David Jacks, Class of 2019
What college are you attending and what are you studying?
I am currently a Junior at Baylor University in the University Scholars Honors Program studying Classics and Religion.
What is the biggest adjustment so far?
The biggest adjustment for me has been the social aspect. The jump from attending a school of 400 to a university of 15,000 is quite large, but I would not say that it is overwhelming by any means; rather, it forces you to change the way you build and cultivate relationships. In college, you’re not expected to know who everyone is; you don’t have to know everyone who passes you in the dining hall or in the stairwell, and that’s OK. In fact, it would be impossible for me to know each and every undergraduate at Baylor. At Covenant, I knew everyone, and I came into college with the mentality that I would be able to meet and get to know the majority of my freshman class. However, I soon realized that I would have to carefully pick and choose my friendships and relationships – an opportunity and challenge for which I am extremely grateful. My time at Covenant taught me how to cultivate relationships, and my time in college has taught me how to choose them.
What do you miss most about Covenant?
They say that you make some of your best friends in college, and, so far, that has been true. I have met and gotten to live with some of my best friends throughout my two years at Baylor. However, I do not get to truly “do life with them” like I did with my friends at Covenant. At Covenant, you do everything with your class, and many of the people in your class become your best friends. You have almost every class with them; you eat with them; you play sports with them. For seven to 10 hours a day, five days a week, you do everything with them. I had no idea how great an effect “doing life” with my class had on our friendships until I came to college and no longer had class, ate lunch, or played sports with the same people every day. Although I love my college friendships, I truly miss being able to “do life” with my friends like I did at Covenant.
What CCS experience prepared you most for your current school/classes?
As someone who studies Classics, being able to come into college ahead of practically everyone in Latin and Greek has made my classes far more enjoyable. Due to Covenant’s focus on Latin and Greek, I have been able to take upper-level classes from the beginning, and I have been able to get ahead of schedule in my courses and mandatory credit hours. Aside from classical languages, I believe that Covenant’s emphasis on writing and presenting, especially the Senior Thesis, has benefitted me the most in my studies. In university-level Humanities classes, aside from various 5- to 7-page essays assigned throughout the semester, almost every upper-level course includes a final research paper of 10 to 12 pages and an oral presentation of 12 to 15 minutes. If I would have come into my upper-level courses without having written, presented, and defended a Senior Thesis, I cannot imagine how overwhelmed I would have been for the past two years. Covenant’s emphasis on writing and presenting has not only greatly prepared me for my college courses, but it has also put me ahead of many of my colleagues and classmates.
What is your advice to students still at Covenant?
My advice to current Covenant students is simple: Do not waste the opportunities that Covenant provides you, and thank and encourage your teachers. At Covenant, you not only have access to some of the brightest and most dedicated high-school teachers around, but you have access to strong, Christian teachers – teachers who truly care for you, whose love for you comes from their love for the Lord, who are willing to sacrifice their time to come support you at sporting events, who will take the time to talk to you about what’s going on in your life, who will pray for you. Every teacher at Covenant is a blessing to you, whether you know it or not. When you go to college, you will soon realize that not every teacher cares; not every teacher is a Christian (even at a Christian university), and not every teacher is willing to form a personal relationship with you. Use your time at Covenant to build lasting relationships with your teachers and peers centered on the Lord and be mindful of all the people around you who truly want to pour into you.
If you could do it again, what would you do differently?
If I could change my time in college and time at Covenant, there are not many things that I would change, especially academically. I would still study Classics in college, still live with the same people, and still pour into the same relationships. At Covenant I would still play basketball, pursue relationships with my teachers, and be close friends with everyone in my class. However, I would not waste the Christian environment that Covenant provides. I would not talk about my faith and pray for others only when I had to; I would do it all the time because I wanted to. At Covenant, like any other Christian institution, there is a certain amount of “cultural-Christianity” that permeates the day-to-day atmosphere. And, just like everyone does at some point in their Christian walk, I fell victim to it. I waited until my senior year to truly live out my faith at Covenant, and even then, I did not do it perfectly. If I could do it over again, I would take advantage of every free opportunity to build relationships with my friends, explicitly centering them on the Lord.
Any shout outs to your former classmates or teachers?
Shout outs to Mr. Foster and Dr. Merritt for teaching me to love Latin and Greek, shout out to Mr. Morris for always having a joke for any situation, and shout outs to Caleb, Luke, and Zach; I miss playing basketball with y’all every day!
