May there be peace within

Not sure where this prayer came from, but it’s been taped to the base of my computer monitor for quite a while.

Some days it’s just there, part of the background like the sounds coming from down the hall or out of my speakers. Other days it catches my eye, almost forcing me to read it. Slowly. Carefully. Deliberately.

St. Theresa's Prayer

May today there be peace within.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given you.

May you be content knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

Amen. And Amen

Pocketknives, Icebergs and other things beneath the surface

Guest post by
"Tig" Intagliata, campus pastor
 
 Sometimes we really have to probe deep beneath the surface in order to see all there is to see. And sometimes we are surprised at what we discover.

I was reminded of this truth last month when I went through the airport security on my way to Colombia with a group of Bluffton students. The TSA agent motioned me aside and said he needed to hand search my blue backpack.

“The screening device detected a metal object that resembled a knife”, he told me.

“Sir, I don’t believe there is a knife in my backpack, but here you go”, and I handed it over to him, confident that it was my phone charger or large pen that set off the scanner.

The agent searched the backpack and couldn’t find the suspected knife. I reached to retrieve my knapsack, but he said “I’m sorry, but I want to run this through the machine again”.

The scenario repeated itself, again with the same result. Perplexed, the agent admitted “Sir, I can’t find anything, but I need to pass it through one more time because it keeps showing up on the x-ray.”

A third time my backpack complied with the orders and submitted itself to the scrutiny of the metal detector and then to the agent’s examination table. His gloved hands dug deep into my backpack, removing every item in all three zippered compartments, placing them all on the table. Still no knife in sight.

Then the frustrated agent turned the backpack upside down and shook it like it was on fire.

A bright blue pocketknife dropped out of the deepest part of the backpack and landed with a noticeable “thump” on the table.

My jaw dropped noticeably as well.

The agent’s facial expression spelled a “we finally got to the bottom of this” kind of satisfaction and relief. The culprit had been exposed and was promptly confiscated.

A little explanation about the knife is in order…

I remember packing the knife when I went on a weekend trip—by car—a couple of months earlier. I forgot about it when I was packing for Colombia; in fact, I thought I had emptied everything out of the backpack before I started to pack for that trip—but obviously I hadn’t dug deep enough or shaken hard enough!

My pocketknife story is a reminder to me of all those things that reside deep inside of me of which I am not always aware. Things like hidden agendas. Suppressed feelings. Buried hopes and dreams. Unconscious prejudices and stereotypes.

Last year I attended an anti-racism workshop that was sponsored by Bluffton’s Damascus Road team, of which I am a member. The workshop uses the image of an iceberg to illustrate how most of racism takes place below the surface, embedded in our own attitudes and values, as well as in the structures and institutions of our society.

Exposing the racism within us takes careful, honest and sometimes painful examination. But only when we name it and take ownership of it can we begin to work at dismantling it with the hopes of becoming a more just society where people can live without prejudice and where power is shared equally, regardless of the color of one’s skin.

This August, the Bluffton University Damascus Road team will be hosting another anti-racism training event. We would love to have you join us. Details and registration form.

According to Socrates, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” As you go through life, I invite you to take time for self-examination. Set aside time regularly to reflect on what’s going on deep inside of you, below the surface. Then I encourage you to have the courage to identify the attitudes, feelings and agendas that may be having an unhealthy effect on you and on those around you, and find ways to turn them into something positive. It’s not easy work, but it’s worth the effort.

I am now in the market for another pocketknife. In the future, however, I will make sure that it is not in my backpack when I head to the airport.

Stephen “Tig” Intagliata
Campus pastor

Quintessentially Mid-American

I’m spoiled. I’ll admit it. My office on the south-east edge of campus is graced with a 15-foot bank of windows overlooking Spring Street. On beautiful days like today, I can open the window and enjoy the sounds of birds singing, leaves rustling, children playing, an occasional car or lawn mower.

It quickly became obvious when we moved into the PR house that I needed to arrange my desk so that it was not facing the window. Even so, on occasion, I do catch myself staring out the window while planning, brainstorming or searching for the perfect word.

Nearly on a daily basis, I’ll see professors Darryl Nester ‘88 (mathematics) riding his bike to the office or home for lunch; and Zachary Walton ‘02 (communication) walking to the office or walking his little daschund pup with his black leather coat billowing during the winter months.

On occasion, Walt Paquin (social work) will walk by with his two standard poodles or Amanda Sensenig (psychology) will take her little one and her boxer for a stroll. In the past week Don and Romaine Pannabecker (emeritus dean) have been riding by on their tandem bike.

Then there is the normal everyday stuff that happens on a small street in Bluffton, Ohio. Mom rides her bike with a little one in a trailer, followed by a preschooler on a trike; squirrels with a death wish jump from tree limb to tree limb; birds wash themselves in puddles left from a late afternoon shower; the high school band marches by preparing for parade season; neighbors visit. These are visions we tend to take for granted, that we consider “normal.”

Last year, Bluffton partnered with Creosote Affects, a Maryland communications firm, to update our admissions print and online materials. The first thing they needed to do is learn more about us. So they talked with Bluffton students, faculty/staff, alumni and community members. They spent time on our campus all the while working to identify Bluffton’s “core strengths.”

One of the five core strengths identified is our location in a “quintessentially Mid-American small town.” The other four strengths listed were not surprising - small size, Christian environment, cross-cultural program, preparing students for life - but this was a new strength identified for us. It is a strength we probably would not have seen from our vantage point in Bluffton.

So it’s been helpful to see Bluffton through an East-coast lens. Be watching this fall for updated admissions materials to see how these strengths are presented to a new generation of Bluffton students.

Why should students have all the fun?

As I compose this blog more than 130 Bluffton students are scattered across the globe on their cross cultural experiences – in Iceland, Israel/Palestine, Guatemala, Columbia and closer to home in Chicago inner city, the Gulf Coast, Appalachian Kentucky and New York City.

Not to be outdone, the music department has decided to pull together an Alumni Choir Tour to Italy in June 2013. While the student's three-week long experiences focus on service and cross-cultural experiences in homestays, the alumni 10-day tour is being organized through a travel agent with hotel accommodations. So it's really not quite the same thing, but it would be interesting none-the-less.

One of the PR student assistants, an art major, went to Italy for her cross-cultural experience a few years back and brought back wonderful photos. (Photo credit to Cara Rufenaucht Delphia '07)

The alumni tour includes stops in Venice, Florence, Orvieto and Rome. Plans are for the alumni to present a cappella performances at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and San Marco Cathedral in Venice. Are you imagining yourself there yet?

After posting about this trip on Bluffton’s Facebook page yesterday and sending out an email to select alumni and students today, there has been quite a bit of chatter about this opportunity on social media.

Unfortunately, most of the chatter I’ve seen is by recent grads for whom a trip to Italy isn’t quite in the budget. Don’t despair, while alumni trips are not organized on a regular basis, opportunities to travel with fellow Beavers do come along on occasion. So start saving your pennies now and you’ll be ready for the next trip!

To learn more about the Alumni Choir Tour to Italy, visit the Bluffton web site for detailed information and a registration form. Deadline to express interest, and to let director Mark Suderman know what voice part you sing, is June 15, 2012. Contact him directly at sudermanm@bluffton.edu for more information.


2007 Cross cultural students in Italy

Ciao!

BBF - Bluffton Beavers Forever

So it’s Friday before graduation. Classes are complete. Finals turned in. There’s nothing to do but to pack up and make memories before Graduation Sunday.

Four years. Four years of living, eating, studying, praying and playing together comes down to this one last weekend. Then you’ll move on to the next stage in your life. If you are like I was, there are many emotions swirling right now: happy, sad, scared, nervous, excited, thankful…

I remember standing in Klassen Court after my commencement in a sea of black. Where are my friends? My professors? Who do I want to give one final thank you, good bye, love you hug? All I see is black robes and my parents standing off to the side waiting to give a congratulations, proud of you, love you hug.

The people at Bluffton who have grown to be important to you, those who have encouraged you, challenged you, supported you – they will always be with you. Sure they may no longer be right down the hall, you will probably not see them or even talk with them daily – but they will always be part of you.

In the words of Jon Geuy ’85, "Although we maybe took it for granted while there & we don't always stay in close contact now, being a Beaver is something special.”

So enjoy this weekend! Then go make a difference in the world! But be sure to come back to campus for Homecoming and/or May Day because being a Beaver really is something special.

Carpe Diem

Last week I had the opportunity to speak at the end-of-the-year communications department banquet. Professor Melissa Friesen assured me that the students would be interested in knowing how I ended up working in PR at Bluffton University, and why have I stayed here for 20+ years.

Not sure what the students gained from my walk down memory lane, but it was interesting for me to acknowledge the closed doors, opened windows, seized and missed opportunities that brought me to this place.

When I graduated from Bluffton in 1986, I did not aspire to be a web communication manager who works with social media. That job description did not – obviously – even exist. I suspect that many Bluffton alumni can relate. Thank goodness for our liberal arts education that gave us a wide base of knowledge and preparation for life.

I’m so thankful for the opportunities offered through the Learn and Earn program. My campus job working as a writer for the communications office (a.k.a. public relations) provided a bridge between academic and professional. More than just padding the resume, my time as editor for The Witmarsum student newspaper and as a Bluffton News intern provided leadership and networking opportunities.

Bluffton students continue to embrace these opportunities. Seniors were invited to tell about their internship experiences. One communication student interned at WTLW Lima Christian television gaining experience in filming and editing. Another received a broad experience at Findlay Publishing Company, working for a time in radio, print and promotions, even providing voice for commercials “when they needed a 10-year-old girl.” Not an internship, but another student worked in the fall with the WTLW sports crew.

These are such wonderful experiences to mesh real-world knowledge with academic learning to support the relatively new broadcast and journalism major offered through the communication department.

It’s something for us all to remember, regardless of whether we’re starting our career or nearing the end, always embrace opportunities offered by the open windows.

Feeling frazzled?

You know the feeling… too much to do, too little time to do it in, and you’d rather be doing something (anything) else. With two weeks of classes remaining before finals, our students are feeling a bit frazzled. Not like you have to be a college student to identify.

Are they (we) stressed because we procrastinate, because we’re disorganized or both?

Last night at the university-related Bluffton Center for Entrepreneurs business planning meeting I met a lady who is starting a home-based business helping people get organized. How many times have I grumbled to myself “I have got to get organized” as I step into the office, kitchen...? If the price is right, I just may be her first client!

Jerry Kennell, former Bluffton VP for advancement, used a system using slotted pages and small notecards in a three-ring binder. During meetings he would move cards from one slot to another as topics were discussed. My luck I’d drop the notebook, the cards would fall out and I’d be in a mess.

Odd for a web manager to say, but my current system is hard copy calendars and multiple to-do-lists. From the students I interact with, I’d say it’s pretty even whether they keep their life organized on a physical calendar or on their phone. Maybe I’m not so old-school after all.

We did add a small white board in the office to keep pressing projects top of mind and a shared excel worksheet to track web updates. It’s a start.

Big projects are coming for Bluffton and the PR house this summer. Just wait for it. It’s going to be epic. To prepare I Really Must Organize, combine to-do-lists, prioritize… so when a student unexpectedly stops by to ask if there’s anything she can do for me, I have an answer!
 
I typically re-organize after May Day/Graduation, the unofficial end to the academic year. But I'm feeling the need to clean and start fresh NOW.

Which means, for today anyway, the door is shut, the computer off, music cranked... Wish me luck!