A Final Retreat

It’s April—which is a significant fact because that means May (the month of my college graduation) is next month! The month is very busy even after graduation. The same day I graduate, I’ll be heading to camp with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in New York for a few days of reading the Bible and focusing on God. Then I’ll be home for a day or two before I head off for a Disney World vacation with a group of my senior friends. Again, I’ll come home for about a day or two before heading off for a job at summer camp. Life is certainly going forward at full-speed.

It’s nice, in all this forward motion, to get some time to relax and reflect. On the weekend of March 21^st to the 23^rd, I was able to do just that through Susquehanna’s Christian Fellowship Retreat at Mountain Dale Farm. Every semester, Susquehanna’s Deacon of Spiritual Nurture organizes a retreat for students. I have been attending these retreats since my freshman year and have valued the time to escape campus for a while, bond with other students, and grow spiritually.

This semester, we reflected on what it means to be spiritually awake or spiritually asleep. Being “spiritually asleep” might mean only going through the motions of your faith or generally being apathetic. To me, being awake means being an active participant in one’s relationship with God. I personally felt woken up by the weekend. I had been more engaged in reading my Bible there than I had been for quite some time, which was an awesome feeling.

Though the retreat was great, it was definitely bittersweet. I’ve become attached to the drive there through middle-of-nowhere Pennsylvania, to Mountain Dale Farm, to the deer heads mounted on the walls and the mismatched couches in the room place we call “The Room of Death,” to candles in a cross formation in the middle of the floor during worship, to games like Catchphrase, to intimidating geese, to lazily sprawling out on the couches during free time, to talking through life with a prayer partner, and most of all, to the great people that come each semester. The last night of the retreat was one of those times where graduating really hit me. It was the last of something important to my college experience—and I knew a lot more lasts were on their way.

That night, the senior girls all decided to sleep over on the couches in the “Room of Death” instead of going to our cabin. When I was an underclassman and not all the girls could fit in the  cabin, upperclassmen girls often ended up sleeping over in that room. None of us had ever done it, so we took our chance. I don’t think any of us got great sleep, but it was worth it for that memory that felt so college—a bunch of girls sprawled out on couches pushed into a circle, chatting and reminiscing in the dark as we curled up underneath our blankets and sleeping bags.  

My friends and I hope to go back to Mountain Dale one day for a reunion of sorts, but if that never comes to fruition, I had a great final retreat that I’d be happy to call my last Mountain Dale memory.

Senior Year!

Sorry for the silence! I’ve somehow managed to get to Week 5 of my senior year without updating this blog.

It’s been a busy few weeks since I’ve started back at school. I spent the summer in Selinsgrove, working full-time in the University Communications office and living in my on-campus townhouse with a friend also working over the summer. Summer in Selinsgrove is a much different animal than the school year. Though I worked forty hours a week, I had a lot of free time to spend on some not-so-productive activities, like watching the Pretty Little Liars series and wedding shows with my housemate. Campus was also much quieter and emptier. I found that pretty eerie the first few weeks, but I adjusted. Getting used to the bustle of campus again was actually pretty jarring after those summer months.

The harder adjustment, of course, was to the bustle of school year life!

As a senior, I’m trying to figure out post-graduate plans. That has been a priority since the school year has started. This summer I began working on applications for fellowships that would provide me with funds for graduate school internationally. Specifically, I am applying for a Rhodes scholarship, a Mitchell scholarship, and a Fulbright scholarship. These applications are due in October, and I will certainly be relieved once they are submitted—though the stress will continue if I am offered an interview for any of the scholarships. I’d be very grateful for that type of stress, however!

I am also hoping to apply to U.S. graduate school programs, though that’s been temporarily placed on the backburner as I scramble to complete fellowship applications. I know that I’m interested in studying theology or religion at the graduate level, but I am still struggling to determine what my exact plans are, particularly after earning a Master's degree. Some of my professors suggested I look at seminary programs, which offer a Master of Divinity degree. This type of degree might lead to more job opportunities than a Master of Arts in Religion or a Master's in Theological Studies. Throughout the semester and year, I think I will still be trying to figure out what the best pathway for me is.

I recently joined the Pre-Ministry club on campus which meets every two weeks to talk about issues like vocation and careers that involve our faith. I am hoping I will gain more clarity on the next steps I want to take through participation in the group. Our interim university chaplain (who is also one of the Religion department’s professors) is planning on being involved with the club. I am excited to gain some more insight from him on my plans this year.

Of course, I have also been juggling my classes as well. I am taking Intro to Judaism, a Religion course called Faiths and Values, Advanced Poetry, Intro to Statistics, and a senior creative writing capstone class. Intro to Judaism has probably been my most interesting class so far and I think, in the long-term, it will be very beneficial to me, especially since I have an interest in interfaith dialogue. I also love that it is being taught by our campus’s rabbi, Rabbi Palley.

In terms of social life, it’s been great to have friends back on campus that I missed all summer. Spending time with my friends has been a great calming factor in the midst of all the senior year chaos I’ve experienced so far. I’m excited for all the fun memories we’re going to accumulate together this year, and I’m not so thrilled when think about us leaving each other for whatever life has in store next.

Schoolwork, Summer, and Seder

After what felt like a cruelly short Easter Break, I am back at Susquehanna for the last stretch of the school year. Unfortunately, I have a lot of work coming my way during this final month or so of school. Later today, I have a dramatic group presentation in my Women in Biblical Tradition course about the story of Rachel and Leah. I will be playing the role of Rachel and Leah’s father, Laban. Tomorrow I have a term paper on C.S. Lewis due, as well as a draft of an essay due to my whole Travel Writing class. I’ll be relieved once these few assignments are out of the way, though there will definitely be more to replace them soon.

After the academic year finishes, I am looking forward to spending the summer in Selinsgrove. I will be living on campus and working in the University Communications office, which I think will be a great professional experience. I also am excited to spend time with friends here in the summer and enjoy the campus and town as much as I can. I’ve already started thinking about going on walks by the river and taking lots of photographs, neither of which I manage to do during the school year.

Of course, thinking so much of summer is getting a little ahead of myself. I still hope there’s plenty of time for interesting and fun events during the school year. Before Easter Break, I was able to experience  one such event for the first time—Susquehanna’s Passover Seder.

I was somewhat familiar with the Jewish holiday of Passover but I had never experienced the celebration before. Many people attended the event, which was held in the university’s cafeteria. There were almost 30 tables set up. A table with Rabbi Palley, Susquehanna’s Director of Jewish Life, and students from Hillel was elevated so we could follow their lead throughout the Seder.  Rabbi Palley explained that our tables would be our “Passover families” for the night and said that she especially enjoyed the celebration of Passover because it was something celebrated in the home.  Throughout the Seder, we were encouraged to talk to our tables about issues relevant to Passover. For example, we talked about oppression because the Passover celebration is about God taking the Jewish people out of slavery and into freedom.  

The Seder was filled with prayers and singing, much of which was in Hebrew. We read from our yellow Haggadahs, the texts for the Passover Seder, and tried to keep up as much as possible. The most striking aspect of the Seder was how almost every aspect was rich in symbolism. For instance, there was a bowl with a pitcher of water in it. We used that pitcher and bowl to clean each other’s hands and were told to talk about any cleansing going on in our lives. Almost of the food on the table initially had some sort of meaning, which made it important to eat and drink at certain times and in certain ways. Mostly, we followed along pretty well, though there were a couple of times our table got lost during the ceremony. At one point, I realized I drank my second cup of “wine”—for the purposes of Susquehanna's Seder, it was grape juice—way too early, but after that, I managed to avoid making the same faux paus.  

Though the Seder started around 7:30 p.m., we didn’t get to the main meal until past 9 p.m. The delicious food was worth the wait! It also gave me a chance to try foods I hadn’t before, like matzo ball soup. After dinner, the Seder continued with a bit more singing and prayer before letting out around 10 p.m.

I’m very glad I took the opportunity to go to the Seder this year. As someone who studies religion academically, I’m interested in understanding different religions and their celebrations. As a Christian, I think learning about Passover and the Passover Seder gives important context to my beliefs; it also cultivates better interfaith dialogue and understanding.

Events like the Seder bring together the learning and fun, social aspects of my college life, and I hope to experience some more events like that before the school year is over.

Seasons Ahead--Making Plans

Plans are coming together--both for this summer and next fall.

Over my Spring Break, I visited a possible internship site--the Historical Society of Dauphin County. I have an interest in a career in academic libraries or archives, and I really wanted to have an internship this summer that would help explore that interest. While there, I received a tour of the John Harris-Simon Cameron Mansion, a historical mansion in Harrisburg, and was able to look at the archives part of the society's office. I found out that I would be able to work with unprocessed manuscripts and scanning and writing descriptions for photos. I was definitely interested!

After coming back to school, I found out that this internship will be able to count towards the internship requirement for my Creative Writing major. Not only do I get to do something that's really interesting to me, but that's one less thing to worry about completing during the school year. I still have to fill out a form, though, and turn it into the Registrar, so I need to work on that.

Though I have been approved for study abroad by Susquehanna, I've also received my official acceptance to the University of Ulster-Coleraine campus in Northern Ireland for next fall. I have been able to get some things decided, like my course (module, as they say in the U.K.) and housing preferences. Over break, I also was able to apply for my passport. There's still a lot left to do to prepare for study abroad, though. Studying abroad seems to come with a never-ending supply of forms--just a warning to other students out there! For instance, I still need to get together my scholarship application for study abroad.     

Anyway, I'm looking forward to both of these things a lot. Though it's always a little bit stressful to get things planned, I feel confident that things are working out pretty well so far!

Skipping to Summer: Thinking about Internships

Though it's midterm week of fall semester, my friends and I have already discussed plans for the summer. This past summer I worked at Salvation Army hanging up clothing. The  location was nearby, the hours were good, and the work was easy, so no major complaints there. I am even thinking that I'll be return to this position over winter break so I can make some money for study abroad next year. However, I am hoping to do something different next summer. I would really like an internship. Creative Writing majors, like most majors, don't all end up in the same field, and it's not always as obvious how to make this study into a career. I think it's especially important for me, then, to get experience in possible career paths. 

One advantage I have in the internship search is that I live near Harrisburg. Being by the capital gives me more opportunities than I might have elsewhere. Already I've found two really interesting internship opportunities.

One company is looking for a Communications Intern. The position would involve with marketing and media relations. Though I am not a Communications major, the writing skills I'm cultivating through my major can definitely be helpful in that field. I also work for Susquehanna's University Communications office, so I have some experience. Completing this internship may give me some more insight on whether or not I am interested in pursuing communications professionally.

The second internship I found was at an archive. Archival work and library science are fields that are often associated with each other. Because of my interest in librarianship, I have stumbled upon, and been intrigued by, information on archival careers. One job I find interesting is that of a digital archivist. The only way to know if I'd really like archival work, though, is to do it. This internship could provide a great opportunity to explore a career path that I might not get to really consider otherwise.

I'm only at the beginning of my search, though. I'm sure if I found these two great opportunities, I can find a lot more! Once I have my list, I'll begin working on resumes, cover letters, and applications. I think I will take advantage of the Center for Career Services before I send any materials to companies. I have yet to use this resource on campus, but this would be the perfect time; I want to give myself the best chance possible for success!