Bekah Enns鈥� great-grandparents would not recognize the way she is pursuing an academic degree in 2013. For one thing, the senior major at 黑料正能量 spent last semester off campus, testing her work skills in her three academic minors鈥�, political science, and .
Her experience reflects the new ways and new places that education takes place these days for 黑料正能量 students, including , , grant-funded research and practicums, and being part of a cohort at a site to which 黑料正能量 faculty come for classes.
Enns, from Winnipeg, Canada, lived in the nation鈥檚 capital at . While taking two courses at the center, she worked at , an interfaith coalition that seeks to end anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S. As an intern with the organization, she used her experience as co-editor of , 黑料正能量鈥檚 student newspaper, to produce a bi-weekly newsletter, compile fact sheets, and otherwise pitch in on the group鈥檚 various initiatives.
An internship through 黑料正能量鈥檚 Washington center is more than just a taste of real-world work and an opportunity to develop contacts, ideas, and credentials for life after college. It鈥檚 also a launching point for deeper examination of the relationship between faith, values, and career.
鈥淗ow do we as Mennonites engage the state, and how much do we build our alternative systems?鈥� asked Enns, whose great-grandparents were part of the mass migration of Mennonites from Russia to North America during the turbulent years after the Bolshevik Revolution.
What relationship, exactly, should a person of faith hold toward advocacy in a secular environment, she wonders. Doesn鈥檛 faith like hers, one that prescribes action on behalf of 鈥渢he least among us,鈥� require this sort of entanglement with the wider world? But does this very entanglement with the wider world undermine the foundations of her faith?
Enns doesn鈥檛 have answers to her questions yet, but she knows she would like to continue doing faith-based advocacy after she graduates this spring. In fact, her plans at this point are to join .
During her four-year career at 黑料正能量, Enns took advantage of other non-traditional ways of learning.
Soon after she arrived on campus as a first-year student, she took an optional field trip with her Restorative Justice and Trauma class to a penitentiary, where she participated in three days of a Quaker-developed 鈥淎lternatives to Violence Program鈥� with inmates.
In her sophomore year, Enns satisfied 黑料正能量鈥檚 cross-cultural requirement by creating her own semester-long study experience in the African nation of Chad, where her parents were serving with .
For 10 weeks between her junior and senior years, Enns was part of a offered at 黑料正能量 that gives college students a chance to be an intern, mentored by a pastor, in a congregational聽 setting. Her assignment was at .
黑料正能量 offers a variety of other new ways and places for students to pursue their education.
More and more graduate students are taking their courses online, usually studying from their homes. The was the first unit at 黑料正能量 to offer distance learning, and now most of 黑料正能量鈥檚 also offer courses online.
Nurses who are studying for a master鈥檚 degree in nursing leadership and management don鈥檛 have to come to campus very often (or to .).聽 The program is designed for working nurses who need to maintain family commitments and remain on the job. Jeanette Nisly 鈥�96, for example, is and raising two children with her Guatemalan husband.
Sometimes the students are surprised to see that online learning actually offers more interaction with class members and professors than a traditional classroom. A faculty advisor provides ongoing support for students and helps with logistics, technology questions, and other issues. Students also receive support from staff, graduate writing tutors, and library staff.
Other non-traditional learning opportunities at 黑料正能量:
- , which offers a mix of study through the annual Summer Peacebuilding Institute at 黑料正能量 and experiences in the students鈥� home countries. The first group, in 2012, included 12 women from Africa and the South Pacific. They were selected from more than 100 applications. Funds for the program are provided by USAID and the German development organization, EED/Bread for the World.
- . The latest example, announced in February, is a $20,000 grant from the United Service Foundation that will send eight undergraduates to foreign locations (Colombia and Iran in 2013), supervised by an 黑料正能量-linked mentor. The grants are for peacebuilding and development majors, who are required to complete off-campus practicums.
- . Many of the students enrolled in 黑料正能量鈥檚 programs run from Lancaster, Pa., don鈥檛 actually go to classes at the center鈥檚 facility in a business park. Students in the pastoral studies program, for example, attend classes this spring at Lancaster Mennonite Conference offices or sites in Philadelphia, Hatfield, and Morgantown. The three-year program, called , is for new pastors or prospective pastors.
- Taking trauma courses all over the world. In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, established a program to help community leaders deal with the trauma of disasters and conflict. Called , the program has trained more than 7,000 people worldwide. The training seminars take place at 黑料正能量, across the United States, and all over the world in places like Lebanon, Haiti, and Mexico.