Bennett Minchen transferred to Geneva College in January 2017 to pursue his Master of Arts in Counseling degree in Clinical Mental Health. Once he got to Geneva his passion was ignited, and he knew that he was exactly where he was meant to be. He has found that “counseling is not just a job, or something I do to put food on the table, it is a passion, it is a calling, it is a purpose for my life, and I have Geneva to thank for all of that.” He has followed the Lord’s call and he is fulfilled and delighted with where that call has taken him
Bennett originally considered a career as a pastor, enrolling in Asbury Theological Seminary. He knew that he wanted to pursue a career where he could do work for the Lord, but as he worked on his Master of Divinity, he realized that the Lord was calling him to a different career path. He felt the Lord calling him to the work of counseling, so he tried Asbury’s counseling program but realized he did not want to stay in Kentucky. He began to look into schools in Pennsylvania, and he thought Geneva would be a good fit. As he speaks about his Geneva experience he says, it was “absolutely excellent from the day I got here.”
Throughout his Geneva experience, Bennett felt that he was provided with exceptional support that has continued even after he graduated. Several faculty and staff members were very influential during his time at Geneva, including Amy Solman, Dr. Jonathan Impellizzeri, and Dr. James Matta, who was his academic advisor at the time. He found that whenever he had a question there was always an answer and he had people working on his behalf to enable him to thrive in this program. He says, “I felt the love of people and the love of Christ. I felt this through the entirety of my studies and after.”
He also notes that the program structure was very conducive to having a full-time job, allowing him to thrive in his career while also thriving in this program. The Geneva staff went above and beyond to provide support helping him feel “encouraged to follow the fire that God put in my heart and to pursue excellence.”
When Bennett thinks back to his time at Geneva, there was one teaching that especially stood out to him. Dr. Matta boiled counseling down to one phrase, which he believes is the bedrock of what therapists do: “Counseling is the instillment of hope.” Bennett remembers this teaching and it has kept him grounded and given him purpose in his work. In all that he does, he believes that if he can help someone to find hope, he have been successful. This idea is another way in which the Geneva education is integrated with the gospel because the Bible is a message of hope. Bennett’s mission to instill hope is the foundation for his work, but his mission is founded in the gospel.
Unsurprisingly, when Bennett was asked what makes Geneva different he said, “The answer is absolutely the Christian atmosphere. This college and this program are focused on Christ. So, I would say that if someone is looking at this program and another counseling program and they are thinking to themselves, ‘I love counseling but I want to do it through a Christian lens. I want to counsel to the glory of God….’ If you are looking to do that, Geneva is the place for you.”
After graduating from the program in May 2018, Bennett went on to work with Pressley Ridge for a year, in Beaver Falls and Pittsburgh. After that opportunity, he moved on to work in drug and alcohol counseling with Pyramid Healthcare for a year and a half. His current position is with Masimo, a medical device company. He works as a National Clinical Trainer for a device called The Bridge Device. This device helps fentanyl addicts enter detox. In this role, he travels to medical facilities, teaching doctors and nurses about the device, when it should be used, and how it fits into the larger recovery journey.
While he is very happy with his work at Massimo, Bennett also has hopes of starting his own practice in the future. While at Geneva, he worked with Geneva’s counseling services, and he realized that he loves working with college-aged young adults. Since his wife is also a counselor, he hopes that they can start a practice together, where they can provide marriage counseling together and individual counseling. He hopes that within the next ten years, he will see God provide a way for this dream to become a reality.
-Mattigan Burleigh '24
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