Katelin Hansen, grad student at The Ohio State University
"I came to Urbana 12 from the rigorous and relentless academics of grad school and found myself in the midst of thousands of other scholars seeking an answer to the same question I had: "What is God’s will for my life?" I found in Urbana a space set apart...."
"As I sat at his feet (literally; the chairs were all filled) he said our intellectual and spiritual selves need not be at odds, but in reality go hand in hand with each other. He encouraged us to fully engage our minds, both in our academic research as well as in our walk with God." - Read Katelin's full story on the Urbana.org blog.
Her advice to grad students is not to put off going to Urbana: "your participation in God’s global mission starts now, as a student, in your academic setting, within the limits you’re experiencing."
Dave Vosburg, Associate Professor at Harvey Mudd College
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"At Urbana, I thought back to how one or two openly Christian professors at my very secular college had shown me that it was possible to have a robust faith in such a place. Then, looking back over the previous three and a half years, I realized how deeply I was missing that kind of positive influence from faculty in my experience in graduate school and as a post-doc.
Why is it so hard to be openly Christian and a professor? Why is it even harder to be a missional Christian and a professor? Is the university a place that is beyond hope? Or do I believe that God wants to reach the university, that Jesus wants its people—not just students, but faculty and administrators, too—to experience true flourishing and renewal? At Urbana 2000, God gave me a vision to bring the shalom, grace, and hope that I have experienced to other faculty on secular campuses." - Read more from Dave on the Urbana.org blog.
His advice is to seek out other grad students and faculty: "At Urbana 15, the Emerging Scholars, Grad Students, and Faculty Lounge will be a gathering place for these kind of connections and conversations."
Tom Grosh IV, Associate Director of the Emerging Scholars Network
"My first Urbana was in 1993 as a sophomore at Grove City College (GCC). God sent me back to campus with a passion for God's global mission in higher education. After serving as a student leader at GCC and then completing an internship at Carnegie Mellon University, I returned in 1996 embracing the call to love 1) God, 2) neighbor, and 3) creation with head, heart, and hands through the ministry of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. What a joy to kick-off my twentienth year of laboring with undergrads, grad students, postdocs, researchers, faculty, and many other members of the campus community by once again serving the Emerging Scholars Network (ESN) at Urbana15. May each and every delegate leave Urbana15 taking a next step in God's global mission. To God be the glory!" -- Read more from Tom on his developing sense of call to God's global mission in the context of higher education by reading Loving God in the Flesh in the Real World and A Theology of Vocation in the Context of Higher Education.
For details on Urbana 15, go to Urbana Resources.
Urbana 12 Image courtesy of MikeHickerson via flickr.
