A recent graduate from Pacific Lutheran University describes how his school's vocational education is shaping his career choices.

Coming into college as a confused freshman, I was, as most were, trying to find meaning to my life. Why had I decided to go to college? Was it going to be a waste of my time? Had my sincerely caring blue-collar peers, colleagues, and family been right all along — should I have gone into a skilled, hands-on trade and not delved into the deep, academic pursuits of how we think and why? These were a few of the questions that I took into my first days of college.

From Slave to Servant
Those questions soon changed. My perspective changed. I realized that I needed to build a philosophical and theological perspective that challenged the way I looked at myself and the world in which I live. I needed to learn how to see through "Wild Hope" eyes. The Wild Hope Project based at Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) and funded by a $2 million Lilly Endowment Grant, provided me with the forum, conversations, and fellowship to do just that.

In more common words, I was transformed. I quickly went from a slave of societal expectation to servant of God and God's community. I began to ask the question, borrowing Frederick Buechner's language, "Where does my deepest joy meet the world's greatest needs?" And, of course, I asked the question of PLU's Wild Hope Project, a question coined by Mary Oliver's famous quote: "What will I do with my one wild and precious life?"

After four years of college, I graduated with a degree in Environmental Studies and Philosophy. Armed with a valuable liberal arts education, I was ready to enter the real world. The "real world," though, was not what I expected. Fresh out of college, I accepted a position with a finished-wood products manufacturer.

Trouble in the Real World
I soon learned some things about that particular company's operation that disturbed me. I first noticed the gender discrimination in the company. The people I worked directly with, who all happened to be males, were in positions of power and positions "beyond" administrative support. The males in the organization had a work area completely separate from and much nicer than the support staff's. Second, I noticed the extreme profit-driven nature of the company where consideration of the end-of-chain consumer mattered little. Further, I learned that the company had contracted with timber companies who agreed to specifically sell the oldest growth timber of their harvest to our company, as that was the product desired by our middle-of-chain clientele.

I had a problem with all of these things. How could I go to work, day in and day out, all the while thinking and feeling that I was spiritually in conflict with some of the key practices of my employer?

A conversation with the supervising manager showed me that the company had no intention of changing its mode of operation on account of one employee's concerns about company practices. Then I knew what my response had to be. I had asked myself the following questions:

1) Can I change the fundamentally conflicting policies of the organization?
2) If so, how long will it take?
3) Can I endure that length of time?

I answered "No" to the last question. Without hesitation, I told the supervising manager in that meeting that I could "not see myself working for an organization whose values and mission conflict with my own." I resigned, after a mere two and a half months working my first career job after college. It was a bold step, one that most probably would not take, but I felt it necessary in order to be true to myself. The pay was healthy, but I had quickly learned the importance of the health of the physical, mental, and spiritual capacities that define me. I needed to pursue my calling. And, because many recent college graduates aren't sure what that calling is for them, I needed to have the courage to embrace the risky unknown to pursue it.

Another Route Opens
I always knew that I enjoyed working with people and that I always found myself energized by helping to bring solutions to difficult problems of social injustice. My studies of Martin Luther while in college showed the commitment and passion he gave to education. The educational mission of PLU is continually reinforced by the university's Lutheran heritage. The chapel services I attended there always contained a theme of "Don't check your mind at the doors of the church, and don't check your faith at the doors of the classroom." The two are inter-dependent, and they should be practiced as such to best inform our decisions as we go through life. Given my passions, and the supportive programs offered by Campus Ministry and Student Involvement and Leadership at PLU, I discovered that education and social justice issues around education are of extreme importance to me.

I now work in public school administration. I am finding the work challenging and fulfilling. Education administered intentionally, using the powers of thought and faith, is a noble pursuit for me. It enlivens and enlarges the splendor I see in God's creation every day. The church and PLU's Wild Hope Project have done well to teach me the importance of how passion and moral obligation should drive every decision and action I make. However, I see much room for improvement in providing our future generations with the hope and courage to explore life "wildly," "preciously," and, most important, meaningfully.

Programs like the Wild Hope Project at PLU go a long way in guiding young adults like myself to be more focused and intentional about our actions. I was raised hearing the old adage "Think before you act." Well, the church and the Wild Hope Project have modified that adage for me into "Think deeply rooted in your faith, and your actions will be the better for it."

Willie Painter graduated in 2006 with a double major in environmental science and philosophy from Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington. He currently works for a school district in Tacoma as a public information officer.