Once or twice a week Denise Chen leaves the fast paced environment of Wall Street to volunteer with InterVarsity’s ministry at Columbia University. It may seem uncommon to find an investment banker hanging out with college freshmen, but for Denise Chen it’s a natural way to invest in God’s work in New York City. InterVarsity recently talked with Denise about her experience as an InterVarsity volunteer.
InterVarsity: How often do you volunteer with InterVarsity at Columbia and what do you do?
Denise: I volunteer anywhere from two to six hours a week depending on my schedule. And I’ve done everything from attend Large Group meetings to mentor students over a meal. The best thing about volunteering is it’s flexible and never has felt like a strain. I can tailor what I do with InterVarsity with whatever else I may have going on that week.
InterVarsity: What motivated you to become an InterVarsity volunteer?
Denise: As a student who came from a Buddhist family, and who struggled with depression, I was asking a lot of questions about spirituality and the meaning of life when I came to college. Through college ministries like InterVarsity, God met me in my questions and I became a Christian my sophomore year. So I know how critical college ministries are in transforming student’s lives. It was my hope that by volunteering God could use me to reach students who are facing similar circumstances.
InterVarsity: How did you initially get connected with InterVarsity’s ministry at Columbia University?
Denise: My local church has supported college ministries at Ivy League schools for some time now. Because of that, I got to know Ashley Byrd, the current staff at Columbia, as well as some of his students. Ashley began encouraging me to volunteer as a mentor. He suggested that I connect with students who were facing similar situations as I had in college. With his encouragement and the encouragement of a few students, I began volunteering.
InterVarsity: What has been a highlight of volunteering?
Denise: One of the bigger highlights has been encouraging students to participate in an outreach event we hold on campus every semester. For the past three years we’ve asked students to share their testimonies over a microphone on the steps of Low Plaza at Columbia.
While it’s always scary to ask students to do this, there’s been no greater joy than seeing my students take a risk, share their faith, and then witness God work through their testimonies. At my current job as an investment banker, there are always “successes,” but in the end it really just amounts to money. Challenging students to more fully yield their lives to Christ, and seeing them take steps to walk closer to Christ is an amazing experience. That’s real success. I can’t express how much joy I get out of seeing students take closer steps in following Christ.
InterVarsity: Have you learned anything about yourself or God since volunteering with InterVarsity?
Denise: I think one of the most important things I’ve learned is that God has called each of us to be builders of his church, and this calling is not reserved for just full-time ministers. Even as an investment banker, I have an integral and direct part in building God’s church. It’s critical to find those places where God wants you to help build his kingdom and use your gifts after college. For me, one of those places has been serving college students through InterVarsity.
I’ve also learned how college students really appreciate having role models – individuals who have graduated, gone into the workplace, and remained faithful to Christ. For many students, graduating from college and leaving the nurturing spiritual environment of the fellowship is like falling off a cliff. It’s so easy to get distracted by work, money, and the newest fads. Faith ends up taking a back seat. Today’s college students need to hear from those of us who have gone before them. They need to hear from people in the workplace that remaining faithful to Christ and continuing to serve Him after college is possible, but it takes commitment and intentionality.
InterVarsity: What advice would you have for InterVarsity alumni considering volunteering?
Denise: Paul quotes Jesus in Acts 20 as saying, “It is more blessed to give than receive.” I’ve found that to be true in my experience volunteering with InterVarsity. There are some days when I get done with work and don’t feel like I have the energy to attend Large Group that night. But I go and without fail I’m revived. It’s such a blessing to be a part of God’s work on college campuses. I’m sure anyone who chooses to volunteer with InterVarsity will feel the same.
For many of us, myself included, we were on the receiving end of being blessed by God through our staff workers or older students while at college. Now that we’re out of college, what better way to give back and pour into the next generation of students and explore our own callings, than by volunteering as God leads us?
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For more information about volunteering with a local InterVarsity chapter, please contact the InterVarsity alumni department at alumni@intervarsity.org.
