A look into the new campus program, “How to Avoid Falling in Love with a Jerk”
Shelby Snigar, Staff Writer
Leaders of “How to Avoid Falling in Love with a Jerk”: Jared Thomas (left) and Jamie Daughtry (right). Photo courtesy of Shelby Snigar.
Your significant other may not be the person you want to marry. For three more Tuesdays at 4:30 p.m. in the Joyful Sound Conference Room, join Jamie Daughtry and Jared Thomas at North Greenville University�s newest seminar: �How to Avoid Falling in Love with a Jerk.� These seminars are available to everyone and free to attend.
�How to Avoid Falling in Love with a Jerk,� is similar to a counseling session and a meeting, rolled up into one. Students gather together to listen to Daughtry and Thomas take turns relating facts and information about relationships and marriage. Thomas� and Daughtry�s goal is �to see that we have a generation of North Greenville students that have healthy, safe, emotional dating relationships. That our students can date successfully without setting themselves up with future hurt.�
�It�s not about us telling the students how they�re dating wrong; that�s not the intention at all,” said Thomas. “It�s to work together as a group to discover how to date better.�
The program is based off the book, �How to Avoid Falling in Love with a Jerk,� written by John Van Epp, and is used by several military organizations.
“It’s program that has been based off of about 20 to 30 years of relational research,” said Thomas. “It prepares individuals to truly evaluate a relationship before they commit at an emotional level.�
The program was started at North Greenville University by the Student Leadership Department after Thomas mentioned the idea to the department. Thomas has had previous experience with the seminars through his background in counseling. He has also lead this program several times through a Juvenile Services Program in New Orleans.
According to Thomas and Daughtry, they are planning on starting more seminars on other concerns in financial and leadership aspects.
�It�s our desire to do more of this,� said Thomas.
�This is a safe and fun place. The students that came the first week were pleasantly surprised with how relaxed and open we were,� said Thomas.
�We want this to be an open conversation,� Daughtry said. �[We want] to show them that the Student Life staff are really here and really do care about them. [We] want them to have healthy relationships.”
Whether you are in a relationship or not, Thomas and Daughtry invite all students to come participate in the seminars to develop relationships and future relationships in a healthy way.
