Building bridges: Grant Hause’s journey of leadership and activism at Bethel College
Senior Grant Hause reflects on his role at Bethel College and shares his experience of using his voice to bring about activism on campus.
While many students come to college focused solely on academics, some go above and beyond to make a lasting impact on their community. Grant Hause, a senior from Seminole, Okla., is one of those students.
“I originally came to Bethel to play football, but ended up having my career cut short due to having 4 total knee surgeries by my junior year,” explained Hause. He played as a defensive end for three years before transitioning into a coaching role for the defensive line his senior year.
Academically, Hause is a psychology major with plans to pursue a master’s degree in sport psychology. “I’d like to be a mental performance specialist and be able to work with people in similar positions to what I’ve experienced in my time here regarding injuries and hardships,” said Hause.
Beyond the classroom and the field, Hause has also invested in campus activism. “Over the course of my time here at Bethel I’ve also been involved in general campus activism, without being in any specific club or organization behind my involvement but more so due to my own passion,” shared Hause. “This year, that’s been allowed to change, and I am now a student fellow for the Office of Culture and Belonging which has allowed me to expand my impact on campus and my activism as a result.”
He emphasized the office’s mission to foster representation and belonging, saying, “The Office of Culture and Belonging, to me, symbolizes Bethel’s greater, and often unacknowledged, attempts to create an environment on campus where students feel equitably considered, respected, and represented when, and how, they want based on their own voices, and the voices of the community at large.”
“The Office of Culture and Belonging, to me, symbolizes Bethel’s greater, and often unacknowledged, attempts to create an environment on campus where students feel equitably considered, respected, and represented when, and how, they want based on their own voices, and the voices of the community at large.”
Grant Hause
He went on to share, “We are an office that is focused on building bridges and not walls within the body of the Bethel Community on campus and within administration, but also building those relationships with the organizations which surround us for the greater good of student welfare objectively.”
Hause’s involvement as a fellow began when Sheryl Wilson, vice president of the Office of Culture and Belonging, recognized his commitment to campus activism. “The opportunity to serve the Bethel community through this office is one that was extended to me by Sheryl Wilson due to my own agency in involving myself with activism on campus, and I could not be more appreciative,” said Hause. “I feel that this opportunity was given to me, it was placed in front of me by the Lord in order to make a great impact, and a positive one; I plan to take full advantage of that chance.”
Wilson first met Hause in her Seminar on Diversity course. “He excelled in my class, he had a curiosity about him, in terms of the different things he would be learning about different people, different cultures, how we approach conversations of difference,” Wilson said. “I felt like he really took it to heart, he impressed me in the sense that he had a maturity beyond his years.”
Wilson highlighted Hause’s continued engagement and personal development, emphasizing the value he brings to the office, saying, “I feel like what he brings to this office is really what I want in a student who has done the work on himself, on themselves, to figure out some of the ways they understand culture and this Bethel experience whatever it means to a person.”
She also highlighted his leadership. “I’m impressed with the ways he is always thinking about different ways we will have conversations about what we hope this office will be and he’s already ten steps ahead – always thinking about it, writing about it, [and] offering ideas,” said Wilson. “Grant leads with his example, I believe he is someone that wouldn’t ask someone to do what he hasn’t already done.”
Looking ahead, Hause hopes students feel seen and supported through the Office of Culture and Belonging. “I want students to feel that the office is an organization on campus which supports them fully, equitably, reasonably, and honestly, without them having to fight for those things to be extended to them,” he said. “I want students to feel like they should be involved with Culture and Belonging, and like Culture and Belonging wants to and is involved with them and their lives and well beings here on campus.”
He also wants to encourage others to speak up and take action. “I want to leave an impact of inspiration towards agency on Bethel’s campus when I leave this place,” said Hause. “It’s so often seen as taboo to publicly hold strong feelings towards certain matters, to advocate for what you believe, or to speak your mind.”
“The only statement that I have to leave Bethel’s campus with before I leave is this: Do not go gently into a cage of conformity, and do not live in fear of the ramifications of your courage, nor your conversations; we must build bridges through our language, not walls.”
Grant Hause
As he reflected on the legacy he hopes to leave, Hause offered a final message to the Bethel community — a call to courage, authenticity, and connection. “The only statement that I have to leave Bethel’s campus with before I leave is this: Do not go gently into a cage of conformity, and do not live in fear of the ramifications of your courage, nor your conversations; we must build bridges through our language, not walls.”