Developing common language and a shared understanding of vocation and its intersection with work across campus is an essential first step for advancing campus projects and initiatives. The Vocation Workshop program brings learning opportunities to institutions by working with on-campus teams to provide content and support for vocation-related projects in the form of a facilitated workshop. This program could be used to support the launch of a new on-campus project or help an institution explore how to reshape or redirect an existing project. The program could also be used more generally to cultivate more interest in and discussion about vocation across a campus.
To participate, a member of the faculty or staff at the host institution applies for the Vocation Workshop program (details below). The institution can choose from a variety of vocation-related topics, depending on their current needs and interests. The final content for the workshop will be determined in collaboration with the campus team hosting the event. The length and style of the workshop may vary, depending on the needs of the campus and the topic.
Thanks to the generous support of Lilly Endowment Inc., NetVUE is pleased to cover the time and travel of the workshop facilitator for the event. The campus is responsible for planning and advertising the workshop on their campus, including securing the venue and arranging food and beverage options as appropriate.
Vocation Workshop Topics and Descriptions
Foundations of Vocation
This workshop is designed to introduce faculty members and staff to the concepts of vocation and calling, and to create space for them to consider the use of these concepts for their own work on campus. Participants will explore connections between the concepts of vocation and the mission and goals of their work at their institution. The workshop facilitator will then offer a variety of models for and examples of bringing vocation to life on campus that range from small, immediately actionable interventions to comprehensive programs. Participants will be able to reflect on and discuss these examples and the relevance they have for their own work with students.
Our Callings to Higher Education: Vocational Reflection and Discernment for Faculty Members, Staff, and Administrators
Guiding students in vocational discernment starts with taking time to explore and understand our own vocational journeys. This workshop offers a rich opportunity to reflect on the joys and challenges of persisting in our work in higher education. Workshop leaders will draw on language and themes from Miller-McLemore’s recent book, Follow Your Bliss and Other Lies About Calling, as they share how they have navigated their vocations as educators. Participants in this workshop will have the opportunity to explore their own callings to higher education through reflective exercises and small group conversations.
Academic Division Vocation Workshops
Each of the following workshops can be offered alone or combined with other curricular areas depending on the needs and interests of the institution.
First Year Experience
How do you introduce students to vocation in their first year in way that invites serves as a foundation for vocational exploration throughout their time at your institution? In this workshop, participants will explore developmental stages of vocational exploration and learn more about works and does not work well in first-year experiences. Participants will have a chance to review example assignments and model programs that will help them consider how they might approach bringing vocation into first year programming at their institution.
General Education
What opportunity might exist for vocation in general education courses or core curriculum? This workshop invites participants to consider how their general education program could be a rich space for vocational exploration throughout multiple years of student experience. Through mapping exercises and a review of various case studies from other NetVUE institutions, participants will learn more about different models and the possibilities for their own curriculum. Participants will have time to explore and discuss viable and actionable options for their own curriculum.
Middle Years
This workshop is designed for faculty members and staff who work with sophomores and juniors, focusing on the pivotal middle years of college—an ideal time for vocational exploration. The session will examine the developmental progression of vocational questions, including identity formation and skill development. The facilitator will share case studies of programs and courses from other NetVUE institutions, offering practical examples and inspiration. Participants will have dedicated time to explore and discuss actionable strategies for integrating vocation into their own programming and courses.
In the Major
Academic disciplinary courses are often overlooked in campus-wide vocational initiatives, which tend to center around general education, career services, student life, and religious life. This creates a valuable opportunity to more intentionally connect vocational exploration to the knowledge and skills developed within academic disciplines—especially since students often anchor their vocational identity in their major field of study. In this workshop, participants will explore how their discipline can support vocational reflection and development. Through guided discussion and practical examples, they will identify strategies for integrating vocational themes into major-specific courses and programs in ways that support other course or departmental learning goals.
Vocational Discernment in Community Engaged Learning
Experiential learning reinforces the authentic, relational experiences that transformative education can foster—experiences at the heart of our universities’ missions and critical value propositions. This workshop explores the intersection of vocation and community-engaged learning (CEL), emphasizing the benefits of deepening our vocational discernment practices with students who are engaged in the powerful work of CEL. The workshop will include practical tools, shareable assignments, and expert resources to deepen vocational discernment with students. Participants will engage in collaborative discussions, develop an activity or assignment connecting vocation with community-based teaching, and gain strategies for sustainable integration across courses and institutions.
Advising and Mentoring for Vocation
This workshop equips academic advisors, faculty mentors, and professional mentors with conversational frameworks and tools to support students’ vocational exploration across their academic careers. Participants will explore resources and models for centering vocational exploration in advising in both small and comprehensive ways.
Vocation and Athletics
This workshop is designed to help coaches, athletic administrators, and faculty intentionally integrate vocation into athlete development programs. Attendees will explore how team culture, identity beyond sport, and transferable skills can be cultivated. The workshop leader will share examples of successful academic-athletic partnerships and scalable mentorship models and create space for what might be a good fit for the culture, structure, and resources of the institution.
Vocation for All: Belonging and Flourishing
Focused on inclusive practice, this workshop examines vocation as a pathway to belonging and equitable flourishing for students from diverse identities and backgrounds. Participants will interrogate barriers that make vocational work feel exclusive, adapt vocational activities to be culturally responsive, and explore resources that center varied life stories, family expectations, and economic constraints. This workshop will include time for participants to discuss practical strategies for outreach, assessment, and partnership across campus in their vocational programming.
Feedback from previous Vocation Workshops:
“The leader was PHENOMENAL!! Thank you so much for bringing her to share with us. She was inspiring and shared several specific tools that I can implement in my classroom.”
“I very much enjoyed the consultant’s training. My mind is racing for how to structure my courses this summer. Thank you! I came away feeling inspired.”
Application Information
To initiate a request for a vocation workshop, please complete the vocation workshop application. In your proposal, you may request a particular workshop leader if you have someone in mind. However, NetVUE will help make the final determination for the leader, including considerations such as availability and geographic proximity. Your proposal should be sent to Rachael Baker, NetVUE associate director, at rbaker@cic.edu.
Contact Information
Questions about the Vocation Workshop Program may be directed to Rachael Baker, NetVUE associate director, at rbaker@cic.edu or (616) 632-2910.
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