As a high school senior at Grand Rapids Christian High School (GRCHS), one of our shining Saturday crew members, Andrew, got to experience Winterim for the fourth time around this past January. Winterim is a special opportunity at GRCHS where students get to spend two weeks traveling, in an internship, or taking unique classes taught by teachers and professionals in Grand Rapids.

Andrew has experienced all of the options mentioned above by taking classes such as woodworking and intramurals, exploring engineering at Gentex through an internship, and visiting Kenya this past year. In his journey, alongside other activities, he observed a variety of animals in a safari visit, served at an elementary school in the Kibera slum, met and hiked with village elders through the mountains, and was blessed with a first-hand experience of what life in Nairobi, Kenya, looks like.

Through his trip, Andrew came back with not only a deeper understanding of Kenyan culture, but also insight into the similarities of people around the world that make us human. Better than any souvenir, he also gained nine new friends whom he traveled with, as he didn’t know them before, but bonded with them greatly over the trip. When asked how Winterim has contributed to a valuable high school experience for him, Andrew explained that “Winterim allows you to connect with people that you wouldn’t normally connect with and gives you knowledge and experience that you couldn’t learn in normal classes.” 

GRCHS provides such a great opportunity for students through Winterim! We’re so happy for Andrew and the hundreds of other students that grew in their knowledge of the world and Christ this past January.