by Gabriela de Sousa Matías
I finished high school at River Plate Adventist University in Argentina, where the Adventist vision and mission and the emotional and spiritual care of the students were regarded as extremely important. While attending this boarding school, I enjoyed many friendships, healthy recreational activities, and spiritual growth activities in a protected and healthy environment. However, my graduation day brought mixed feelings. I felt joy at finishing that chapter of academic life, satisfaction at making my parents proud of my accomplishment, and delight at wearing my beautiful graduation gown. But deep inside, I felt uncertain about moving to a new location to pursue further studies and saying goodbye to my high school friends. What should I do next? How would I cope with the demands of college?
Although I continued to struggle with what the future would hold for me, I made a firm commitment to be faithful to my God, respect His law, and be a testimony to those around me in any situation I might face.
I begin my university studies
After analyzing my options and asking God to guide me, I chose to study physical therapy at a prestigious state university far from my home. This decision involved radical changes in my life. I had to return to one of the largest cities in the world, which was in a different country from where my family was living. I had to learn how to recognize and cope with various dangers. I knew it would be a challenge to face a secular world that abounded with worldly principles and prejudices against religious expression while remaining faithful to my convictions, witnessing to my peers, and finding a new church home.
Once settled in my new location, I realized that it would take me four hours a day to get back and forth to the university by public transportation. Besides the stress of the very long days, I felt concerned about my safety while traveling alone through the city.
On my first day on campus, I faced long lines to register, check documents, etc. Entering into the huge auditorium for the first session of my anatomy class, I discovered that I was one of a class of 320 incoming first-year students! I felt intimidated and afraid.
My classes were scheduled throughout the day and into the evening with long gaps between them, so I could not return home to prepare hot homemade food but had to subsist on store-bought food. Despite the long class hours, the free periods in between, the not-so-healthy meals, and other inconveniences, I was determined to succeed and worked hard at my studies as the semester progressed. I often used the time between classes to study the Bible and pray for spiritual strength to overcome the many challenging obstacles I faced daily and to stand firm for divine principles.
Problems with Sabbath observance
Toward the end of an anatomy class, the professor announced loudly and clearly that the first midterm examination was scheduled for Saturday morning the following week.
“Oh, no! Not on Saturday!” I exclaimed with dismay.
Only three of the 320 students in the class were Seventh-day Adventists. The Sabbath keepers in the class immediately approached the professor and asked if he could administer the exam on another day. Instantly, and in front of those 320 students, he angrily shouted: “I am not going to change the day of the exam, not for Adventists, not for Pentecostals, not for any other religion!” Being yelled at by the teacher in front of all our classmates was stressful and embarrassing.
At the end of class that day, we three Adventist students gathered to pray about this problem and to discuss possible strategies to resolve the situation. The country where I was studying, has a conscience protection law for this type of case, so we asked our respective pastors to write a letter requesting an exemption from exams on the Sabbath. We prayed together and reminded each other of Bible promises such as “‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you’” (Matthew 7:7, NKJV).* And once again, I committed myself to stand firm to my Lord, regardless of the consequences.
With the letters in hand from our pastors, we requested an appointment with the chair director of the anatomy department, who reluctantly agreed to meet with us. As soon as we entered his office, he showed his displeasure, responding to our request in a dry, curt manner, “No way. The date is set and will remain the same.”
The university structure in the country where I was studying requires that each subject have multiple professors. Thus, a chair director, an adjunct, a head of practical work, and a few other teachers met to discuss our case. There was no willingness on their part to change the day, as that would require them to go to the university on a different day than their usual schedule and because most of them were skeptical about and intolerant of religion.
We continued to pray and asked the members of our churches to pray for and with us. In the meantime, we had to suppress our anxiety to keep up with the challenge of listening to the professor, participating in class activities, and learning and retaining the contents of this and other subjects.
At the next anatomy class period, the professor walked to the front of the class and, in a loud, disgruntled voice, announced that the exam was being moved up five days because several students could not take it on Saturday. The Adventist students experienced great anxiety at this announcement. Five days less to study can mean the difference between passing and failing. Consequently, our classmates were unhappy to lose five days of study time because of us. When we crossed paths with them in the university halls, they glared at us and made derogatory and aggressive statements.
We had to find another solution. Again, we prayerfully requested an appointment with the chair director of the department. We pleaded with him to change the exam date for the three Adventist students while maintaining the original date for the rest of the class. We expressed our appreciation for the vote to change the exam date for us but with sadness, told him that our classmates were being inconvenienced by our faithfulness to our religious beliefs and practices. We said that we felt uncomfortable about the harmful impact of our decision on them.
Two days later, another announcement was made in class: “The exam will remain on the original date, except that the three affected students will take the exam on Friday at noon.”
What a huge relief! Our hearts overflowed with joy and gratitude to God because they agreed to allow us to take the exam on a day other than Saturday.
Our loyalty to God produces positive results
Student life continued. This was the first of many occasions when we had to request an exemption from Sabbath exams. Our faithfulness to the Creator resulted in our receiving many blessings: success in our studies, good internships, and the opportunity to witness to our classmates and teachers how great and merciful God is. Many of our classmates expressed interest in learning more about biblical faith. I formed friendships with some of them that continue until today. One became my closest friend. I taught her about the love of God and His plan for the happiness of human beings, gave her Bible studies, and she was baptized. She met her future husband in church, and they have a beautiful family. They now serve together as professionals in an Adventist institution. She shared her faith with her mother, who also has developed a close relationship with Jesus, our Savior.
Education is essential; preparing oneself in the best way possible is important, but conscientiously following our beliefs and seeking the approval of our Lord is paramount. He will oversee every aspect of our lives, smooth the way for us, and sustain us during the trials that come. He will also use us as a testimony to other people. In this way, we can become a channel of blessing for them.
Appeal
I invite you to place your studies and career plans in God’s hands. Be faithful to Him regardless of the obstacles that may block your way. The reward will be great for such faithfulness. One day, you will meet Jesus, who will declare: “‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord’” (Matthew 25:23, NKJV).
* Scripture references in this article are quoted from the New King James Version of the Bible. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Gabriela de Sousa Matías (Master of Education, Montemorelos University, Mexico) is a Professor of Physical Therapy at Montemorelos University, an Editorial Assistant for Dialogue, and the Managing Editor of the Spanish and Portuguese editions of the journal. E-mail:
Recommended Citation
Gabriela de Sousa Matías, "Facing University Challenges With Faith ," Dialogue 36:1 (2024): 22-24
https://dialogue.adventist.org/3923/facing-university-challenges-with-faith