Annabeth Elston, class of 2025
In the Fall of 2021, I was asked to be the keynote speaker at the Fall Retreat of the Christian Campus House at Ball State. I spoke on Christianity and the arts. Annabeth was a freshmen at that retreat.
The daughter of a visual artist and a musical theater major, Annabeth was so excited to find an institution that took seriously the relationship between Christian faith and the arts! She instantly got involved with Alcuin Study Center and has been frequent flyer throughout her college career.
Her sophomore year, Annabeth made an interpretive dance video that she wanted to share with her colleagues in the theater department. The video was called Eve and we showed it at Alcuin Study Center. Afterwards, her theater friends—about 20 of them showed up for the event—gave their interpretations of the dance and then asked Annabeth what she was thinking as she made it. Annabeth shared the gospel of Jesus Christ in perhaps the most bold yet winsome way I’ve ever heard from a student. Her theater friends—most of whom were definitely not Christians—hugged her afterwards and told her how courageous it was for her to share this with them.
Recently, before she graduated, we hosted a reprise of the same video. A different audience showed up, but one student in particular—a creative writing major who had never been to ASC and who declared upon entering “I am not a Christian”—engaged deeply in the discussion afterwards. It was beautiful.
I am both saddened and thrilled to report that Annabeth graduated last Saturday.
In Her Own Words
When I asked Annabeth to describe her time at Alcuin Study Center, this is how she responded:
“I have had such a wonderful experience with Alcuin Study Center during my time at Ball State. I have never interacted with a ministry like this before. Alcuin provides a space for people to thoughtfully learn about the bible, literature, art, and what it means to be fully human. It became a place where I could engage the Lord with my mind, and a place where I learned that God puts purpose into all aspects of creation; he is not indifferent to life’s “secular” things.
When I came to Ball State, God knew exactly what I needed. He has provided spaces for me to worship, spaces for me to fellowship, and through Alcuin, he provided a place to learn. I think there is a misconception that Bible education will kill Bible passion. To the contrary, I found that the Biblical literacy classes have enriched my love for scripture. I wish I could have dragged more friends with me to these classes!! We read Creation Regained: Biblical Basis for a Reformational Worldview by Albert M. Wolters, and I took it home and told my people all about it. It’s about how the whole of creation is the Lord’s, not just the “spiritual” things. The Lord cares about the proper functioning of government, the home, businesses, nature, education, art, relationships, and all aspects of reality. His scope is bigger than we think. His scope is bigger than just the church. He is not just the God of eternity and the spiritual realm, he is also the God who created and sustains the natural order of things in this present world. He cares for this present world. He wants to redeem it. Learning to think in these frameworks has enlarged my faith tremendously.
I kept coming back because Dan and others expressed such an appreciation for Christian artists. As someone getting a degree in the arts, it’s so important for me to connect with believers who also see purpose in art. This led to collaborating with Alcuin for a watch party and Q&A for my dance film, Eve, which I created with Josh Martin. We had fruitful conversation that pointed to the gospel, and I was so grateful for Christians who affirmed my pursuit of gospel-centered art.
In short, Alcuin Study Center is a really special place. It encourages thoughtful conversation, introduces tough questions, celebrates intelligent art, provides Bible education, and explores the question of what it means to be fully human. This place is great for atheists too, honestly! Come with your tough questions and all your bones to pick with Christianity and you will be satisfied with respectful, educated, interesting conversation! I am grateful to God that I became connected here, and I cannot wait to see what the Lord does with the years to come.”
Yes, that’s Annabeth on Ball State’s “We Fly” campaign banner. Much like the street sign below her, she is not stopping anytime soon!
You can watch Annabeth’s senior capstone project here:
We are grateful for you, Annabeth! And we are excited to see what the next chapter holds for you!
Thank you for reading.
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In Christ, in Whom all things hold together,
Dan Daugherty, Executive Director
