Meet Bella!
Updated: Feb 11, 2020
Meet our Cru member of the week, Bella Peters! Bella is a second-semester freshman here at West Chester University, with a major in Special Education (K-12). Something that you may not know about Bella is that she is, in fact, an only child!
Before coming to West Chester University, Bella had heard about Cru from a friend. Out of her eagerness to find a welcoming community of students, that also loved Jesus, she joined Cru at the very start of her college experience. Bella started attending our Wednesday Night Weekly Meeting in Main Hall; she describes her first Cru experience as everyone being “so friendly, welcoming, and easy to talk to”. She shares, “I gained an instant love for the organization and didn’t have to think twice about coming back again.”
In addition to Cru’s Wednesday night weekly meeting, Bella keeps herself busy and engaged in many other activities with our organization. She attends a freshman girls community group on Tuesday nights, lead by Cru student leader, Emma Schwass, and Cru Staff Member, Hannah Madera. Bella also goes to Cru worship nights, Cru hangouts/parties, and is involved in our outreach team.
Bella says that her favorite ways that she is involved with Cru is through her community group and the main weekly meeting. She shares, “At the weekly meetings I love that I get to see all my friends, and at community group I love that I get to experience personal time with others, as we grow in our faith in Jesus together.” As Bella has transitioned to a new atmosphere at a big college, she truly believes that being involved in a community group has helped her feel more personally connected to Cru. She highly encourages anyone involved in Cru to join a community group; “It’s a great way to get closer to people in a smaller setting, as you talk about the Bible, talk about your weeks, and discuss many meaningful, life topics.”
Throughout Bella’s time being involved with Cru, an impacting time for her has been through experiences on outreach team. Our outreach team is made up of a group of passionate Cru students that go out onto West Chester’s campus to talk with other students about what they believe and share the personal hope they have found through Jesus. Bella states, “It’s difficult to put yourself out there on a college campus and talk to people about God, but stepping out of my comfort zone it has allowed me to really grow in my faith as a Christian.” Through her many outreach experiences, Bella has been surprised and encouraged by how open students have been to talking about God.
Although this is just her second semester involved with Cru, Bella has already experienced a lot of personal growth in her faith through Cru. Bella says that in college, we are constantly being pushed out of our comfort zone and forced to look to what’s next; there’s so much room to flooded with fear. She emphasizes, “College can be a really hard time to trust God, but Cru has helped me to learn how to trust God in all situations.” Bella really believes that she has experienced this growth through her outlets of her community group, the weekly meeting, and her one-on-one mentorship with an older student in Cru.
Bella believes that Cru has transformed her college experience so far, and that without Cru, college would be a lot different of an experience for her. Cru has trickled into many different aspects of her everyday college life. She confesses, “I don’t think I would have half of my friends or know a lot of people on campus, if I had never been a part of Cru. Coming to Cru, from the very start of college, was one of the best things I could have done.”
Bella has completely fallen in love with Cru for all it has offered her, and has become passionate about the organization for a variety of different reasons. What she values most is the atmosphere that Cru provides, Bella explains, “Cru is so welcoming and allows you to easily invite anyone to come with you”, no matter what they believe. She also loves what Cru stands for; engaging with college students to offer them hope and purpose by connecting them to Jesus Christ.
For anyone unsure about getting involved with Cru, Bella shares, “Just go for it! You really have nothing to lose and I promise you’re going to take away so much from it and meet so many wonderful people.”