JWC Student Testimonials

Speakers: Judah, B.A. Humanities, John Witherspoon College. Lindsey, B.A. Christian Studies, John Witherspoon College. Meredith, B.A. Humanities, John Witherspoon College. Elena, Dual Enrollment, John Witherspoon College. Everet, B.A. Christian Studies, John Witherspoon College

Judah: I think that my favorite course with Professor McGeary was the History of Theology, which I took in undergraduate college. It's been one of the few classes that I've come back to repeatedly in the years since, and it's had a big impact on how I understand Christianity and where my own tradition has fit within church history. Theology can be quite a sensitive subject, but Professor McGeary handled it very well. He's very knowledgeable about the field and I believe he facilitated excellent class discussion. One of the things that's great about Professor McGeary is that he never attempts to push a particular view on his students, but he instead focuses on equipping them with knowledge about the field. And I feel like that really shone through in the history of theology class.

Elena: I took a history class with Professor mcgary and it was my favorite because he really got me to think through history in a different way because he challenged me with lots of hard questions that really made me think through the texts in more meaningful ways.

Meredith: My favorite course that I took with Professor McGeary was probably the history class. I took the second semester of my freshman year, which was medieval History up through the time of the Renaissance. And I really enjoy this course because Professor McGeary did such a wonderful job of pulling in a wide variety of primary sources. We weren't just reading like a history textbook, but actually reading the sources that the people in that time period had written. So we got to read like Saint Benedict's Rule for the monastery writings by Bernard of Clairvaux. and many, many others that really helped me get a better understanding of that time period of the concerns that the people had what their lives were like. I feel like the middle ages is kind of such, it's such a vast swath of time. And for me, I had a lot of like kind of pinpoints in history but not necessarily a good comprehensive understanding of it. And that class, especially in the way that we traced monastic um monasticism and the educational system in Europe. I really enjoyed getting to see those changes throughout the centuries. So that is probably my favorite course I got to take by Professor McGeary.

Lindsey: Hi, my name is Lindsay and I am a previous student of Professor McGeary from John Witherspoon College. I had several classes with Professor McGeary that I really enjoyed. One of the first was church history. We had a really good time talking about church fathers, debating heresies, talking about Christian tradition and why there are things that we do in our churches. His method of teaching was very intentional. He allowed us to be able to kind of talk work through our problems and our concerns and might I even say, pretend to be a little heretical and bring up some, interesting different ideas and just allow us to kind of wrestle through the conclusions. And then he would obviously he would help gather, gather those thoughts and really guide the conversation. So I would love that.

Judah: My favorite feature of Professor McGeary's teaching has probably been his calm and relatable personality. Regardless of the topic Professor McGeary, I remember, always staying above the fray in class and bringing the group back to a grounded view of the subject. If we started to get into an excited debate. His style of respect and grace when presenting arguments and information has definitely impacted me to pursue a similar course when I interact with other people. And I'd also add that although Professor McGeary is a very knowledgeable teacher, he isn't afraid to put a humorous reference into his slides and lectures, which was always a treat for the class.

Elena: I really enjoyed and I think I benefited from the way he made sure we were thinking about different issues and historical events with full context and nuance just a reminder in his teaching that everything is complex and shouldn't be oversimplified, is such an important element that I really benefited from.

Everet: Choosing a favorite feature of uh Professor mcgary teaching is also uh kind of difficult um partially because it's um one of the unique things I think um with his teaching, I would, I would say the as we go through a class period and he draws on the board and kind of you get to the end and you have a whole whole picture of stuff we talked through and he's, he's drawing, drawing things and drawing the connections between things. And I don't know if it's that visual aspect that is helpful or just that, that part helps, helps me stay engaged or it just helps me picture things. I think visual, visual things help uh with memory. So I think that's, that's probably part of it that's helpful, because you put a picture with something more abstract, it helps you remember that abstract thing better from what I've learned of memory anyway. So that's, that's at least one of my favorite features of Professor McGeary's teaching.

Meredith: My favorite aspect of Professor McGeary's teaching was his ability to encourage class discussion. I really appreciated that about him, how he wanted us to be prepared to discuss in class, not just listen to him lecture the whole time, which his lectures were always really, really helpful and insightful, but he also wanted us to get engaged and with the source material and then come prepared to share those ideas. And I think knowing that that was going to be the expectation that like when I was in class, I was going to be expected to have to speak up. It really then made me um really enter into a conversation with the books I was reading with the ideas I was entering into this conversation with. And I, so I really appreciated that part of Professor McGeary's teaching.

Lindsey: A favorite feature of Professor McGeary's teaching that I experienced firsthand was his push for quality. I felt this most distinctly when I was preparing for my senior thesis program, he helped me narrow down my topic, look for accurate sources that were credible. And every time that I wanted to just settle or be vague in my argument, he always challenged me to think deeper, to think big questions, to push for more. And that really encouraged me as far as being strongly based in what I believe and being able to defend it well.

Judah: I would definitely recommend taking a class with Professor McGeary. He combines excellent knowledge of his subjects with a genuine care for his students. So I know that if you put in the effort, he'll help you succeed at the materials that you're studying.

Elena: I would definitely recommend taking a class with Professor McGeary, especially to anyone who wants to be challenged, while also still having support. I think those are two things that are different parts of teaching that Professor McGeary balances as well.

Meredith: I would thoroughly recommend taking a class by Professor McGeary if you ever have the chance to, I really like about his his teaching, how he's able to communicate dense ideas in a very concrete and understandable way. So it's like I always felt I was learning new material, but I wasn't being so overwhelmed that I just wanted to give up. And I really liked that about Professor McGeary's teaching. So I was able to learn a lot in his classes. I took two history courses from him and then Greek for a year with him. And so two very different subjects. But both of them, he taught with professionalism and also with kindness. He was always available to help when I had questions and eager to help. And I, that really made the learning experience I had with him very, very enjoyable and memorable.

Everet: general, he's been a great professor, great teacher, even a great mentor and friend to me in my years at, at college where he taught and was my advisor and involved in my life. So, and his teaching is great. He's very knowledgeable and also just kind and he goes to, to God and keeps the course is generally God centered starting with prayer, ending with prayer asking the one who holds all wisdom and knowledge for help in seeking it out.

Lindsey: I strongly recommend taking a class with Justin McGeary. He is an excellent teacher, very fun and engaging, very professional, very smart and intellectual. He has so many skills to offer to students. He's taught me how to write. He's taught me how to learn. He's taught me how to think and I think that everybody would benefit from just being in his presence and learning how to learn from him. He's an excellent teacher and I strongly recommend.