Faith, Learning, and Leadership – PBA’s Student Body President Highlights the Impact of Christian Higher Education

Located a block from the intracoastal, a mile from the beach, and in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach is Palm Beach Atlantic University (PBA), a thriving, private Christian university in South Florida that is growing. This past fall the University celebrated its third consecutive year of welcoming the largest incoming class in its 56-year history. Now more than ever, students are longing for Christ-centered, whole-person education, and the rise in enrollment reflects that. October is Christian Higher Education Month, and PBA's student body president, Oliva Barta, shared about her experience at PBA.

"My name is Olivia Barta, and I am a junior honors student at Palm Beach Atlantic University (PBA). I am studying business management with a concentration in entrepreneurship and small business, and I am minoring in French. I am originally from Canton, Ohio, but now I live in Ocala, Florida. When it came to looking at colleges, I always planned on going to a Christian college. I grew up in small, private schools and attended a religious high school, so gravitating to a school like PBA was natural. I planned on moving to Florida after high school, so I began searching for small, Christian colleges in the area. That is how I discovered PBA.

I set up a tour and immediately fell in love with the campus and the people. After being at PBA for my first year, I became friends and had class with the student body vice president at the time. From our time together in class, he got to know me and suggested that I apply to be on the executive team for student government. I fell in love with this idea because I was a part of student government in middle school, and I was the president of my class in high school. Not only that, but I wanted to find a way to better serve my student body. I embraced the opportunity, and in my sophomore year, I served as the executive chair of events. At the end of that year, some team members approached me to run for student body president. I prayed over this decision a lot and truly felt God calling me to serve. So, I decided to run and by the grace of God, I am now the student body president for the 2024-25 school year.

Considering all this, I've loved my college experience at PBA. A Christian higher education has dramatically impacted my life and experience here. Having faculty and staff with Christ at the center of everything they do, and having Christ at the center of our campus is truly unique. I've learned so much at PBA and having an education where our faith is woven throughout what we know, especially in my honors classes, is so fulfilling and rewarding to me.

I am thrilled to serve the student body and excited to see what the Lord has in store for students here at PBA in the coming years.

God Bless!

Olivia"