Senior Story-Bella Jordan

My name is Bella Jordan. I have been attending New Covenant School since kindergarten. My sister and I were both held back a year because of our late birthdays so we both had a little experience at New Covenant before our parents decided to put us in public school.

I was in first grade and my sister was in second grade when we made the switch. After one day at this new school my parents promptly found out that was not a good fit.

After being at New Covenant for thirteen years now I have gathered a bounty of knowledge of how this school runs and how the students and faculty function.

I would say New Covenant is liberal, but I don’t mean this in a political sense but in the way Aristotle defines the word. Aristotle defines liberal as “people who let their money go instead of fighting for it whereas other people care more for money than for anything else.” I have really learned that New Covenant is liberal with their money especially after I started working.

At New Covenant they teach you how to work without you expecting anything in return, through service to others. As students we are occasionally asked to move chairs and tables to set up for events or hand out flyers and greet guests at open house. We have designated service days and starting in elementary school we take turns cleaning the lunch room. We are slowly being conditioned to serve others without expecting anything in return, unlike when working at an establishment.

In a public schooler’s experience they won’t get this same kind of “conditioning” so to speak. I find this upsetting because this “conditioning” has positively affected how I see my work. My job is no longer a transaction of dollars for my hours of work, it becomes something more than that. It is a way of “storing up treasure in Heaven” to take it from a Biblical standpoint. It definitely puts everything into perspective and broadens the scope of what we do and why we do it. If I am able to help someone and make them happy it brings me joy, and hey if I get a tip from them that’s just the cherry on top.

This makes me think of how Adam and Eve worked in the garden before the fall, there was a need for work, a holy kind of work. It was a necessity and enjoyable because it was helpful for everyone and monetary gain didn’t exist then.

My coworkers aren’t as fortunate as I am and often place a value on their work during their shift based on the amount of tips they received. Because of this I’ve noticed it negatively affects theirworking experience and demotivates them overtime.

In my experience every student at New Covenant would drop what they were doing to help someone else. If they have free time to help Mrs.Lamb move some furniture around they’d happily oblige, which I couldn’t see happening at a public school. This is due to the type of community New Covenant creates.

After being at New Covenant for so long I have seen the best and worst sides of the school. But I can tell you it was worth all the struggle and the character development that was put on me. Trust me, there was a lot of character development.

Being a student at New Covenant has taught me a higher level of thinking and has brought me closer to my faith than any regular school could have. I don’t say this lightly because I find this way of talking cheesy but I am truly blessed to have been a student at New Covenant for all the years I have. They taught me how to be liberal and that’s all I can ask for.

You may listen to Bella read her senior story here.