Gustavus Adolphus College

By Whitney Langenfeld, ’09

Our time is often consumed with meetings and other important plans until our calendars are packed full of activities we can’t even remember entering into our agenda. As members of the Gustavus community are busy shuffling around schedules, it is refreshing to walk through the campus center and find a welcoming office with a comfy couch. The Center for Vocational Reflection, or CVR as it is known, serves the Gustavus community as an ideal retreat from the hustle and bustle, while still focusing on and uniting people around the important, big questions in life.

Overall, the purpose of the CVR is to encourage individuals to take a real look at the person they are and help lead them to a life that's true to who they are, but also one that’s about being “other” centered.

Though this sounds like a daunting task, the CVR takes on such issues and brings the Gustavus community together through an unending array of fun, interesting, and reflective programs, and events.

The center is staffed by full-time administrators Chris Johnson ’85 and Amy Pehrson ’91 and five student interns. This fall the CVR impacted Gustavus with some old (yet great) and some new projects. Some of them are described below.

Take Back Your Time Day planned by Intern Amara Berthelson, ’10, communication studies major:

On Friday, Oct. 24, the CVR enlisted 33 Gustavus students to hang nine-inch wall clocks around their necks that said, “Is it weighing on you? Take back your time.” The students wore the wall clocks in observance of National Take Back Your Time Day, which, according to the official Take Back Your Time website, is a major U.S. and Canadian initiative to challenge the epidemic of overwork, over-scheduling, and time famine that now threatens our health, families, relationships, communities, and environment.

The weight of a wall clock around a student’s neck, along with the caption “Is it weighing on you? Take Back Your Time,” symbolized the constant pressure that time exerts on students’ lives. The CVR wanted to make students more aware of this pressure and encourage them to think differently about their time.

In addition to wearing clocks, the CVR staff conducted a survey that asked students to share their schedules and answer a few questions in exchange for a free Take Back Your Time T-shirt. Out of the 57 students surveyed, 37 considered the demands on their time “just right,” 19 consider themselves “too busy,” and one considered his/herself “not busy enough.”

Laurent A. Parks Daloz with several Gustavus students at an overnight retreat.

Men’s Leadership planned by Intern Ben Hilding, ’09, by religion major:

Another CVR facilitated project was an initiative established to spark men's involvement and leadership on campus. On Oct. 25-26, a group of 40 Gustavus male students and faculty or staff members spent the weekend at Shalom Hills Farm in Windom, Minn., where they engaged in cross-generational conversations about masculinity as a college male in society today and more.

Also, on Monday, Oct. 27, Dr. L.A. Parks Daloz presented his research on men for the 21st century after attending the retreat. His presentation, titled "From Armored Boy to Wise Old Man: How Men Grow Up . . . Or Don't: Men for the 21st Century," analyzed the way men have a tendency to wear armor that disallows them to participate in deep and vulnerable conversations with each other.

This CVR project aims to transform college men’s self-perception into one of responsibility, sincerity, vulnerability, servitude, leadership, and above all, the perception of one as a man.

Chill-Out and Wellness Fair planned by Intern Rachel Schmitt, ’11, political science and Spanish major:

The 8th Annual Chill Out and Wellness Fair, held Thursday, Nov. 6, was another example of how the CVR serves the Gustavus community by encouraging students to consider the purpose of their lives and advocating for a holistic wellness—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. This year’s theme was “YOU Come First: Healthy Relationships and Healthy Lifestyles.”

The Chill Out gave Gustavus students an opportunity to relax, have fun, and reflect on how to lead lives that are balanced, well rounded, and meaningful. This year’s wellness fair featured 40 vendors from the St. Peter and Gustavus communities that provided products and services that better the lives of those who call Gustavus home.

Earth Counsel planned by Intern Lauren Fulner, ’09, communication studies major:

The CVR has been integral in the creation of a St. Peter Earth Council—a group of community members who meet monthly to form deep relationships and address environmental and social justice issues in the community. The concept of an Earth Council was created by Eric Utne, an activist and writer that the CVR brought to campus several times in the past.

The St. Peter Earth Council meets regularly and addresses issues such as the changing St. Peter landscape. This CVR initiative is not only creating lasting relationships with community members, but also providing an opportunity to serve both the Gustavus and wider St. Peter community through conversation and action as discerned by the Earth Council.

Team Building Initiative planned by Intern Whitney Langenfeld, ’09, communication studies major:

A distinctive characteristic of Gustavus is its five core values: community, excellence, faith, justice, and service. These values are present throughout many facets of Gustavus and students are encouraged to incorporate aspects of these values into their lives.

With this in mind, a collaborative committee of students, faculty, and staff are working to promote the use of team building on campus, an area where the core value of community and the College interest in leadership meet. The committee will train a group of students to be facilitators for team-building activities and to use the school’s mobile challenge course.

The goal is to provide a broad range of team-building opportunities to all those on campus, from students to faculty and staff, which will provide the chance for individuals to understand and experience the important role of team building in life and career.

Servant Leadership Program planned by Chris Johnson and Amy Pehrson:

A year-long, annual program, the Servant Leadership Program consists of students who have spent the summer working with an organization or agency that contributes to the common good, in a position that will enable them to act and grow as "servant-leaders."

The primary focus of this program is to develop servant-leaders by reflecting on issues of vocation and lives of service. Each year, students in the program are placed into “pods,” or small groups, where much of their reflection and work within the program is done. Participants are asked to make a significant, sincere, and enthusiastic commitment to all the aspects of the program throughout both semesters of the next school year.

For more information about these initiatives or the Center for Vocational Reflection, visit http://gustavus.edu/vocation or call 507-933-7159.