Balancing coursework, extracurricular activities and interviews for graduate school made some of the days at college long and stressful for Lydia Pottschmidt.

The 22-year-old Seymour resident graduated from Purdue University this spring with a degree in public health and will seek her master’s degree in health administration at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

“My schedule this year was absolutely ridiculous, mostly in the fall,” she said. “Spring was a little bit better.”

On some of those long days throughout her final year at Purdue, she received a message or a gift in the mail from a member of her congregation, but she didn’t know who sent them.

Pottschmidt is a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Seymour, and the congregation’s board of fellowship and assimilation organizes a Barnabas program where church members are paired with college students for the school year to anonymously send messages and small gifts as a form of encouragement and keep them connected to home.

The name of the program derives from an early worker in the church named Barnabas.

His given name was Joseph but was later referred to as Barnabas, which is Greek for “encourager,” because of his personality, Pastor Jimmy Rodriguez said.

“He was very encouraging to the early church workers and even worked with Paul on his mission trips,” said Rodriguez, who oversees the board’s work in the program, which was developed about five years ago. “It’s something a college student appreciates.”

Twenty students participated in the program for the 2017-18 school year, and some of them recently gathered for a reveal dinner.

Pottschmidt’s Barnabas was a familiar face, Jackie Hill, who is a family friend.

“Whenever I’d get something in the mail, it would always be great just to take the time to sit aside, read the letter and digest it,” Pottschmidt said of Hill’s encouraging gifts. “It reminded me to read my Bible or do devotions more often.”

Hill said it was fun seeing Pottschmidt’s mother, Christy, throughout the school year and talking about the next thing she would send.

“It’s been interesting knowing her and knowing her mother,” Hill said. “I think when you know the student, you can tailor it around them.”

During the Lenten season, Hill sent a trash bag to fill each of the 40 days to give away.

“A lot of people give something up, but that was a way to give something back,” she said.

Pottschmidt was a little confused at first when the trash bag came in the mail.

“Then I read the letter, and it made sense and was a great idea,” she said. “I didn’t get something every day, though.”

Hill also sent Pottschimdt a cube with prayers on it that she has found useful.

“I put that on my desk, and I look at it a lot,” she said.

But the notes were the most special, she said, because she felt the caring heart behind them. Each one included an inspirational religious quote or Bible verse.

“It was great to know someone was thinking of me and encouraging me,” Pottschmidt said.

This is the third year Hill has participated in the program. She said it completes the congregation’s goal of connecting youth back home.

“I think it’s a way to witness and connect with our youth in our congregation,” she said. “I think it’s important to let them know that someone back home is thinking about them.”

She also remembers when she went to college and the feeling of getting something from home.

“I remember back in my college days when I would go to the mailbox and get something, even if it’s just a little something, and how uplifting that was,” she said. “I know my kids felt the same way.”

Rodriguez agreed and said it can help encourage students to continue to go to church throughout the school year.

“What often happens in college, you don’t have mom and dad around to keep them going to church,” he said. “I think this helps keep them connected to church and going on campus or when they’re back home.”

Pottschmidt said she attended University Lutheran Church or streamed the church’s service online when she wasn’t home.

She participated in the program through her four years at Purdue. She said not knowing who sends the gifts and messages makes it intriguing.

“I really liked not knowing because you don’t have a perception of who’s sending you things and you can’t predict what they will send,” she said. “Everything that you get is out of the blue.”

Rodriguez said that’s his favorite part of the program, too.

“The thing I’ve enjoyed seeing the most is to meet each other when the student didn’t know who was sending them things throughout the year,” he said. “There have been great connections made throughout the years.”