Gustavus Awarded $25,000 Vocational Exploration Grant by CIC NetVUE

Gustavus Adolphus College has been awarded a $25,000 grant from Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) NetVUE for vocational exploration for students and professional development for the staff members who will implement the new educational program.

The initiative, which has been named The Purposeful Living and Learning Project, has begun with 23 academic advisers and student employment supervisors attending four workshops over the course of this semester. The workshops will address a variety of topics that focus on vocation, such as different kinds of vocabulary and how to bring up important topics when working with students one-on-one.

Siri Erickson, the Gustavus chaplain who is co-chairing the program, has high hopes that this grant will strengthen the entirety of vocational education at Gustavus. It is going to start off primarily focusing on first-year students and the advisers and supervisors who engage with these students. The staff will be trained on how to initiate conversations with students regarding questions of purpose and vocation.

“Helping people discover their meaning and purpose by asking – Who am I? How do I want to make an impact on the world? What are the values and convictions that drive me? – That’s what vocation at Gustavus is all about,” Erickson explained.

Erickson and Associate Provost Julie Bartley are the co-chairs of the leadership team. The faculty working on the program include Kate Knutson (political science), Jeff Dahlseid (biology and chemistry) and Pam Conners (communications studies). Margo W. Druschel (Director, Academic Support Center), Steve Kjellgren (Associate Vice President, Dining Service, Book Mark and Print and Mail Services) and Amy Pehrson (Director, Mentoring and Peer Education) will be the administrators on the grant program team.

“We intend to create a community where people talk about questions of vocation and purpose often, so that all of our students graduate with the ability to pursue their goals in work, learning, and life on purpose and with purpose. We want to build time for this kind of reflection and conversation into the fabric of the College,” Erickson said.