Hello, my name is Jesse. I grew up in the mennonite church as a pastor’s kid. So as you can imagine, I was and continue to be perfect. I also happen to incorporate sarcasm into the majority of my conversations, which my friends can attest to. Before living in Goshen, I lived in Mcpherson, Kansas for six years. I moved to Goshen in the middle of second grade and my first new friend was Hans Miller. Let me be honest, in elementary school, Hans was the same knucklehead mcspazatron that many of you are familiar with today.
In my final year of high school I am now more certain of who I am and who I want to be. My experiences in high school have shaped me and let me be able to express myself. For example, the first semester of my sophomore year I was an exchange student in Asuncion, Paraguay. I realized two huge characteristics about myself after returning. First, I love to get acquainted with new people and being around people in general. I had the opportunity to meet many new faces and personalities in a different culture. Second, I discovered my love for studying and learning new languages. After five months I achieved fluency in spanish and enjoyed the phrases and words I picked up in German and Guarani, the indigenous language.
My two siblings have also spent extended periods out of the country. My sister, a junior at Goshen College, recently returned from her Study Service Term in Peru. My brother, age 23, teaches English in China through the organization Mennonite Partners in China (MPC). In the upcoming years I plan on studying spanish and history at Goshen College, EMU, or some other christian liberal arts school. Looking further into the future, I’m not sure what I would like to do. No matter, judging by what I want to study, I will most likely end up doubling as a pastor at Waterford Mennonite Church and a teacher at Bethany.
~Jesse Amstutz