Student Learns to Communicate for God

Devin Grady

“Southwestern has shown me how much God can change my life.” For sophomore Devin Grady, change means letting God put you on the path He has planned for you.

Devin Grady had to travel a lot growing up, while his father worked as the On the Road Film Director for 3ABN. “We got tired of just sitting around, so we bought a fifth wheel and traveled around with my father for about two years, going to 48 states in 18 months.” Following that, the Gradys moved to Santa Cruz, Bolivia for two years as volunteer missionaries. Today their home is Keene, Texas, where Devin’s mom works at Southwestern Adventist University, and his dad is the studio director for Seminars Unlimited.

Originally intending to go another Christian college for their film program, Devin decided in his high school junior year that he wanted to go to Southwestern. Soon, according to Devin, he began to realize that film might not be all that he was supposed to be involved in.

“Later my junior year, I discovered God had given me a talent for preaching,” he says. “The communication program at Southwestern is small, but sometimes bigger isn’t better. And the religion department here is fantastic.” In addition, Devin was attracted by Southwestern’s reputation for a strong, more pervasive atmosphere.

Finally, Devin can’t say enough about Southwestern’s social life and Southwestern’s reputation for being a friendly campus. “Jumping into college for me was a breeze,” he says. “The school may be small, but I love the teacher/student ratio. It’s so personal. I can sit down with any teacher on campus and just talk about school, life, and they listen and they know who you are. Having an opportunity like that makes education so much more applicable because you can learn not just in the classroom, but just by chatting with the teachers as well.”

Devin points to Chaplain Islem Mattey as a great inspiration for him. “She teaches me so much about getting the most out of a worship experience and just about enjoying life in general.” Other mentors include Dr. Bob Mendenhall, chair of the communication department, who Devin says taught him much about the theoretical side of communication while film instructor Stew Harty taught him the practical side. In addition, he points out Math Professor Paulos Berhane as instrumental in helping him learn a topic he has felt he was always “horrible” at. “When it comes down to learning and getting an education well worth the money, he’s it.”

Devin was the recipient of the Sheree Parris Nudd Scholarship for communication students for the 2011-2012 school year.
Devin started college with the intent of “producing films and being the greatest visual director ever,” he says. “But Southwestern showed me that that’s not all that was in store for me. I was running away from becoming a pastor. I told God that it wasn’t for me and that I already had my life set. But he opened my eyes and said, ‘Here, this is what you were meant to do.’ I told God that if He wanted me to be a pastor, He had better slap that opportunity across my face. And He did.”

Now a sophomore radio-TV-film major with a religion minor, Devin says he plans on helping to communicate the gospel to the world. He has already received an offer to serve as youth pastor at summer camp next year. “But I want to keep producing content that has a spiritual backbone,” he says. “I want to create short films that have inspiring messages and I really have a strong passion in both fields, which I think will be a great combination.”

Share this: