In his letter to the church at Corinth, the Apostle Paul wrote, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). The Lord comforts us in our troubles, and He desires for us to show the same compassion and comfort to those who are in need around us. At the Baptist University of Florida (BUF), we are training our students to care for the men, 女性, and children who are hurting because of living in a broken, sinful world. One way we specifically do this is through our Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and our Master of Arts in Counseling. With that, we wrap up on Spring 2024 student highlights with BUF Psychology major Linda Santiago.
Linda is from Lakeland, FL, and she is a Junior at BUF. After graduating from high school in 2021, Linda knew that she wanted to pursue higher education and to be the first in her family to earn a college degree. She also desired to get a degree from a biblically sound institution that would keep her rooted in Christ. Linda was drawn to BUF’s Bachelor of Arts in Psychology degree because of its quality in preparation for counseling from a Christian worldview. 琳达说, “God led me to BUF. I knew I wanted to help people, but I also wanted to be just as equally equipped.” Her favorite class so far has been Developmental Psychology with Dr. Tonya Gardner, Chair of the General Education Division and Associate Professor of Psychology. Linda explained, “I love hearing about the different stages of life and how one event can impact or affect the next stage of life. It is interesting and it speaks volumes over my own life as well.” Linda is a faithful member at her church Shiloh Baptist Church in Chipley, FL. She is serving alongside her church to make a gospel impact in the community and one of her favorite ways to serve at church is by caring for the children in the nursery.
BUF strives to equip students to share the gospel and live a faithful life to the Lord each day. Linda is grateful for how she is being equipped at BUF to proclaim the gospel to others and how she is growing in her love for the Bible. Linda shared, “Even my psychology classes are bringing me back to the Bible. I fully believe that I am equipped to share the love of Christ because of this school, and the school teaching me many important lessons along the way.” As she looks to the future, 琳达说, “My hope is to one day become a child psychologist or a social worker. I want to share Christ’s love with children who are struggling to find love within their own homes. I have experienced Christ’s love for myself and all I want to do is show others how much He loves them too.”