PCC Student Testimonials

Cristian wants to use medicine to start an orphanage in Mexico. He didn’t always have that vision though. God’s used the unplanned and unpredictable to shape him and bring him to where he is today.

“I didn’t consider Christian college until I was 15. That’s when I got saved. Right then, I enrolled in the small high school at my church and planned to go to Christian college an hour and a half from home. I’d study history education there.

And that’s where I found myself about three years later, taking trains between college and home on the weekends. Dad had started pastoring a church, and it was on the rest of us in the family to cover the other needs. Ushering, music, sound, the offering—we did everything! It was hard to shift back and forth like that every weekend—and right around that time I’d also started questioning my major and college. Then Dad asked me to come home to take on more responsibilities in the church. So I sat out of college—got a part-time job at a medical health clinic.

So much of that was God changing the direction I’d take with my life. At that clinic, I became intrigued with the medical field. I started with office work but quickly moved up to be in records, the pharmacy, and then assisting physicians.

So I chose a new major—pre-med. I also chose a new school and found myself a year and a half later at Pensacola Christian College in Florida. I had one friend here at the time, and that was my only exposure to PCC. I didn’t know what to expect with classes, the environment—just everything about it was a whole new world for me. But I settled in quickly, and most importantly I learned. A ton. I’ve gained perspective here.

My goal for the future is to be a doctor in Mexico, where I’m from. By then, I won’t care if I got an A or a B in college. I’ll care about what I took away from the whole experience—the perspective I gained, how I learned to adapt and mature.

Since I know my goal, everything I’ve learned is something to take with me, to use to serve people. And this school’s helped me tremendously with those takeaways.”

Read senior David Dare’s account of teaching deaf children in Peru and how the Lord used that experience to guide him to be an elementary education major.

“Since my parents are missionaries to the military in Pensacola, I have always had a burden for missions. In 2014, I was given the opportunity to go on a ten-day mission trip to Peru. While there, I fell in love with the ministry to the deaf and the Peruvians. In 2015, I returned for a six-month visit. At first, I was mainly helping with construction work. After a couple of months, I prayed that I would be able to help more with the children and in the deaf school. The answer to my prayer came in the form of an injury—a badly dislocated finger.

Due to this injury, I could no longer help with the construction. One day I sat in on the sixth grade class to see how the school worked. About an hour into the class the teacher asked me if I liked math. I told her it was my favorite subject. She then informed me I would be teaching the math lesson that day. Completely shocked and a little confused, I went to the board and tried my best to teach equations with fractions to a group of deaf Peruvian children. I struggled through the lesson and sat down, thinking my troubles were over. Then the teacher handed me a stack of notebooks and asked me to grade the homework. After class she asked me to come back the next day. It was official—I was now a teacher’s assistant.

From that point until the end of my visit, I served as the teacher’s assistant. This was when I first became interested in Elementary Education. I never thought that I would want to be a teacher. However, after serving in Peru, I fell in love with the idea. After I returned to the States, I was invited to return for the graduation at the end of the year. I returned for another two months and was able to see my students graduate. It was such a blessing and changed my view of missions and teaching. The trip renewed my burden for missions and interest in sign language and the deaf ministry. I plan to use the education I get here at PCC to someday return to Peru or another deaf school and teach and serve in missions to the deaf.”

EJ Perez has a passion to teach math and music. With that to go on, he took a step of faith when he chose his major at PCC. Read how God can work with a step of faith.

“God has given me such a passion to teach. It hasn’t been easy getting to a point where I could, but the education program here solidified that passion in me.

My class requirements started me with the basics. Once I was solid on the basics, I was ready to practice teaching my peers. I was nervous at first! But up there in front of the class teaching my first time, I knew I was where I was supposed to be. I loved it. I went from teaching just a few minutes, all the way to teaching full class periods. The good thing about actually teaching is you learn on the spot—how to evaluate others and yourself—and you learn what to fix.

My second teaching field is music. When I first came here, I had no music experience—I just picked it because I had a love for it and I knew the Lord could work with that. I felt out of place at first and my teachers knew I struggled! But they met with me privately, they helped me to become confident in music and brought me to a point where I could teach it myself. Teachers here see your potential and don’t leave you alone to sort it all out—they push you to be your best.

It’s challenging, yes. But you learn to work hard here and then you see it pay off. At the time of writing this, I’m a senior and just about to start my teaching internship. And this time, I’m excited! It’s because I feel prepared—I’ve always wanted to teach, and now I have the tools.”

Emily Milner always wanted to be a nurse to help people. Now, she’s learned that nursing can be more—a unique mission field to bring hope to people who need it.

“Since being a little girl, I was interested in science. I’d always ask a jillion questions about everything and how it worked. I wanted to know the why’s. All the kids around me were saying I want to be a doctor and I remember thinking no way, I want to be a nurse.

PCC wasn’t exactly on my agenda—but everything changed when we made a quick stop by during a family trip. I found myself sitting in nursing classes, and I was just amazed by how personal everything was. The teachers would call on people by name, and students just seemed like they were having such a good time and enjoying what they were learning. Everybody I talked to was so friendly and would just say hey, yeah this that or the other, if you need anything just be in touch and feel free to ask questions! And I thought, wow that’s just . . . abnormal. It was huge to me.

The more I researched, the more God started putting all the pieces in place for me to come. And since then, I haven’t second-guessed a moment of my time here.

College has been the best experience of my life. I’ve learned so much! I remember back at the beginning thinking how am I supposed to use nursing to glorify God? Because, I mean, it’s nursing. You don’t think bringing people to Christ when you think nursing. But through the classes and the encouragement from teachers, I’ve learned that I can be a nurse and be a witness for Christ.

It’s true that you find people in the hospital more than anywhere else who are at the very end of themselves. They realize there is literally nothing more they can do. It’s at that point that you have the opportunity—you have the answer they’re looking for. And that’s priceless. There’s nothing you can replace that with.

That’s what I really love the most about my degree. It’s such a unique mission field. Obviously walking into a clinical is an opportunity to put your knowledge and skills into practice. But even better, it’s getting to share God with people who are so hungry for the truth.“

Coming to PCC wasn’t a hard decision for Grace D’Amico. With a background in the Abeka curriculum, she was familiar with the college. But two years here had taught her so much more.

“I always knew I wanted to do something with music. I grew up taking a lot of piano lessons since I was four. And I’d seen PCC a lot over the years because my brother and sister came here too—I was six years old when I first stepped foot on campus!

After I became a Christian, I had it in my heart that I wanted to go to a Christian college. My sister came to PCC and then my brother. I came and visited, and I really liked the atmosphere and the campus.

But the real decision happened when I came for myself during College Days. The main thing that made me comfortable was the spirit. The friendliness . . .everyone was so nice! The girls in the dorm room I stayed in made an effort right away to get to know me and make me feel right at home. Plus I’m a beach bum, so Pensacola beach was a bonus.

But still, I came a little nervous. Since I’d always been homeschooled, I’d never been in a classroom for all 12 years of school. But actually being here felt so natural and comfortable. The teachers were really nice about taking the time to slow down and explain what we needed to do. You don’t get that everywhere.

I majored in music, and Mrs. Jaffe is my private music instructor. That’s definitely been a highlight—I looked up to her a lot even before I came! She’ll spend forever explaining things to me if I need it . . . and she really is just the best. Ever. But I mean, everyone is excellent. All the music majors I’ve seen come out of the program aren’t just good, they’re amazing. Excellent.

I have nothing but good things to say about the music program. It’s prepared me well for whatever direction I take next. Right now, I’m thinking about playing for soundtracks. But who knows! I’ve still got a few years to decide . . . and a lot of opportunities to get involved with.

That’s the thing I wish I could tell everyone. When I first came here, I was so scared. I didn’t try anything because I didn’t want to make mistakes. But then I realized everyone here is at a crossroad. No one is judging you for trying. I would tell people just to jump in right away and try whatever. Even if you fail, you get to meet a lot of people along the way. And you make a lot of good memories.”

Isaiah Requintina gave his first piano recital at age 4 in the Philippines. He didn’t go on to major in music at PCC though—see how God used a seeming coincidence in his life to plant a passion for Physical Therapy.

“It all started when I climbed up to a piano at 4 years old for my first lesson. It wasn’t because I was just exuding with talent. My church was hosting a music recital, and my parents wanted me to be part of it. But those piano lessons were my first steps to becoming a musician, and a big part of what led me to PCC. Then we moved from the Philippines for my mom’s job. My passion for music led me to try summer music camp on the campus of PCC. Right away, I loved the college and the environment. I met a lot of the same friends I have now, too. But then something else happened.

The summer before college, mom encouraged me to take a volunteer job in the rehab ward at her hospital. She said she thought I’d like it. That summer was really when I fell in love with physical therapy. On my first day volunteering, my patient was a man who’d been sliced open in a car accident. In two weeks, he went from doing nothing to walking around the hospital 4 or 5 times a day. Seeing that difference we were able to make in his life changed my mind about my major. I wanted to be able to do that for other people. I could be a Christian influence for someone who was going through rough times—and I’m not a public speaker. But I can encourage someone one-on-one. That’s what pre-physical therapy meant to me—something I could really serve the Lord in. PCC has nurtured that desire to serve people for Christ’s sake—through my classes, and also my music opportunities. It’s all shaped what I want to do long term, which is traveling as a Physical Therapist.

After graduating from here, I’m getting my doctorate in Physical Therapy. Then I’ll travel—I’ll be stationed at different hospitals for about 12–14 weeks and at the same time, I’ll get involved in the local churches with music. Traveling has been a huge part of my life—and combining it with the music and my passion for physical therapy—well, that’s something I can do. I plan to go into it full-throttle.”