The weekly TGCvocations column asks practitioners about their jobs and how they integrate their faith and work. Interviews are conducted and condensed by Bethany L. Jenkins, director of TGC’s Every Square Inch.
Cheryl Clark Bonner is the Director of Alumni Services at Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Millersville University with a B.S. in Special Education and an M.Ed. in Guidance and Counseling. She and her husband Bill have been married for 27 years and share a passion for bringing new life to old things through remodeling as well as a love for Penn State sports, especially football and ice hockey.
What does your role at Penn State entail?
I oversee a program that works with alumni—equipping them with the skills that they need for job searching, helping them to identify their own career goals, pointing them to industries that fit their interests, and imagining how their work might best meet the needs of the world around them. Some of the alumni with whom I work have spent time in one field and now are thinking about shifting gears or simply finding a new job in the same field. Others are recent graduates trying to navigate life after college. Since Penn State has a massive alumni network, I get to help them network and meet others who can help them in their potential career changes.
Do you also work with current college students?
In my role on staff at Penn State, I mainly work with alumni. Through church, though, I volunteer with the Coalition for Christian Outreach (CCO). CCO is the organization that puts on the Jubilee Conference and Senior EXIT, which is led by Erica Young Reitz. Through Senior EXIT, I work with college seniors who, like the alumni I see, are looking to integrate their interests and studies with their a potential career. With the students, though, since I’m a volunteer, I’m free to talk openly about deeper considerations of vocation and meaning.
What are some of those deeper considerations?
What are some of those deeper considerations?We talk about things like the meaning of work, the purpose of work, and the priorities of work. We talk about how work includes not only paid work, but also a whole life of service for others in the world. Their questions often include: How can I make my life count? What are the needs of the world and can I meet them? How can “the work of my hands” glorify God? What are my motivations for pursuing a certain career? How can I avoid compartmentalizing my life?
How are these conversations challenging?
When we talk about life after college, we are talking about jumping into the deep end of the pool. What students are going to do after graduation is a huge decision that requires a lot of trust. As they face the reality of the unknown, they are often asking themselves, “Do I really know God? Do I really trust him? What if he sends me to a place I don’t like? What if I’m not happy?” They often do not feel ready or equipped—even though, at the same time, they feel excited and hopeful.
How do you navigate these emotions with them?
We show them that, although this decision seems big, it was really a lot of little decisions that got them where they are today. As we point to the providence, sovereignty, and goodness of God, we show them that calling is more about being in relationship with the Caller than about following a particular path or career. When they fear making a mistake, we remind them that God redeems all things—even what they perceive to be “wrong” choices. Ultimately, God uses us to open their eyes to see their story in light of his greater redemptive work, as they join him in what he is already doing.
Is there enough evidence for us to believe the Gospels?
In an age of faith deconstruction and skepticism about the Bible’s authority, it’s common to hear claims that the Gospels are unreliable propaganda. And if the Gospels are shown to be historically unreliable, the whole foundation of Christianity begins to crumble.
