Josiah Fallot
Year: Junior
Major: English education
Home church: Morenci UMC
At age 12 Fallot attended Albion College as part of his process of being confirmed in the United Methodist Church and eight years later he is more than half way through his education there.
He is a co-president of the Student Volunteer Bureau, where he’s helped set up community service trips to places like Cass Corridor in Detroit and he’s active in Karate Club and the college’s Peace Action Club.
But what has helped define his experience more than anything he says, is the personal introspection he’s experienced through shared experiences with people of so many different faith backgrounds.
“I really enjoy a group called Bridge, which is essentially a meeting of any students willing to talk about their progress and spiritual growth. We meet once a week over lunch and usually one person will give kind of the evolution of their spiritual beliefs and their historical backgrounds to help us understand their perspectives on life,” he said. “A lot of my friends were already in this group and others were not. The leader of the group is from Nepal and he has a very interesting spiritual background in that there were Buddhist temples as well as Hindu temples next to each other and it kind of just debunked some of the beliefs I had prior to speaking with someone like him.”
Fallot said his home church, Morenci UMC, still holds a special place in his heart because the congregation is like family to him and he learned a lot about interconnectedness growing up.
David Keyworth
Year: Senior
Major: History
Home church: Midland UMC
Keyworth was the son of a United Methodist pastor growing up, but he didn’t have a clue one day his children might be called “PKs” until Albion College helped him discern his call.
He said he was ready to get involved with on campus ministries right away, but it wasn’t until a friend invited him to a Wednesday night chapel service that everything started clicking.
Keyworth joined the chapel band as a singer, and he now plays keyboard for the group. He said students are empowered by leading the entire chapel service, including giving the message, and he has been shaped by his interactions with other faithful Christians the last three-plus years.
He said people always told him to consider ordained ministry, but he just shrugged it off — until one Wednesday evening he heard God calling.
“The people here and Chaplain Dan (McQuown) helped me move forward and one night in chapel we were having a quiet time, with music softly playing and people praying — and at that time I heard God tell me I needed to go to seminary,” he said. “The powerful experiences we have in chapel, the powerful experiences being able to interact with other Christians on campus helps shape who you are, helps shape the person you’re going to be.”
He will head to Asbury Theological Seminary next fall, but before that he hopes to have a greater impact at Albion. He graduates in December and McQuown hired him as an advisor to all of the Christian groups on campus for the spring semester.
“A major goal of mine next semester is bringing all the chairs of the different Christian groups on campus together so we all know what each other are doing,” Keyworth said.
— RJ Walters
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