Santa Clara University

Web Conversation

Callings: Fostering Vocation Through Community-Based Learning

By Mark Ravizza S.J.

How do students discern what to do with their lives? Can community-based learning (CBL) play a distinctive role in this process? Fredrick Buechner famously suggests, you discover your vocation by finding ?the place where your deep gladness meets the world?s deep need.? In light of this insight, the connection between CBL and vocational discernment may seem obvious. At its best, CBL enables students to encounter the genuine needs and suffering of their world; such experiences, in turn, prompt students to explore how their own passions and talents might best respond to the world?s needs. Through this process (to borrow a phrase from Hermann Hesse) ?a summons comes from without?a portion of reality presents itself and makes a claim.?

The potential of CBL to foster a sense of vocation is great, but the challenges are equally significant. ?Portions of reality? do not always make easily understandable claims, and community engagement does not automatically engender vocational reflection. Indeed, direct contact with human suffering often leaves students feeling overwhelmed, disoriented, and discouraged. Why, in some cases, does CBL naturally clarify and ignite a student?s sense of calling; while in others, students are left untouched or, even worse, turned off? Reflecting on these challenges invites us to ask if we have adequately explored how CBL experiences are connected to vocational discernment. The following web conversation and upcoming conference at SCU hope to address this issue by focusing on five main questions:                        

1. Solidarity: Paul Locatelli, S.J. (President, Santa Clara University)  How can community-based learning provide transformative experiences that lead to a genuine solidarity with the poor and marginalized?
   Respondent: Kathleen Maas Weigert, Georgetown University

    

2. Student Formation: Anne Colby (Carnegie Foundation)  How does community-based learning affect intellectual and moral development in students?
   Respondent: Susan Mountin, Marquette University

    

3. International Community-based Learning: Nadinne Cruz (Haas Center, Stanford University, emerita)  What happens when students engage in community-based learning in different cultures, and how can this promote a sense of one?s calling as a global citizen?
   Respondent: Dennis Gordon, Santa Clara University

    

4. Community Connections: Richard L. Wood (University of New Mexico)  What does the perspective of our community partners teach us about how community-based learning fosters a sense of vocation?
   Respondent: Frederick Ferrer, Santa Clara University

    

5. Diversity: John Eby (Messiah College)  Does the connection between community-based learning and vocational reflection vary depending on student diversity?
   Respondent: Barbara Holland, National Service Learning Clearinghouse