Student Spotlight: Corey “CP” Pritchett

Corey Pritchett, better known as CP, considers everything in his life to be preparation for
God’s plan for him, a plan that would eventually bring him to Kuyper College.

“I believe that everything happens for a reason,” he said. “The things I’ve been through have been difficult, but I’ve gained a lot from them.”

CP grew up in Saginaw as one of 13 children. He described his formative years as tumultuous and often painful, with he and his siblings sometimes separated by foster care and an older brother lost to gun violence.

After meeting his father at the age of 6, he gained a steady, supportive influence in his life. It was his father, he says, who passed along his Christian faith.

“He’s the reason I started going to church, and he really did a lot for me,” he recalled.

After graduating from Saginaw High School in 2016, CP spent a year at Grand Rapids Community College before returning to Saginaw to study social work at Delta College.

A year into his studies at Delta, however, CP’s mother was sent to prison, and he stepped away to raise two of his younger brothers.

“I had custody of them for two years, just trying to do my best the way my dad did for me,” he said.

Despite the challenges he faced, he never gave up on his career dreams. While caring for his brothers, he took a job in home health care, which he chose for its similarities to social work.

“I really did notice that was a way of being a social worker,” he noted. “You need many of the same characteristics to thrive in both environments.”

After his mother served her sentence, CP began considering returning to college.

“I had to start thinking about myself again and what I would like to do with my life,” he said.

And here his father’s influence once again steered the course of his life in a positive direction.

“My dad graduated from a Christian college too, and he told me Kuyper would be a good place for me,” CP recalled.

He was also intrigued by Kuyper’s holistic approach to education and the possibility of gaining advanced standing in a social work master’s degree program after graduation, and he decided to enroll last fall.

So far, CP says that one of his favorite things about Kuyper is the supportive atmosphere on campus.

“I’ve gotten a lot of encouragement and support that I wouldn’t have gotten if I wasn’t here,” he said.

He also plays basketball for Kuyper’s men’s developmental team, another part of life at the College that he thoroughly enjoys. 

“Basketball is something I’ve always loved to do. It’s always been an escape for me,” he said. “I never really thought I’d get another opportunity to play again, so it’s been fun.”

After graduation next year, CP hopes to work in mental healthcare, though he is quick to add that he is open to any direction God’s plan might take him.

“That’s where I’m headed right now, but I’m just going to let time take care of whatever God has planned for me,” he said.