Leading by Serving
Timothy Buckholtz is only 13 months younger than his brother, Nolan.
“We are comparable to twins, really. Growing up, we did everything together,” says Timothy. “When he chose to go to Dordt for college, I first thought that I would want to go somewhere else, to do my own thing. But during my senior year of high school, I realized how much I appreciate him.”
Plus, Defender Football came calling. “Compared to other schools that were trying to recruit me, I could tell that the culture at Dordt was different—the coaches were genuine, and I felt welcomed,” he says. “During my campus visit, I stayed with my brother and his friends, and the quality of his friends was incredible—I wanted friends like them in my life.”
Making a difference in God’s kingdom
Scholarships and financial support also played a role in helping Timothy not only decide to attend Dordt but to set him up for future success. He is grateful for the football scholarship, Presidential Scholarship, and alumni scholarship he has received to this point.
“Hopefully I can receive more in this next year,” he says. “For my brother and me, the more scholarships we get, the less stress we have in our lives, as we’re also both working part-time with a full load of courses and football commitments. I am so grateful to those who give scholarships; it’s putting students like me in a good position to make a difference in God’s kingdom.”
An eye for business and servant leadership
Timothy has an eye for business, from his habit of keeping future business ideas in his phone to his interest in time management.
“When I was in middle school, I’d sell candy bars out of my locker,” he laughs. “During the pandemic, I made bean bag boards; in fact, at one point the boards were so popular that I had to turn business away because I was in over my head with making the boards, painting them, and all the other details.”
His favorite class in high school was personal finance: “I really like dealing with money, understanding different investments, and helping set my future self up for success.”
At Dordt he double-majors in business: entrepreneurship and business: finance.
“I’ve really enjoyed my business courses so far,” he says. “I took a course called Principles of Marketing with Dale Zevenbergen—I loved learning from him, he’s a great professor—where we read a book called The Art of Servant Leadership. That was great, as in my free time I enjoy listening to podcasts and reading devotions to learn about servant leadership and different strategies of working with others. I’m interested in learning from the example Jesus set of being a servant leader.”
Faith formation and football
Timothy has also found that his faith has grown immensely while being part of the football team. “Being from a public school background, I wasn’t used to praying after practice, but at Dordt, my coaches encourage it. They help us develop our faith, whether in meetings where they check in on us or collectively, where they ask us how we’re growing in our relationship with God.”
Timothy has been particularly impressed with Assistant Football Coach Taylor Roelofs and his insistence on faith formation: “he puts on discipleship nights, and we’re doing a Bible Recap devotional, where we read through the entire Bible in a year—he leads that every Thursday. Coach Roelofs has been an incredible leader; he wants us to get better at football, grow in our faith, and be leaders off the field.”
Time management is key
Juggling a part-time job, a full course load, and football can be tough, but Timothy makes it work.
“I don’t mind waking up early so that I can get more done in the day,” he says. “I take as many 8 a.m. classes as I can; once class is over, I work until 5:30 p.m. at the Farmers Coop Society. I get in a good chunk of hours on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.”
He says that he’d be lost without a calendar. “I’m a big schedule guy – I put everything in my calendar and try to fit everything as close I can so that I can get as much out of my day as possible.”
Building bonds
Timothy and Nolan – an agronomy major – still spend plenty of time together. Timothy likes to stop by his brother’s on-campus apartment to do some cooking or just to hang out.
“On the weekends, Nolan and I have these jam sessions, where we both play guitar, or he plays the cajon, and we sing,” he says with a smile.
The brothers have even played gigs back home in Minnesota, as well as a fundraiser for a mission trip to Belize.
“My brother is definitely someone I look up to,” says Timothy. “I think being around him makes me a better person, because he’s a great person.”
He feels similarly about many people he’s met at Dordt, too. “My professors are really genuine people who care about my classmates and me,” he says. “All my buddies that I’ve met here – nobody is fake. The culture here at Dordt is positive in so many ways, and I’m grateful for that.”
