If you have not already read the general guidelines for using the topical guides, please begin here. As a reminder, these guides are intended to stir your initial thinking, not offer comprehensive guidance. We do encourage you to explore the questions and resources in this guide with at least one other person on your campus.
Introduction
During the sophomore year, many students begin to transition from broad exploration to engagement within a chosen discipline. While not without its challenges, the sophomore year has been identified by Tim Clydesdale and others as a “sweet spot” for vocational exploration, with students having settled into the rhythms and mores of college life but not yet fully locked into advanced studies or feeling the acute pressure of post-graduation plans. This period is marked by deepening focus—where students begin to challenge their assumptions about themselves, their field of study, and their potential contributions—as well as wider engagement on campus and possibly in the community.
This highly engaged stage also presents unique challenges and opportunities. Students face significant transitions, such as declaring or changing majors, forming closer relationships with faculty, and making decisions about internships, housing, and career pathways. Economic and cultural pressures to choose financially secure majors can conflict with personal callings; meanwhile, inequities in time, resources, and support may hinder some students’ ability to engage fully in vocational practices. It is vital to recognize the variable needs present within the second year and, in turn, design variable opportunities for vocational exploration and discernment.
Questions to Consider
- What dedicated programming or support, if any, exists for second-year students in either the curriculum or co-curriculum of your institution?
- Whether there is an existing initiative or not, where might be natural entry points for dedicated second-year vocation programming—e.g., in advising and mentoring structures or in gateway-to-the-major courses?
- Which offices or pathways on campus invite and equip students to take full advantage of co-curricular offerings, such as internships, undergraduate research, or community-based learning? How might these entities serve as partners?
Resources
Blog Post
Closing the Gap: Integrating Vocation into Second-Year Initiatives
by Billie Streufert
This post addresses the critical need to embed vocational exploration into the often-overlooked second year of undergraduate education. Streufert argues that second-year students, who frequently experience a “sophomore slump” (characterized by decreased engagement and unclear direction) benefit significantly from structured opportunities to connect their academic pursuits with deeper questions of purpose, meaning, and contribution. By intentionally integrating vocational reflection into second-year programming, institutions can help students navigate this transitional period while fostering the kind of holistic development that sustains lifelong flourishing.
Blog Post
Hope through Connection I: Integrating Vocation into Introductory Courses
by Deirdre Egan-Ryan
This collaborative post reflects on how embedding vocational discernment into an introduction-to-the-English-major course fostered hope and purpose amid higher education’s current challenges. Egan-Ryan’s “Introduction to Literary Studies” course helped students recognize that analytical, empathetic, and communicative skills developed through literary study can be foundational to meaningful work across any field. By focusing on connection among people, ideas, scholars, and versions of ourselves, the course demonstrates how early vocational integration can transform students’ understanding of their discipline as preparation for diverse life.
Podcast Episode
Agents of Repair
with Norman Wirzba
This episode with theologian Norman Wirzba engages aspects of agrarian living, freedom and fidelity, and the importance of kinesthetic learning. His emphasis on our relationship to the land as a relationship with others—as an expression of love—reminds us of the communal callings in every aspect of our lives. Vocation reflects our rootedness in place and commitment to others, calling us to be agents of repair in the world. This episode can help educators and students consider how they explore their callings in the context of community and a specific place, especially second-year students who are becoming more engaged in campus and community life.
Example Activities
Activities can be embedded in either the classroom or co-curricular programming—even in advising and mentoring contexts. Provided here are two examples of activities that could work well with this audience.
Identities Exercise
In writing or in discussion, invite students to think about their many identities and therefore callings, whether chosen and unchosen (e.g. student, friend, community member, steward of personal wellbeing, researcher, other roles and responsibilities).
How do they balance what is required of them in these roles? Which roles feel fulfilled, and which ones feel neglected? Students might also benefit from mapping these onto a blank “Wheel of Life,” where they can visually represent the various aspects of themselves / their callings and what each requires.
Engaging Your Environment
While all NetVUE Conversation Cards can be used at all levels of student formation, the Engage deck is particularly useful for students who are becoming more deeply involved in activities and organizations on campus and in the community during their second and third years. These can be used as the basis for small or large group conversation or written reflection.
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