If we were to see a young woman walking down the street, a backpack slung over her shoulder, a cell phone flipped open, and an iPod hooked into her ears, we would immediately assume she’s a college student. But for all our assumptions, that woman could just as easily have been a graduate of the class of 2006.
Fresh graduates are often lumped in with the rest of the working population, but they are in a category all their own. They still move to the beat of a college student and they relate to the culture of a university, but now they have a degree under their belt, and many have found a full-time job. Even after receiving a degree, many graduates have neither fully left the life of a college student, nor fully entered the life of an adult.
Many alumni are looking for direction in their lives; Urbana offers them direction, so they are a suitable audience for the convention. Jen Brown is one such woman looking for direction at Urbana. A 2006 graduate from the University of Nevada–Reno, Jen is still figuring out what God is calling her to do. In a step of obedience to God, Jen is going to Urbana to explore vocational missions. Like many alumni, she feels freed up to pursue interests outside of school.
“Now that I’m graduated,” Jen says, “I feel that if something sparks my interest, I can just go, and I don’t have to worry about the timeline of school anymore.”
Four years ago, a year before the last Urbana, some InterVarsity students invested in a friendship with Jen and led her to Christ. A year later she was involved on campus as a leader in her InterVarsity chapter. When Urbana 03 rolled around, Jen decided not to go. She says of her decision, “At the time I really didn’t have a heart for missions. I had been a Christian about a year, and I knew missions were important, but I figured they were for everyone else and not for me. It wasn’t till later that I understood God’s calling was for everyone.”
Her decision not to go to Urbana also had to do with other struggles in her life. Before committing to Urbana, Jen found out that her dad had cancer. She kept hold of her faith during that trying season, but spending time with her family was a priority over discovering God’s place for her in the world.
The passing of time and the changing seasons of life have helped Jen realize that the college campus is the only mission field she has ever been acquainted with. Since graduation she has continued serving on campus as a volunteer small group leader. She is still very connected to student life and culture; the university world is comfortable because it was there that she became a Christian. But, Jen hopes that Urbana will push her familiar life.
“I’m stuck in limbo right now where I’m comfortable with my life, my job, and other things,” she says, “but I’m not content with being comfortable. I want things to be shaken up, and I want to be passionate about what I do in life.” She feels God’s tug to leave the well-known and enter the unknown. Jen is excited at the prospect of discovering a passionate pursuit for her life–one that God has called her to.
The purpose of Urbana is to encourage students to a life of missions. This Urbana in particular is an appropriate time for Jen to go. Urbana’s theme this year is God’s Call, Your life, the World, exactly the focus that Jen is looking for in her own life. Jen’s story is unique, but she will join many other recent alumni who are curious to explore their options in the mission field and to hear God’s call.
Graduating from college can be a lonely and unsure time for young adults; but it is also when they are ready and willing to do something meaningful with their lives. Jen and other new graduates from college are like the refined juice from grapes after a long process of being chosen, pressed, and matured. With care, they have been transformed by God into something more valuable than just a cluster of grapes. They are ready to be sent out into the world as wine.
