Iryna Shturba
Degree: Master of Arts
Major: Clinical Counseling
Hometown: Zhytomyr, Ukraine
What would you like to do after graduation from CIU? I would like to use my training in helping other people towards healing and growth through counseling, teaching and leadership.
What has been your favorite class and why? That's a hard question, because I had so many good ones! The first one that comes to mind is Marriage Counseling with Dr. Wagner. That class had more theology in it than any other class I took at CIU. It gave me a very strong sense of God's amazing design and His use of pain and struggles to grow us and be a witness to His love to the rest of the world in the process. Marriage Counseling was also a very practical class that gave me great tools to use in helping people, as well as clear and fresh ways to conceptualize common themes of life.
Why did you choose Columbia International University? I truly believe that the Lord has hand-picked this school for me and brought me here by His sovereign design. For me, it wasn't really weighing of pros and cons and comparing it with other schools (although that element was present too), but more of having confidence and peace that God was leading me here and that's all that mattered.
What do you like best about CIU? An amazing community of staff and students! A big part of my growth and learning here was forming relationships with others, walking through life together, leaning on each other, and being united with the common passion of pursuing God and living for His glory.