[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/alumnus-gifford-finds-friends-mentors-faulkner\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/alumnus-gifford-finds-friends-mentors-faulkner\/","headline":"Alumnus Gifford, finds friends, mentors at Faulkner","name":"Alumnus Gifford, finds friends, mentors at Faulkner","description":"Andrew \u201cGif\u201d Gifford\u00a0never realized how Faulkner University would change his life when he decided to pursue his undergraduate there. He spent four years pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical languages, graduated in 2014 and obtained his Master\u2019s degree in…","datePublished":"2018-03-30","dateModified":"2026-02-17","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/author\/rburylo\/#Person","name":"Rebecca Burylo","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/author\/rburylo\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/37a0c97fbd1eda89e38697defcaf0573?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/37a0c97fbd1eda89e38697defcaf0573?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Faulkner University","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Official-Horizontal-480x128.png","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Official-Horizontal-480x128.png","width":480,"height":128}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Gifford-Andrew.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Gifford-Andrew.jpg","height":"282","width":"300"},"url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/alumnus-gifford-finds-friends-mentors-faulkner\/","about":["Alumni","Biblical Studies","Graduate","News","Undergraduate"],"wordCount":258,"articleBody":"Andrew \u201cGif\u201d Gifford\u00a0never realized how Faulkner University would change his life when he decided to pursue his undergraduate there.He spent four years pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical languages, graduated in 2014 and obtained his Master\u2019s degree in Biblical languages in 2016.During that time, he grew to know his professors as mentors and friends.\u201cSome of my favorite moments were the times spent with classmates gathered around a professor\u2019s car after class for several hours learning more about education and life principles than we ever could in a classroom,\u201d he said.He currently works in the Admissions department for Faulkner and is grateful for finding employment in such a Christ-centered environment, he said.\u201cI distinctly remember the first admissions staff meeting we had after I started working began with prayer requests,\u201d Gif said. \u201cThat stuck out to me because I could have been at any other job right after college and experience something totally different, whereas here, starting with a prayer is commonplace.\u201cOur school is an incredibly valuable tool both for learning and for faith-building. I\u2019d love to see more students enroll in a graduate program, but even if they don\u2019t I want them to know and see that Faulkner is worth the time and the effort that we all put in to be here.\u201dGif would like to eventually teach at the college level. He enjoys music, reading and competitive dog grooming.Andrew Kingsley, second from the right, spoke with several other graduates during Faulkner University’s Marketplace Faith Forums."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Alumnus Gifford, finds friends, mentors at Faulkner","item":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/alumnus-gifford-finds-friends-mentors-faulkner\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]