Martin Luther King Jr. was greatly influenced by his time as a young seminary student at Crozer Theological Seminary near Chester, but his first year there was tough, writes Noah Zucker for Philly Voice.

King enrolled at Crozer after graduating Morehouse College in 1948 so he could follow in his father’s footsteps as a minister.

King liked Crozer’s liberal leanings but was just one of 11 Black students on campus when he started,

King was uncomfortable and self-conscious at first. He described himself as “grimly serious” during his first semester, earning mostly B’s and C’s.

As time went on, though, he formed strong relationships with his fellow students and with the professors. When he graduated in 1951, he was earning mostly A’s and received the title of valedictorian.

King grew committed to the social gospel at Crozer, which addresses societal ills through preaching. Crozer also introduced him to pacifism and it was there that he formed his beliefs about generating social change with nonviolent activism.

Crozer closed in 1970, merging with Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Upstate New York. Its former campus is now part of the Crozer-Chester Medical Center.

Read more at Philly Voice about Crozer Seminary’s critical influence over Martin Luther King Jr.