By Anna Catherman (’24)
An innovative new Mayterm will bring 15 lucky Houghton students an opportunity to develop communications and relationship skills that will help them better relate to people with different religious, political, and social views.
“Bridging the Gap” is a nationwide initiative which pairs students from Christian and secular colleges and trains them on how to better listen to those with other worldviews. “People often focus on how they don’t feel heard, but there’s not a lot of time taken to then focus on hearing other people,” noted Nuk Kongkaw, director of the Mosaic Center.
For Mayterm, Houghton students will be teamed up with students from nearby Ithaca College. Ithaca College’s Executive Director for Student Equity and Belonging, Herald Osorto, is enthusiastic about the partnership. When asked what he is looking forward to most, he told the STAR that he’s excited to bring together two Higher Ed institutions that most people don’t think could come together. “[Y]ou have an institution like ours that is a non-sectarian secular institution. There is no religious affiliation from our onset. That’s not part of our history, necessarily. And then you have an institution like Houghton that has a particular religious identity that has rooted who it is and its values in the world. And to…unpack that and then see what it looks like to bring our students together, I just think that’s an incredible opportunity. Oftentimes, we’re not seen as being able to come together. And here we are, through this course,” he explained.
Founded by Simon Greer, “Bridging the Gap” began as a partnership between conservative Christian college Spring Arbor University and Oberlin College, a liberal secular institution. In January 2020, 15 students – 10 from Oberland, 5 from Spring Arbor – got together for a winter term program of “courageous conversations.” Since then, a total of five schools have participated in “Bridging the Gap,” with four more hosting the program in May.
“Bridging the Gap” alum Kristina Grace was enthusiastic in her correspondence with the STAR. “My experience in the original program was life changing. It was a program that exceeded my expectations and something I will cherish for a lifetime.” She graduated from Spring Arbor University in May 2020 and has since joined Bridging the Gap as their partnership coordinator, a job in which she puts the skills she learned in the program to use every day.
Like everything else this school year, “Bridging the Gap” will look a little different than it would under normal circumstances. Students from Houghton and Ithaca will most likely be working in groups at their respective schools and utilizing Zoom for interschool interactions. Kongkaw noted that activity boxes have been put together so students have tangible activities they can do even through distance learning. The program’s main topic will be immigration, an issue that impacts both schools heavily. There will be a panel of experts on hand to learn from. Students will then discuss amongst themselves, utilizing the conversational skills taught.
Registration for “Bridging the Gap” runs from Monday, Feb. 22 until the program is full. Those interested are encouraged to sign up as soon as possible. The course will run from May 24 – June 11, and the fee is the normal Mayterm class rate. ★