In a few short weeks, Reagan Shields ‘26 will cross the commencement stage as a graduate of Geneva College, with law school on the horizon.

When Reagan graduated from high school, she had no immediate plans for going to college. “I was home-schooled, and so I had the mindset of being able to teach myself whatever I wanted to learn. I was used to taking initiative and doing things on my own. But, and I don’t even know why, a few months before graduation, I started applying to local schools.” Reagan applied to Geneva and to Grove City, but chose Geneva after reviewing the financial aid.

“I didn’t really have a plan of what I wanted to do, I just knew that I enjoyed writing and reading and I was more interested in academic than creative writing,” she reflects. Reagan decided to study communication media and rhetoric, eventually adding a minor in political science.

“My fall semester of sophomore year, I took American Government with Dr. Neikirk and I think that is still genuinely my favorite class I’ve taken at Geneva,” says Reagan. “It was so engaging, I felt constantly challenged by it, and I just learned so much in that class. It changed the way I thought about government and it set me down this path of thinking about my responsibilities, as someone who lives in part of not just a neighborhood or a home, but a country too.”

While still unsure of exactly where this path would lead her, Reagan added the political science minor because she saw it pairing well with her major and could envision opportunities for communication work in politics. As her undergraduate years progressed, she chose to continue her studies through a law degree.

Reagan’s goal is to work in foster care or adoption. “I help with a small group at my church for teens, and during that time I’ve dealt with a lot of teens who are in difficult family situations. It’s something I’m passionate about and so it motivates me.

“One of the things that helped get me started on this was an internship at the Beaver County Courthouse with the assistant district attorney. The ADA that I worked with handled all their juvenile delinquency cases, and I started to see what a difference it made to have lawyers and hearing officers who really cared about the kids. A lot of times it doesn’t change what you can do legally, but it matters regardless when you have a person who cares about the kids on the other side.”

Between her junior and senior years, Reagan took the LSAT, scoring high enough to be accepted to Regent University and Ohio State University with full scholarship offers from both. After receiving an offer of a Dean’s Fellowship at Regent, Reagan settled on the school as her destination after Geneva.

“I visited a couple of times and it felt a lot like Geneva. Not exactly the same, but there was that same emphasis on not just learning legal skills but finding professors and students and people who will support you on your walk with the Lord. I love Geneva for that reason and I really wanted wherever I went to have that. The amount of time professors will take to spend with you and get to know you is one of the things that makes Geneva such a good place.”

During her four years at Geneva, Reagan has been taught and mentored by outstanding faculty members who have challenged her to grow beyond her comfort zone, including Joel Ward, PhD and Jay Neikirk, PhD.

“Dr. Ward has been such a phenomenal advisor. He challenged me often. One specific thing was that he encouraged me to submit a paper I wrote to the Pennsylvania Communication Association conference. And so I did and it got accepted, and I went to present it... but I actually puked beforehand because I was so nervous,” she says, laughing. “But then I presented the article and I got really good feedback on it. It taught me that sometimes it can be selfish to write things and then keep them to myself. It took guts, but it was a really good experience. All that to say, Dr. Ward has given me really great opportunities and encouraged me not to be anxious.”

Reagan also recognizes Dr. Neikirk as someone who has shaped her personal growth at Geneva. “He’s really modeled for me what it means to be faithful to the Lord long term, and to be patient and kind even in work that can seem pretty mundane sometimes.”

Reflecting on her time at Geneva, Reagan comments, “I’m ready to move on, but I am going to miss the people and the professors, for sure. One thing I would like to take with me is the value of education independent of my career, and how much I actually just enjoy learning. Applying that to my life, I’ve really learned to think differently about politics and community and place. Geneva has provided a grounding for why I do what I do and think what I do. And now I’m leaving specific buildings and people, but I hope that learning carries on for me.”

This liberal arts education experienced by Reagan is central to the mission of Geneva College: education as character formation that bears fruit for a lifetime.