This document summarizes a summer fellowship program at Seattle University's Center for Service and Community Engagement that provides vocational exploration opportunities for students. The fellowship involves interns facilitating group reflections, advising student leaders, and understanding the organization of a complex student program. Through readings, conversations and internship experiences, the fellows explore their vocations and gain skills in areas like leadership and communication. They reflect on understanding themselves and discerning their purpose, and take away lessons about the value of questions over answers in vocational discernment.

1. Summer Fellowships for Vocational Exploration
Center for Service and Community Engagement
Amy Bergstrom | SDAD 5650
December 5, 2014

2. Roadmap
Seattle
University
CSCE
Summer
Fellowships
Vocational
Exploration
& Meaning
Making
What I
Learned

3. Seattle University
Seattle University is dedicated to
educating the whole person, to
professional formation, and to
empowering leaders for a just
and humane world.
• 2012 Presidential Award for community service
• 2013 U.S. News and World Report list of top 25
schools for service-learning
• 78% of students take a service-learning class
during their Seattle University experience

4. Center for Service and
Community Engagement
Connecting classroom, campus,
and community
“When the heart is touched by direct
experience, the mind may be challenged to
change.” – Peter Hans Kolvenbach, S.J.
Student engagement programs are
scaffolded, developmental, and integrated

5. CSCE Student Engagement
Labor of Love
New Student Immersions
Serve Seattle
Short-term volunteer
Weeklong immersions
Service-learning
Jumpstart Corps member
Just Serve member
Work study
Long-term volunteer
Jumpstart leader
Partners for Action and Community
Just Serve director
Fellowships
Advocacy skills training
2+ years in leadership programs
Awareness Dissonance &
Re-evaluation
Integration Long-Term
Commitment
Labor of Love
New Student
Immersions
Serve Seattle
Short-term
volunteer
Weeklong
immersions
Service-learning
Jumpstart Corps
member
Just Serve
member
Work study
Long-term
volunteer
Jumpstart leader
Partners for
Action and
Community
Just Serve
director
Advocacy skills
training
Fellowships
2+ years in
leadership
programs

6. Work Plan Objectives
Develop skills in
facilitating
group reflection
and dialogue
Develop skills in
advising and
supervising
student leaders
Understand the
organization of
a complex
student program

7. The Fellowship Program
Group dialogue
4 new-student
projects
7 internships +
one-on-ones

8. Vocational Exploration
Think back to when you were entering
your junior or senior year of college.
How did you understand your vocation?
How did you feel about it?

9. The Fellows’ Goals for the Summer
• Better idea of type of organization to work for
• Take on more challenging projects
• Learn about culture of an organization
• Do things wholeheartedly
• Balance between discerning future plans for self as
well as learning about organization
• Learn new skills
• Understand an organization’s role in a larger issue
• How professional interests and justice areas intersect
• How just relationships come about
• Explore a different justice issue

10. Exploring Vocation Together
• Read Let Your Life Speak by Parker Palmer
• Group conversations
• One-on-ones

11. “It’s hard to look at your own life and see a
meaningful journey.”
“I began to value the importance of questions rather
than answers.”
“The meetings turned into moments of relief; we all
don’t know what we’re doing.”
“The main thing to take away is that I have a lot left
to think about.”
“I learned a lot, but not what I was expecting to learn.”
“What do I want to feel that passionate about?”

12. Making Meaning of Vocation
• Chickering’s (1969*) vectors of identity development
• Developing competence
• Establishing identity
• Developing purpose
• Baxter Magolda’s (2001*) theory of self-authorship
• Trusting the inner voice
• Building an internal foundation
• Securing internal commitments
* As cited in Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton, & Renn, 2010

13. Making Meaning of Vocation
• Schlossberg’s (1995*) transition theory
• Moving in, moving through, moving out
• The 4 S’s
• Situation: Trigger, timing, control, role change
• Self: Personal characteristics, psychological
resources
• Support: Types, functions, measurement
• Strategies: Modify, control meaning, manage stress
* As cited in Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton, & Renn, 2010

14. SDA Learning Outcomes
• LO#2: Understanding
students and student
issues
• LO#6: Developing and
demonstrating skills in
leadership and
collaboration
• LO#8: Communicating
effectively in speech and
in writing

15. What I Take Away
• Complex program
• Intense relationship-building
• Frequent student wrangling
• Frustration and so much joy
“I’ve never been so
reflective in my life.”

16. References
Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F. M., Patton, L. D., & Renn, K. A. (2010).
Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.