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president's column

The power of engagement

by Barry C. Bartel '84

As I interviewed for jobs in the legal profession, the most frequent topic of conversation consistently related to my service experiences in Haiti and Bolivia. Large law firms see hundreds of resumes from qualified applicants. Interviewers search for something unique and interesting that sets an applicant apart and, perhaps more importantly, gives a “hook” for conversation. At that point, talking helps better define the applicant. For me, the hook was international experience, and the service aspect made it most interesting in the interviews. It also helped me select a law firm that valued service.

Students at Bethel have opportunities to pursue experiences that set them apart and provide a hook – whether a collaborative research project with a professor on the effect of music on emotion; a summer research placement; a semester studying in Spain or Germany learning in a different language; an interterm trip to Ecuador or Israel/Palestine for an intense educational experience in another culture; an internship in an area business that helps put learning to practice; or a leadership position conducting a local church choir. These are all significant experiences because they engage the community. Built on a solid campus education, they put our knowledge and our character to the test. Nurtured in a context where faith and learning are held together, they become a formative part of a student’s faith journey.

Students whose education is shaped by this kind of engagement develop the confidence and depth of character to succeed. In so doing, they develop the kind of hooks that people will grab to ask the questions that help explore and define. These kinds of experiences help open doors to new opportunities. You can read about some of them in this issue of Context.

In my opening convocation address last fall (see http://www.bethelks.edu/bc/administration/president/speeches/convo_9_3_07.php), I asked students how many had already embarrassed themselves since arriving on campus. I affirmed those that had, because taking risks is the best way to learn and those who take risks may embarrass themselves. Of course, I stressed that students also have responsibility: There are risks that advance our educational mission, and there are risks that don’t, and part of the responsibility of students is to discern the difference.

Some of the most intense risks can involve interacting with another culture, and can lead to culture shock. In my opening address, I encouraged everyone to consider the uniqueness of the Bethel College culture, to learn to know people from different backgrounds, to take risks. That can happen right on our campus, for students from Goessel or Kenya or Los Angeles. And it happens when we risk immersing ourselves to learn about another culture in another country. Culture shock is a sense of more extreme reactions becoming more moderate until there is a renewed sense of balance, like a pendulum swinging from positive to negative and back, where the extremes begin to moderate until there is balance.

The most effective way to deal with culture shock is to get involved, to resist the temptation to withdraw. It requires taking an attitude of learning and even of suspended judgment. That is what can create the hook that sets a student apart and can lead to the kinds of international experiences our alumni described in this issue.

As you think about where you want your son or daughter or niece or grandson or neighbor to go to school, don’t assume it is a neutral decision – it is not! The kind of engagement that is so naturally facilitated for students at Bethel should not be taken for granted. It will not automatically happen, for a young student’s tendency is not to step out and take risks. That prospective student that you interact with may need a nudge (or more) from you so that he or she does not miss what Bethel has to offer.