Permanent link for Meet The Kaufman Campus Interns: Franklin and Cecelia on August 28, 2023

Kaufman has been taking some big steps over the summer to focus a large portion of our energies and attentions on GVSU. Our campus programming this year is devoted to learning how we can best serve the needs of students, faculty, and staff as they engage with their own religious/spiritual/secular identities and as they interact with the worldview traditions of others. A linchpin to these efforts is the reestablishment of our Kaufman Internship program, and we are thrilled to be welcoming two GV students to the Kaufman team, Franklin and Cecelia, who will introduce themselves below. 

I cannot wait to learn from and with these two wonderful humans. The energy, enthusiasm, and eagerness that they bring to the table is infectious! It's going to be a fabulous year! Keep an eye on this blog for our campus updates as the year progresses.

Liz

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As a new student at Grand Valley State University, immersing myself within new communities is one of the most fundamental actions I can take to become more understanding and successful. Joining the Kaufman Institute provides me pathways I can use to explore what faith means to individuals and exercise my personal understanding of religion and belief. Working within Kaufman’s interfaith team, and with communities as a whole, I can continuously further my personal goal of creating accepting, inviting, and understanding communities as far as I can reach. 

I was drawn to working with the Kaufman Interfaith Institute though Temple Emanuel. I attended Sunday School there from fifth to tenth grade, and then acted as a student teacher for the 5/6th grade classes the two years following. Now graduated, I was invited and accepted to work with Kaufman to further leadership skills and build advanced faith-based acceptance within and around Grand Rapids. I look forward to sharpening various talents during my internship, and cannot wait for what is to come!

Franklin

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I am Cecelia Olson and am currently finishing up my time at Grand Valley with a degree in English and a minor in Writing as well as working towards a certification in Project Management. My experience with Kaufman Interfaith Institute began last winter when they supported a workshop I was facilitating that focused on cultivating community on campus. I later found out this hope to cultivate community and spaces of belonging for students is exactly what Kaufman seeks out to do. I am passionate about creating a place where young people, especially college students, can have spaces to further grow into and articulate their identities in faith or spiritual contexts.  

Cecelia

Posted on Permanent link for Meet The Kaufman Campus Interns: Franklin and Cecelia on August 28, 2023.