“I’ve changed,” Carter Willis ’25 admits.
Where My Story Changed
Growing up, Carter didn’t have faith of any kind. His parents weren’t Christians, and Christ was never a topic of discussion. When Carter was two years old, his parents divorced and he was thrown into daycare. Throughout his time in daycare during those developmental years, Carter began forming a severe anxiety disorder that continued into middle and high school.
“I was anxious around people,” Carter says. “I struggled with making friends and having friendships growing up.”
Without the ability to talk to people and develop relationships, a future seemed hopeless. The only thing he really felt comfortable doing, and really enjoyed, was playing baseball. After graduating high school, Carter searched for colleges with baseball teams. That’s when Coach Wolfe from Grace Christian University reached out to Carter and invited him for a tour.
“I believe it was God, honestly,” Carter says. He had no intention to travel for school but the baseball team appealed to Carter, so he decided to visit. “When I first came on campus, Pastor Rick, President Kemper, and every faculty member talked to me like they knew me.”
A pleasant surprise.
“I walked on this campus and felt a draw to it.”
Carter built relationships with his teammates and professors. For the first time in his life, it felt easy. The community at Grace pulled him in, and that was something he never felt before.
“Grace is very personal, and that’s where we are different,” Carter says. “That was something I really needed.” He knew he wanted to explore the Christian faith but didn’t know where to begin.
Finding Christ and a New Direction
At a place like Grace Christian University, that’s not a problem.
“I didn’t know what accepting Jesus meant, so that took me a while,” Carter says. “I got really close with Pastor Rick and we dove into my beliefs, and that led me to become a Christian and accept Jesus.”
New to the faith, Bible classes were foreign for Carter, but he put in effort and that paid off.
“Communicating with your professors makes a world of difference,” Carter says. The professors at Grace care about students and their success and well-being in and out of the classroom. Now Carter is in the business program and is interested in sales–a field that requires relationships and communication, a once impossible avenue. But through Christ, all things are possible.
“It’s the best thing I’ve ever done, honestly,” Carter says about coming to Grace. “And I’ve made the best friends I’ve ever had.”
Emma Wodowski ’25 is a student in the communication program and plans to pursue non-profit work after graduation. Emma’s greatest passion is to serve Christ and hear how the Lord works to spread His truth and love to the world.
Read more stories like this in The Journey Magazine | Spring 2025 >
