ADDITIONAL PROGRAM FUNDING
Current Programs
Pastoral Intern
The Lilly Grant provides funding and housing for a pastoral intern each year. The Pastor's Office has greatly benefited from the insight and expertise these interns offer while the interns benefit from engagement in campus life. The Sustainability Grant continues to subsidize this program that was started by the original grant.
The 2009-2010 pastoral intern is Andrew Willis '03.
Vocational Library
A vocational resource center has been established in the CEL that offers resources for student, faculty and staff and that relate to vocation, as emphasized through the Lilly Grant Program. Click here to view the books that are available for check-out.
Vocational Workshops
- Identifiying Vocational Interests Workshop Series
The CEL has perfected a three-part workshop series where students thoroughly explore their vocation through specific activities and assessment tools. These workshops were started during the original grant period and continue to be administered by CEL professionals for the student body. The first workshop in this series consists of interactive, reflective exercises to help students discover or clarify their VISA (values, interests, skills & abilities) and set them up to take two assessments: one on their occupational interests, and one on personality. Part Two: The Strong Interest Inventory (SII) will identify specific careers related to students' interests. Part Three: The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) highlights personal strengths and helps identify career niches that fit with students' style. - Vocational Discernment Through Post-Graduate Service
This workshop introduces students to service programs such as Lutheran Volunteer Corps, AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, etc. CEL staff facilitates discussion on service and vocation.
Vocational Retreats
In addition to the Transforming Privilege Retreat, The Lilly Grant provides some funding for other vocational retreats through several courses and CEL initiatives. These retreats have generated considerable interest and have produced some of the campus's most insightful conversations about vocational discernment. The following are examples of vocational retreats:
- Day in the Life Homeless Immersion
The following interim classes received funding for a homeless immersion experience run by the St. Stephen's shelter in Minneapolis: The Social Work class "I Want to Help People" and the Religion class "Christianity and Social Power." This retreat creates an opportunity for students to connect with individuals who have experienced urban poverty and homelessness, to reflect on their experiences, and to explore possible responses. - Social Work 120: I Want to Help People
This initiative introduces students to the concept of vocation through varied activities during a classroom presentation and follow-up journaling assignmnets. CEL staff work with students in follow-up sessions to help identify their passions and gifts, and then direct students to resources on various helping careers. During a day-long retreat CEL staff help students reflect upon their vocational mission statments. - Social Work 381
This senior seminar class recieved funding for an event called "A Conversation on Social Work, Service and Vocation." This was a dialogue between alumni and senior majors on how to sustain a vocation in social work areas. - Faculty Development
The 2009 Civic Engagment Faculty Institute was sponsored by the CEL with support from the Lilly Grant. Nine faculty members participated in a three-day workshop to think and learn about academic civic engagement. - "Moving Forward while Standing Still"
The 2008-2009 Lilly Vocational Intern and Pastoral Intern hosted a day-long interfaith retreat on vocation, personal strenghts, and moving forward with plans and studies while remaining reflective.
Student-led Initiatives
The Lilly Grant occasionally funds student-led initiatives that are related to vocation. Ole Spring Relief, a student-run Spring Break service trip serving the Gulf Coast area in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, invited a pastor from New Orleans to help the students reflect on their experience. The student group Interfaith Conversation (ICON) received funding to bring the Interfaith YouthCorps to campus and to transport students to an interfaith event in the Twin Cities.