ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹Ļ

Tag: division of humanities and social sciences

Dean Thuswaldner elected President of the Austrian Studies Association

Dr. Gregor Thuswaldner, Dean of Arts and Sciences, was elected President of the Austrian Studies Association, a member institution of the American Council of Learned Societies.

Dr. Gregor Thuswaldner, Dean of Arts and Sciences, was elected President of the Austrian Studies Association, a member institution of the American Council of Learned Societies. Thuswaldner will serve a two-year term as President. The US-based Austrian Studies Association was founded in 1961 to promote the study of Austrian, Austro-Hungarian, and Habsburg culture, literature, history, and politics. The Austrian Studies Association publishes a quarterly scholarly journal, the Journal of Austrian Studies (University of Nebraska Press) and organizes annual conferences. As President, Thuswaldner also serves as the association’s Chief Executive Officer Liaison to and ex-officio Board Member of the American Council of Learned Societies.

More About Dean Thuswaldner

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Committed to Faculty and Student Diversity: University Dean, Dr. Liza Ann Acosta

As University Dean, Dr. Liza Ann Acostaā€™s hope is to facilitate the work of faculty developmentā€”with a student body comprised of a diverse population and mirrored by a diverse faculty.

Portrait of Dean Acosta

ā€œI am invested in the wellbeing of my students and my colleagues. Being asked to do more with little is overwhelming, but my colleaguesā€™ dreams for our students are on my mind every single day. My wish is to make those become real possibilities.Ā  An investment in our faculty is an investment in our students.ā€

Facilitating Faculty Development

As University Dean, Dr. Liza Ann Acostaā€™s hope is to facilitate the work of faculty developmentā€”with a student body comprised of a diverse population and mirrored by a diverse faculty, so that all our students can see themselves reflected in the people who teach them. A new mentorship program for first-year and ongoing rising faculty and a partnership with the Faculty Senate and Office of Institutional Effectiveness for the inclusion of adjunct faculty development are among the initiatives supporting Dean Acostaā€™s vision of having a well-rounded, diverse faculty at ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹Ļ.

Retention and Recruitment of Faculty of Color

Dean Acosta has initiated efforts to more effectively recruit and retain faculty of color who can and do impact the student learning experience through expertise, mentorship, and role-modeling. In these efforts, Dean Acosta advises and serves on search committees, advocates for faculty and staff of color, and leads monthly meetings for faculty and staff of color for community-building.

Helping Students Have an Enriching Intercultural Experience

Dean Acosta is encouraged every day by North Park students as she observes them make connections between classroom and world. ā€œPreparing students to contribute in real possible waysā€”through the arts, life sciences, technologyā€”is what we seek at ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹Ļ, with faculty who have a passion for planting a seed and watching students grow.ā€

At ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹Ļ, Dean Acosta continues to teach, advise, and mentor students. She is also part of the Council on Diversity Equity and Inclusion whose central role includes bias reporting. ā€œI am always thinking of ways that ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹Ļā€™s faculty, as a collective, can be even better in their respective specialty fields, and how we can help students have an enriching, intercultural experience,ā€ said Dean Acosta. Academic programs are structured in a way to reflect both a rigorous learning experience in the classroom and experiential learning opportunities outside the classroom when engaging how the diverse city of Chicago functions and thrives.

Core principles guide Dean Acosta: encouraging creativity, providing resources for continuous improvement and innovation, documenting and learning from best practices in research and teaching, advocating for a diverse faculty, and nurturing professional development for all faculty members. Meeting the needs of both students and faculty is an ongoing processā€”a role that for Dean Acosta is always evolving.

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North Park Students Selected to Present to Illinois Sociological Association

Nineteen North Park students enrolled in Methods in Social Research will attend the 2017 Illinois Sociological Association, seven of whom will present original research.

Nineteen North Park students enrolled in Methods in Social Research are heading to the 2017 Illinois Sociological Association meeting on November 17th,Ā 2017. The students will share seven presentations based on original research ideas developed in the course and as part of activities conducted through the Urban Peace Labā€” established and run by their instructor, Dr. Peter K. B. St. Jean, Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of Criminal Justice at ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹Ļ. Seven research abstracts were accepted for presentation on one panel and one roundtable.

On the panel, Dr. St. Jean will present a paper entitled, ā€œConducting Better News Research,ā€ which will provide the general conceptual framework for the students’ research. Dr. St. Jean will also introduce the students presenting on the following topics:

  • I AM NOT GOING BACK: Recidivism and Social Environment in Chicago
  • REVENGE WITHOUT VIOLENCE: How Residents of Chicagoā€™s High Crime NeighborhoodsĀ Avenge Victimization Without Violence
  • PEACE WITHOUT GUNS: How Chicago Residents Within High Gun Violence Neighborhoods Resolve Conflicts Without the Use of Guns
  • THE UPRISE: Youth and Gang Avoidance in Chicago
  • POVERTY AND PEACE IN CHICAGO: Voices on the Ground
  • IN SPITE OF IT ALL: Triumph After Human Trafficking

Also attending and presenting papers on Visual Urban Peaceology are North Park alumnus and current University of Chicago graduate student,Ā Eirik J. Berger, and current NPU Theatre and Communications student, Seanna Wong.Ā The panel will be led by Dr. St. Jeanā€™s presentation entitled ā€œIntroduction to Peaceology and Urban Peaceology: Findings from Multi-methods Research in Chicago.ā€ Eirik J. Berger and Seanna Wong will then present their papers respectively:

  • VISUAL URBAN PEACEOLOGY: Understanding and Amplifying Peace Intelligence in theĀ Urban Context Through the Use of Visual Tools, Ethnography, Qualitative Data, and Media Research
  • THE ROLE OF THEATRE IN VISUAL URBAN PEACEOLOGY: Findings from Ground-Breaking Ethnographic Research and Activism in Chicago

ā€œI’m happy that these students get this opportunity to make history by being part of the research team that collectively introduces Peaceology, Urban Peaceology, and Better News Research for the first time to an academic conference. They have been working hard to conduct the best presentations, and I am confident that they will do well,ā€ said Professor St. Jean, chairperson of the Sociology Department at ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹Ļ.

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Undergrads Dive Deep into Majors for Summer Research Program

A select group of North Park students took part in the NPRESS mentoring program, working alongside their professors while conducting in-depth research in their fields of study.

CHICAGO (September 13, 2017) ā€” For the third summer in a row, a select group of ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹Ļ undergraduate students took part in an intensive mentoring program, working alongside North Park professors while conducting in-depth research in their given academic fields.

Called the North Park Research Experience for Students (NPRESS), the program allows undergrads to receive the type of guidance and research opportunities typically available only in graduate programs.

As part of the eight-week program, funded by North Park donors, students receive a $3,500 stipend, $500 materials allowance and free on-campus housing while conducting research for their theses.

Both the student and faculty mentor explore ideas together during the application process and throughout the two months of hands-on research, said NPRESS Co-Director Dr. Rajkumar Boaz Johnson. ā€œThe program allows deeper learning between students and faculty.ā€

Twelve students, all incoming sophomores, juniors or seniors, were selected for this summerā€™s program.

On Aug. 30, five of them presented their theses to NPRESS donors, alumni, and faculty at a dinner in the Helwig Boardroom.

Representing majors from History and Global Studies, Exercise Science, Biomedical Sciences, Biology, and Economics, the students discussed their theses and answered questions from the audience. Through their rigorous research, students made connections on themes involving theology of lament and J.R.R. Tolkienā€™s novel Legendarium, exercise science and velocity data, interactive learning tools and host-pathogen interactions, genes and unicellular alga, and lure of perceptions versus evidence and fact on inventory and cash/financial performance.

Business and Economics major Jomarie Perlas delved deep into making connections between perception of value and actual value in researching inventory.

ā€œConducting market research and a survey helped to provide insight into inventory management, an area Iā€™m interested in,ā€ Perlas said.

Biology major Haydee Ramirez said the relationship she formed with her mentor, Dr. Yoojin Choi, helped her prepare for her presentation.

ā€œGetting all the research condensed into 10 to 12 minutes that a general audience can understand was a challenge, but my mentor Dr. Choi was there to work with me,ā€ Ramirez said.

Dr. Johnson developed the program to offer undergraduate students a comprehensive and hands-on learning experience that encompassed research, writing, and presenting.

Inspired by the program, participants like 2016 NPRESS participant Hannah Hawkinson, who studied feminist theology and social justice, is now pursuing a Masterā€™s of Divinity degree at Princeton Theological Seminary.

The NPRESS Committee expressed their gratitude to the donors and the board for making the program possible and for providing North Park students with another avenue to connect academic interests with real-life experiences.

Acceptance into NPRESS is based on an evaluation by North Parkā€™s Undergraduate Research Committee (URC), which examines student merit, outcome, and commitment to 40 hours of research per week. The application deadline for Summer 2018 will be this spring, and applications are open to faculty and undergraduate students of all disciplines. Inquiries can be made with URC ChairĀ Dr. Yoojin Choi .

 

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NPRESS Presentations Bring Summer to a Close

On Friday July 28, 12 North Park research summer students presented their findings to close out 2017ā€™s summer NPRESS Program (North Park Research Experience for Summer Students).

On Friday, July 28, 12 North Park summer research students presented their findings to close out 2017ā€™s summer NPRESS Program (North Park Research Experience for Summer Students). Dr. Boaz Johnson began his opening remarks in the Helwig Boardroom in the Johnson Center: ā€œThese students have had the opportunity to work alongside the best professors in the world, and I have been all over the world, so I can say that.ā€

In this highly competitive program, only 12 students were chosen to participate in summer research. These students are provided with on-campus housing and a $3,500 stipend to accompany their 40-hour work weeks of PhD-level research. ā€œAs in the past, students have said that this has been their most intense and yet most enjoyable experience at ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹Ļ. They get a professor to work with them, all by themselves,ā€ says Dr. Johnson.

 

ABOUT NPRESS

The NPRESS (North Park Research Experience for Summer Students) program provides opportunities for North Park students to conduct research with a North Park faculty mentor for eight weeks over the summer. It was the brainchild of a core group of faculty and funded by a small group of donors, allowing students to dive into a topic in a way that the constraints of an academic year do not always allow. Students received a $3,500 stipend and were given the opportunity to live on campus, making it possible for them to focus solely on research.

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Book Announcement: Just Debt by Ilsup Ahn, Carl I. Lindberg Professor of Philosophy at ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹Ļ

Baylor University Press to release on October 15, 2017.

Baylor University Press to publishĀ Just Debt: Theology, Ethics, and Neoliberalism byĀ Ilsup Ahn, Carl I. Lindberg Professor of Philosophy at ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹Ļ and Carnegie Council Global Ethics Fellow.

Dr. Ahn’s Profile

From the publisher:

“Debtā€”personal, corporate, governmentalā€”is so pervasive in contemporary economies, with its moralistic logic nearly unquestioned. Debtā€™s necessity renders it morally neutral, absolving it of the dehumanizing effect it brings in unbridled financialization.

In Just Debt Ilsup Ahn explores ethical implications of the practice of debt. By placing debt in the context of anthropology, philosophy, economics, and the ethical traditions provided by the Abrahamic religions, Ahn holds that debt was originally a form of gift, a gift which was intended as a means to serve humanity. Debt, as gift, had moral ends. Since the late eighteenth century, however, debt has been reduced to an amoral economic tool, one separated from its social and political context. Ahn recovers an ethics of debt and its moral economy by rediscovering debtā€™s forgotten aspectā€”that all debts entail unique human stories. Ahn argues that it is only in and by these stories that the justice of debt can be determined. In order for debt to be justly established, its story should be free from elements of exploitation, abuse, and manipulation and should conform to the principles of serviceability, payability, and shareability.

Although the contemporary global economy disconnects debt from its context, Ahn argues that debt must be firmly grounded in the world of moral values, social solidarity, and political resolution. By re-embedding debt within its moral world, Just Debt offers a holistic ethics of debt for a neoliberal age.”

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Making the Most of Your Education: Kathleen Dillon C’11

Kathleen Dillion C’11, English literature alumna, shares about growing into her professional life and giving back to her community.

Kathleen Dillion, C'11, graduated with a degree in English Literature and minored in Politics and Government. She participated in multiple clubs and organizations including NPU Press, was Secretary of the Queers and Allies group, and was a member of both Sigma Tau Delta and Pi Sigma Alpha.

North Park will forever be the place where I met lifelong friends and mentors. It will also always represent challenge and growth for me. The most valuable lesson I learned at ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹Ļ is that your education, and your life in general, is what you make of it! Though I was a transfer student and rather shy, I put myself out there and made friends with whom I am even closer today.

I spent my first summer after graduation working for Shoreline Sightseeing downtown and having a wonderful time just enjoying living in the city. I then moved back to Michigan to begin a position as a substitute teacher. I had been unsure as to what was next for me and wanted to gauge my interest in returning to school for a teaching certificate. After taking on multiple paraprofessional roles, I decided that I would like to go back to school for a Masterā€™s in English. I knew that I wanted to teach at the college-level. Loyola University Chicago, in Rogers Park, had a ā€˜teaching trackā€™ for their Masterā€™s in English program.

I found a graduate assistantship as a Tutoring Coordinator with the TRIO Student Support Services program on campusā€“Achieving College Excellence (ACE), which serves students who are the first in their family to go to college, have higher financial need, and/or have a documented disability. After graduating from Loyola, I went on to teach College Composition at College of Lake County, and Developmental Writing at ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹Ļ! It was so very interesting teaching in the same classroom in which I took so many of my undergraduate courses.

I later applied for a new Academic Counselor position ACE wrote into their grant. I got the job and have been with ACE as a full-time staff member for over a year now.Ā I am the academic counselor and primary first and second year advisor for a group of about 70 students. I see myself as an advocate, ally, and, along with the rest of ACE, a support system for our students, who need guidance in navigating college life. I also teach two sections of UNIV 101, supervise a staff of ACE students who have trained to be peer mentors, and supervise the graduate assistant Tutoring Coordinator, my former position.

At ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹Ļ, because itā€™s small, students, staff, and faculty wear multiple hatsā€“I can juggle multiple positions and projects because of my time at ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹Ļ and the opportunities I was given there. My time as a Writing Advisor, under the guidance of the great Carol Martin, gave me the experience I needed to work as an English Language Arts paraprofessional for at-risk students, which lead to Loyolaā€™s English Masterā€™s program and positions at TRIO.

My position with the North Park Press, political philosophy courses, and summer internship in D.C. prepared me for community organizing. I am now a Community Organizer in Rogers Park, am on the Steering Committee for our independent, progressive ward body, and am the Political Coordinator at the Heartland Cafe. This experience has been invaluable and I am putting my education and values into action.

One of the best things you can do, in my view, to give back to ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹Ļ is to go on and be a credit to the Universityā€™s mission. Are you a person of character, compassion, and common sense? Think through what it means to live a life of significance and service. It can feel like a corny line sometimes when you are in college, but I find myself reflecting on these values every day now. Folks who live lives of significance and service are so desperately needed in this world.

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Student Blog: My SVF Exchange Program Experience

This is a student blog post submitted by Kaylyn Sweitzer, Cā€™19. Kaylyn is an English Literature and Creative Writing major.

This is a student blog post submitted by Kaylyn Sweitzer, C’19. Kaylyn is an English Literature and Creative Writing major.

Never have I felt so filled, yet so empty. Charles Dickens explains my situation well in the opening line of A Tale of Two Cities: ā€œIt was the best of times, it was the worst of times.ā€ I felt completely torn between having the time of my life and wanting nothing more than to go home. Studying abroad is, in fact, the most fulfilling and rewarding thing you can do in college; however, I will be the first to say that it is also the most draining and difficult. But just because it was hard certainly does not mean that it wasnā€™t worth it. And I have to say . . . it was completely worth it.

Upon my return from studying at SVF in Sweden, I was frequently asked the convenient conversation starter, ā€œHow was Sweden?ā€ To which I found myself providing a variety of answers. I openly shared personal details and anecdotes with some people, while shielding aspects of my experience with others. No one knows the true story of my time in Swedenā€“not even me. It already feels like a distant memory. I look at the photos see the familiar faces of the friends I spent both the most rewarding and challenging four months of my lifeā€“and it just doesnā€™t feel real. I have pictures of me standing in front of the Eiffel Tower, the Roman Colosseum, and Big Ben, but I am still struggling to process the fact that I was there just a few months ago. I spent a semester on another continent, in a different country, learning an unfamiliar language, and eating cultural food; however, since Iā€™ve been back at ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹Ļ, that experience has felt like more of a fantastical adventure. And in a way, it was. I was living in a dreamā€“my childhood dream of traveling Europe. It was euphoric, incredibly brilliant, simply life-changing. But it was also taxing, strenuous, and exhausting.

In the wise words of Bilbo Baggins, ā€œItā€™s a dangerous business going out of your door. You step into the road, and if you donā€™t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off toā€ (LOTR). By moving to a different country, I had exposed myself to the elements of the world. In America, I know what to do, where to go, what to say . . . for the most part. I am comfortable. Living in Sweden, I was surrounded by a new language and culture. By the end of the day, I was exhausted and not just from the wear and tear of going through the day. It was partly due to having to adjust to a different environment and way of life. Even trying to process the Swedish language wore me out. I was uncomfortable, but I was thankful to be. We grow and change when weā€™re uncomfortable and when weā€™re challenged and pushed to our limits. In those moments, we donā€™t breakā€“we rise. So even though I felt strained and overwhelmed by the unfamiliarity, I knew that the familiarity and comfort would come with time.

With each passing day, I appreciated the country and culture of Sweden, along with my overall experience, more and more. I appreciated walking out of my dorm every morning to see the sun rising over the city of Jƶnkƶping and Lake VƤttern, Friday fika and Ica runs, the peace and quiet of SVF, having late night talks with my roommate, FaceTiming my family from the basement of my dorm at midnight, Pepparkakor and glƶgg, having to use a converter whenever I needed to charge my phone, daily morning fika, and having to wear reflective bracelets to avoid being hit by cars since it would get dark by 3:00. It wouldā€™ve been so easy to take the little things for granted, but the little things are what made the opportunity so special.

I really enjoyed getting to know Swedenā€™s lifestyle. Generally speaking, life in Sweden simply happens at a slower pace; people arenā€™t in as much of as rush. They multitask less and focus on the moment more. Swedes also tend to be more reserved and humble and not as showy and flashy as Americans. I love how Swedes routinely pause throughout the day for fika breaks; theyā€™re very good at being communal and forming deep relationships over time. And thatā€™s another thing I appreciated about Swedenā€”they take all relationships seriously.

Studying abroad pushed me to grow in ways I hadnā€™t anticipated beforehand. I grew in my confidence and independence, and I learned to rely on myself in a whole new way. It was the longest I have ever been away from my family, meaning that I had to accept the fact that I couldnā€™t always rely on them to hold my hand. Apart from relying on myself, I also had to rely more heavily on those around me. I had to accept the fact that I needed to place my trust in my peers and to accept the idea of vulnerability. Sweden did leave me vulnerableā€”vulnerable and raw, my protective walls peeled away. Shedding these skins hurt, but it allowed new ones to replace the old, and these new skins have made me stronger and more resilient than ever before. And I owe all of this change to my decision to leave my comfort zone and take on an adventure of a lifetime, my adventure in Sverige.

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Student Blog: Roman Aesthetic, BTS in Italy 2

This is a student blog post submitted by Melanie Lofgren, Cā€™18. Melanie is a psychology major, with a biblical and theological studies minor. She spent her spring break in Italy with a group of 12 students and two professors. On the trip, students considered the continuity between the life of the earliest Christians in their cities and present-day Christians in the city of Chicago.

This is a student blog post submitted by Melanie Lofgren, Cā€™18. Melanie is a psychology major, with a biblical and theological studies minor. She spent her spring break in Italy with a group of 12 students and two professors. On the trip, students considered the continuity between the life of the earliest Christians in their cities and present-day Christians in the city of Chicago.

Today I’ll share about something Iā€™m not very knowledgeable about, and yet find incredibly interesting and thought-provoking.

Rome and art.

Iā€™ll start at the Vatican. We went to the Vatican museum on Tuesday and spent the day in our groups viewing, listening, and reading. Everything was simply beautiful. The artworks expressed feelings, depicted moments or a series of moments in time, or the feeling of multiple emotions, history, and so much more!

I want to focus on the Sistine Chapel. No pictures were allowed, as I was sternly told by a clearly aggravated Italian man shaking his hand at me. So, sorry, I donā€™t have any photos. The effort and thoroughness Michelangelo used to paint the chapel are insane to think about, not mention painful with the method he had to use. He depicts the final judgment, stories of Moses, moments in Jesusā€™s life, prophets, the book of Genesis, the apostles, and more. The amount of Christian history and significance in that room is incredible. Couple that with the one who painted it, and where . . . I was standing in one of the most significant places for Christians, and Iā€™m Protestant.

As I stood in front of piece after piece in different museums, I felt something like what I like to believe the artists were feeling. Itā€™s all subjective and can be interpreted differently, and yet each piece is timeless and has a story. Most Roman art we saw conveyed a historical event or religious belief.

Take the painting by Pietro Aquila, for instance. Located in the Room of Triumphs in
the Capitoline Museum, the battle scene depicts the victory of Alexander over Darius (ca. 1650ā€“92). I am initially frightened because I am extremely uncomfortable, afraid, and disapproving of the violence. However, as I take a closer look I see a deeper message. This is not simply a battle between Alexander the Great and the ultimate defeat of Darius, but it elevates Alexander to a higher level than previously. The sky is clear and bright revealing that this is a good scene. The bird flying overhead could be a scavenger waiting for a meal, a symbol for the inevitability of death. There are faces full of terror and ones of absolute confidence and power.

Before I go, I want to share my favorite painting with you; itā€™s the fresco of the riot between Pompeiians and Nucerians, 59 A.D., Pompei, Volume IV, plate XXXII by Fausto and Felice Niccolini. This is an illustration of a riot that occurred outside of the amphitheater in Pompeii in 59 CE, speculated to have been between organizations from different towns. Itā€™s distinctive because the artist decided to paint this event rather than a gladiatorial fight, which was the most common use of the amphitheater. Theyā€™re also what youā€™d assume people would want to remember in a painting. It may be that the artist was connected to the riot somehow. The piece takes a birdā€™s eye perspective which removes the artist from the scene, whether that be to distance themselves to not be triggered by the event or because they were not there, I cannot say. It also is very spread out; each brawl and element are separated from each other, this is very different from the other art we saw during this time and that made it even more interesting. It is just so cool!

Interested in traveling with BTS next spring break?

Next yearā€™s Spring Break Rome-Pompeii tour course,Ā Christian Origins from the City Center, is accepting applications now.

How does 4 credit hours and 10 days in Rome and Pompeii over Spring Break 2018 (March 9-19, 2018) sound?

The BTS department invites students to join them for an experience that theyā€™ll never forget while also getting their second BTS Core course.

Reserve aĀ spot on the tour before they’re all gone! Program leaders: Drs. Joel Willitts & Mary Veeneman.

FOR MORE INFO & TO APPLY: NPU.BTS.ROME@GMAIL.COM
NON-REFUND DEPOSIT DUE: September 12, 2017

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Student Blog: Outside My Comfort Zone, BTS in Italy 1

Over my spring break, I traveled with a group of students and professors to Italy.

This is a student blog post submitted by Melanie Lofgren, C’18. Melanie is a psychology major, with a biblical and theological studies minor. She spent her spring break in Italy with a group of 12 students and two professors. On the trip, students considered the continuity between the life of the earliest Christians in their cities and present-day Christians in the city of Chicago.

Over my spring break, I traveled with a group of 11 other students and two professors, all of us ranging in academic and professional disciplines . . . and in prior knowledge of Rome and Christian history. Despite being a Junior and a BTS minor, I actually havenā€™t taken many Bible or theology classes. I also never learned much of Roman history in junior high or high school, so this trip was going to be a whole new world and wealth of knowledge for me. Before the trip we read some books to brush up, or in my case learn about Christian and Roman history (it was a lot of information that did not care to remain in my brain during the trip).

As soon as we arrived, we were herded to our first three sights of the trip: The Pantheon, the Church of the Gesu, and the Ara Pacis. Itā€™s important to note ā€œherdingā€ is a very appropriate term. We walked everywhere, led (or shall I say shepherded) by our two professors; we probably looked like a herd of unusual American tourists, and this is exactly what we were.

Stepping outside of your comfort zone is one of the greatest gifts God has given us and that we can give to God.

Professors Willitts and Veeneman know how to travel. If thereā€™s one thing I took away, it was how to be a traveler. We had free audio guides (courtesy of Rick Steve), and guide books that had enough information to spark conversation while not overwhelming us. I loved all the walking, and I chose to walk when given the option, even going on a mini ā€œpilgrimage.ā€ Walking is a great way to see the city. Walking through Rome made me take in more of the city, see the neighborhoods and their aesthetics change, experience the interactions between people, not look like a tourist (a huge plus for me), get great exercise (and not feel guilty about all the pizza and pasta I consumed!), and it helped me navigate and understand the city. Although taking a bus everywhere may have been less tiring, I wouldnā€™t have been able to grasp the immensity, extravagance, and culture nearly as well.

Letā€™s get back to what we did though. Every day we saw a few different places of significance to the Christian faith, to the Roman Empire, to western theology, and any combination of these. In this blog series, Iā€™ll talk about the places that I found to be the most intriguing, the knowledge and relationships I gained, and the topics that still lurk in my mind all while relating it to my life back in Chicago.

Before I wrap up this first post, I want to encourage anyone reading this to a) continue to read the rest of my series, b) study abroad or travel to other countries, and c) go on this trip! Traveling and experiencing a new culture is daunting and nerve-wracking. It is a humbling experience if you let it be (please let it!), and although the cons may seem to outweigh the pros in foresight, you will never regret the experience in hindsight, no matter how unplanned, disorganized, chaotic, and scary it may turn it out be.Ā You still learn things years afterward, and stepping outside of your comfort zone is one of the greatest gifts God has given us and that we can give to God.

Interested in traveling with BTS next spring break?

ROME and POMPEII SPRING BREAK 2018 TOUR INFO MEETING

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