Some Geneva stories begin right here in Beaver Falls; for others, they begin halfway across the country. Catherine “Cat” Qi’s story begins a continent away in Nanjing, China.

Cat Qi’ 28 made the decision to attend Geneva as an international student beginning in the fall of 2025. Previously, she and her family had lived in western Pennsylvania while her father studied to become a pastor at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary (RPTS) in Pittsburgh. Cat became familiar with Geneva while attending College Hill Reformed Presbyterian Church, and after her family resettled in China, chose to return to America to study music education.

While finding a college within her denomination was important to her, what really drew her to Geneva was the Christian music program. “There was one class at Geneva that really attracted me,” Cat says. “It was the instruments class, where you can learn to play all the different types of instruments.”

Though applying for college as an international student includes some extra hurdles, Cat credits Geneva’s staff and faculty for helping her understand the application process. Through many video and phone calls from her professors and that staff in Crossroads, Geneva’s Center for Enriched Learning, she was supported at every turn. Crossroads provides relational assistance for international students, as well as the Honors Program, Early College, and study abroad initiatives. Geneva welcomes students from other countries, offering several scholarships and grants for incoming international students.

Cat is completing her second year of college, but fondly remembers her first weeks at Geneva. “It was just really fun,” she says. “I had that freshman energy in me and I wanted to try anything and everything. I went to all the events I could and fully enjoyed the life of starting over again.”

As she closes her studies in her sophomore year, Cat describes the joy of entering more fully into her field and preparing to finish her music classes. “Everything is deeper and more astonishing and mind-blowing, so it’s a different type of happiness. It’s a more subtle happiness.”

Though only halfway through her studies at Geneva, Cat is already considering attending a graduate program in the U.S. Although undecided in her future career path, Cat knows that if she were to teach music, it would be at the college level or higher. Ultimately, she intends to return to China and teach music, hoping to “reform” music in Chinese churches.

At Geneva, Cat had found herself immersed in friendships. “I am involved automatically in a lot of communities,” Cat comments. “There’s the music department, then there’s the Genevans, which is around fifty people, and then I’m also international, which brings me together with a lot of cool people. And of course, I have my roommates... It’s a little friend-group, which means we get to share a lot of our lives”

Perhaps the richest part of Cat’s Geneva experience has been the deeply spiritual atmosphere. “For someone who grew up in a home school family, without really having peers, it’s strange to be in a place surrounded by people who are also Christians. I really, really appreciate that part of Geneva, that Christian community,” Cat says. “That was the way I grew the most at Geneva, in my faith. And I’m at the age where I’m shaping my worldview, and I want to do what God thinks is right. Everything is so spiritually refreshing.

"In China, it’s really hard to get an education like this,” she says. “I’m trying not to take it for granted and I’m trying to fill myself up with all the things that I can that will help me grow my faith. That is something Geneva has really taught me.”