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Larry Hardesty

Hardesty-Larry.jpg“My goal is that one day student development professionals would say Grove City College has one of the best student development programs in Christian higher education,” says Larry Hardesty. “I’d hope they would say we know our stuff, are committed to Christ, and are dedicated to helping our students to grow. And when people ask me why I’m in student development, I tell them it’s because someone invested in me and drew me to a profession where I can spend my life investing in others.”

That someone was CCO staff member and Geneva College faculty member, Brad Frey.

Larry first met Brad when he was a freshman at Geneva College and Brad was the Assistant Chaplain and advisor of the weekly campus fellowship meeting. Larry and some friends had started a Bible study in their residence hall, and they wanted a mentor, which is when they approached Brad.

“Brad really invested in me,” Larry remembers. “He affirmed my understanding of the Scriptures and we talked a lot about what it looks like to live as though God cares about every aspect of our lives. It all made sense, and I was challenged a lot without even realizing it.”

The Jubilee conference was also a big influence in Larry’s life. “It was formative. Those were great times of seeing that the Kingdom was bigger than just Geneva, about wrestling with what it means to be a Christian in a particular field. I had already bought into the priesthood of all believers, but the conference put flesh on it. We need to be intentional about what we do and think. Ultimately, Jubilee changed my life. Brad had been encouraging me to consider joining the CCO my senior year, but I decided not to. Instead, I had a job interview set for an IBM marketing position. But at Jubilee, I felt like the Lord was calling me to join CCO.”

Which is what Larry did. After serving as a CCO resident director at Westminster College for four years, which Larry says were “the most formative of my life,” he returned to his alma mater, where he worked toward a master’s degree in student development while providing oversight to the residence life and student activities programs. Today, he serves Grove City College as Vice President for Student Life and Learning, and he and his wife, Josie, live in nearby Slippery Rock with their three young children. They are active members of Gateway Community Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

“The common thread through all of my interactions with CCO staff as a student was their affirmation of how God had gifted me and their challenge to use those gifts to God’s glory,” Larry remembers. “That formed the foundation of my view of student life. Part of my job today is to help students connect with how God has gifted them, to further develop those talents and to help them to use their gifts to fulfill His purposes. That’s why I work in student life.

“My view of ministry was skewed when I first came on CCO staff. I thought it was all about leading Bible studies and ‘spiritual’ activities. Over time, I recognized that it was about the way I cared for students—whether serving them by giving them a roll of toilet paper or disciplining them. The lessons that I started to learn in college came to fruition later, on staff and after. My job now is to support people who are in positions like I used to hold—RDs and student life program directors—to provide them with a vision that propels them to do their work well and to invest deeply in students’ lives. Now I have the privilege of influencing young people so they can go out and change the world.”