Over J-term I had the opportunity to escape the bone-chilling cold of the Minnesota winter and journey to California. My mission was to explore the deep questions of finding meaning in my life's work. My companions were twenty-one members of the Macalester community; a group comprised of six faculty members, nine staff members and six students. The event was called, "'Life's Work': A Six-College Convocation on Work, Ethics and Vocation." Funded by the Lilly Project, the conference was hosted by Macalester College and took place January 17-19, 2003, in Burlingame, California. We shared this experience with faculty, staff and students from Davidson College, Mount Holyoke College, Wooster College, Colorado College and Occidental College.

The conference was held at a retreat facility called the Mercy Center. The Mercy Center is situated on forty acres of wooded land. Here we found peaceful solitude surrounded by oak trees, flower gardens, walking paths and a small stream. The meditative quality of this former nun's convent caused us to forget that we were only ten minutes away from the San Francisco airport.

During the three days in this holistic place, our group of seventy-five probed the big questions in life. It was a time to forget about the distinctions between professors and students and instead to connect as equal human beings who are all on a constant search for purpose in life. The focus of our conversation was to discover how each individual develops his or her sense of vocation. We grappled with the challenges of incorporating religious, spiritual, and ethical values into our everyday lives. As with all Lilly events, the conference had no religious affiliation, so a multitude of religious and secular views were presented.

Before attending the conference, everyone read Big Questions, Worthy Dreams, a book by Sharon Daloz Parks. The book examines the challenges of the twenty-something years and it highlights the importance of mentoring environments for young adults. It gives voice to some of the struggles I have felt as a senior on the verge of graduation. The most powerful passages were the personal anecdotes of disillusioned twenty-somethings who were unclear about maneuvering in the real world after college. At the conference, several faculty and staff shared their own anecdotes of twists and turns in their vocational path. The open-hearted stories of uncertainty, failure and success created a safe and exploratory atmosphere where every person had the chance to take stock of the present and dream for the future.

A highlight of the weekend was the keynote address given by Dr. Claire Gaudiani from Yale Law School. She spoke about the challenges of following her principles as a leader in the academic community. She had spent a decade as the president of Connecticut College where she fought against classism by making changes in school policy and by implementing improvements in the surrounding city of New London.

This conference was brief, but, it left a lasting impression on me that redirected the second half of my senior year. I have a new found set of tenets that I hold on to as I make my way toward becoming the person I was created to be. These ideas were gleaned from the insights of Dr. Claire Gaudiani as well as the faculty, staff and students of the six colleges:

1. Seek to know yourself. Ask yourself why you were born and decide what you want to be different in the world because you have lived.

2. Continue the process of exploration and discovery because your life is never finished until the final time you close your eyes.

3. If you have a life's work and you live it, there are times when you will suffer. To make a change, it is often necessary to upset a power structure.

4. Live one life. Don't try to separate your work, your family, and your play.

5. Embrace failure. By embracing our mistakes, we can cultivate courage and passion.

The six-college convocation fostered a creative and supportive relationship between the faculty, staff and students who attended. The participants from our school are committed to continuing this relationship and spreading it throughout the Macalester community.