Who should attend?
You—if you're a first-year student or a transfer student who did not attend PASSPORT III. Unlike PASSPORT, which includes sessions for family members, QUEST is designed just for you.
What can I expect?
The QUEST program has three specific objectives:
- To introduce you to Calvin College through the college’s vision statement.
- To connect you to a core group of other new students.
- To prepare you for your first semester at Calvin.
Expect a warm welcome to Calvin! At QUEST you’ll meet a lot of new people: more than 1,000 other new students and potential Facebook friends, plus current students, professors, and staff members. You’ll learn a lot about Calvin and the resources that are here for you.
During QUEST you’ll connect with an orientation group of about 20 other students that will go through QUEST together. If you’re a first-year student, this group will also be your fall Prelude class. Prelude is a one-credit class you’ll take during your first semester.
QUEST includes a service opportunity, Streetfest, where you’ll learn about the eclectic neighborhoods in Grand Rapids—Eastown, Heritage Hill, Downtown. Expect to have a lot of fun! By the end, you may be a bit tired (the days are full), but you’ll be ready for classes to begin on Monday, September 8.
Here are some more specifics you can anticipate.
Participate in:
- A creative, if not downright competitive, campus tour
- A “create your own adventure” night
- “Streetfest” – a service-learning experience in the city
Learn about:
- Skits addressing difficult real-life college issues
- Calvin’s commitment to diversity and anti-racism
- A variety of other things—from pop culture to what it means that Calvin is “Reformed” from men’s/women’s issues at college to why we care about social justice
The QUEST program is built on Calvin College’s vision:
“Calvin College is a comprehensive liberal arts college in the Reformed tradition of historic Christianity. Through our learning, we seek to be agents of renewal in the academy, church and society. We pledge fidelity to Jesus Christ, offering our hearts and lives to do God’s work in God’s world.”
In the QUEST modules we’ll look at some of these aspects of Calvin’s vision:
- Reformed, Liberal Arts College. Take a closer look at what it means that Calvin is “Reformed” and “a liberal arts college.”
- Agents of Renewal. Consider the implications of what it means that God is renewing all things.
- Doing God’s Work in God’s World. Our world belongs to God. To what, and whom, is God calling us as we learn and as we serve?