The waves of knowledge gained during the spring semester at Geauga Academy in March of 1848 forever drowned any thoughts Garfield might have had for a life on the high seas. Garfield, as he mother had predicted, loved his time at the academy and following the spring semester enrolled for classes in the fall. His problem now, once again, was one of finances. During the fall semester Garfield moved in with a family which charged him one dollar and six and a quarter cents a week for room and board. In order to pay for this and other expenses Garfield worked as a part time carpenter.During the winter Garfield acquired a license to teach and taught through the winter term to make money to return to school.

At the end of the term Garfield went to a Disciples meeting and found his eyes opened to the faith that his parents had found years earlier. Garfield was deeply touched and on March 4, 1850 James A. Garfield committed his life to Jesus Christ and was baptized in the icy waters of the Chagrin River. His conversion to the Disciples of Christ created a chasm between Garfield and the Geauga Academy, which was run by Baptists. He soon left the Academy and worked odd jobs as a carpenter and a teacher in order to earn enough money to enroll in another school.

In 1851 James Garfield enrolled in the newly formed Western Reserve Eclectic Institute in Portage County, Ohio. The school was made up of children of other fellow Disciples and was run by Amos Sutton Hayden. Here Garfield flourished and he discovered that he was a natural orator and had a gift for debate. Both of these qualities would later earn him the respect of his political peers.

By 1853 Garfield found another use for his oratory skills. True to his faith he began preaching at local churches around the school earning a gold dollar per sermon. Garfield continued with his schooling and church work, but by 1854 Garfield had nearly exhausted the resources for learning at the Eclectic Institute and was by then teaching full time for $300 dollars a year. It was during this time that he first began to show an interest in Lucretia Rudolph, one of his students.

Garfield, wanting to further his education, decided to leave the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute and head to Williamstown, Massachusetts where he would attend Williams College. He decided on Williams because the Calvinist atmosphere would give him a far different perspective on life from his Campbellite Disciple background which he had been surrounded by for most of his life.