What we’re listening to: July 2023
July 17, 2023
For living out the best moments of summer, here is our July playlist.
What we’re listening to : April 2023
March 31, 2023
The cherry blossoms on campus are in full bloom, we are spending our breaks between classes baking in the sun on the Montview steps, and Starbucks is struggling to keep up with the demand of pink drinks and refreshers. Welcome to spring. Check out the songs our staff are listening to as the weather is warming up.
Who is SA?
March 30, 2023
Picture this. You’re a somewhat new college student and you are just starting to get comfortable with the very unique culture that resides on Liberty’s campus. You’re starting to wonder where God is leading you next after such a huge life change. You start to ask yourself several questions; “When should I start trying to get involved on campus?”, “I’m going broke; where do I even start looking for a job?” and “Am I making the most out of my college experience?”.
I found myself here about a year and a half ago, eager to know where He wanted me to take my next steps. After a full year at Liberty, I decided to try to step out of my comfort zone and chase after a brand-new experience. There was something in me that knew that I needed to pop my own bubble and extend myself because He was calling me to much more than my comfort zone. As a natural introvert, this was extremely hard for me, but I wanted to find a job that wasn’t a place I’d just come and leave like my previous, not-so-enjoyable high school job (I know most of us can relate, unfortunately). I wanted to make an impact and really enjoy what I would be doing.
So then there I was, reaching out to clubs and departments, looking to see if I could be used there. Every time I tried, I’d be turned away. After two months of searching, I had a friend who worked for this department reach out to me, encouraging me to apply for the Event Staff position. All I knew about Student Activities was that they gave out free coffee and had people sing in microphones on the Academic Lawn. I had my doubts, knowing I’d be in a position where I’d be serving again, but little did I know, after a year and a half, that Student Activities has been much more than a job in the best way possible.
Working at Student Activities, I learned that my coworkers and I all have an opportunity to make an impact on Liberty’s culture, and at the end of the day, we help shape it. Being a Liberty student, I know all of you hold many memories at our events and maybe some of you have met your closest friends through an Open Mic, Coffeehouse, or a movie night! Knowing that we get to contribute to that is something that we think is truly awesome, and we cherish it! Serving a student body that is connected solely to one thing (Liberty) and being able to relate to that while we serve makes this job that much more enjoyable.
Like I said before, Student Activities strives to create culture and community through our events for the students, BUT within our staff, it has been so evident that we successfully do the same. We spend countless hours together, and after a semester of building Coffeehouse sets and serving coffee, we definitely get to know one another. It is not every day that you get to stay up until 4 in the morning with your co-workers, ride carnival rides on your break, go on late-night cookout runs, dance like crazy people at concerts, and stuff your face with cotton candy, I have made countless memories with all my coworkers. Being a part of the Student Activities team, I get to see all my brainstorming and hard work being enjoyed by the people I care about, and there is nothing like it!
If I haven’t made it obvious, what I cherish most about this job is the friendships and the memories we get to make together, but I also cherish how much it has shaped my character. God has used this job to steward boldness in me, which I would never have thought I’d end up having. It has helped me grow my patience, compassion, and drive.
Student Activities is much more than a job. It is a place to serve joyfully, create community for the students and your friends, make memories, grow, and make an impact.
Now, I would encourage YOU to apply to work for Student Activities. We are having a Job Fair on April 4th at the Montview Student Union, on the second floor, from 1 pm – 3 pm. You will not regret applying because working for Student Activities has been nothing but a blessing!
Written by Gabby Trotte
Gabby is a junior studying Digital Marketing and Advertising with a minor in Graphic Design. She loves photography, keeping up with the latest trends, and loves a good bagel.
What we’re listening to: July 2022
July 14, 2022
It’s getting hot outside and so is our playlist for this month. Put together by our staff and curated just for you, this playlist is great for any occasion. Roll the windows down or hangout with some friends while listening to some of our favorite artists right now.
What we’re listening to: June 2022
June 16, 2022
Here is a playlist brought to you by our event staff. You’ll find everything from mellow indie jams to mood boosting ballads. Enjoy this on your nighttime drives or when you’re hanging at the beach.
What we’re listening to: May 2022
May 19, 2022
This month’s playlist is brought to you by two of our Event Supervisors, Justin Gibble and Walker Sandler. The weather is getting warmer, so here is a playlist to kickstart those summer vibes. Throw this on when you’re driving windows down, sitting in the park, or spending time with your friends.
Spring 2022 Semester Recap
May 6, 2022
Student Activities is known for putting on events that bring students together to find their closest friends. From bingo nights to Coffeehouse to free snow cones, this semester has been filled with the spirit of community, friendship, and entertainment.
At the start of this semester, I was looking at a very full but very exciting calendar. With this being my senior year, I knew I had to make the most of every moment. I remember being hired in the Spring of 2021 and feeling so thrilled to be a part of this team, and that thrill has stayed with me. I was ready to learn all I could and connect with students and my coworkers. Being a newbie simultaneously feels like a lifetime ago and like it happened last week. Now, wrapping up my final shifts has me reminiscing on this past semester with Student Activities.
Kicking off the semester with Rock the Rot, Open Mic, and a Student Concert, we welcomed students back with a week of music. The rest of the month featured nostalgic nights including Family Feud, 80s and 80s Bingo, and Prime Time Trivia. Everyone who showed up really showed off with their outfits, knowledge, and talent.
Moving into February, we learned that many students really paid attention in their elementary spelling lessons through our first ever Spelling Bee, and celebrated Valentine’s Day with a Rom Com Movie Marathon. Our staple events stayed throughout the month and before we knew it, we were ready to go to space at Coffeehouse: The Great Beyond.
We launched (literally) into that night with incredible performances, hilarious videos, and out of this world costumes. For everyone in attendance, it was truly a night to remember. Coffeehouse has always been my favorite event, so having my last one be that level of production and hype was very special to me.
But the semester wasn’t over yet. Spider-Man swung into our last Drive-In Movie of the spring. After that came more bingo and open mics, along with a concert with college kids’ favorite indie Christian artist, Chris Renzema. The semester concluded with a sunny shopping day on the Academic Lawn at the Community Yard Sale.
Through all of these events, there were a few constants: students, staff, and super good times. To everyone who attended any of these events, I offer you my most sincere thank you. These events really would be pointless without students attending them, so we are always glad you all enjoy them. To my coworkers, you guys are the best people I have ever known, and I would not have made it through college without you. Please don’t ever become strangers whose laughs I could recognize anywhere. Throwing the biggest hearts your way for the rest of my life.
There were points that felt like we’d never reach the end of a day let alone the semester, but for the most part it was pretty much a speed run. I’m not a big fan of running, but this job is something I would sprint toward like my life depended on it. This semester, along with the two before it, has been nothing short of remarkable. Student Activities has given me friends and memories for life.
But like everything in life, this experience must come to an end. It is with a bittersweet nostalgia that I will look back on this job. The time I had here was filled with laughs and hard work, and I will treasure it forever. Long live all the magic we made. Thank you all for a great semester.
Written by: Anna Pender
Anna is a Senior Strategic Communications major. She is thankful to have the opportunity to write for the blog because it gives her a chance to explore and write about topics and events that she is passionate about and that are relevant to the world. She loves getting to be creative and share her personality through writing.
Artist Expo: Gable Price and Friends
April 28, 2022
I’ll be honest with ya’ll, I didn’t know who these guys from Redding, CA were all that long ago. But now, Gable Price and Friends are a group of fist-pumping “bad boys” I’ll never forget. Formed in 2018, frontman Gable Price and his aforementioned friends, Adam Elizararraz (guitar), Daniel Vargas (drums) released their first EP “The Redding Ep”. The following year the band enlisted the talents of David Funk on bass (which with a name like that there was no other career path for the man), as well as guitarist Cameron Pablo to begin work on their freshman album. Going into their 4th year as a band, Price and the gang have released their first full length album, “Fractioned Heart” in 2020, a “reimagined” EP of previously released songs, a couple additional singles, and their newest EP, “If I’m Being Honest…” which dropped just last year.
So what makes these guys special? The band makes no efforts to hide their faith within their songs yet aren’t your typical sounding worship group. They’ve blended a unique rock sound that makes you want to jump around and dance with your friends, and personal, heart-jabbing lyrics that cause you to do a little soul-searching. Take “I Need You” off their latest EP for example. If you aren’t listening too closely, you could simply nod your head along with the up-beat chorus and guitar riffs. But tune those ears just a little more and you’ll hear the cry of a desperate man singing about his drifting from God and ongoing lack of honesty about it. And the coolest part is, you can have both of those things together. You can put the windows down and jam out with your friends and get vulnerable about real things. That’s not something you find combined in your everyday rock band. And people are taking notice. The group now amasses over 100,000 monthly listeners on Spotify (the obviously superior music streaming service) and is playing shows throughout the US in the Spring and Summer of 2022.
If you weren’t there, we got to experience Gable Price and Friends firsthand on April 23rd at the first ever Student Activities After Party. It was amazing to see them rock out on stage and balance their vulnerability with a fantastic stage presence. If you were not able to catch Gable price and Friends on stage at After Party, go check them out wherever you find your music, I promise you wont regret it. It would be good to brush up on their music since you may see them again sometime in the future.
Written by Jordan Hassler
Jordan is a Sophomore studying Event Planning with a Biblical Studies minor. He enjoys expressing his creativity through words, and sharing his experiences and personality by way of writing. He’s passionate about music, nature, and forming genuine connections with others.
After Party: Serve Lynchburg
April 21, 2022
Uncertainty and chaos are everywhere we turn today. When you look at the news it can feel both overwhelming and shocking and you are left to wonder if peace will ever reign. God, however, is never surprised with chaos.
When Paul wrote Colossians 3:15 to the church of Colossae, He wanted the church to discover peace through the Lordship of Christ, but they needed to first experience the inward transformation before they could know true peace.
What kind of peace? The peace of the gospel – the good news that Jesus saves and frees sinners. That’s who Jesus is and what He does. He brings calm, assurance, and reconciliation. He does that through service and through the ultimate sacrifice of His life.
Mark 10:45 says, “For even the Son of Man came not be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
You see, service that is rooted in sacrifice creates opportunity for reconciliation and peace, and service is the bridge for bringing that peace. Both service unto the Lord and towards those around you, has no defined shape and can be seen and expressed in many different forms. But one thing is certain, it should always be characterized by love, sacrifice, hope, and peace.
At LU Serve, we lead and train students to volunteer and speak His peace and reconciliation through service and outreach. LU Serve is predominantly known for the CSER program, and rightly so as students serve over 500,000 hours each year through the CSER program to bless communities and organizations around the U.S. and the world.
Whether service on group trips, individual experiences around the U.S. and the World, or through the Serve Now program, LU Serve helps students seek to bring peace through loving our communities, in both word and deed.
One of the biggest ways that we do this locally each year is through this one-day effort called Serve Lynchburg. Serve Lynchburg is an annual event in which Liberty University students, faculty, staff, and Lynchburg residents join together with community partners to meet local community needs.
On April 23rd, students will serve alongside 75 organizations in the Lynchburg community. This is a day Liberty University gets to invest the greatest asset it possesses, the Liberty University students.
This will be the 5th annual Serve Lynchburg with the inaugural year being 2017. Each time LU Serve leads out on this event, we get to link arms with many departments across Liberty University to maximize impact on the students that serve and the organizations we work alongside. This event cannot happen without Liberty as a whole coming together.
From 10:30 am to 2:30 pm on April 23rd all around the greater Lynchburg area, you might find a Liberty student planting flowers at a local elementary school, stocking a warehouse for a humanitarian organization, singing to elderly people at a nursing home, mulching a playground, or playing with some youth. No matter what you see being done, all of it is making an impact and serving the needs of the organizations.
Many of these organizations rely heavily on volunteers throughout the year to move the needle for their organization. But on a day like Serve Lynchburg, this needle moves much farther along and they can feel the impact and influence!
To top it all off, Serve Lynchburg is partnering with Student Activities and our collaboration has created what we are calling “After Party”, which is the end of year equivalent to the Block Party event they put on at the start of the year.
We look forward to having the biggest party of the year and celebrating the work of Serve Lynchburg together!
Written by: Steven Gillum – Director of LU Serve
After Party
April 19, 2022
So, I am going to start with the bad news about ending another year at college. The upperclassmen know this, but some of you are about to find this out the hard way. The last year was pretty special. You put in hard work, had great friends, dozens of late nights, and it was good. The hall that you lived on is one you’ll never forget, and your classes will end up being your all-time favorites. But in a few weeks, you’ll go home for summer break and return in the fall. Now, everything will still be here when you get back, but it’ll be a little different. Chick-fil-A will still taste the same, but the familiar smile you’ve come to know, handing you an 8-piece chicken nugget meal on your weekly Tuesday Chick-fil-A lunch will be different. The sophomore you pass every Wednesday in between lab and your 3:00 class, who you don’t know, but over 4 months have built a silent agreement to awkwardly nod every time you pass each other, won’t be there. Even the people you sit next to while watching Sony’s much anticipated Morbius are going to change. So, I’ll say it again, the last year was pretty special.
We’re at that time of year where everyone is buckling down and putting in every last minute into studying for finals. Or maybe you’re more focused on lining up a last-minute internship for the summer. Preparing for adult life is daunting, so it’s easy to forget about your last few weeks on campus.
As someone who has been in your shoes before, I beg you to take these last few weeks seriously. Work hard, study has much as you can, but take a few hours, and let yourself enjoy the precious and special time you have left before summer. Do one more cookout run, host a late-night worship session on the lawn, or go see the film everyone is talking about, Morbius. A movie that critics are calling “somehow the worst movie I’ve ever seen, but not the worst Jared Leto movie I’ve ever seen”.
Or you could simply join us, we are hosting a massive end of the year event in the LaHaye Parking lot, on April 23rd at 5pm. We’ll have carnival rides, food trucks, other departments, live music, ice skating, a DJ, and Gable Price & Friends. The event is called After Party, it is our way of saying thank you for another outstanding year. Student Activities has had such an amazing time reintroducing Coffeehouse, Block Party, Open Mic Nights, Chris Renzema, and more. But we are ending the year with After Party.
The event is going to take place in partnership with “Serve Lynchburg” and all who serve will receive free food at any of our food trucks. Also, seniors look for an email inviting you to come and pick up an exclusive After Party pullover (while supplies last).
This event would not be possible without the help of our premiere sponsors, Coca-Cola, Rookie’s, Domino’s, 90.9 The Light, and Your Event Source. They have come alongside to help us create an event worthy of the name After Party.
So come and let loose. Bring your hall, your friends, a professor or two… we don’t care. We know this last year has been a return to normalcy that was needed by everyone, so let’s end it right. Sure, you could spend Saturday night playing Elden Ring, or throwing back a bucket of popcorn while watching Jared Leto’s Morbius, a film Michael Keaton called “why am I in this?”… but don’t do that. Hang out with us instead. We’ll have cookie sandwiches and mechanical swings.
Written by: Cort Comfort – Director of Student Activities