What Briar Cliff students like about the university

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
September 8, 2004

Briar Cliff University students come from a variety of places, play different sports, participate in various activities and major in several subjects.

Many students start their journey at Briar Cliff due to a scholarship. Once students are at BCU most of them decide to stay because of other reasons.

"I love having that personal relationship with my instructors - not being a number," said Michael Tschampl, a Hinton native. "The fact that there are less students at Briar Cliff means that we are expected a lot more of. We get such a wonderful education."

This senior art/theology major noted that the main Franciscan value he has experienced at BC has been service.

"There is something that I take from the Franciscan values that they teach - it is a lot about service and helping others," said Tschampl.

He pointed out that he is glad to be around for the 75th anniversary activities.

"The university has done a lot to prepare itself for this," said Tschampl. "There have been a lot of changes on campus that are really good."

Mari Lavin, a junior elementary education major, stated that she was looking for a small campus and found that at BCU.

"It was a gut feeling, a good feeling, a positive atmosphere and smiles everywhere when I visited," said Lavin, who is from Okoboji. "It is a Catholic campus. I knew I would be able to get easily involved."

She enjoys being involved in campus ministry. Lavin also added that she has made several friends while at BCU.

"I think Briar Cliff has evolved greatly," said Lavin. "I have seen pictures of before the Stark Student Center was even built. It was such a great thing for them to put that in."

Junior accounting major, Corey DeRocher, commented that his initial reason for attending Briar Cliff was to play football.

"I am happy that I ended up coming here because the people are really nice and it is a good environment," said DeRocher, an Akron native.

DeRocher continued that the professor to student ratio is another thing that he likes about Briar Cliff.

"It is so nice and easy to go get help if you need it," he said.

According to DeRocher, he experiences the Franciscanism of Briar Cliff through Bible study and ministry involvement in the church.

"Briar Cliff interested me because it was Catholic and Franciscan and I hadn't found another school with that kind of principles before," said Megan Murphy, a junior pre-med major from Cannon Falls, Minn. "They also gave me a good academic and athletic scholarship. I like the size and location."

Murphy noted that her first reaction to the campus was that she did not like how it was arranged. Now that she has been at BC for a couple of years, she has grown to like the smallness and seeing people several times a day.

"I really, honestly believe that I would have never met the kind of people that I have met in my life and had the same kind of impact if I wasn't here," said Murphy. "I really enjoy the faculty because they are so personable and easy to talk to. They seem like they are really committed to their students."

She stated that she has experienced Franciscan values through warmth and giving.

"Community service isn't required here, unless you have a certain scholarship, but it is so available," said Murphy. "It is so easy to do and makes you feel so great that you can't not do it. You can't not give back to the community because they bring it here to the school."

Senior math education major, Chelsey Yoder, mentioned that she wanted a small school where she could play sports. She found that at BCU along with receiving an academic scholarship.

"I like how you can walk and say 'hi' to everyone and they say 'hi' back to you and you know their names," said Yoder, a native of Cairo, Neb. "I like the relationships that you can build at a small school compared to a large school."

Yoder expressed that since she is not Catholic, she has learned a lot of things through activities at BCU either through community service or special Masses on campus that emphasize Franciscan traditions.