The second semester for high school students at Grace begins with a unique two-week experience called Winterim, where students are challenged with hands-on learning experiences that are not part of the usual classroom curriculum. GCA faculty and staff members are leading several interesting courses that involve both on and off campus that challenge students physically, mentally and spiritually.
GCA has students traveling throughout the country and the world, absorbing all they can at several exciting and challenging venues. Groups and individuals have journeyed to Japan, Italy, and Greece. Our Japan group is interacting and serving with an international Christian school in Tokyo. The Italy and Greece group has been able to visit the cradle of the Christian church, walking where the apostle Paul and other Christian leaders lived during the height of the Roman Empire.
A group of students has traveled around the greater Knoxville area, learning about its rich history and discovering little-known and sometime delicious treasures along the way. One student had an opportunity to serve in the Library of Congress, while another learned stage design in the heart of New York’s Theater District. Whether assisting with missions at the North American Mission Board in Atlanta or serving in a prestigious accounting firm in Mississippi, the Winterim experience at Grace Christian has broadened the horizons of many GCA students this year.
Speaking of serving, another large group is actively serving various ministries throughout the area. Grace students are getting an opportunity to minister to women, children, senior citizens, and many of our city’s less fortunate citizens in a variety of ways that has stretched and challenged this energetic group.
Local professionals in the business, legal, medical, and technology sector have opened their doors to GCA students, giving them an opportunity to explore possible careers and opening new avenues for them to investigate in the future. These students are learning by doing, serving as interns and volunteers in various businesses throughout the area. These rich learning experiences have resulted in several career choices being made as a result. One student has been able to assist a veterinary surgeon during surgery, while some students are staying later than required to help and learn more from their professional mentor.
The ability to learn a new craft or trade and the limits of the body and mind is also taking place during Winterim 2009. Gourmet cooking, light construction, landscape design, and even jewelry design are being taught. Part of the campus has become a mock crime scene as students try to unravel a “crime” using the tools they have learned about in their “CSI” class of forensic science with Dr. Hirt.
Learning how to care for God’s temple, our bodies, has opened the eyes of the class participants as they have experienced a hands-on approach in regard to exercise, nutrition, and the connection between the body and the mind in overall wellness. Winter hiking in the various trails and in the Smoky Mountains has tested the legs and aerobic fitness of a large group of GCA students, and each student is gaining a better understanding of the fragile ecosystems that co-exist in our surrounding hills and trails.
The Winterim experience expands the boundaries of learning for the high school students at GCA. The personal growth gained from Winterim are priceless, and they are a part of what makes Grace Christian a place which strives to equip the whole student for life.
Colin Powell, a senior at Grace Christian Academy, spent his Winterim internship at Claiborne Hauling Contractors LLC and Bulldog Development LLC, developers of the Blaine Business Park, learning all aspects of the construction and development business. Powell has been interested in trucks and construction all his life having grown up around his father’s business, Powell Brothers Heating and Cooling.
Powell plans to attend college on a football scholarship majoring in business, and has aspirations to run his own construction and development business.
At Claiborne Hauling Contractors he has been introduced to their four divisions from dump trucks, heavy hauling, excavation and roll-off containers, and received practical experience including accounting, sales, engineering, and field experience.
Claiborne Hauling Contractors and Bulldog Development executive Chris Etters said, “the practical experience Colin will gain from this internship will be invaluable to him. We’re sure this fine young man will be successful in his endeavors and we want to be a part of helping achieve his goals. We want to encourage our business philosophy of learn, earn and return (to the community).”
