Blessings From God

As the semester draws to a close, we have a few final blog reflections we will be sharing with you from graduating seniors who will be moving on to the next phases of their lives. We hope you enjoy reading what they have to say about Purdue University, St. Thomas Aquinas & PCS. Our first senior reflection this week comes from Jacob Niemeier.

“So as I sit here as a graduating senior, it just does not seem real that in less than 2 weeks I will be graduating from Purdue University.  I mean what has happened to the last four years of my life.  They seem to have gone by in the blink of an eye; I guess that is why they say time flies when you are having fun. I, certainly, have had fun.  These last four years of my life have been the best years of my life. I have learned, grown, and experienced so much that if I were to write about every single thing I could write a novel. However, as I look back on my college career there are three things that I feel defined my experiences and who I am today.

One of these things that define my time a Purdue University is my participation and involvement as a fan in attending many of the Purdue basketball and football games.  Memories from these events abound, but one of the strongest ones is when we rushed the field after we beat Ohio State who at the time was ranked number seven in the nation.  It is really cool to say that I was there at the game when we upset Ohio State and especially to rush the field was one of the coolest experiences of my life.

Another thing that I feel has assuredly defined my college career is being a student in the ABE department. Not only do I feel like my education and learning have prepared me for a career; I, also, feel that because of the ABE department I have been blessed with the opportunity to experience many incredible things especially this past summer my trip to Togo, Africa which was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I owe a great deal to the ABE department and will forever be thankful.

However, of all the great things that I have experienced and been a part of at Purdue the thing that has defined my time at Purdue the most and ultimately has shaped me into I am today is St. Toms. St. Toms has in a sense been my home away from home ever since I began getting involved the second semester of my freshman year. The people I have met and the friends I have made because of St. Toms are people that I will never forget and are people that have had a profound impact on my life.  Having the St. Toms community to fall back on is truly something that has helped me get through rough patches in my college career and ultimately made the good times twenty times better.  From Campus Renew, to PCS events, to PCE, to Boiler Awakening, to mission trips (especially the Haiti mission trip), to being a Church Mouse, my faith and relationship with Jesus has experienced incredible growth.  I can honestly say that I my faith have never been stronger than it is today, and I owe much of this to the incredible community, love, passion, and fire of the Holy Spirit present in the work, atmosphere, and people of St. Toms.  Everything happens for a reason and it is clear to me now that St. Toms was meant to happen in my life.

‘All these people, all these things came into my life, and they’re all blessings from God. And now that I look back, I realize that these are His fingerprints all over my story.'”

“Its been real, its been fun; hell, its been real fun!”

Peace Out,
Jacob Niemeier