{"id":4218,"date":"2014-07-22T14:29:05","date_gmt":"2014-07-22T14:29:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/?p=4218"},"modified":"2023-01-24T21:51:04","modified_gmt":"2023-01-24T21:51:04","slug":"faithful-relevant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/2014\/07\/22\/faithful-relevant\/","title":{"rendered":"Faithful and relevant"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"FaithfulWith careers in accounting, education, military service, and pastoral ministry, six recent Augsburg alumni are finding that their undergraduate experiences studying vocation and interfaith leadership are paying off well beyond their\u00a0college years.<\/p>\n

These Auggies participated in the Christensen Scholars and Interfaith Scholars programs at Augsburg\u2014programs that provide scholarships for students to take upper-level religion courses that thrust them deep into topics of faith, religious diversity, service, theology, and vocation.<\/p>\n

Meeting on weeknight evenings throughout the academic year, students engaged with these topics\u2014and each other\u2014through focused discussion, inquiry, service-learning, and reflection. The number of scholarships available each year is limited, so getting into the program is a competitive process, involving writing an essay and obtaining a recommendation from an Augsburg College faculty or staff member. Students accepted to the programs earn four religion credits and a $2,000 scholarship for the year. But, according to some of the early alumni from the programs, the value of the experience extends well beyond course credit and financial support.<\/span><\/p>\n

Grappling with vocation<\/h2>\n

One of the aspects that Auggies in the Christensen Scholars and Interfaith Scholars programs valued most about the experience was the dedicated time to learn and to grapple together with difficult topics and questions.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving that regular, dedicated time for discussion helped us to better articulate our gifts, strengths, and passions,\u201d said Emily Wiles \u201910, a youth and family ministry major who this spring earned a Master of Divinity from Luther Seminary. \u201cWe pushed each other to articulate our positions, which helped me really connect with what I think and who I am,\u201d she said. As a result, \u201cthings that I might have otherwise taken for granted, I came to \u2018own\u2019 as my gifts.\u201d In having to express and explain your perspectives, Wiles said, \u201cyou really get to know yourself better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also beneficial, according to several alumni, was the opportunity to reflect on the full meaning of vocation. \u201cMy generation is going to have 15 different jobs or careers in our lifetimes,\u201d said Cody Tresselt-Warren \u201909, who majored in accounting and religion at Augsburg and today is a tax accountant at Wells Fargo & Company.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think, when you\u2019re in college, that once you graduate and get a job, you\u2019re set,\u201d he said. But there are so many other important layers\u2014from family obligations to the needs of the wider world\u2014that, \u201cyou have to interpret your calling from a number of perspectives. It\u2019s a dynamic, evolving journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sylvia Bull \u201910 agreed, noting that, especially in the U.S.\u2014a generally career-oriented culture\u2014it is important to expand the view of vocation beyond just a job or career. Bull, an international relations and religion double major who this spring completed her third year at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, N.J., sees faith as serving an important role in considerations about vocation. We need to \u201copen our eyes of faith to see all of the things that we do in our lives as part of God\u2019s call,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

And \u201ceven if faith is not explicitly part of the conversation,\u201d said Jessica Spanswick \u201910, who today works as director of career services at Globe University, \u201cit is a profound, shared human desire to seek and find meaning in our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Welcoming difficult conversations<\/h2>\n

Alumni from these programs also shared an appreciation for how their experiences helped them develop the listening and interpersonal skills to learn from and understand others. \u201cWe learned to step boldly and respectfully into difficult conversations,\u201d said Peter Weston Miller \u201910, \u201cmeeting people where they were at, where God had uniquely called them to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weston Miller, an English major who also completed his Master\u2019s of Divinity at Luther Seminary this past spring, said these conversations taught the participants how to \u201cbuild relationships based on human integrity and dignity, not just [based on] topics\u201d that they agreed upon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe learned to know ourselves better through the eyes of others, despite different backgrounds, political leanings, and socio-economic statuses,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In particular, alumni from the programs valued the opportunity to interact and work with people who bring different faith perspectives. \u201cSpeaking with people from many different faith backgrounds helped me learn to listen to and understand others\u2019 views and beliefs,\u201d said Spanswick, who majored in international relations at Augsburg and recently completed her MBA at Globe University. In her current work, Spanswick meets people from many different cultures, and she noted that their cultural practices often differ because of faith traditions.<\/p>\n

Whitney Pratt \u201911, who majored in economics at Augsburg and serves as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, agreed that interfaith competency is an important life skill. \u201cReligion is such an important facet of our lives,\u201d she said. \u201cMost of our political struggles center around topics that stem from the moral foundations\u201d that different groups of people use to guide their behaviors and interactions in society.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can try to build intercultural competence, but without understanding religion,\u201d Pratt said, \u201cyou won\u2019t be fully effective.\u201d To function as a citizen in today\u2019s world, \u201cyou have to understand how people think and the beliefs on which they base their social and moral codes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asking tough questions<\/h2>\n

In the end, these Auggies agreed that the programs\u2019 greatest value was that they equipped participants to ask challenging life questions\u2014seemingly simple (but, actually, not-so-simple) questions like, \u201cWhere have you come from\u2014and where are you going?\u201d and \u201cHow do you know you\u2019re on the right path?\u201d<\/p>\n

Consistently, all of these alumni said it was the questions\u2014not the answers\u2014that were most meaningful to them. In fact, they have each continued the practice of asking and reflecting on difficult questions and they shared some of the questions they regularly encounter in their lives today:<\/p>\n