During his senior year of high school, Alexander Bierl, who has been homeschooled most of his life, discovered what he wanted to study in college.��
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“I had the opportunity during my senior year to attend a class at a technical school. For about two and a half hours a day during the week I would go to this engineering, robotics, and mechatronics class,” said Bierl. “It was really cool and interesting.”

Beginning to search

So when Bierl decided to start his college search, he looked around the state of Michigan for great engineering programs.����

Another item on his wish list? “I wanted more of a personal experience, smaller class sizes, a bit more connection,” said Bierl. “So that’s what I looked for.”

Finding the right fit

During the search, Bierl discovered a school that not only would offer him smaller class sizes, but its engineering program was ranked among the best in the state and within the Top 50 in the country.��
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So Bierl made a visit to the campus two hours west of his hometown of Highland, Michigan. “I felt a bit more at ease than I did at other places I visited,” said Bierl.��
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Bierl said that understanding that his engineering curriculum would be taught from a biblical perspective was the icing on the cake. “That kind of helped seal the deal.”

Stepping into unchartered waters

When Bierl stepped on campus in late August 2024, he was uneasy about how he’d form social connections.��
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“I’m not the most talkative person with people I don’t know,” he said.��
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But Bierl found connection at Calvin quickly by venturing off campus.��
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“My whole connection is through the Wilderness Orientation,” said Bierl. “We all had a shared experience. We started a group chat, met up, communicated, and that helped me out a lot especially during that first month at Calvin.”

Gaining confidence

As Bierl is finishing up his first year, he appreciates the small friend group from that orientation experience that he still connects with regularly. And he has seen how stepping out of his comfort zone and trying new experiences, like swing dancing in downtown Grand Rapids, has allowed him to grow.��
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“In the beginning it [swing dancing] was really awkward,” said Bierl, “but as I started getting into it and gaining confidence it became so much fun.”��
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The same is true for Bierl’s college experience, and it’s a reason why he says if he had to do it all over again, he’d double down on his decision to come to Calvin.��
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“I definitely feel there’s a special connection here. I definitely would say that after being on campus and experiencing Calvin, I would choose it again,” said Bierl. “It’s far enough away from my home where I get to experience new things, but close enough where I can still go home very easily. I’ve done a lot more here during my first year than I had in my younger years.”��