I walked through the halls of Bethel University wearing blue shorts and a Bethel t-shirt. As I made my way through the school, I gave out fist bumps and high fives, acknowledging every familiar face that smiled at me. As a junior Missional Ministries major, I felt untouchable – this was going to be my year.
Two years earlier – during my freshman year – I had been fed up with Bethel. I was unhappy with my major, uncommunicative with my adviser and lonely. In the spring semester I started skipping class and slacking off on assignments. I spent all my time with my best friends, Derek Fromm, Levi Pliam, Levi Case and others that lived with me in Getsch. Slowly, the missing uncompleted assignments started to pile up.
Wednesday, June 8th 2022 at 9:15 a.m., I received an email in my inbox.
“URGENT: Academic Standing” from CAS Registrar. Five attachments had been included. It was serious.
“This email informs you that based on your Spring 2022 term GPA and cumulative GPA, you have been placed on academic dismissal.”
I didn’t fully understand the gravity of this or how it would affect my future. Thoughts of failure and disappointment enveloped me into a darkness I had never been aware of. How was I going to tell my family and friends?
Wednesday, July 27th 2022, I sat on the floor of my bedroom in my mom’s apartment. There were 22 days until the start of the fall semester, and I still had not told anyone the news. I prayed alone on my dog-hair-covered mattress, pleading with God, promising to be better if I could only get back into Bethel. Then, I felt a nudge from God to call my grandmother. I knew it was pointless hiding something that had been eating me up inside. It couldn’t get worse. I dialed her number. She was the first person I told the news to, and I ended up balling my eyes out on the phone.
My grandma was supportive and determined to get me back into Bethel. So, I filed an appeal – my last stand to get back into Bethel – and submitted it that same day.
Five business days later, on August 3rd, 2022, Daniel Nimlos reached out to me regarding my request.
Unsuccessful. I missed the deadline to appeal.
Regret. Shame. Heartbreak.
Despite my frustrations with Bethel, I still felt like it was the place I needed to be. I had friends that I valued, and I wanted to pursue a major that I loved at a school I could thrive in.
When classes started in August of 2022, my friends noticed I wasn’t showing up. I couldn’t tell my friends that I had failed all my classes on purpose and got dismissed from Bethel – so I lied. I told them I was unhappy with Bethel and I had family problems going on.
I tried contacting the Bethel registrar six times. No response. I couldn’t take it anymore. My grandma and I decided it was time to talk to someone at Bethel – in-person. We peeked into the AV West. Scattered paper lined the floor and empty boxes stacked on top of each other blocked the entryway. There was no one to be found.
Finally, the Associate Dean for Student Care, Alicia Ochs, agreed to meet with us. She informed me that if I wanted to get back into Bethel, my only option was to go to community college and earn good grades – a 3.5 GPA to be exact.
I had to scramble. I needed to find a community college. I needed to get accepted. I needed to succeed. I needed to fix everything. I applied to and got accepted to Century College in White Bear Lake, where I would study photography.
During the fall, I lived with my grandma and drove the thirty-minute commute to Century everyday. I’d sit in my tan 2006 Subaru Forester and listen to “The Bible in a Year” podcast, praying and hoping for the day when I could pull into the West parking lot of Bethel, order an overpriced iced coffee from Royal Grounds and eat another meal in the Monson Dining Center.
Thursday, December 21, 2022, I sent my official transcript and essay in regards to re-enrollment to Bethel for the 2023 spring semester. January 4, I emailed the registrar regarding the status of my re-admission. “We will hopefully hear back soon,” Associate Registrar Rachel Brands said.
Wednesday, January 17, 2023. Five days before classes would start. I checked my inbox.
“Provisional Readmission Granted.”
I’ve been at Bethel for three years now and I’ve made the Dean’s list every semester I’ve been back. My college experience didn’t go exactly how I imagined. But by May 2026, I will proudly transition from being a college dropout to a college graduate.
