Rylee (who prefers they/them pronouns) is pretty blunt about how their first semester at USC went: “It stunk.” Now a senior public health major, they are quick to describe how miserable they were that Fall. “I was bawling my eyes out during finals week,” Rylee said, “and I wasn’t even in danger of failing, but I was holding myself to a standard that was unachievable. I didn’t have anything to help ground me and put everything in perspective. While I did have some coping skills, I didn’t have a community that I could center around. I just felt super separated and isolated.”
Things started changing that Spring, when they began getting involved with Gamecock Lutheran… but only out of necessity. “I wrote on my Lutheridge application that I was an active member in this community before I had started coming here, and I was like ‘Well, on the off chance that people here know people there, I need to start showing up.’” And so, mostly to cover their bases, Rylee came to a couple of gatherings. “In the moment I was like ‘Alright, I’m going to have to at least show up a couple times,” said Rylee. “But then I did, and I was drawn in.”
Rylee wasn’t really looking for a faith community, but at Gamecock Lutheran they were found by one anyway. “This turned into a home base for me. I could come here and see people, even if I didn’t know them very well. It was a place where I didn’t have to worry about literally anything else. I’d just put my phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’ and just exist for a while.” Over the next year, Gamecock Lutheran became a place where Rylee could relax and grow to understand their inherent value and belovedness. Rylee saw that who they are is enough and God loves them. “The community showed me a way to grow into myself. They made a space for me to be self-assured in what I am doing and who I am. You don’t get a lot of that kind of support in college.”
Now, as Rylee prepares to graduate this Spring, they are realizing how much they have grown and been shaped by their time in this community. Rylee has become one of the key leaders, a person that other students come to for help and wisdom and comfort. “At first, I didn’t realize I was that sort of person for people. And I’m very glad that I’m able to be that presence and it feels good to be that presence, it’s just weird because I didn’t expect to be that presence.” Now, other students talk at length about Rylee’s impact in their lives and the way Rylee has helped them grow into themselves. “Even though I wasn’t intentionally seeking out that motivation to grow into someone that I want to be, being a part of this community helped really solidify my personal beliefs and what I want to do and who I want to be.”
Your prayers and generosity equip Gamecock Lutheran and other LuMin Ministries to be places where students like Rylee grow into themselves, hear God’s voice assuring them that they are loved, and create lifelong holy relationships. “I know I’m loved by these people,” Rylee said, “and I know I love them. And that’s not something you move past just because you graduate.” Thank you so much for your support.
Credit to: Gamecock Lutheran, Columbia, SC. Gamecock Lutheran is one of 176 ministries affiliated with LuMin, the network of ELCA Campus Ministries.
