Class of 1942 Connects with Class of 2018

Brooke Crouthamel knew that she wanted to attend college in New York City. Even though her three older siblings had all attended Liberty University, she was determined to make the Big Apple her home.

K. Marie Schober, a dear friend of Brooke’s grandparents, has faithfully prayed for Brooke’s family for decades. Ms. Schober is also an alumnus of The King’s College. When she heard about Brooke’s desire to attend college in New York, Ms. Schober told her about her own experience at King’s—from 1938 to 1942. Under the guiding hand of Dr. Percy Crawford, Ms. Schober was one of the first four-year class of graduates from King’s when it was located in Belmar, NJ.

Brooke had never heard of King’s. But she was already planning on traveling to NYC to visit another school, and when she realized that King’s was hosting an Inviso weekend during her stay in New York, she signed up. Brooke arrived for Inviso nervous and excited. “People didn’t look like college students,” she said, taking note of King’s business casual dress.

At Inviso, Brooke had the opportunity to sit in Professor Fotopulos’s Principles of Management and Organization class. In this class, she saw the integration of faith and business principles that are foundational to King’s curriculum. The Word of God was being integrated in the classroom—even the business classroom.

After Inviso, Brooke left New York knowing that she liked King’s. But she recalls being initially perplexed by the mission statement. After some time and contemplation, she began to see the benefits of a Christian college in the heart of Manhattan and caught the vision, too: if you want to make a difference in the world, you need take part in shaping and leading the institutions. Brooke notes, “You need God-fearing, intelligent people at the top.” This was when she realized that she wanted to be part of that mission. It can’t be fulfilled by just one person, or even a few people. It takes a small group of students, living in New York City, who believe in the mission and desire to see it come to fruition.

“You pray and you trust,” Brooke recalls about trusting the Lord with finances, scholarships, and whether she would be accepted to King’s. “When I got accepted, I lost it!” she said. As a current freshman, Brooke sees what Ms. Schober saw in 1938—a genuine community, committed “to the truths of Christianity and a biblical worldview.” And although King’s has moved from NJ to the heart of downtown Manhattan, the commitment to truth remains the same.