Magazine

“I ask students: what are the things that give you life?”

Since its founding, St. Olaf’s emphasis on vocation has helped those in its community discover their place in the world. To understand the prismatic ways that students, alumni, and faculty think about vocation in their own lives, we spoke to Oles in an array of different positions and places in their lives to understand what propels them and how they stay true to their values — in their own words.

Anthony Bateza is associate professor of religion and chair of the Department Chair of Race, Ethnic, Gender and Sexuality Studies. Read his reflection below.

When I help students think about their vocation, I often ask them to start small: what are the things that give you life? What do you get excited about? What skills do you have? And how do all of those things match up with what people say they need?

When students come to St. Olaf, some have a clear sense of their vocation, like pre-health, pre-med, music, or performance. Some have no sense at all. And the joy of a liberal arts education is to encourage and push folks at the same time. We don’t want to dissuade people from pursuing what they believe their callings to be. But I also hope they are open to being challenged. We want to give all students the permission to explore, to make mistakes, to try different experiences.

Not everyone has the privilege or family to chew on these issues. But hopefully, college is a place where they can use their freedom to reflect about the different ways their lives will have value for them and have value for others.