no electricity. Now, if I got the final wiring right, they'd have a great new home, fully lit.

When it came time to turn on the electricity, I held my breath. Would there be sparks? Would the whole thing catch fire because I'd done something wrong?

All my fears were swept away as the warm glow of light filled the house. There were cheers from my team, and smiles on the faces of the family members who'd soon move into a new home. It was an incredible moment and one I will never forget.

The experience really changed the way I view my faith. As a non-Christian high school student, I'd learned a skill I thought I'd never use again. It was just a temporary job to help me earn some spending money. Yet God knew exactly what he was doing when he led me to the electrician's job so many years ago. Without my skills, I don't know how we would have completed that job.

The mission trip showed me just how much God has led me throughout my life—even before I had any idea that he was interested in me! Because of that trip to Mexico, I have come to look at new experiences a lot differently. When I learn something new, even if it seems unimportant at the time, I realize that one day God may use it to his glory.

Hannah Larsen,
Trinity Bible College
Bio:Hannah Larsen is a sophomore majoring in pastoral ministries at Trinity Bible College in Ellendale, North Dakota. Hannah enjoys performing in band, choir and plays.

Hannah's Story: It was my freshman year and I'd taken my seat and waited for chapel to begin. After we sang a couple of songs, the speaker took the stage. Today's special speaker was actually a friend of mine from the senior class. At one point he said something like this: "Sometimes when God reveals his plans for our lives, we get more and more scared. It's almost like we fear success as much as we fear failure."

I leaned forward and listened. It was as if my friend was speaking directly to me. He gave some personal examples about his own struggle with God's will. He encouraged us to live up to the challenge to serve God wherever he may send us. He told us it was difficult to take a risk so that we can be exactly where God wants us to be. At first his words scared me and I even felt tightness in my chest.

Up to this point in my life, I'd pretty much mapped out what my future would look like. I felt I'd been called into ministry, but my view of ministry was kind of limited, small and safe. Since I'd grown up in a little church in a small town, I figured I'd end up serving in a similar setting. After all, it was what I'd grown up in and was familiar with. It's what I thought I was supposed to do. I guess I was afraid to think that God might have something different in mind.

As I listened to my friend, though, a thought passed through my head: This is not about you, Hannah! This is about something so much bigger than what you want. Suddenly, the tightness loosened up in my chest and I had an incredible feeling inside. It's so hard to explain, but it was a combination of excitement and expectation.

When my friend finished speaking, I found myself getting up quickly, rushing to the front of the chapel and kneeling at the altar with others. As I knelt there, I cried and prayed, "God, I know I might fail at what you want me to do. But I want to try. I want to push myself out of my narrow thinking about what you'd like me to do with my life. I just want to be open. . . ."

That chapel service changed the way I feel about why I'm on this Earth and why I'm studying so hard in college. It convinced me that I must not be afraid to dream big. It also showed me that I shouldn't always follow the safe and comfortable path. This doesn't mean God won't lead to serve him in a place like the one I grew up in. He might. But I must follow his guidance. I must be willing to go where he leads. If I do, life is sure to be anything but boring.

Keila Rodriquez,
Eastern University
Bio:Keila Rodriguez is an English writing major in her junior year at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. Keila grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and loves to write, read and listen to music. After graduation, she's planning to continue her education as a law student.

Keila's Story: I twisted the knob on my mailbox to the right combination and opened the door. The chatter of other students around me faded as I flipped through the contents of my mail, looking for those all-important connections with my family back home.

While mail time is a highlight of any student's day, it was more than that for me: Mail time was the one thing that kept me going. To be honest, my first semester of college was probably the hardest time of my life. I battled homesickness. I worried about how my family and I would pay for my education. Along with that, I was often confused about my faith. I'd always had such a strict, narrow view of what I'd believed. But now I was surrounded by Christians from so many different denominations, backgrounds and experiences. While they loved Jesus, too, their beliefs sometimes seemed so different from my own. At times, it was very confusing and scary. I spent many hours lying in bed just trying to make sense of it all. Or I'd sit on my desk and look out the window, daydreaming about family and friends back home.

Because I missed home so much, I couldn't wait to see what letters or care packages might have arrived in the mail. As I flipped through the mail looking for signs of home, I came across a flyer for an art appreciation seminar. Art has never been one of my strengths, but I thought the seminar looked interesting. Maybe I should do this? Maybe it will take my mind off stuff that's bothering me. So I signed up.

I expected to go there and spend a little free time learning some new ideas about art. Surprisingly, the seminar also strengthened my faith. During the very first session, a woman who seemed so ordinary spoke with extraordinary passion. With intensity in her voice, she told us about how she used her artistic talents to raise money for the poor. She spoke powerfully about poverty and other social issues. I was amazed by her ability to see her art as a way to serve others.

In other sessions, a Shakespearean dramatist encouraged us to approach life with courage, a mosaic artist shared a powerful testimony about his victory over alcoholism and drug addiction, and a professional dancer and choreographer performed in a way that made me sense God's presence. Those were just a few of the speakers and performers. Each visiting artist showed me that God was much bigger than I'd ever thought. I also discovered that God was at work in every area of life—and that I need to live in a way that demonstrates this truth.

Looking back on it now, I know that all of these artists were tools of God. Every story gave me hope and made me more determined to live to love God and serve others. The seminar also convinced me that I am where I am supposed to be and that God will provide for all my needs.

While I still look forward to getting mail from home, I also get excited about the new experiences to learn and grow that await me every single day.

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