.png?width=800&height=400&name=PHC%20(1).png "Patrick Henry College")
Attention, students! Here's a chance to get to know your RA. For those who don't know, Resident Assistants provide care, guidance, advice, and spiritual leadership in their dorms, acting as the touchpoint between students and the administration. Their responsibilities include leading wing chapel twice a week and planning events for their wings. We asked this year's RAs about the reason they're excited to be RAs, their plans for wing chapel, and their plans for a wing event or wing theme.
Landon Allmond
Being an RA: I am most looking forward to being with the guys in my wing and building fellowship with them. I am also super excited to be a part of the freshmen orientation skits and events!
Wing chapel: My plan for wing chapel is to go through a character study of great men in the Bible, starting with King David. David was the man after God’s own heart and is an excellent person to study as he dutifully follows the Lord with courage, and leads his people to great victories, but yet is still a sinful man who commits adultery. My plan will explore the life of David through reading 1 and 2 Samuel and the Psalms, gaining a greater understanding of this great man of God.
Wing theme: I have quite a few ideas that I’ve been throwing around for a wing theme, but a few that I really love are WWII bomber pilots, the American West, and the Cold War.
Will Atchley
Being an RA: I'm most looking forward to wing chapels and spending time in the wing, studying or talking with the guys.
Wing chapel: For wing chapels, I’m planning on working through one of Paul’s letters and spending time discussing and applying it.
Wing theme: A wing event I would really love to do is a bowling night!
Jake Buus
Being an RA: I am most looking forward to the spiritual leadership aspect. I have had many leadership opportunities in my life, but few have been in the spiritual field. I am excited and blessed to learn and grow into a man of God alongside my guys.
Wing chapel: My current plan is to look at Ecclesiastes in wing chapel; though this is of course subject to change. Ecclesiastes shines light on the importance of living life on Earth with an eternal perspective while showing that hope and joy are found in contentment in Christ. I believe this is an extremely beneficial message for Christians at this stage of life.
Wing theme: My wing is called the British Isles, and while it has experienced various English themes, this year the British Isles will see a different period in history: the Viking invasion. From around 800 to 1000 AD, Vikings raided the British Isles, eventually settled there, and even ruled Northern England, much of Ireland, and the Isle of Man. What I'm saying is, don't be surprised when you walk into the British Isles and see a Viking shield hanging on the wall.
Jason Chahyadi
Being an RA: Helping my wing get acclimated to life in college and spurring them on to excel spiritually, academically, and socially.
Wing chapel: We will be studying the fruits of the Spirit as exemplified by men in Scripture.
Wing theme: One of my favorite movies is Top Gun: Maverick, so that'll be the wing theme for next year.
Mark Epstein
Being an RA: I am excited to meet my wing! Everyone (aside from my roommate) is a freshman. I was in a similarly composed wing in my first year, and there's nothing like the comradery of an all-freshman wing.
Wing chapel: I am hoping to go through the Book of James and discuss with my wing what Christian living practically looks like. James pulls no punches in calling out behavior contrary to a life shaped by the Gospel.
Wing event: Dr. Spinney's gun collection??
Ty Everman
Being an RA: Leading wing chapel.
Wing chapel: Going through 1st Peter on Tuesdays and then topical lessons on Thursdays.
Wing event: China Town.
Nik Frey
Being an RA: I am looking forward to being a head RA. I am excited to mentor new RAs and to spend more time focusing on building the culture of a new male dorm. I am also excited to continue serving campus and showing the love of God to others.
Wing chapel: I will start by having the guys share their testimonies. I'll ask the seniors to share some big takeaways they learned over the years. Then, we will move into a devotional series. I have found that topical studies like devotionals tend to lead to more engagement.
Wing event: I love cooking! In addition to wing meals, I want to get the wing out into the community with a community service project.
Joseph McDonald
Being an RA: Certainly, I'm most excited for the opportunity to create a small pocket of culture on campus! I feel my opportunity is quite unique, as I will be leading a wing made entirely of young (impressionable) freshmen. My hope as an RA is to help create a culture that integrates fun and energy with maturity and Christlikeness, and that goal is an exciting one!
Wing chapel: My goal is simple: help the young men I lead to better understand how the Word of God can change their lives. So many young, Christian men neglect the proper reading of, study of, and meditation over the Word of God. The Bible teaches that the man who stores up the Word in his heart will go neither to the right nor left; what a motivation for us to earnestly delve into Scripture! My plan is to help convey this truth through a prefatory study of Psalms 1 & 2 and certain New Testament passages related to the topic, and then spend the bulk of the year studying Psalm 119.
Wing theme: Our theme for this year will be Scooby-Doo! Brilliantly epic or brilliantly middle school? Not sure, let me get back to you by the end of the year. Only one thing is necessary: lots and lots of Scooby Snacks.
Alex Rubstein
Being an RA: I am most looking forward to stirring one another up to love and do good works. I can't wait to encourage and be encouraged by my wing to become more like our Savior Jesus Christ.
Wing chapel: As for the specifics of wing chapel, I am still undecided. What I do know is this: "preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching." (2 Timothy 4:2). The Word will be preached.
Wing event: We are definitely going bowling at least once a semester!
Ben Spivey
Being an RA: I look forward to meeting incoming freshmen and the opportunity to serve the PHC community through my wing. Since the wing will mainly be freshmen, I am very excited to see how wing culture will develop and grow over the next year. I'm looking forward to good conversations and being a part of these students' introduction to PHC!
Wing chapel: I am planning on studying what I consider the pillars of the Christian life to start an ongoing conversation on the importance of spiritual disciplines such as prayer, scripture reading, silence, and solitude. In wing chapel, we will read and discuss scripture to examine the importance of these disciplines and how to incorporate such disciplines into our daily lives. I hope it is an encouraging time where brothers can come alongside brothers.
Wing theme: The wing theme will likely be centered on wayfinding and mountaineering. Having lived in Colorado my whole life, I love the unknown of going into the wilderness to chart a path forward, often over mountains and through rough country. I think a lot of young men love these hard experiences that call for endurance as well as preparation, and I think it provides a fantastic analogy to our own spiritual lives, which also call for perseverance in the face of difficulty.
Josiah Todd
Being an RA: I'm most looking forward to serving the guys in my wing. My wing is largely made up of guys that were in the wing I was in last year. We had a ton of fun last year with our "family dinners," walleyball games, and hanging out in each other's rooms, and I'm looking forward to more fun this upcoming year. My commitment to these guys already exists, so serving them as an RA will be a delight.
Wing chapel: At the beginning of the semester, I will ask each guy to write down a couple of spiritual goals for the semester, and each wing chapel will begin by discussing how we accomplished the goal during the week or how to do better in the coming week. After discussing our goals, we will dive into the Bible, focusing on understanding and applying God’s word to our lives. Lastly, we will close with prayer requests and a prayer.
Wing theme: One of my earliest and best memories from last year with the wing was when we played "wing golf." Each of us took turns putting down the hallway into a red solo cup on its side. To memorialize this, I'm thinking our wing will be the "PHC Golf Club" with golf-themed decorations.
Griffin Tolbert
Being an RA: There are a lot of things I enjoy about being an RA, but what I’m most looking forward to is watching the wing bond together and grow in Christ, both individually and as a group. A healthy wing can be described the same way Paul describes a healthy church in Ephesians 4:15-16: “Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (ESV).
Wing chapel: Wing chapel plans aren’t fully figured out yet, but I’m hoping to do a study of Hebrews this semester.
Wing event: This year, I’m planning to go on an in-depth tour of a sustainable livestock farm for a wing event. I had considered doing it last year, but this year’s wing members would especially enjoy it.
Titus Walker
Being an RA: I am really excited to have freshmen in my wing. Last year I had all sophomores and juniors, which gave me a great opportunity to grow friendships that I already started. This year, I get to introduce new students to life at PHC, which I am really looking forward to.
Wing chapel: I don't have any solid plans right now, but I would love to study one of the minor prophets. I've been convicted recently for not having read all of the Bible, and a big reason for that is I haven't adequately studied this section of the Word. I'm hoping that this will be as much a time for me to grow in my faith as it will for the guys in my wing.
Wing event: My wing theme will likely be the Black Watch, which is a regiment in the Scottish army. For a wing event, I am thinking about taking my guys to the Virginia Scottish Games. If I'm gonna do a Scottish theme, we might as well throw some rocks and eat haggis.
Esteban Weesner
Being an RA: What I am most looking forward to as a returning RA is getting to be involved in molding the culture of my wing. It's always super cool to see new friendships form and a new culture come into being.
Wing chapel: I plan on keeping wing chapel pretty similar to what I did last year as a time of praise and worship and then an interactive Bible study. I hope to go through an epistle, probably 1 or 2 Corinthians.
Wing event: I'd love to do a semi-competitive wing event, something that gets the guys invested in the event. Right now I'm thinking bowling or a trivia night would be a great way to have some friendly competition.
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Patrick Henry College exists to glorify God by challenging the status quo in higher education, lifting high both faith and reason within a rigorous academic environment; thereby preserving for posterity the ideals behind the "noble experiment in ordered liberty" that is the foundation of America.
