On March 17 and 18, North Park University hosted “Here and Now: Vocation, Work and Career in a Time of Constant Change,” a NetVue symposium led by Dr. Gordon Smith, President of Ambrose University. The Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education, NetVUE is a nationwide network of colleges and universities formed to enrich the intellectual and theological exploration of vocation among undergraduate students.
When it comes to vocation and providing students with life skills, North Park maintains an ongoing commitment to bring experts to campus for additional practical learning opportunities. “To foster the capacity that our institutions have to equip, empower, encourage, give all the emotional and spiritual and intellectual resources to each student to be able to discern vocation well, there’s hardly a better gift you can give another,” said Dr. Smith.
Through resources such as NetVue, North Park fosters an environment where students can explore their vocational interests and career tracks. Faculty seek out and support outlets like NetVue to stay abreast of current trends in the job market, preparing students to graduate and enter the workforce with a stronger understanding of specific professions. Shaping content within courses to be relevant to today’s world, North Park professors teach vocation so graduates can make connections between what they’re learning in the classroom and their career paths.
During the symposium, Dr. Smith encouraged students to find their own voices along their career paths. “Universities like North Park can celebrate the diverse ways in which God is calling women and men into every sphere and sector of society to participate with what God is doing as Creator and Redeemer in the healing of creation, in the healing of the nations, in the healing and empowerment of families and communities,” said Dr. Smith.
This symposium is made possible by a generous grant awarded to North Park University by the Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE), the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), and the Lilly Endowment.