What Others Say

Gutenberg Students

Axon Kirk, Gutenberg College graduate:

"It is difficult to write of my school—to pin it like a butterfly on velvet and say this is the species of my education. The difficulty is that Gutenberg has been so much more than a school to me and so defies description as such. Gutenberg has been an invasion of my life, an event that has colored my soul. The piece of paper with two certain initials [B.A.] on it will mean so little to me in comparison with the ‘sea-change' that the cast of my life has taken. Gutenberg is not about the mind, but rather the soul. Thus, education is but a springboard to life, and Gutenberg seems to embrace this truth with a unique force."

 

Christopher Stollar, Gutenberg College graduate:

"A letter to my tutors,

When I saw my friends earning their practical degrees from prestigious schools on the East Coast, I wanted to quit. They would be making $150,000 a year as lawyers and computer programmers, while I would be stuck with an unaccredited degree from a school that sounds like a cult. I wondered if I would even make minimum wage. But God changed me. It took three years to grasp the life that the little brick building on University Street offers. It doesn't promise a job. It doesn't secure a career.

But it teaches truth. While this switch came in my junior year, the last two months of my new life in the nation's capital has made my love for Gutenberg grow even stronger. Granted, I enjoy working at The Washington Times as a culture reporter and studying for my master's degree in journalism at the University of Maryland.

I am learning how to apply my faith to my work, to connect the good news with the daily news. But I miss truth. In Washington, there are only facts. Truth for the journalist is the correct number of deaths in Iraq and the scientific polls that show Bush or Kerry in the lead. It is the exact date that Christopher Reeve died and the proper spelling of al Qaeda.

In this cold world of pulp and ink, thought has no haven. The rollers of the press want to grab the writer's tongue and suck him into its monotony, making him spit out facts, facts, facts, every hour, every minute, every second. The journalist has no time to think. He cannot stop to ask, ‘Why am I here?' ‘What is my purpose?' because the clock keeps counting and the printers keep rolling. Deadlines don't move.

Although you tutors taught me how to put facts in context and think, write, and read well—skills that every journalist needs—more importantly you gave me a passion for truth. God burned in my heart the desire, but you forged in my hand the tools I need to read the Bible, reflect on life and ask the difficult questions. But I usually wait until after deadline.

Because of your commitment, I have been able to live, study, and work in Washington while keeping my soul. I may never make $150,000 (journalism isn't known for its six digits), but I will always live for—and write about—the truth."

 

Toby Johnston, Gutenberg College graduate:

"I went to Gutenberg because these men (Voltaire and Nietzsche) were mentioned. Because of the diversity of philosophers being taught, I came to suspect, and now can confirm, that Gutenberg offers something no other school could: the freedom to think and discover without fear of ridicule or ostracism. I wanted this freedom, and I did not believe I could receive it from either a secular university or a Christian college. A freedom to believe that there were better solutions to hard questions than just taking it on faith, and a freedom to believe in God despite the current popular stigma against such a belief. Those two names came to represent Gutenberg's honest and unbiased examination of truth and reality, which led to confidence that Christianity was rational and true and that any question would only contribute to the edification of the truth seeker. To come to the point, Gutenberg did not instruct me, the great books instructed me. Gutenberg served only to provide the medium through which I could understand them. Gutenberg trusted that it would be my dialogue with the great ideas and authors that would lead me to the truth. Gutenberg believes that we have nothing to fear from the great books, whether they are secular or God-centered; after all, ‘all truths are God's truth.'"

Parents

Marilyn Hickey, mother of Gutenberg College student:

"My son Chris has been immeasurably blessed by the quality program and the character of the tutors at Gutenberg. Thank you for your commitment to building faith-filled, mature thinkers! Traditional programs, while they do offer academic development for the dedicated learner, cannot compare with the importance Gutenberg puts on the personal development of each student. Please be encouraged that the work you are committed to is changing lives for eternity."

 

Patti Hobbs, mother of Gutenberg College student:

"I couldn't be more pleased with the education my son has gotten at Gutenberg. It is academically excellent and demanding: qualities that aren't found at many colleges any more. Gutenberg is much more than just academics. Our son has grown in ways that I would not have imagined in the time that he has been there. He has developed deep and lasting friendships among a group of caring people. The environment of learning in the discussions encourages listening skills and learning respect for others' opinions. The tutors at Gutenberg College are role models not only in intellect and knowledge, but also in character which reflects humility and great love for the students. There is something very special and unique about Gutenberg. Whereas most colleges desire to attract the brightest students, Gutenberg desires to attract students whose goals are to gain greater understanding and to develop wisdom for living lives in Truth. Because they are true to this ideal in practice, they see students as more than just their minds; they see them as individuals with all of an individual's unique qualities. They recognize that intelligence is not a primary factor for success and that success is not measured by the world's standards; they recognize that a willingness to learn and to work hard is often more influential in a student's success. Because Gutenberg has different goals than most colleges, they attract students of varied backgrounds and a richer environment is created. It is a privilege to me for my son to be attending a college where the faculty live out their Christian lives in such a way to influence and inspire students."

Others

Matt Turnbull, tutor at Alexandria Tutorials:

"I wish I was a freshman again and got the immense privilege of even being considered for admission into Gutenberg. A place like that, that measures God's Word with the weight and magnitude that God has bestowed on His Word, AND that seeks to read all the primary documents that form the nucleus of ideas that have generated and perpetuated 4000 years of Western Culture under the light of Scripture is the exact kind of education I want for myself, my children, my wife, my grandchildren, my neighbor's children..."

 

Larry Bailey, former board member of the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association

"I said (to a prospective student) there is no college quite like it (Gutenberg College) where they care as much as you all do; and if a student is willing to humble himself, ask for help, follow-up, take constructive criticism without an ‘attitude', and work hard, he has a chance for success. I gave him the Mortimer Adler spiel that even a ‘C' in some ‘Great Books' seminar/classes will mean a lot, as you will be drinking a cup of whole cream vs. a quart of skim milk in the alternative college class".