Dancing, graduating, celebrating, working...I'M ALL DONE!

It's all over! I am now a graduate of Gordon College, Class of 2010. A few whirlwind weeks of final activities and celebrations, and I'm out into the world again. It's been a real blessing to be able to write this blog all year, and I hope that anyone who has read it can come to appreciate what I've found at Gordon. Here are a few last pictures and words to round out my year!

Senior Formal! (It's like prom, but slightly more sophisticated because the event was held at the nicest restaurant at the top of the tallest skyscraper in Boston!)

Lunch after graduating! This is my little niece, Katie.

Everyone got dressed up for my graduation party, and it was great to have my family and friends around to celebrate.

After graduation, I went on a road trip to the mountains in New York, where we completed one of my favorite hikes: Crane Mountain. (This is a reflection, if you were confused by the mountain's ripples.)

Some of my best college friends with me in the mountains! (I'm up in a fire tower on the summit.)

These are some of the mountains that you hike through if you participate in La Vida, Gordon's outdoor wilderness orientation expedition. I highly recommend it!

After a few days in the mountains, we spent some time in Cape Cod. Cape Cod is Massachusetts' nicest seashore and vacation spot, and I have family out there. The early summer beach grasses were beautiful!

We found this harbor puppy watching the boats! Finding scenes like this one made for an incredible last week with my college friends. What a way to graduate! When you can't afford to backpack through Europe, the Northeast still has some great stuff to offer.

After my trip with my friends, I came home to an official job offer to teach at a private school in Boston! If you recall my posts about education, you'll understand how exciting that was for me. It's great to know that as a Gordon graduate there are job opportunities out there - and really good ones, too! Gordon prepared me well, and I'm so thankful to have spent the last three three years there.

From choosing a major, studying abroad (twice!), and landing a great internship, to writing senior thesis papers and graduating with multiple job offers, Gordon has supported me all along the way. That's why I'm more than pleased to encourage you, one last time, to consider a Gordon education. Trust me, it's well worth it.

Peace and love from Gordon,

Peter Morse '10

Gordon College website

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Most Incredible Campus in the World

In just one week, I will be graduating from Gordon College! Some of you reading this are probably graduating from high school around this time, too. So you know a little of what I'm feeling. Bittersweet emotions. I'll write more next week after I finish final exams. Between now and then, I need to revise a 20-page paper, write four 5-page papers, and take two final exams!

But this post isn't about academics. I had some time to kill before class the other day, so I went out and took these shots of Gordon's campus. I thought you might like to see them. Not a bad place to live, in my opinion. Enjoy!

Thank you for checking my blog!

Peace and love from Gordon,

Peter

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Critical Loyalty

Yesterday I attended a reception for new members of Phi Alpha Chi, the honor society of Gordon College. I was admitted for maintaining a certain GPA and for not being a really bad person (I think). We met at the beautiful home of the college president, Dr. Jud Carlberg, where we enjoyed desserts and tea and heard from one of Gordon's professors about the concept of "critical loyalty."

Critical loyalty is a term taken from a major academic endowment Gordon receives for promoting really serious scholarship and discussion with other professors and schools. The idea is that Christian scholars must be critical of the faith while remaining loyal to it. In fact, it is in being critical of the faith that we remain loyal. Honestly questioning the world and the religion we follow is what makes us better able to spread the Gospel. We cannot serve the world and each other unless we are willing to search fiercely for the hard answers - even if those answers challenge our traditional beliefs.

Here's an example. Most Christian colleges make an effort to teach their students about world religions and unfamiliar cultures, but how many would be willing to invite a Muslim imam (priest and scholar) to live on their campus for an entire year to research and discuss global religious issues with their professors and students? Well, last year Gordon did just that, showing that they're not afraid to bring in perspectives that challenge and stimulate deep, faithful thinking.

And what about loyalty? Well, I think I am an example of Gordon's commitment to loyalty. I am about to graduate, and after years of being questioned and challenged in classes, discussions with friends and professors, and chapel services, I still feel nurtured and encouraged. Gordon has been loyal to the faith in their care for students. We are some of the most progressive, academically prepared, and spiritually open Christian college students in the country, and that is precisely because Gordon professors demand that we be both critical of and loyal to the Christian faith and the God who sustains us.

The world is pretty large and complex, and most of it seems fairly fragmented. For this reason, I think it's important that some of us become uniquely skilled and thoughtful, so we can offer something worthwhile to those in need. I hope that's true of me!

So, while I am nervous to graduate so soon, I'm also confident that God will find a way to use me. It's just two short weeks away, so I guess I'll just have to see how it goes!

Peace and love from Gordon,

Peter Morse '10

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One Internship Leads to Another!

Great news! I just got hired by Soulfest, a huge concert festival in New Hampshire that takes place every August and features bands like Switchfoot, Third Day, Jars of Clay, The Chariot, and Jon Foreman. I'm responsible for marketing, writing press releases, and public relations. My experience working in marketing and development last summer at a homeless shelter definitely helped give me the edge to get this position. With a secure job on the horizon, graduating is just a little less scary!

You can take a look at the Soulfest website here. If you're in the area, stop by and say hello!

One other piece of great news is that Gordon's 2010 Symposium Day was a huge success. Symposium Day occurs once a year, and it includes student and faculty-led discussions, film viewings, art exhibits, and really inspiring lectures - all centered around some deep social and theological theme. This year, the theme was "The Image of God: Who Are We That God is Mindful of Us?". If you've ever wondered what it means to be human, to be made in God's image, and to apply those questions to everyday social scenarios, you would have enjoyed Symposium Day 2010.

As part of Symposium, a few friends and I helped with an event called "Human Sexuality and the Image of God," which focused on sexual identity and how that aligns with our Christian identity. Regardless of your personal view on the "rightness" or "wrongness" of homosexuality, I'm sure you can agree that the Church needs to be able to listen respectfully and compassionately to those who identify as gay, bisexual, or questioning. So, this year a few friends and I published a journal of students' stories and testimonies, and the Symposium event featured prominent Gordon faculty members' perspectives on sexuality and faith. The conjunction of the publication and the event are just one example of how Gordon students are willing to engage and question the world - and all its many expressions of life and love.

If you are interested in reading some of the stories from the publication, entitled "If I Told You," just click this link.

At this point in the year, you've probably made a decision about where to attend college, and if you've chosen Gordon, I'm very excited for you to arrive and jump into a whirlwind of education and faith. If you're still choosing a school, make sure to spend some time praying about Gordon. I'm about to leave, graduating just three weeks from today! I can tell you honestly that I would not have wanted to go anywhere else.

Peace and love from Gordon,

Peter Morse '10

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Some work, some play, and only 3 weeks left!

To begin this week's post, I must report, with a degree of sadness, that my intramural soccer team did not make it to the championship. I know this breaks your heart, as well as mine, but together we'll find a way to pick up the pieces and move on. And remember, there's always ultimate frisbee. Plus, the weather now is so nice that sports are happening all over campus, all the time. It's a nice feature of the end of the year.

Some other good news is that I got an 'A' on my big scary 60-minute presentation (by myself!) for my Biblical Hermeneutics class. I did eventually discover what Christian existentialism and demythologization were all about, and the class enjoyed my lecture. Then I spent the next four days writing an 18-page thesis paper for State, Citizen, and Civil Society - my Political Studies capstone course. My paper is about the responsibility Christians have to be involved politically and to use morality as the foundation of their policies, while still finding ways to explain and justify their religious perspective to a secular public.

And, as a reward for all my hard work, I got to see some great performances over the weekend. Friday night's Golden Goose competition was a lot of fun, even though the junior class beat us seniors by a few points. All the students had hysterical videos and stage acts, plus some great footage from the last ten years of Golden Goose competitions. Golden Goose will make more sense when you come to Gordon, but for now think of a Spirit Day show - all jacked up on speed.

Then I went to the college's performance of the musical Godspell, which was really impressive. I didn't know Gordon had so many talented singers and actors! They rearranged the black box theater and constructed a set made up of scaffolding, television screens, and shag carpets. Jesus and the apostles were never so melodic and jovial. (Is that heretical for me to say...?)

And, finally, I finished off the weekend by attending the Music Department's annual "Spring Pops" wind ensemble concert, and then I made a late night coffee run with some friends. With only three weeks of classes remaining in my college career, I'm glad I get to take some time to enjoy events like these. After all, I can always read more books and write more papers after college (hah, yeah right!), but I definitely can't always enjoy the campus life community. I'll miss that a lot.

OK, time to do some homework for 2 Corinthians and then work on job applications. I'm almost done!

Peace and love from Gordon,

Peter Morse

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Life at Gordon is Wonderful, In Bullet-Note Form

I don't normally write in bullet-notes, but there are so many great things happening at Gordon these days that it would take way too long to write paragraphs for each. So, in a not-so-overwhelming format, here are some of the reasons why life at Gordon is so wonderful right now...

-Intramural Sports! My soccer team lost in overtime last night, but it was a hard-fought battle, and we had a great time. Hopefully we'll make the playoffs, since I've always wanted to win an intramural soccer championship. Intramural ultimate frisbee also begins tomorrow, and I don't want to brag too much this early on, but we're probably going to win it all. We won last year, and we're going for the repeat. The uncoordinated and uninspired had better watch out.

-Class Presentation and Senior Thesis: All play and no work makes Jack a student who flunks out of Gordon. So, aside from intramural sports, I am also getting ready for some pretty significant class assignments. This Monday, I have to give a 60-minute lecture on Christian existentialism and Biblical interpretation, and next Thursday I have to submit a 15-page senior thesis for my capstone politics course. I'm fairly intimidated and still have a lot of work to do, but I'm excited to see the final product for each course. After all, this is what I'm paying for!

-Golden Goose: Gordon's biggest entertainment event of the year, the Golden Goose competition, is a week from this Friday! Twelve guys are going to sing, dance, show off some funny videos, and compete for the honor of "Best Class". This also happens to be the tenth anniversary of the Golden Goose, which means they're making it an extra special show. I believe they may be bringing back some classic performances - perhaps the famous Super Mario skit...?

-Art Portfolio: I will be compiling a portfolio of my best images for the Digital Camera art class that I'm taking. Our ten best shots will be edited, printed, and organized to meet the presentation standards of art professionals. If you want to take a look at some of my work, click here for my portfolio website.

-Beautiful Weather: If you were anywhere near Boston today, you know how incredible the weather was. It reached over 80 degrees, it was breezy, and it's here to stay. Other than occasional rain showers, pristine weather is now the norm! Today I walked by classes meeting out on the grass and cherry blossom trees finally blooming. I couldn't ask for more.

-Graduation is coming! I picked up my cap and gown today and tried them on. It was very strange to see myself once more in graduation attire. When that week finally comes, I'll post about the different events they have planned for us graduating seniors. It's almost here!

I hope you're enjoying the spring weather as much as we are here at Gordon! Thanks for reading!

Peace and love from Gordon.

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Music at Gordon

One of the great things about Gordon is the musical ability of so many of the students. There are opportunities every single week to hear classical, acoustic, alternative, worship, and jazz performances. I'm particularly lucky to know several music majors really well, so I've been able to attend some of Gordon's best ensemble concerts and individual recitals.

Apart from classical music, there are also some really talented rock and acoustic bands, and traveling to nearby cities to hear them play with other Boston-area musicians is a lot of fun. Recently I've been doing taking some pictures for these various performers, and I hope these shots make you excited to experience music at Gordon live and in person.

Mary Gruen '11

Junior Flute Recital, April 10th, 1:00 PM

Phillips Recital Hall

(Attend the recital if you're nearby!)

Glass America, one of Gordon's best live bands...

Give them a listen at www.myspace.com/glassamericaband.

And if you're a musician considering Gordon, we can't wait to have you! Take a look at these links to see if Gordon's music program or off-campus study options appeal to you. (You could learn music and performance for four months on Martha's Vineyard, a beautiful island off of Cape Cod!)

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy your Easter weekend!

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