Hi, my name is Darci Epp. I am a first-year student at Steinbach Bible College, and I was in the Pursuit program in my first semester. Pursuit had a big impact on me and my spiritual life in ways that I hope to share throughout this message and carry with me into my life. I chose Pursuit because a close friend of mine, who I went to school with for the majority of my life, did the program and spoke highly of it. I knew that I wanted to go somewhere that God and faith were the backbone of their education, and other places I’d looked into weren’t going to work out for me. With what I already knew about Pursuit sitting in the back of my mind, I figured I would give it a shot–and I’m so glad that I did. 
My faith has always been shaped after my mom’s, so I only knew bits and pieces about the Bible and who God actually is. Before coming to school, I started to strengthen my relationship with God, but I still knew next to nothing about His Word. Being able to come into college with a small select group helped me ease into the hard work that college is. Taking courses such as Intro To The Old Testament expanded my Bible knowledge exponentially. The most intimidating thing about the Bible was how big it is. I was always too scared to pick it up and start reading. Where was I supposed to start? How was I supposed to study it? Now that I have gone through the entire Old Testament, I’m more confident in the stories I share with people, and I can recognize and recall when someone else shares a story from the Bible. 
In Pursuit, we weren’t just classmates getting through our assignments together. We made ourselves into a family; we didn’t just spend our required time together, we went and did things together for no reason. One of the main things that made us feel like a family was when we cooked dinner at the houses we stayed at, and we ate together, and we cleaned together. It always felt homey and comfortable. That strong sense of community made college feel less overwhelming and more life-giving. I think that if someone is super nervous to start college, they should try Pursuit. It’s the best way to learn how to be a disciple of Jesus and how to do college as a whole. Pursuit gave me confidence in my leadership skills, my faith, and myself in general. 
I’m very thankful to have done Pursuit, and my first semester with the people I did it with. If I got to do it again, I certainly would not change a thing. This semester laid a foundation I will carry into the rest of the year and into the rest of my life.