connecting signature learning experience
Connections to academics
At Berry, I am pursuing my Bachelor's of Psychology & Religion with the goal of going into full-time vocational ministry. This summer the experience of facilitating conversation in Dr. Conradsen's Human Sexuality class prepared me to critically engage with any content I am learning through a lens of leadership and equality. During my freshman year of college I was a student in a Social Psychology class; this class solidified my understanding of the impact of social context on one's understanding of self. This concept directly shaped the content of my commentaries -- specifically my emphasis on representation of gender and sexuality, both positive and negative. Social Psychology specifically emphasized the impact of media, which I critically engaged with in the Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies course.
I have found many (if not all) of the classes I have taken work together to emphasize the same themes. The theme with the highest reoccurrence is the value of individual experience and the danger of projection of one's experience onto someone else. This theme was emphasized in an unlikely course: Reading the Torah with Jews and Christians. Even though the content of this course couldn't be farther from that of Human Sexuality, I was challenged by the different schools of thought engaging the Torah. In order to succeed in the course I had to be empathetic to ancient Jewish rabbis and early church fathers at the same time. This encouraged me to be charitable and understanding of different points of view, often simultaneously. I exercised this skill often in my experience being the TA for Human Sexuality, as I constructed my commentaries I was hyper-aware of the differing perspectives that were represented (as I learned through the students' reflections) and was intentional to make sure each experience was well represented.
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Connections to the real world
Click to view the VOICES program
Being the TA for Human Sexuality this summer challenged and transformed the way I view our cultural landscape. As I conducted research and outlined my commentaries I began to see just how embedded male sexual privilege was in each sexual system we discussed. For example, as I began to prepare to discuss contraceptive options I found myself vocalizing male sexual privilege as having an underlying control. Looking at the different options for women and few options for men, I began to see just how little proactivity in protection or prevention is expected of men while women bear the full weight of responsibility.
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I felt prepared for the challenge this class presented because of my previous work in the Women's and Gender Studies Office, specifically on an event called Voices. Voices is an annual event in which students of Berry College are invited to share their experiences surrounding issues of gender and sexuality through art. This past year I was honored to be able to run this event as well as attend and hear the different experiences presented specifically regarding sexuality. This experience not only equipped me to be a Teacher's Assistant but also gave an intimate picture of diverse experiences I carry into every day interactions.
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Due to the content and timing of the course, real world implications were vast. As Dr. Conradsen and I began to build the course we had a heightened awareness that Human Sexuality could not be taught in a vacuum nor could it be a place of shame. This course turned my focus from academics to the culture narrative of sexuality around me, specifically the sex positive movement. In researching for this course, I found often that those claiming to be "sex positive" also were advocated pornography as sexually liberating. This became a cornerstone chapter in the course for me to share staggering research regarding the damaging effects of pornography as well as to not heap shame while doing so. There is such an incredible need for thoughtful conversation about controversial topics in a way that reduces shame and maximizes safety in the overflow of experience.
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Connections to Life experience
Growing up I was impacted by rigid conceptions of gender held by those around me - mostly because I didn't fit the "norm". Because of this, I often felt out of place in my realm of influence leading me to (as a child) have to explore "who I was" far sooner than those around me. I feel as though this experience developed in me an ability to hold others' experiences well, even if they diverged from my own. This was invaluable as I was the Teaching Assistant for Human Sexuality this past summer, allowing me to hold experiences well when they were presented to me as well as when they were not.
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Both of my parents are confessional Christians, however unlike the tradition I grew up in, my parents were brilliant examples of the power of unconditional love. I watched as they walked through grief, pain, abuse and joy with the people they discipled and learned from their example. Years later I see their influence on my passions for equality, justice and human flourishing. My activism for healthy masculinity is directly tied to the worth they gave to my experience, my love to pour into those younger than me comes from their example and my passion for being a safe place of trust comes from the way they parented me.
My faith as well as my parents are the root cause of my passions, interests, involvement and activism.
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Connections to Future Endeavors
Moving forward, my dream is to go into full-time vocational ministry. While I am unsure of the specific role I would like to hold, I do know I am passionate about loving people well in whatever role that will be. The greatest gift I have been given is for other people to hold my stories well, even when it is messy, so I would love to be able to do that for other people. Being a Teacher's Assistant for a class dealing with sexuality gave me a widened perspective of the different experiences surrounding this topic and how to hold them with grace. I feel specifically equipped to walk forward in relationship with those around me and into my future career with confidence in my ability to do that well.