Far from her hometown of Colorado Springs, junior Heidi Mann is blossoming under the support of church and extended family at Geneva College. Growing up, college always meant Geneva, Heidi said. Two sets of her great-grandparents, the Gilchrists and McCrackens, graduated from Geneva circa 1921. Their children, J. Paul McCracken, class of 1951, and Frances (Gilchrist) McCracken, class of 1953, met and fell in love at Geneva, and were married in 1959.

Heidi’s mother, Jill McCracken, graduated from Geneva in 1988 before marrying Keith Mann. And Heidi is their third child to attend Geneva: Josh, class of 2012; Elise, class of 2014; and now Heidi, expected to graduate in 2016. She also has two younger sisters: Victoria, a freshman at Dordt College in Iowa; and April, a high school sophomore.

Because she was used to traveling to Geneva to visit siblings, and because Elise was still there when she started, Heidi felt confident she would be comfortable at Geneva. She enjoys familiar values and way of life, especially the observance of the Sabbath. Heidi has lived with her mother’s brother, Herb McCracken, and his family. They annually house Geneva students as part of their college outreach.

Heidi is grateful for the College Hill RP congregation, who worship and fellowship in the same tradition Heidi was raised.

“There are other RP churches in the area, but College Hill is where Uncle Herb and Aunt Patty go to church, and I was excited to be still going to church with the family and having the Lord’s day that I was used to,” said Heidi. The church, which is adjacent to Geneva’s campus, offers several outreach programs that Heidi has appreciated.

On Sunday nights after worship, Heidi attends Student Swarm, in which students “swarm” the home of a family who shares food and leads them in psalm singing. Titus Martin, pastor at College Hill RPC, and his wife, Alyssa, often host Swarm. “It amazes me how many names and specific stories they can remember,” said Heidi. “Every single student who walks in their doors feels like the most special person in the world.”

Most of Heidi’s extended family is involved in the RP Church. “I think for me, that deep family connection has given me a much bigger sense of the church in a small denomination because we are very aware of the same values and experiences that we would have had growing up.” The RP connections extend to Colorado, as well. Heidi’s grandfather, Paul McCracken, and several of his brothers were RP pastors. “My dad mostly grew up in Colorado and started attending an RP church in Westminster that my mom’s dad had planted. Eventually my dad’s family helped plant another RP church in Colorado Springs, and a few years later my mom’s dad became the second pastor of that church.” That church, Springs RPC, is now pastored by David Reese.

Heidi treasures the special connection she has had with her parents because of their sponsorship of Covenanter Youth (CY). During the retreats that helped shape her faith, Heidi’s parents served as youth leaders. Sharing youth retreats was a blessing for Heidi.

Heidi is also involved in DASH, a weekly discipleship group program sponsored by College Hill RPC. Heidi’s group is mentored by Christy Lear, Geneva’s sports information director and a member at College Hill RPC.

Christy has the unique perspective of watching Heidi develop not only spiritually, but also athletically. “Her life, [in] both words and action, fulfills her beliefs in the answer of the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism: ‘Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever,’” said Lear.

In her role as sports information director, Lear has repeatedly written about Heidi’s amazing accomplishments on both the soccer field and basketball court.

In soccer, Heidi has been named All Conference for the Presidents’ Athletic Conference for all three years that she has been at Geneva. She holds the record for most goals ever scored by a first-year student. In basketball, Heidi has 871 points so far in her career, making her 15th in career scoring in Geneva history.

During her first two years of soccer, she got to play beside her sister, Elise. “I’ve learned a lot just from watching Elise and from learning how she’s taken on leadership roles, but especially how she cares for the girls on the team, the ways she looks to do that, what’s important in that ministry. Being able to watch that and participate from the sideline was really helpful.”

Heidi has also played basketball all three years of her college career. Although she had more experience in soccer, she enjoys basketball as well. Head Coach Lori Wynn was eager to have Heidi join the team, seeing that Heidi could immediately make a difference.

Heidi was not the first female in her family line to star as a Golden Tornado student athlete. “Grandma McCracken played basketball here, but a very different kind of basketball—three-versus-three, with an offensive team and a defensive team.”

When it comes to being a Geneva student-athlete, Heidi balances both sides of that equation. Heidi achieved the rare honor of being named both first team in soccer and achieving honor roll status for the President’s Athletic Conference. “As much as she is a talented, hard-working athlete, she is even more so a student,” said Lear.

Named on the dean’s list every semester, Heidi is very happy in her major of math education. “I have been pleased with my major choice; I love getting to know professors. It’s so much more valuable for me to be in a class with someone I have a personal relationship with[…]and I know they expect something from me.”

She finds that sports have helped, not hurt, her in her academic endeavors. “I’m a better student during the seasons because I have to be on top of things. I credit my professors, as well. On multiple occasions when I have had to miss class, professors are willing to have me in their offices and go through the lessons. Geneva does a good job of providing good services for anyone, including athletes, in keeping track of their academic work.”

Holly Vizino is a graduating senior communication major at Geneva College. She works for the admissions office and is an intern in the public relations office.