Students mingle in the hall, chatting between classes. On one side a group of friends who have known each other since Kindergarten approach a student who has only been on campus for a few months.

The range of campus attendance varies from first year students through students who have been attending for 13 years. Other students have come and gone, attending for a few years and leaving, although many return.

Senior Micah Walker left campus during his freshmen year to attend Buchanan High School and decided to return after a single semester’s hiatus.

“I chose to come back to Fresno Christian because I missed the friendships that I had gained while I was here,” Walker said. “I’ve met a lot of great people at FC and I have gotten to build awesome friendships with them.”

While Walker chose to return, others were reluctant to reenter the small-school atmosphere.

“I was pretty much forced to come back,” Lindsey Brush, ’06, said. “But now I’m glad that I’m back because there’s not nearly as much peer pressure here. I chose a Christian education because I wanted to get closer to God.”

Unlike Brush, senior Kyle Gentz has been on campus since his kindergarten year.

“My mom and dad both had bad experiences when they were in high school,” Gentz said. “They just wanted to protect me from that. I guess they felt that the best way to do that was to send my sister and I to a private Christian school. Since being here I have gained so much knowledge of the Bible, and I have become incredibly comfortable in my faith. Also, I know my friendships will last a lifetime.”

Gentz and Brush agree that quality friendships can be rewarding.

“I have gained better friends since I’ve been at this school,” Brush said. “I feel like I can hang out with my friends on the weekend and know that they’re not going to get me into trouble.

Compared to some students’ public school experiences, campus homework can seem more challenging.

“The classes here are much harder; in my math class at Buchanan I just did the same stuff I did in eighth grade,” Walker said. “In my other classes we just sat around and talked; we did nothing. The teachers just pretended to give us something to do.”

However, Walker says there is something to be learned from attending public schools.

“If I could change something about FCS I would make our schedules into block schedules,” Walker said. “I feel that more could be accomplished and it would be easier for both the teachers and the students.