Daniel Molenaar came to Kuyper College to be equipped for a life of service.
“I already had a degree in film, but I wanted something more,” he said.
Molenaar is one of the international students who call the Kuyper College campus home year-round.
Born in the Netherlands, he initially came to the United States as a child, when his father enrolled as a ministry student at Kuyper in 2000.
In 2009, however, Molenaar’s family was forced to make an abrupt return to the Netherlands when his father was unable to renew his work visa. “I was 10, so I was old enough to be aware of what was going on. It was hard,” he said.
Although he grew up in a pastor’s family, Molenaar didn’t claim the Christian faith for himself until he was an adult. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he began using his knowledge of film to help his church livestream its services online.
“Connecting with God and serving others in that way really helped me come to my own faith. I made my public confession of faith there in 2020 when I was 21,” he recalled.
Molenaar chose Kuyper to deepen this newfound faith while building his academic skills. “Most of the universities back home are secular, and I was looking for a faith-based college that would better prepare me to help others,” he said.
Kuyper is proving to be the ideal place to gain the knowledge he needs to follow God’s call on his life. “I want to work with kids who have autism, either in a non-profit or by starting my own business. My Business Leadership classes are really going to help with that,” he said.
In addition to his academic studies, Molenaar is building workplace skills through his KuyperWorks job.
He serves on the facilities team year-round, caring for the campus behind the scenes.
“During the school year, my wages go directly toward the cost of my tuition. Kuyper is a great place for international students because that helps make it affordable for us,” he said.
Molenaar is grateful for the ways he has grown since coming to Kuyper.
“Living with others on campus has helped me with social anxiety and communication. I’ve made friends that I consider family for the first time,” he said.
