The cost of this event for those at NetVUE member institutions is $50 or $100 per person, depending on whether lodging is required. (The non-member rate is $400 with lodging included). Complete information for this gathering can be found on the host institution’s website.
Please register no later than August 21, 2026.
When we invite students into meaningful mentoring relationships—whether in research labs, service experiences, congregational settings, career exploration, or beyond—we create transformative spaces for vocational discernment and discovery. Given the increasing importance of hands-on, immersive learning in undergraduate education and the vital need for human connection in our work, this gathering invites faculty members, staff, and administrators to consider how vocation, mentorship, and experiential learning intersect in a higher education context.
Through keynote speakers and interactive workshops, this gathering will bring together colleagues to examine how mentorship in experiential learning opportunities fosters vocational formation. Participants will consider questions such as:
- How can mentorship prepare students not just for taking on a first job, but for living lives that matter?
- How does mentoring students through research (asking questions, testing hypotheses, embracing failure, and iterating toward discovery) mirror the process of discovering one’s calling?
- How does vocational formation happen within the interconnected ecosystem where the church and academy meet?
The gathering will provide participants with opportunities to engage with speakers, explore practices they can to take back to their institutions, and connect with colleagues from other institutions committed to vocational exploration in undergraduate education.
Pre-Conference Workshop
Launching and Leading the Big Read on Campus
Thursday, September 24, 1:00–4:00 p.m. | Hampton Inn and Suites, 201 E Corporate Center Dr, Clinton, SC 29325
Interested in learning more about NetVUE’s Big Read for this year, Love’s Braided Dance: Hope in a Time of Crisis by Norman Wirzba? Come early to the Regional Gathering for a workshop that assists campus facilitators in engaging colleagues in thoughtful discussion and purposeful action through the Big Read Program. In this hands-on workshop, we will talk about effective discussion questions, campus activities, and building community through a shared reading experience. Open to everyone—those who are curious about the Big Read, those who have participated before, and those who are signed up to lead the experience on their campus this year. Participants will leave with models and resources to help them get started. Register here for this free workshop.
The workshop is led by Erin VanLaningham, NetVUE director of project development.
Other Upcoming Regional Gatherings
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Telling Honest Stories as Calling in Higher Education
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2026 NetVUE Gathering at the AAR/SBL Annual Meeting
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Vocation and Whole Person: Education in a Transactional Age
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Encuentra: Explorations of Culture and Calling
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Vocation, Higher Education, and the Future: Imagining Possibilities, Cultivating Practices
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Roots, Branches, Leaves: Institutionalizing Vocational Discernment
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