Princeton, Prayer, Podcast and More!
Last Weekend - Princeton & Prayer Conference
Last Friday and Saturday I had the honor of attending the Princeton class leadership conference. My class (class of 2015) was the youngest there, preparing to celebrate our 10-year reunion! There were also students from years prior to us preparing to have their 15, 20, and 25 year reunion too. We heard from many different leaders at Princeton such as Dean of the College Jill Dolan, Senior Associate Dean of the College Katherine Stanton, and one of my undergrad professors AnneMarie Luijendijk. This was followed by a reception and dinner with President Chris Eisgruber. I got to talk to him a bit about the work of Barrier Breakers and he informed me of how Princeton is responding to different things such as potential plagiarism attacks on faculty and campus dissent. It was really amazing to reconnect with everybody!
It was then straight from one conference to the next! I headed to the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church for the Prayer Resistance Conference which is run by Princeton Theological Seminary's Centre of Contemplative Listening. One of my favorite elements was practicing Visio Divina - a form of prayer whereby art is used as a focal point for us to open up our hearts in silence and hear what God might have to say to us.
Continuing on in prayerfulness, on Sunday we went to Christ Congregation Church where I got to give an update on the work of Barrier Breakers, and at the end, they generously presented us with a cheque of $1380 towards our work, which was highly appreciated!
After church, I hosted a Tea and Cookies College Admissions Q&A at my house for the parents in my neighborhood. It was so nice getting to talk to my neighbors in a different capacity. My landlord’s wife even came over to hear about college admissions for her sons! The wonderful people at Crown of India made authentic Chai Masala tea for the event in a dispenser for me and I decorated the house with flowers and cookies. It’s wonderful to be able to start building up our college counseling practice after a couple of years of pausing marketing while we scaled our law school advising practice.
Into The Working Week: Podcast Recording & Barrier Breakers Students
Much of this past week has been dedicated to finishing up my seminary work as the semester approaches the end. After prayerful consideration, I actually decided to take a leave of absence, probably for the next year, as I focus on trying to stabilize Barrier Breakers as we go through a scaling phase. During the week I got to have a chat with my field advisor and faculty advisor about discerning God’s call for my life & what it looks like to be faithful even when things aren't easy. It was very encouraging and affirmed to me that it's okay to take this pause from seminary, and God will still be working in and through me.
Evidently, God must have been trying to communicate this with me on a heavy level! As much of the conversations with my advisors were similar to my interview with Candace Junée, which I recorded on Wednesday for the Serenity For Success Podcast. We had some great conversations about how you can tell if you’re on the right path and walking in what God wants for you, even when it seems as though He is leading you through turmoil and uncomfortable situations. We unpack the myth that our suffering is a result of not praying or fasting hard enough, and discuss how to walk through tough times in a godly way. The episode is out Thursday, May 9th, so turn on your notifications to stay posted because you do not want to miss all the wisdom and insight that Candace shares!
Another reason this week has been really cool is the fact that I got to talk to a number of great students working with Barrier Breakers, who have received their acceptance into college and law school and are trying to figure out how best to prepare. I got to share my experiences and offer assurance that they are going to be just fine! One of my students, in particular, got into her top choice - Michigan University, but was afraid that she wouldn't succeed because her LSAT score was lower than others. I informed her that her score was not indicative of her academic capabilities and that she could succeed. Another great privilege of this week is that I got to speak to many first-generation students who lacked family members who could advise and support them. I was able to provide them with knowledge and resources such as how to request accommodations, and it was very heartwarming since I was in their shoes once upon a time.
Getting Ready For The IECA Conference
Entering into this current week, I have been getting ready to prepare for the IECA Conference which began Sunday, May 5th. You’ll be hearing all about it in next week's blog! I love the IECA because it is really the organization that helped launch my career. They provided me with the opportunity for a lot of firsts - writing articles and presenting at conferences. I have been so supported by them over the years and many of the members make up our board members and are some of the largest donors at Barrier Breakers. I am so thankful to God for this community. I used to be the graduate committee chair for the IECA, and I am currently rolling off of the ethics community that I’ve been on for a few years. This organization really is dear to my heart. There are many professional and ethical standards that we adhere to at Barrier Breakers because of our membership with IECA and I believe that professional associations are extremely important to be a part of. I'm super excited to go to the conference and see friends that I don’t always get to see because we live in different parts of the country! I look forward to updating you all about this next week!
