Centennial Class Profiles

 

Rebecca Coover

 

Major: Social Work
Hometown: Carlisle, PA
Campus Activities: Student Manager at Lottie Nelson Dining Hall, Phi Alpha (National Honor Society for Social Work), Human Rights Awareness

For Rebecca Coover, a passionate young woman with a big heart for God and His people, social work is a perfect fit. Ever since she was a little girl, she loved volunteering and helping people – two interests very compatible with the social work field. 

 

As a sophomore, the social work program allowed Coover to test the waters of this major and obtain some real firsthand experience in the field.  Working at Paxton and New Hope Ministries, she learned a lot about what it takes to become a social worker, and these experiences helped her to determine what aspects of the field she most enjoys.

 

But Coover is much more than just a social work major.  She is a student manager in the dining hall, an opportunity that she has most enjoyed during her years at Messiah.  “It’s like a little family,” Coover explains. “I love interacting with students and watching younger students grow and develop. I really love watching people pray together and pray for each other and laugh. I think it’s awesome that we give them the space to do that.”

 

Coover also lives in the Social Justice House on campus which primarily focuses on pursuing social justice through multiple avenues and promotes community living.  As a member of this house, she and her roommates open up their home to the rest of the students on campus for a monthly program and a weekly community dinner.  At these events, students have the opportunity to explore what social economic justice looks like while seeking guidance from the Lord.

 

Coover’s favorite experience, however, was studying in Uganda, Ethiopia, and Rwanda.  While abroad, she interned with Food for the Hungry and worked with young girls.

 

Living abroad has given her a passion for working with refugees or students preparing to live abroad. However, since life after graduation seems blurry, the future for Coover is wide open. No matter where the path takes her though, she is sure that she will love people with the love God has given to her, because that’s something she can do regardless of where God leads her.

 

And Coover thinks God has some great plans in store not only for her, but also for the Centennial Class as a whole. “We have the ability to make changes, because we are more aware of what’s going on in the world.  We can use that knowledge to improve the world in a way that hasn’t been done before.”