Lian Glomski ’21 knew from a young age that she wanted to work in medicine. Though she grew up in a Catholic family with a strong faith, Lian experienced a series of personal tragedies that left her struggling with her faith. When it came time to choose a college, she almost passed on Bethel University. However, with some encouragement from a friend, she decided to give Bethel a try. That decision changed everything.
She was introduced to Christian mentorship right away through the women’s soccer team. In one of their first Bible studies, the team discussed the story of Job.
“I really connected with that, hearing all the tragic things that Job was going through. I just felt a lot like Job at the time,” Lian recalls. “It was the first time I thought that maybe I was here for a reason.”
That’s not to say it wasn’t a slow process. Her first two years at Bethel were challenging, and she found herself in the company of peers who were similarly unsure about Christianity. Several classmates decided to transfer to other schools, causing her to think about transferring herself.
During this time, her father got sick and was placed in the care of a nursing home where, unfortunately, the care turned out to be sub-standard. After experiencing these challenges with her own family, she felt called to make a difference in the lives of others.
Unsure of how to move forward, she decided to lean into Bethel’s community and found that the professors cared about her not only as a student, but as a whole person. She spent hours in Dr. Beth Kroa’s office, then professor of Chemistry, who helped her search through countless career paths and encouraged her to work hard to achieve her goals.
“Not only did she help me figure out what I wanted to do, she held me accountable to achieving it,” Lian said.
Once she started to invest in Bethel, all the little things that make Bethel special started to add up to a life-changing experience.
One day, Dr. Vicki DeBolt, then professor of Biology, was driving her to an assisted living facility for a research project and talking about life when Lian decided she was ready to make a commitment to follow the Lord.
“I had always admired [Dr. DeBolt] and her strength and her faith. I told her I wanted to feel like I had actually accepted God into my life.”
Through a tearful conversation, Dr. DeBolt led her through a prayer right there in the parking lot.
“I know that was the day that changed my life for the better,” Lian says.
Now a practicing Physician’s Assistant, Lian says it was her choice to invest that made the biggest difference. At the beginning of her college career it was easy to write off a small school or reject Bethel’s Christian foundation, but it changed her life for the better. Once she opened her heart to the Bethel community, it changed her life in ways she could never have imagined.