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Allison Parshall

parshall_allison.jpgWhen I started at Westminster College, the last thing I wanted or was looking for was Christian fellowship. I wanted to enjoy the freedom of being away from home, able to come and go as I pleased, and do what I wanted when I wanted.

I realize now that I wanted to be my own god. I went down this self-destructive path for the first year and a half before I realized that my life was very empty and I was seeking something more. That’s when I went on a CCO spring break trip sponsored by Titan Traverse, the CCO Wilderness Program that Steve Montgomery directed and Joy Barron Guilleux worked with.

This trip opened my eyes to God’s love. I had life-changing conversations that week with CCO staff member, Darren DePaul. Even after the trip, I met with Darren and other CCO staff often before finally surrendering my life to Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. (I should also mention that Andrew Parshall went on this trip as a student; this trip was life-changing in more than one way, since this is where I met my husband!)

Because of that trip, the last two and a half years of college were very different than the first one and a half. I surrounded myself with friends who were spiritually uplifting and encouraging. At the time, the Titan Traverse program was starting to include students in the ministry, and I joined them as a student facilitator. I was in a Bible study that Joy Barron led with a few other ladies, which led to real accountability relationships.

The CCO’s ministry had a tremendous impact on my life in college and shaped who I am today. Without the CCO and the staff who invested in me during my college years, I may never have been introduced to Jesus. My life would be completely different.

I am different today because I was involved with the CCO during my college years. I see this in the relationships I have with my spouse, my friendships, and people I meet. I look for authentic, life-giving relationships, and I am not sure I would know what an authentic, life-giving relationship is if it wasn’t for the CCO.

I share my faith with my family, friends, co-workers, and people I meet every day by the way I interpret life, the way I give advice, and the way I act out my own life as a testimony honoring to Jesus Christ.

I graduated from Westminster in 2002 with my degree in business administration and I earned my MBA from Waynesburg University in 2008. I currently work as a Human Resources Generalist and my husband, Andrew, and I live in Hopewell, Pennsylvania with our baby daughter, Audra.

We are very active at the First Presbyterian Church of Beaver, where I am currently serving as a deacon. I have been an active member of a small group Bible study for the past six years, and my husband and I have led another Bible study for the past two years. I serve on the Fellowship Committee, I am an advocate for women’s ministry, helping to plan our annual women’s retreat, and I am also a member of the church softball team!

The CCO taught me that life is not about categorizing and compartmentalizing pieces of my life, but that who I am in Jesus Christ is who I am and that is in all areas of my life—my family, friendships, work, church—everything.