Running head: VOCATION AND DISCERNMENT

Vocation & Discernment Crystal Norwood Loyola University Chicago

VOCATION AND DISCERNMENT

We intend on designing a seminar that encourages students to reflect upon and explore their core values and passions in order to inform their future vocational pursuits. It is our hope that this seminar will provide students with the space and tools to reflect upon their why, to explore who they are at their core, and to reveal what brings them the most joy as it relates to their future life and career goals. Additionally, we hope that in the years following this workshop, participants will continue to be guided by their values and passions and will be inclined to constantly reflect on their why. Leah Rational for ICD project Students are often pressured to decide what they want to do with the rest of their lives beginning at a very early age. Such conversations are often focused on selecting the right major or choosing a career path without giving students the opportunity to reflect on their passions and values. As a Graduate Assistant in an academic advising office, I find that the conversations I have with students regarding their future goal plans are often straightforward. Students dont necessarily want to engage in conversations regarding their passions and values as they relate to their future plans, perhaps because they have not been challenged and encouraged enough to do so. Students often mention that they intend to go to medical school, graduate school, or become a lawyer and want to know the best way to get to those end goals rather than focusing on revealing their niche then working on discovering a path that supports it. In addition to having one-on-one conversations with students, I think it would also be extremely beneficial for students to be given the tools and space to do some personal reflection and exploration which is what we hope to provide through this seminar.

VOCATION AND DISCERNMENT Crystals Rationale for ICD project

In reflecting on my own journey and experience I have been really fortunate that I was told to follow my dreams and passions. Along the way I have encountered individuals who invested in my passion to help people. Unfortunately everyones journey is not that way. So in reflecting I believe in the power of allowing students to follow their calling. I think as administrators, family members and faculty we crush students dreams in steering them on a path. Last semester I took a spirituality class and it focused on passion and calling. Through that experience it has been powerful and has charged me to share this with everyone. I believe that everyone should have the opportunity to encounter a course like the one I did. The thing that I fall back on is the question, if you could do anything that you knew you couldnt fail what it be? And what wakes you up in the morning? These two questions get to the core of this potential seminar. Potential Clients We came up with several potential clients we felt we could share our ICD project including academic advising, career development, conduct, and leadership offices. We felt it would be helpful to share this project with academic advising offices as partners in collaboration. As alluded to earlier, academic advisors often have critical conversations with students regarding future planning. In collaborating with advisors, they can become the facilitators of such discussions in and outside of the seminar. This seminar topic aligns well with the Loyola Experience which was created to provide students with an outline of key experiences and milestones to work towards during their time at Loyola. In year two, for instance, the Loyola Experience encourages students to explore and

VOCATION AND DISCERNMENT

define personal values and strive to understand how they relate to personal, academic and professional goals while in the goals outlined for year three, students are encouraged to find their calling and to lead with these values. We also identified the Career Development Office as a client to share our ICD project with as they would be an important partner in supporting students vocational goal. The Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution is another potential client we identified because of their dedication to providing a safe environment for students by promoting responsible decision making and a focus on self-awareness. The opportunity in partnership will allow conduct officers the ability to sanction students based on their passions. Relationships between people and communities would be strengthening and this partnership would allow students the opportunity to embrace the choices and decisions they make while also opening up dialogue. The Student Leadership Development is an office where staff believes everyone has the potential to engage in the leadership process. This partnership would potentially go beyond the leadership scope but more the understanding of values based and teaching individuals that they each have unique talents and gifts that they can pursue. Project details The ICD project we would like to create is a seminar experience. This experience would go for a 4 week period. We are hoping that each session would aim to be about 4 hours with content and reflection. Each weekly meeting would be developmental focusing intentionally on personal development and discernment. The project audience we were aiming to gear this seminar to are juniors and seniors specifically students in the College of Arts and Sciences. Our hope is to also expand and incorporate students

VOCATION AND DISCERNMENT outside these frameworks. We believe this experience would be beneficial to any and every one. This seminar would be in partnership with faculty, community members and campus partners. Their role will mainly be assisting in presenting and panel. We understand that our campus partners have a lot to offer so really being intentional about who comes and presents will allow us to meet our learning outcomes. Learning Goals

Foundational Knowledge A year (or more) after this seminar is over, we want and hope that students will understand discernment as a life-long process. Students will remember that there is a universal human hunger for connectedness, purpose, and meaning. Students will identify basic distinctions among faith, vocation and discernment. Students will understand the big questions and the reason for asking and delving deep into them.

Application Goals A year (or more) after this seminar is over, we want and hope that students will use storytelling and reflective dialogue to explore, make sense of, and hear their own and others diverse narratives. Students will imagine themselves as a whole person committed to their own and others holistic development. Students will use faith development theories and vocational discernment tools to make sense of their own vocational story.

Integration Goals A year (or more) after this course/workshop/program is over, we want and hope that students will connect Fowlers faith development theory and vocational discernment to their own life and work. Students will integrate their values system and discernment efforts into everyday practice.

Human Dimensions Goals A year (or more) after this seminar is over, we want and hope that students will come to see themselves in any career that authentically combines soul with role.

VOCATION AND DISCERNMENT Students will become aware of their own vocational story, what their calling is, and the gifts and values that accompany it. Students will interact sensitively, compassionately, and confidentially with participants in the seminar by listening with love and care. Students will become a person who can live free, undivided and whole.

Caring Goals A year (or more) after this seminar is over, we want and hope that students will be ready to engage with others holistically and authentically. Students will value critical thinking and self-reflection as vital to ones development and exploration. Students will be genuinely interested in other participants stories because these stories shaped and will continue to shape their lives. Students will be excited to connect their own values with the potentially rich contributions they can make to society.

"Learning-How-to-Learn" Goals A year (or more) after this seminar is over, we want and hope that students will be able to identify important resources for their own continued learning. Students will be able to construct knowledge about what vocation discernment means to be their whole self. Students will live their lives in ways that promote ongoing learning and development. Assessment Methods This ICD project is a seminar that encourages students to reflect upon and explore their core values and passions in order to inform their future vocational pursuits. It is our hope that this seminar will provide students with the space and tools to reflect upon their why, to explore who they are at their core, and to reveal what brings them the most joy as it relates to their future life and career goals. Additionally, we hope that in the years following this workshop, participants will continue to be guided by their values and passions and will be inclined to constantly reflect on their why.

Assessment Activity #1: Eulogy Eulogy Writing Assignment:

VOCATION AND DISCERNMENT How do you want to be remembered?

First of all, youre all going to live long lives full of happiness and success. With that said, it is always an interesting thought to reflect on how you might be remembered once that moment in time does come that you are no longer with us. Your writing assignment will be a eulogy about YOU written by YOU. Basically a eulogy is a speech given by a close friend or family member at a funeral that honors the life of the individual who died. You can approach this assignment from two perspectives: 1. You can write your eulogy with the focus of it being the life youve lived up to this moment in time (16 years old-20 years old). What have you done? How will you be remembered? 2. 2. You can write your eulogy with the focus of it being the nice long life that you plan on living. You can write from any hypothetical situation. Maybe you lived to be 90. What did you do in your 90 years that have positively affected those around you? This scenario can include a little more fiction, but it should still be realistic and reflective of how you actually would like to be remembered. Your eulogy should be at least two pages typed/double spaced and written in the third person (also identify who is delivering your eulogy). You will be assessed on your ideas and your conventions. Be creative and try to think realistically. What do you want your legacy to be? What do you want to be remembered as? Refer to this source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/are-you-livingyour-eulogy-or-your-resume_b_3936937.html Learning Outcomes Met Application Goals Use storytelling and reflective dialogue to explore, make sense of, and hear your own and other diverse narratives Use faith development theories and vocational discernment tools to make sense of your own vocational story Integration Students will integrate their values system and discernment efforts into everyday practice

VOCATION AND DISCERNMENT

Human Dimension Students will become aware of their own vocational story, what their calling is, and the gifts and values that accompany it Students will become a person who can live free, undivided and whole Caring Goals A year (or more) after this seminar is over, we want and hope that students will be ready to engage with others holistically and authentically Students will value critical thinking and self-reflection as vital to ones development and exploration. Learning How to Learn Students will be able to construct knowledge about what vocational discernment means to be their whole self.

Assessment Activity 2: Life Map In constructing your life map, we ask you to reflect upon your past, present and future self, thinking about the events, places, people, values, and environments that have shaped who you were, are and who you are going to be. Using the supplies of a large piece of paper and markers, we ask that you map out your journey through life. In an effort to support and encourage all participants to reflect deeply and share openly, we will model our own life maps and share with the group before asking participants to get started. We acknowledge the vulnerability that such an activity may require so we would like to remind everyone that this is a safe space. Learning Outcomes Met Application Goals A year (or more) after this seminar is over, we want and hope that students will use storytelling and reflective dialogue to explore, make sense of, and hear their own and others diverse narratives. Human Dimensions Goals Students will become aware of their own vocational story, what their calling is, and the gifts and values that accompany it. Students will interact sensitively, compassionately, and confidentially with participants in the seminar by listening with love and care. Caring Goals

VOCATION AND DISCERNMENT

A year (or more) after this seminar is over, we want and hope that students will be ready to engage with others holistically and authentically. Students will value critical thinking and self-reflection as vital to ones development and exploration. Students will be genuinely interested in other participants stories because these stories shaped and will continue to shape their lives.

Teaching and Learning Activities

Teaching/Learning Activity #1 Watching Dr. Brene Browns TedTalk on Vulnerability: http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability Engaging in Reflective Dialogue with Self and then with Others Dr. Brene Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work. She has spent the past decade studying vulnerability, courage, worthiness, and shame. We believe that sharing her TedTalk on Vulnerability will provide participants of this seminar with a vehicle to discuss vulnerability, courage and other things that can enrich dialogues in and outside of the classroom and can also inform their search for meaning and vocational discernment. We would like to share this 20 minute clip with participants and then provide them with 10 minutes to journal about their reactions to the video or to simply sit in silence, reflecting. We will then split participants into small groups of 3-5 to provide participants with an opportunity to engage in reflective dialogue with others. After participants have had at least 20 minutes to do this, we would have everyone come back for a large discussion, hoping that some of the following powerful concepts and messages were discussed while also listening for how participants made meaning from the video, their own self reflection and their small group dialogue. We could guide the large group discussion by considering some of the concepts Dr. Brown emphasizes such as connection, shame, worthiness, whole-hearted

VOCATION AND DISCERNMENT living, compassion, and vulnerability and also dissecting some of her main messages, including: People who have a sense of worthiness have a strong sense of love and

10

belonging and believe that they are worthy of love and belong; Whole hearted individuals live from a deep sense of Worthiness: demonstrating courage to be imperfect and telling the story of who they are with their whole heart, Compassion: understanding that we must be kind to ourselves first in order to authentically practice compassion with others, Connection: is a result of authenticity and we must let go of who we think we should be to embrace who we are, and Vulnerability: that what makes you vulnerable makes you beautiful; vulnerability is the core of shame, fear and struggle for worthiness, also the birth place of joy creativity, belonging, and love; Let ourselves be deeply seen, love with our whole hearts even if there is no guarantee, practice gratitude and joy, and believe that we are enough. Below are some of the learning outcomes we feel can be achieved through this learning activity. We feel that this activity provides participants with an opportunity to reflect upon their own experiences and definitions of vulnerability, connection, compassion, belonging, etc as we feel such reflection is vital to finding purpose and is also at the core of vocational discernment. In recognizing the value of vulnerability, we hope that participants can connect with one another as well as connect with important people in their lives, begin to reflect upon what it means to be ones whole self as it relates to ones own personal development as well as developing as a professional. We believe that the fruitfulness of discussions will be the strongest indicator as to whether or not these goals have been achieved.

VOCATION AND DISCERNMENT

11

Students will remember that there is a universal human hunger for connectedness, purpose and meaning.

Students will imagine themselves as a whole person committed to their own and others holistic development.

Students will interact sensitively, compassionately and confidently with other participants in the seminar by listening with love and care

Students will be ready to engaged with others holistically and authentically. Students will be able to construct knowledge about what it means to be their whole self.

Teaching/Learning Activity #2 Prep work required for this activity and for the seminar as a whole would be the read Kevin Carrolls Rules of the Red Rubber Ball. http://www.kevincarrollkatalyst.com/books/ Reflective Dialogue with Self: Provide Participants with the Opportunity/Space to reflect upon the following questions: If you could do anything and knew you couldnt fail, what would it be? What wakes you up in the morning? Author, speaker, and agent for social change Kevin Carroll shares with his readers in Rules of the Red Rubber Ball how to achieve human potential through discovering ones passion and embracing creativity. Find you own rubber ball as Kevin coins it, is striving to find your hearts content, which will lead to prosperity, peace and happiness. We would like participants to read this book in order to prepare to reflect upon the big questions we pose in this workshop. As we have previously discussed, the above two questions get to the core of this potential seminar. Providing students with the intentional opportunity and space to reflect upon these questions is important in achieving the goals of this seminar. At this time, we propose providing students with an hour during the

VOCATION AND DISCERNMENT seminar where they can go to whatever space (be it staying in the room we are hosting

12

the seminar in, going on a walk, a coffee shop, etc) to reflect upon these questions. We feel it is important that students have adequate time to reflect upon these big thoughts wherever they feel most comfortable being able to do so. This would be an appropriate activity to do towards the end of the seminar in order to ensure that participants have previously been provided enough space and time to feel comfortable doing such reflection. We feel the below learning outcomes would be achieved through this exercise. Because these questions are at the core of our seminar and are at the core of vocational discernment and meaning making, all of the learning goals could be applied to this activity; however, we felt the following most directly relate. This reflection opportunity provides participants with the opportunity to reflect on their values system, do some discernment, think about how their passions can connect to their future careers, and understand the value of self-reflection. In order to provide authentic opportunities for self-reflection, it would be difficult to assess whether or not these learning goals are achieved through this activity since this is a personal reflection activity. We can invite students, upon their return, to share with another participant what their experiences were like as well as what they were able to reflect upon for 5 minutes each. We can also invite people to share their experiences to the entire group, should they feel willing and brave enough to do so. A year (or more) after this course/workshop/program is over, we want and hope that students will integrate their values system and discernment efforts into everyday practice.

VOCATION AND DISCERNMENT A year (or more) after this seminar is over, we want and hope that students will

13

come to see themselves in any career that authentically combines soul with role. A year (or more) after this seminar is over, we want and hope that students will become aware of their own vocational story, what their calling is, and the gifts and values that accompany it. A year (or more) after this seminar is over, we want and hope that students will value critical thinking and self-reflection as vital to ones development and exploration. A year (or more) after this seminar is over, we want and hope that students will be ready to actively self-reflect upon their values, their why, and their passion areas. Integration of Design

ICD Integration Worksheet

Learning Goals for Course Where do you want to go? Ideally what do you want students to learn? Ways of Assessing This Kind of Learning How will you know if students get where you want them to go? How will you know if they are achieving the goals youve set? Actual Teaching-Learning Helpful Resources Activities Who and what can help? How are you going to get students there? What teaching and learning activities will help them best meet your learning goals?

Primary Learning Goals: Foundational Knowledge. 1. Students will be able to understand discernment as a tool to make an appropriate decision about

+Reflection Papers +Life Map +Daily Reflection Questions

+Courageous Conversations +Spiritual Buddy

+ Recommended Readings +Alternative Break Immersions +Service Opportunities

VOCATION AND DISCERNMENT career choice and will understand that discernment is a +One Minute Paper life-long process. +Reflection Paper +Life Map 2. Students will remember that there is a universal human hunger for +One Minute Paper connectedness, +Life Map purpose, and +Daily Reflection meaning. Questions 3. Students will understand the big questions and the reason for asking and delving deep into them. Primary Learning Goals: Application Goals. 4. Students will use storytelling and reflective dialogue to explore, make sense of, and hear their own and others diverse narratives. +Reflection Paper + Life Map + Eulogy

14

+Loyola Student Experience +Ted Talk- Brene Brown + Letter to future Self +Story Corp Interview +Courageous Conversations

+Recommended Readings +Service Opportunities +Alternative Break Immersions +Affirmations

+Fowler Theory of Faith +Center Partners Development +Retreats +Loyola Student +Campus Ministry Experience +Spiritual Buddy +Red Rubber Ball Activity

+Story Corp Interviews +Loyola Student Experience +Courageous Conversations +Spiritual Biddy

+Panel of Campus Partners or outside participants

5. Students will imagine themselves as a whole person committed to their +Reflection Papers own and others +Eulogy holistic +Life Map development. 6. Students will use faith development theories and vocational discernment tools to make sense of

+Reflection Papers +Life Map +This I believe Essay

+Courageous Conversations +Ted Talk +Spiritual BVuddy

+ Family, Friends and Classmates +Wellness Center Mindfulness Groups

+Courageous Conversations +Red Rubber Ball +Spiritual Buddy

+Student Leadership & SDMA at the workshop +Wellness Center Mindfulness Groups +Recommended Readings

VOCATION AND DISCERNMENT their own vocational story reflecting on their why, their values, and their passion areas. Primary Learning Goals: Integration. 7. Students will connect with what they are learning about Fowlers faith development theory and vocational discernment to their own life and work in the future. +One Minute Paper +Reflection Paper +Life Map +Loyola Student Experience +Courageous Conversations

15

+Academic Affairs +Career Development +Leadership Development +Fowlers Faith Development Theory Readings

8. Students will integrate their values system and discernment efforts +Reflection Paper into everyday +Life Map practice. +Eulogy 9. Students will connect together meaningful ideas and practices. Secondary Learning Goal: Human Dimensions. 10. Students will come to see themselves in any career that authentically combines soul with role. 11. Students will become aware of

+One Minute Paper +Reflection Paper +Eulogy +Daily Reflection Questions

+Red Rubber Ball +Spiritual Buddy

+Panel of Professionals +Loyola Student/Alumni +Recommended Readings

+Loyola Student Experience +Courageous Conversations

+Recommended Readings +Family, Friends, and classmates

+One Minute Paper +Letter to Self +Storycorp Interview +Daily Reflection Questions +One Minute Paper +Life Map +Letter to Self +Daily Reflection

+Courageous Conversations +Spiritual Buddy +Red Rubber Ball Activity

+www.futureme.org +Campus Partners +Wellness Center Mindfulness Groups

+Spiritual Buddy +Courageous Conversations

+www.futureme.org +Retreats +Alternative Break Immersions

VOCATION AND DISCERNMENT their own vocational story, what their calling is, and the gifts and values that accompany it. 12. Students will interact sensitively, compassionately, and confidentially with participants in the seminar by listening with love and care. Secondary Learning Goal: Caring Goals 13. Students will be ready to engage with others holistically and authentically. +One Minute Paper +Letter to Self +Storycorp Interview +Courageous Conversations +Spiritual Buddy +Red Rubber Ball +Ted Talk +Spiritual Buddy +Courageous Conversations Questions +Red Rubber Ball Activity

16

+Life Map +Letter to Self +Daily Reflection Questions

+Red Rubber Ball +Courageous Conversations +Spiritual Buddy

+Loyola Student/Alumni +Family and Friends +Retreats +Affirmations

+www.futureme.org +Campus Partners +Wellness Center Mindfulness Groups +Affirmations +www.futureme.org +Retreats +Alternative Break Immersions

+One Minute Paper 14. Students will value +Life Map critical thinking +Letter to Self and self-reflection +Daily Reflection as vital to ones Questions development and exploration. 15. Students will be genuinely interested in other participants stories because these stories shaped and will continue to shape their lives. 16. Students will be excited to connect their own values with the potentially +Life Map +Letter to Self +Storycorp Interview

+ Spiritual Buddy +Courageous Conversations +Ted Talk

+Loyola Student/Alumni +Family and Friends +Retreats

+Reflection +Letter to Future Self +Life Map

+Red Rubber Ball +Ted Talk +Courageous Conversations +Spiritual Buddy

+Family, friends, and classmates +www.futureme.org +Mentor +Academic Advisor +Career Development Center +Service opportunities

VOCATION AND DISCERNMENT rich contributions they can make to society.

17 and Service/Faith Student Organizations

Secondary Learning Goal: Learning how to Learn: +Life Map 17. Students will be +Eulogy able to identify +Reflection important resources for their own continued learning. +One Minute Paper +Life Map 18. Students will be +Letter to Future Self able to construct knowledge about what means to be their whole self. +Reflection Paper +Letter to Future Self 19. Students will live their lives in ways that promote ongoing learning and development. +Loyola Student Experience +Study Abroad opportunities +Student Leadership Workshops +Fellow Participants +Mentors +Family and Friends +Recommended Readings +Outside Resources (as identified by student)

+Spiritual Buddy +Ted Talk +Loyola Student Experience

+Loyola Student Experience +Spiritual Buddy +Red Rubber Ball +Courageous Conversations

+Loyola Student/Alumni +Panel participants/Seminar facilitators +Mentors +Academic Advisor

VOCATION AND DISCERNMENT References

18

Astin, A.W., Astin, H.S., & J.A. Lindholm. (2011). Cultivating the spirit: How college can enhace students inner lives. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass. B Brown. (2012, March). Listening to shame. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_listening_to_shame Baxter Magolda, M. (2008). Three elements of self-authorship. Journal of College Student Development, 49, 269-284. Brown, Brene. (2010). The gifts of imperfection: Let go of who you think youre supposed to be and embrace who you are. Center City, Minnesota: Hazelden. Coelho, P. (2006). The alchemist. San Francisco: HarperCollins Publishers. DArcy, P. (2011). Red fire: A quest for awakening. Inner Ocean/Innisfree Press. Fowler, J.W. (2001). Faith development theory and the postmodern challenges. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 11(3), 159-172. Fowlers, J.W. (2004). Faith development at 30: Naming the challenges of faith in a new millennium. Religious Education, 99(4), 405-421. G D Menton. (2013, May 13) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHHPNMIK-fY Love, P. (2002). Comparing spiritual development and cognitive development. Journal of College Student Development, 43(3), 357-373. Miller, D. (2009). A million miles in a thousand years. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Incorporated. Nash, R.J. (2001). Religious pluralism in the academy. New York: Peter Lang Schweitzer (Eds.), Developing a public faith: New directions in practical theology (pp. 15-42). St. Louis, MO : Chalic Press.

VOCATION AND DISCERNMENT Smith, C. (2009). Souls in transition: The religious and spiritual lives of emerging adults. Oxford: Oxford University Press

19