Amy Crocker found her passion for lifelong learning and service through her Briercrest experience.

The Briercrest alumnus is a ‘Caronport kid’ who completed high school at CHS before making the decision to continue her education at Briercrest.  In 2008, after completing two years of college, she took a year and a half off to work and travel.

That was when she began to serve as an intern at Living Stones Church in Red Deer, Alberta.

“I took this to see if I even wanted to work in a church or not,” Crocker recalls.  She was eager to discover if church ministry was the right path for her.  Four months into her Internship at Living Stones, she felt herself tugged toward Briercrest once again.

“I knew I needed to finish my degree.”

This realization launched her into a dual life: a life as a student and a life in ministry.  While still working for Living Stones, she continued to chip away at her BA through distance education and modular courses for the next two and a half years.  That was when the final steps of her journey at Briercrest were decided.

“The church then enabled me to take an eight month leave of absence for the 2012-2013 school year in order to blitz my remaining courses to graduate,” Crocker says.

In April 2013, Crocker graduated from Briercrest with a BA Biblical Studies.

“The biggest impact [Briercrest] had on me was the solid Biblical training that I received there from amazing profs who study diligently, yet are also available and care about us as individuals,” Crocker reflects.  “The rigorous and high level of academics challenged and pushed me to develop a greater desire for life-long learning.”

Crocker may have gained a solid foundation in the area of biblical studies, but what she has appreciated most has been her realization that what is learned in the classroom must be applied to active service.

“That’s one thing that I think is really hard for students to do because of the small setting,” Crocker admits.  She firmly believes that service is where one really grows.

Crocker has certainly done her fair share of service while attending Briercrest.  Not only did she work as a resident assistant, but she also ignited her own ministry on-campus: a mentoring program designed for college students to walk alongside of Caronport High School students, building them up and encouraging community.

For Crocker, Briercrest will be remembered as “a unique setting that has many opportunities to get involved in and provides profound and solid Biblical teaching that pushes (students) to think for themselves.”

Now a Briercrest alumnus, Crocker is the senior high youth pastor at Living Stones Church, the same church where she began to explore her heart for church ministry.  She has found her calling.

“I plan to stay here for a long time!”

But Briercrest will always be a place where Crocker’s love for the Word of God was nourished and encouraged.

“[Briercrest] gave me a deep desire to continue to learn and to study the Scriptures with diligence and then to pass that on in an engaging manner so as to be used by the Lord to draw others to love the Word.”