Student Stories

The summer after her junior year at Dordt, Jocelyn Zonnefeld participated in the prestigious Synthetic Biology Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Jocelyn Zonnefeld

Gabriel Garcia, a senior actuarial science major from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, would never have guessed that an email he received two years ago would have such a huge impact on his career trajectory.

Gabriel Garcia

“I had known for a long time that I loved working with people and that I loved being the hands and feet of Jesus,” she says. “Social work appealed to me. I wasn’t sure where to look, so I Googled ‘Christian college social work program.’” Dordt was in the search results.

Grace Winnes

When deciding where to attend college, Anna Herman had three criteria: she wanted to study somewhere she could play organ, run track, and study accounting. Dordt University checked all three boxes. After a campus visit, Herman chose to leave her hometown of Boise, Idaho, to spend four years studying at Dordt.

Anna Herman

Since he was young, Bryce Enger knew he wanted to be a teacher. By the end of his senior year at Sioux Falls Christian School in Sioux Falls, he was sure he wanted to focus on teaching mathematics and physics. When it came time to decide where he should go to college, he looked at Dordt.

Bryce Enger

During his senior year, Hunter Coyle was part of a group of Dordt University finance students who won the state of Iowa’s local section of the Certified Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute Research Challenge. They competed against 9 other teams, including University of Iowa, Iowa State University, University of Northern Iowa, and Grinnell College. All teams had to present buy recommendations for John Deere at an in-person competition in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Hunter Coyle

“It seems like, if you go to a bigger school, you have to pick your one thing,” says Georgia Lodewyk. “But, since Dordt is a small university, I’ve been able to be involved in many different things.”

Georgia Lodewyk

“God has given me compassion for vulnerable populations, and I want to learn the skills and perspective to come alongside people well. I knew that social work would be a great option. When I took an introductory class for Dordt’s community development major, I loved it. I began to consider what communities around the world need to thrive.”

Jaelyn Dragt

Joya Schreurs grew up 30 minutes away from Dordt University’s campus. She had always enjoyed attending the university’s choir and orchestra concerts, and she’d heard good things about their English and theology departments. Still, she wasn’t totally sure about going to college close to home.

Joya Schreurs