Biola University’s English professors Paul Buchanan and Paula Miller collaborated to produce two college devotionals within the past two years — Student to Student and Campus Voices. The co-editors hope the devotionals can be an encouragement to students during their college journey. Campus Voices, the more recent of the two, was published in April 2009 and focuses on different voices from experiences students face in college.

Campus Voices features 60 student essays from individuals attending a wide range of schools from private Christian universities such as Azusa Pacific University to University of Southern California and Miami University. Eleven Biola students or recent graduates have essays in Campus Voices.

Student to Student was published in April of 2008 and similarly features 60 student essays from a range of universities including some Ivy League schools such as Harvard and Dartmouth. Thirteen of the essays were written by Biola students, now graduates.

Buchanan and Miller hope the two devotionals will be an encouragement to students by offering them practical advice, spiritual insight and a sense that many students face similar struggles.

“For the lonely, suffering, or fearful student, these books can let them know that they are not alone in their struggles,” said Miller. “Other students have also struggled, but survived and maybe even triumphed over collegiate adversity.”

Campus Voices is organized by themes such as Voices of Experience and Insight, Voices of Faith and Doubt, Voices of Forgiveness and Encouragement, Voices of Identity and Personality, Voices of Love and Friendship, Voices of Suffering and Hope, and Voices of Growth and Decision. Some essays have companion articles like how to avoid student loan debt or how to survive an academically difficult class or professor, while others feature a journal prompt, where the student can respond in writing to the essay theme or related scripture.

Student to Student is organized seasonally allowing students to read through the essays as they go through the academic year with seasonal essays about Thanksgiving, Christmas, and so forth. There are also scripture readings included for five days of the week and additional companion articles featuring topics such as how to solve roommate conflicts or how to get your professors to like you.

The two devotionals are both available for purchase on amazon.com and make great gifts for high school graduates entering their first year of college or any current college student, according to Miller.

Paula Miller, MA, teaches composition and literature at Biola University. As a freelance writer, she has published a number of literary articles for high school and college students in works such as Masterplots, Critical Survey of Short Fiction and The Dictionary of Literary Biography.

Paul Buchanan, MFA, is an associate professor of English at Biola University who teaches creative writing and advanced composition. He holds graduate degrees from the University of California and the University of Southern California, and has published 20 juvenile and young adult novels, including 10 titles in The Misadventures of Willie Plummet series and five titles in the Heebie Jeebies series.

Learn more about Biola University’s English department.

Written by Jenna Bartlo, Media Relations Coordinator. Jenna can be reached at (562) 777-4061 or through email at jenna.l.bartlo@biola.edu.