Daniel Gorrell (MODG class of ‘21) and Eva Simons (MODG class of ‘19) are a freshman and junior, respectively, at Benedictine College. Read to find out more about Benedictine!

Daniel Gorrell

What made you choose Benedictine College?
I chose Benedictine because it was heavily recommended to me by my older sister and brother-in-law. I also chose it because it offered the major I wanted and has a beautiful campus.

What are some ways that Benedictine stands out from other Catholic universities or colleges?
To be fair, I haven’t visited any other Catholic colleges besides Benedictine. However, from what I’ve heard, I think Benedictine stands out from other Catholic colleges because of its devotion to community, faith, and scholarship. The community especially is very welcoming to new and old students alike. The faith life is amazing and plentiful and the academic spirit is high. Overall, the three above mentioned qualities are strong here.

Do you enjoy your classes? What are the academics like?
All the classes I have had so far are informative, engaging, and fun. My favorites are probably Theology, Latin, and Political Science. The academics from what I’ve experienced are good. The majority of the teachers are good, conservative people with excellent teaching skills.

What made you choose your major?
I chose Theology as my major because I aspire to teach it at the high-school level. I also chose it because I believe our world needs Catholics who know their faith and aren’t afraid to live it.

How does Benedictine incorporate the Faith into your major?
Since my major is Theology, the Faith is my major. However, regarding other majors, everyone at Benedictine must, regardless of religion or major, take at least one Catholic Theology class.

What are some of your favorite aspects about Benedictine?
One of my favorite aspects of Benedictine is the community and liberal arts style education. The community and campus are large enough so that you can’t know everyone and yet small enough that you aren’t a nameless entity in a massive body. Regarding the curriculum, everyone, regardless of major, must take at least one class from several different disciplines. This causes students to have a well-rounded education.

How is the Faith life? What Catholic activities are you involved with?
The faith life is amazing! Daily Mass, confession, and retreats are offered frequently and there are chapels in several of the dorms. I am currently in the Pro-life club on campus.

What are the dorms like at Benedictine?
Frankly, the boys’ dorms are of far lesser quality than the girls’ dorms. However, I think the community within the dorms somewhat makes up for the physical appearances.

In what ways did Mother of Divine Grace School prepare you for college? Are there any life skills or is there anything academically that you were not prepared for?
Mother of Divine Grace School’s liberal arts education gave me an appreciation for Theology and various other subjects. This has made Benedictine’s liberal arts style education very engaging for me. Adjusting to physical classes, living with a roommate, and a more advanced work load are probably the only things I wasn’t entirely prepared for. However, the college experience cannot be fully prepared for or explained. It must be experienced.

If students are interested in Benedictine, what would you encourage them to do?
To any students who are interested in Benedictine, I say this: Come visit! The college welcomes prospective students and especially homeschoolers. Either come for an official Raven Day or schedule a private visit. Sign up for a campus tour and sit in on some classes. BCYC is also a good way to experience Benedictine College.

Eva Simons

What made you choose Benedictine College?
Mainly how Catholic Benedictine is, as well as the large list of possible majors really attracted me. I also love the beautiful campus, and it is centrally located in the US, which helped me know I’d have family to visit on breaks, even if I wasn’t close geographically to my immediate family.

What are some ways that Benedictine stands out from other Catholic universities or colleges?
Benedictine has a very special, beautiful campus, as well as its very large list of majors. When I was looking for Catholic colleges to attend, a lot of them I could not consider since they had a very short list of majors.

Do you enjoy your classes? What are the academics like?
I enjoy my classes. It is a liberal arts college, so there is a certain list of gen-eds that you have to take in order to graduate. The professors are all so personal, and kind; you can get to know them very well just by having a class with them.

What made you choose your major?
In high school I really grew in a love for art. I took up to six hours of art classes a week, and just fell in love with it. A lot of other Catholic colleges unfortunately do not have an Art Department yet, which is also why I chose Benedictine.

How does Benedictine incorporate the Faith into your major?
Most of the professors are Catholic. Especially in the art classes, when there are free-for-all projects, you are always more than welcome to do anything religious or Catholic. There are not a lot of super special things in the Art Major, per se, in Catholicism, just that it is also taught in depth in Art History. Religious and historical art is looked at in a good light.

What are some of your favorite aspects about Benedictine?
I just love the Catholicism here, the community, the professors and academics, and the campus. Aka, all of it haha. I was just blown away by the community when I first got here. Everyone was so friendly and kind, and meeting new people happens every day in such an amazing way. It is so easy to find friends, and even make friends with the professors, I love how personable the professors are, which really helps grow special teacher-student relationships here. Overall, the love of Christ is just so vibrant here through all of the faculty, staff and students. It’s really beautiful to see.

How is the Faith life? What Catholic activities are you involved with?
The faith life is very alive here haha. There are many different active times on Ministry, many different Catholic talks being given every week, as well as just so many opportunities to get involved. I am involved in a FOCUS Bible study, and have been since freshman year which has been a huge blessing and has honestly changed my life!

What are the dorms like at Benedictine?
There are many different men’s and women’s dorms at Benedictine. They are kept pretty clean by housekeeping, and most freshman dorms have communal bathrooms. There are a few more for upperclassmen which means the rooms have their own bathrooms. The community in the dorms here is also amazing. The RA’s have a lot of fun events encouraging community, especially for the freshman dorms. The RA’s and RD’s are a lot of fun to get to know. There are also visitation hours, which means men are not allowed in women’s dorms and women are not allowed in men’s dorms at certain hours (during the week it is 12 midnight until 12 noon, and then 1:30AM until noon the next day on the weekends). There are also quiet hours, which means you have to be quiet from 11PM until 10AM the next day, which helps create a considerate community.

In what ways did Mother of Divine Grace School prepare you for college? Are there any life skills or is there anything academically that you were not prepared for?
MODG prepared me for college specifically in an academic sense. The paper writing helped me come into college with a lot of confidence in my writing skills, as well as language learning skills through the many years of Latin I took. I would say life skills I did not feel prepared for in general. Being homeschooled, always living at home, I didn’t feel ready going to college. However, I can say that the transition could not have gone any better, and the way Benedictine has Orientation Week was amazing, and the transition went very smoothly.

If students are interested in Benedictine, what would you encourage them to do?
I would encourage them to reach out to anyone they know who knows more about it, or is currently a student there. If they do not, then definitely set up a Raven Day visit here, to just see what it’s like. Research online on which major you’re interested in (there are a lot of options at Benedictine for majors), as well as just surfing around on the website, to find out more information!