Webinar Recording
Assessing Vocation Projects and Programs
It’s the next best thing to being there! Rachel Pickett, NetVUE webinar coordinator, recently hosted a virtual gathering of several members of the NetVUE staff, including David Cunningham, executive director, who provided a 10-minute rundown of the conference through a slideshow of conference photos. For those who were on their institution’s team for the 2024 NetVUE Conference, this webinar offered an opportunity to relive some of the highlights and to discuss what worked well and what could be improved. For those unable to be in Atlanta, the webinar provided a small-scale vicarious experience of the event.
On A Life Worth Living | Miroslav Volf
Published February 14, 2024
As professor of theology at Yale Divinity School and director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture, Miroslav Volf is one of the most influential Christian theologians of this generation. He is also someone who cares deeply about issues of vocation and human flourishing. In this episode, Erin and John talk with Miroslav about his latest book, Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most (co-authored with Matthew Croasmun and Ryan McAnnally-Linz), and the “Life Worth Living” course that they teach at Yale University. In the process, Miroslav reflects on his own life as well as on important vocational themes such as “deep hunger,” the challenge of privilege, and pedagogies of exploration.
The North Star of Justice | Sarah Bassin
Published March 14, 2024
Rabbi Sarah Bassin works for the world’s oldest refugee agency, the nonprofit organization HIAS (originally the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society). In this episode, Sarah reflects on the paradoxes of leadership as part of the call to live for the sake of others. She speaks to the power of seeing and acknowledging others’ pain, even while acknowledging and drawing on one’s own pain. Through the lens of social justice, she explores what it means to be a “boundary crosser” and addresses contemporary events while offering sources of hope in the midst of crisis.
Teaching Vocational Exploration in the Biology Classroom | Prince Agbedanu
Published March 27, 2024
“The title of this post may make you pause, first to consider what it means to teach vocational exploration in biology, and then to consider how it could be done in your courses. In the undergraduate biology classroom, you may have to explain the expansive meaning of vocation as well as give students a reason to explore vocation ‘at this time and in this place.’ Most students in biology seem either to be undecided about what to do next or to have pre-determined ideas, such as attending medical school. For this reason, we might be tempted not to consider other vocational opportunities that could resonate with the students’ natural talents.”
Vocation in the World Language Classroom | Kiki Kosnick
Published March 14, 2024
“The language classroom provides ample occasion to cultivate vocational reflection. As a lifelong learner and educator with over 15 years of experience teaching French, I can attest to the ways in which language acquisition is inextricable from learning about ourselves, crafting our stories, connecting with others, and discerning how to live an intentional life. Take the example of a beginning language program, in which courses are commonly structured around topics of everyday relevance such as friends and family, education and professions, pastimes, and holidays and traditions. Self-reflection and self-authorship are embedded in the program because learning a language is, in effect, learning to live, communicate, and move in the world in and through this language.”
Assessing Character Strengths: Resources from Positive Psychology | Samantha Brown
Published March 11, 2024
“Before starting my first semester as a professor, my department held a retreat that included discussion of our results from the VIA Inventory of Strengths (also called the VIA Survey). To my relief, my top strengths included love of learning, curiosity, and teamwork—all excellent characteristics of a new academic. They also included love and humor, however, and even though those felt accurate, I cringed with dismay. As someone who falls prey to imposter syndrome (see my previous blog post), these characteristics seemed unprofessional and “fluffy.” I didn’t want to be seen as a joker or not rigorous. Since that retreat six years ago, I have learned that these two strengths are invaluable to my work. My compassion is evident to my students, and my humor can appropriately bring levity to even challenging situations… Part of our work as educators is to help students recognize and appreciate their natural strengths so that they can share them with others.”
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