Transforming Hearts

Reflection from a Trinity Senior

By Keira Konson, Class of 2023

When I was in fifth grade, I cried because I wasn’t allowed to go to public school. I cried at the perceived loss of all those Friday night football games, pictureperfect friend groups, and the “classic American high school experience.” To my little eleven-year-old self, private school seemed to be simply the less-fun option. And while I can’t go back and correct my own misguided perception of education at a private Christian school, if I were given the chance, this is what I would say:

“Your desires for the perfect high school experience are not unfounded, they are simply asking for too little.” In the words of C.S. Lewis, “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.”

The “classic American high school experience” cannot compare to the relationships you will form with your teachers. These teachers will become your biggest encouragers, mentors, role models, and friends. You will not know life without the presence of bold and intelligent Christian adults who seek your good, success, and wellbeing. You will see in them a clear picture of the love of Christ. And as graduation approaches, you will often leave school with tears in your eyes after staying late, yet again, to soak in as much wisdom and guidance from these people as possible.

The “classic American high school experience” cannot compare with the heavy, hard, and honest discussions you will have with your peers in Christian studies classes. As you learn what it means to walk with the Lord and seek first the kingdom, you will be constantly encouraged by the teaching of truth and the unwavering stance of your community that the Lord is truly good, kind, and loving beyond imagination. You will need this support more than you could ever admit, and when your time is done, you will be overwhelmed by the provision of a good Father who knew your needs before you knew your own.

The “classic American high school experience” cannot compare with the intersection of faith and learning that you will experience. You will sit in awe of your physics teacher as she dismantles evolutionary theories using the Word of God, of your calculus teacher as he connects the study of math to the creation of the very universe, and of your English teacher as he uses the writings of Dostoevsky to teach the doctrine of original sin. You will soon come to realize that all learning must be held in submission to the King and Creator, or it will become futile. You will experience the joy and beauty of the creation in which you live and then be crushed at the unimaginable brokenness you must study as a result of the Fall. And in all of this, you will be pointed back to the truth of the gospel: Jesus Christ, crucified for me that I might live.

So to my fifth-grade self, I end with this: In this school that teaches truth, courage, and service, you will learn and be challenged academically, but far more importantly, you will be provided with a community of believers who will walk alongside you through the joyful and the painful. You will be shown Christ. You will learn to fear the Lord. And when you walk across the stage at graduation and shake Dr. Vanderpoel’s hand, the words that will come to mind are these: “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21).

Prayed for by Name

Before students ever enter our classrooms, each one of them has been prayed for by name. This is just one way our teachers demonstrate a Christ-like love for their students. In the beginning of the school year, fifth-grade reading teacher Mrs. Delaney Kleiber prayerfully wrote a unique message for each one of the students entering her class and prayed over each one individually.

“It only seems right to pray over them because they’re put in my classroom for a reason,” Mrs. Kleiber said. “The whole point is to show them the love of Christ first, and everything else will flow out of that.”

This is one example of how students are seen, known, and loved at Trinity. This is the Trinity difference.