Chris Curran, '15

B.S. in Exercise Science

How big of a role did the affordability of Grove City College play in your college decision making process?
The affordability of Grove City College played a major role in my decision making process. The old adage is that college is the most important investment that someone can make, however, I feel that that is only true within reason, and attending Grove City College allowed me to attend a private, four year, Christian college and graduate on time prepared to start life without being weighed down financially. My decision to attend graduate school would have been dramatically different if I had graduated with a larger financial burden from other schools.

How does the tuition cost of Grove City College compare to the other schools you looked at during your college selection?
I knew that I wanted to attend a smaller school where I would have close interaction with faculty and be able to play baseball at the Division III level, so most of the schools that I visited and applied to were private, liberal arts universities, similar to Grove City College. Admittedly, the College was the only school of the 11 that I was accepted to that did not offer me any academic scholarship, however, after factoring in the scholarships elsewhere, Grove City College was still the second lowest cost of attendance.

How was your faith strengthened and perhaps even challenged during your time here?
My faith was strengthened at Grove City because it was challenged. Having been born and raised Catholic, but attending public school up until Grove City College, my faith had previously only been challenged on a relatively basic moral level. At Grove City College, I faced a different set of challenges based around they question of, “Why Catholicism?” It forced me to truly learn my faith as a Catholic Christian, and thankfully I was blessed to have many strong Protestants as friends who were willing to engage in conversation aimed at mutually educating one another about the unique aspects of our sects as well as the commonalities of our faith in Christ.

How would you describe the level of academics you have experienced during your time at Grove City College?
The level of academics I experienced at Grove City College was a healthy mix of challenging liberal arts curriculum and an improving Exercise Science curriculum. Exercise Science was relatively new when I arrived at the College and I was fortunate enough to play a role in its accreditation and growth as a program. Some of the coursework was just getting laid out and received needed improvements after my class had taken certain courses. I have heard continuing excellent news from current students, and I have no doubt in my mind that the faculty and leadership in place today will continue to steer the major in an ever-improving and challenging direction.

What are some of the ways that professors ensure that students not only receive information but truly learn and understand how to apply that information?
I do believe that, specifically in Exercise Science, this goal was achieved by our curriculum. Several of our classes involved practical application of the knowledge learned in class, such as through semester-long personal training with clients, internships, writing training prescriptions, etc.

What do you find to be the most unique aspect of Grove City College?
The most unique aspect of Grove City College in my opinion was the balance that it held between holding to conservative religious and political values, while also pursuing a cutting edge education. As exercise science was still new when I was student, I was the first student in the program to present research at a regional conference in 2015. Just 18 months later, I understand that over 20% of the major is involved in independent research outside of their classwork. This is just one example of how the College continues to push towards new horizons educationally, while holding on to conservative core religious values.

Can you describe some of your own personal experiences in these campus activities?
I thoroughly enjoyed my involvement outside of classes. My involvement in varsity baseball helped drive my passion for baseball injury research. My involvement helping to build and promote the Exercise Science Club taught me numerous lessons about working alongside a college administration and with off-campus donors that continue to benefit me today. 

Learn more about Grove City College's B.S. in Exercise Science.

Return to Directory