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Karen Bryant

bryant_karen.jpg“If it weren’t for the CCO, I probably wouldn’t have been discipled and mentored,” says Karen Bryant. “The leadership skills I gained because of the time my campus minister spent with me had a huge impact on my confidence level coming out of college. I had such a clearer sense of who I was and what I had to offer.”

Karen Krispin Bryant graduated from Geneva College in 1990 with a degree in psychology. She had been raised in a Christian home, the daughter of an Orthodox Presbyterian minister. While she was already a believer when she arrived in college, she credits the CCO staff members she got to know with contributing to her maturity level in many ways.

Early in Karen’s freshman year, her residence hall director, CCO staff worker Jennifer (Manetsch) Aikin, invited Karen to be a part of a women’s small group. “We met weekly in the group and one-on-one with Jen, and then I was hired to be her resident assistant my junior year,” Karen remembers. That intensive mentoring relationship built up Karen’s leadership skills and confidence level considerably, and broadened her understanding of the gospel message.

“Jen talked with us about sharing our faith, and gave us the ‘big picture gospel,’” says Karen. “I had always talked about my faith in terms of a personal relationship with Jesus, but she helped us to understand the broader implications—how God cares about all of his creation and has worked throughout history. That was completely new to me.”

Karen also attended the CCO-advised Sunday Night Fellowship group and her work study job was to assist Brad Frey in the Chaplain’s office.

Since graduating from Geneva, Karen has worked in a number of settings, including with Habitat for Humanity. Currently, she and her husband, Scott, a recent seminary graduate, live in Philadelphia with their son, Krispin. They made a deliberate decision to live in non-seminary housing, in an apartment complex where they have contact with non-Christians as well as a community of fellow believers. They look forward to seeing where God will lead them vocationally, as Scott seeks his first pastorate.