The phrase “Stop and smell the roses” encourages people to slow down and appreciate everything in life since it’s easy for us to lose sight of things in the rush of life.

This is especially true for college students worrying about when their next assignment is due, figuring out which internship is the right fit, and wondering what their friends’ plans are for the weekend.

In all of this, it’s easy to forget what a privilege it is to go to a school where our faith is intertwined in everything we do. Yeah, it’s required in some areas like Chapel and Bible classes, but those are still blessings. And the professors’ ability to discuss their faith in the classroom and explain how you can use your faith in your career is a rare experience.

As a part of the required classes to graduate, students must take 15 hours of Bible classes. Some may view this as unnecessary or a burden, but it shouldn’t be. Getting the opportunity to study the Bible in depth is a privilege that many people do not have.

It’s a chance to deepen our faith and understand the Bible on a deeper level.

Even in areas where you wouldn’t expect faith to show up, like investing in stocks, the management of the STAR fund is by the student-managed fund course. In this class, students manage the investment fund and use aspects of their faith to invest in companies that practice good ethics.

Reed Tilly, senior accounting major from McGregor, this year’s fund manager, said the class created its own investment policy and invests through ACU’s core mission, which revolves around Christian morality and seeking the best output for humanity.

Tilly also said that the class is an amazing opportunity because it equips students to understand what it is like to be a Christian in business, and it prepares students to defend their faith in the workplace.

While other schools may have similar student investment funds, they do not provide students with the opportunity to have their faith integrated into it and learn how to defend their faith in the workplace.

Dr. Jody Jones, the professor of the class, said students here have a rare opportunity not seen much across the country.

Missions are something that students across campus feel called to do. Here, the students go on mission trips like Wildcat Academics on Mission. This opportunity combines academic study with mission work around the world. The most recent trip featured engineering and speech pathology students going to Rwanda.

Every Monday and Friday, students walk to Moody Coliseum at 11 a.m. to gather for chapel. To some, this is a chore, but having the opportunity to take time out of our day to gather for worship is something to be grateful for.

Once we graduate and have jobs, we won’t have a time set aside to worship in the middle of the day like we do. So, we should appreciate the fact that we have it now.

In the four years we have here, we need to take a break every now and then, through all the busyness, and slow down to look at the blessings that we have at ACU.