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N icholas Koebert

From: Suwanee, Georgia

Major: Music, violin performance

Why Georgia College & State University: I was introduced to GCSU through my high school violin teacher, Julie Rosseter-Sweeney, who also happens to be the violist of Georgia College’s quartet in residence, the Kazanetti String Quartet.

Why this major: When deciding what major I should pursue in college, I could not find anything else that I wanted to devote these four years to besides music.

What keeps him going: As a musician, there are special times I experience alone with the Lord—when a spontaneous chorus will arise when playing piano or guitar. These moments make me incredibly grateful to be trained as a musician.

Activities: During my freshman year, I was quickly introduced to a Christian ministry at Georgia College, called House Church. Throughout my entire college career, I found that most of my time outside of classes was spent serving people, leading worship and sometimes even teaching within House Church. I found some lifelong friends at House Church.

Community Service: I participated in serving local churches during holidays that commissioned me to participate in holiday orchestras. I also taught violin at Putnam Elementary School in Eatonton. The biggest thing I took from my time teaching there was how the students repeatedly made showing up worth it. My heart for elementary school students grew a lot during my time in Putnam County because of this.

Favorite Professor: My favorite professor at Georgia College is Dr. Bryan Hall. Dr. Hall has championed me as a musician and as a person who will succeed in whatever area I’m growing in. Dr. Hall has been incredibly patient with me during this time. I was able to perform a movement from a Mozart Concerto with the Boise Baroque Orchestra in Idaho this past summer. Without Dr. Hall, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to perform with a professional orchestra.

Biggest lesson learned: The biggest lesson for me was conquering the fear of man. Performing in front of hundreds of pairs of eyes is no simple endeavor. I have performed what seems like more times than I can remember. Here at Georgia College, I learned to conquer fear with faith and courage.

Greatest Challenge: The greatest challenge for me in getting my music degree was envisioning myself continuing violin performance in a classical capacity post-college. Though I’ve made incredible strides as a musician and person, I have chosen to pursue a career in cross-cultural ministry after I graduate through an international Christian missions organization called Youth With A Mission (YWAM).

How he’s changed during four years of college: I don’t think anyone can go through college without experiencing some level of change. For me, I changed in regard to priorities and what means most to me. I quickly realized that living for anyone or anything else but for Jesus Christ will always be a failed pursuit. As I surrender every aspect of my life to Jesus, I realize that there is nothing else in life that will fill you the way he does.

Key to success: The key to success in college is simply a relationship with Jesus. As I look back on these past four years, I can see God’s hand through it all. Without Jesus, fear would have remained unconquered.

Advice for first-year students: One piece of advice I would give any student is that when rejection comes your way, not to identify with it but rather know that there is a God who loves you, will never reject you, and nothing can separate you from his love.

Future plans: Come September 2023, I’ll be pursuing a career in cross-cultural missions through the global organization YWAM. I have no doubt my musicianship will follow me wherever I go. But my life has been captivated by two things: knowing God and making God known. I have found that there is no greater pursuit in life than to seek these two things.

How Georgia College helped: Georgia College has helped me explore different career possibilities, eliminating some and highlighting others, which helped me narrow it down to pursuing a lifestyle of cross-cultural missions.