Lars Ă…kerson ’08 used a familiar Mennonite symbol, that of a quilt, to discuss the importance of belonging. “We need to piece back together the quilt of our belonging, acknowledge the extent of our fragmentation, touch and unfold the edges of our differences, and become stitched together by the colored threads of our grief,” he said. Ă…kerson, representing the , served as the first keynote speaker for the 2025 Intercollegiate Peace Fellowship (ICPF) conference. His work with the Coalition involves building Indigenous solidarity, and he discussed collaborations he helped facilitate between Maya and Mennonite farmers. 

The conference, held from Friday, Feb. 21, to Sunday, Feb. 23, in the 91¶ĚĘÓƵ Seminary building, centered around the theme “Building Solidarity: from Turtle Island to Palestine.” It brought together 110 attendees, some from the Harrisonburg community and area universities, and others from Mennonite, Brethren, and Quaker colleges across the U.S. Aidan Yoder ’24, a recent 91¶ĚĘÓƵ graduate who served on the conference planning committee, said he was excited by the energy that students brought to the event. “We far surpassed my goals for the conference with the number of people involved and the variety of institutions represented,” Yoder said.

Two speakers, Adam Ramer and Nick Martin, shared the second keynote address on , an organization working to build Palestinian solidarity. Ramer and Martin discussed the purpose and mission of their organization for about half an hour, explaining that they stand with the downtrodden and oppressed, particularly those in Palestine, and strive for a world “where all God’s children are free.” For the next 45 minutes, they opened the floor to questions. “How do you build empathy for a cause like a cease-fire?” one attendee asked. Ramer and Martin then discussed the importance of reaching people’s hearts by going beyond logical arguments and appealing to values and emotions.

Between the keynote addresses on Saturday, attendees chatted over pastries, fruit, and coffee and attended workshops. Some workshops focused on broad topics such as nonviolent action, while others discussed specific justice and peacebuilding endeavors, including Palestine solidarity in Harrisonburg and visual and digital activism in Brazil and Argentina. Yoder said he heard from many attendees who enjoyed the workshops as a place to ask questions and learn more.

91¶ĚĘÓƵ last hosted the ICPF in February 2020, before it was indefinitely put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Renae Benner, an 91¶ĚĘÓƵ junior who helped plan the 2025 conference, said she felt that people learned a lot and built stronger relationships between colleges. “I’m optimistic that we successfully restarted the annual ICPF,” she said. As Ă…kerson said in his address, “The way things are is not the way they must be.” Although he was talking about activism more broadly, his words could also apply to restarting a beloved conference, one that Goshen College first hosted 77 years ago. 

A highlight from the conference for Yoder came during weekend reflections when the committee announced that two colleges had tentatively agreed to host the ICPF for the next two years. “I was glad the energy we created this year resulted in the continuation of the annual conference,” he said.

Those planning the ICPF 2025 conference were Renae Benner, Shawna Hurst, Micaiah Landis, Georgia Metz, Tim Seidel, and Aidan Yoder.

The protesters, which included a large contingent of passionate 91¶ĚĘÓƵ students, faculty and staff, held signs and banners with demands such as: “Ceasefire Now,” “Let Gaza Live,” “Stop Genocide in Gaza” and “Free All Hostages and Prisoners.” 

They joined together in nearly an hour of hymns led by Benjamin Bergey, assistant professor of music at 91¶ĚĘÓƵ, and Dorothy Jean Weaver ’72, emeritus professor at Eastern Mennonite Seminary. 

While the protesters lifted their voices in song and prayed for peace, Tim Seidel, associate professor of peacebuilding, development and global studies at 91¶ĚĘÓƵ, and Emily Hershberger MA ’12 hand-delivered a petition to Harrisonburg City Manager Ande Banks ’97 inside City Hall. More than 500 local signatures are attached to the petition, which urges Harrisonburg City Council to pass a resolution supporting a permanent cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. 

Seidel organized Tuesday’s protest along with the local committee of . The primary goals of the Mennonite Action grassroots movement are a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, a release of all hostages and an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestine. 

Heartened by the healthy turnout, Seidel said the protest provided a powerful witness to elected officials, both at the local and national levels. 

“This momentum is a testimony to the grief people are feeling and their conviction and desire to see change,” Seidel said.

As 91¶ĚĘÓƵ senior Aidan Yoder posted photos and video of the protest to the Harrisonburg Mennonite Action social media accounts, he estimated that about 40 of his fellow students had shown up to demonstrate. 

“I think we really showed City Council that the people of Harrisonburg want a cease-fire and that we support them passing this resolution,” he said. 

For 91¶ĚĘÓƵ junior Emma Nord, the demonstration marked the first protest she’s attended. The student chaplain often leads hymn sings on campus and reflected on the power of song as a form of protest.

“It’s wonderful to see Mennonites coming together and acknowledging the crisis … to proclaim that genocide is wrong,” she said. 

For a visual recap of the impactful protest, explore our curated photo gallery below.

The center, located in the nation’s capital since 1976, is a program of 91¶ĚĘÓƵ.

The semester-long experience is also a community-building endeavor, with students living together in the Nelson Good House in the Brookland neighborhood of Northeast Washington, D.C. This semester’s placements include several organizations that are longtime hosts of 91¶ĚĘÓƵ students, highlighting WCSC’s deep ties within the region. Many alumni can trace their careers back to a pivotal experience at WCSC.

Read on to learn more about the students, their placements and the organizations they are involved with. 

Iris Anderson, a psychology and sociology major from Corvallis, Oregon, is with the peace education program . She helps facilitate circles at after-school programs, a mens shelter and other groups to teach “skills for peace” or education on social-emotional health.

“I have been going to a wide variety of schools and have learned a lot about how a child’s environment can impact the way they interact with and learn about the world around them,” she said.

Tatiana Ayala, a social work major from Stafford, Virginia, is with the (LAYC). She is teaching, case managing and providing translation services at the organization, which provides services to youth such as safe housing, food, mental health, and virtual learning opportunities.

“I think the most significant learning experience I have had is helping clients with SNAP and Medicaid benefits as well as helping them navigate the DMV to get an ID and social security number,” she said.

Micaiah Coleman, a business administration major from Farmville, Virginia, is with the (WACIF). The nonprofit organization’s mission is to promote equity and economic opportunity in underserved neighborhoods in the Washington, D.C., region by getting financial capital and business advice to low- and moderate-income entrepreneurs. Read more about student experiences at WACIF.

Nardos Haile, a social work major from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is with . She shadows case managers and team members at the nonprofit, which supports incarcerated and newly released individuals in their transition back to the community. Some of her day-to-day work includes assisting clients with resume building and navigating government forms for SNAP and Medicaid, finding housing solutions, and scheduling appointments for intake sessions or workforce development meetings.

“This internship is a constant learning experience for me, from paperwork to setting up TracFones for clients,” Haile said. “It’s a dynamic environment where I pick up new skills every day, including practicing de-escalation techniques to meet clients right where they are.”

Abigail Hickok, a history education major from Hickory, North Carolina, is with the . She archives the work of the center’s longtime education specialist to make it accessible for researchers after her retirement.

“It’s been helpful to get a sense of what museum work entails and to be involved in meetings concerning archives and artifacts, as well as getting to meet researchers and learn more about their work,” Hickok said.

Kervens Hyppolite, a computer science major from Richmond, Virginia, is with . He works with the cybersecurity team to set up client devices on Azure, trains clients how to use KnowBe4 and runs vulnerability assessments on client networks and websites.

“Being able to communicate with clients and educate them is a big part of what most analysts do on a day-to-day basis, and having that experience is going to be key for me as I enter the field,” he said.

Zachary Kennell, a Bethel College biology and business major from Newton, Kansas, is with . He works with certified prosthetists and orthotists to provide care to patients who have lost function in one or more extremities. Observing how clinicians interact and adapt to the needs of different patients has led to many learning experiences, he said.

Natalie Ladd, a social work major from Waldron, Michigan, and Hesston, Kansas, is with , an organization that provides legal, social and language services to low-income immigrants in the D.C. area. Some of her tasks include helping clients fill out forms for Medicaid, SNAP or online therapy; researching resources for clients; assessing their needs at intake sessions; and attending events to provide information about resources.

“I really enjoy working as a case manager and am looking for a similar job for after I graduate,” Ladd said. “I also have used this semester to work on my Spanish more as the majority of our clients speak Spanish.”

Anna Tieszen, an accounting and mathematics major from Harrisonburg, Virginia, is with the , where she assists the finance department in matching invoices and getting them approved to be paid. She said she has also worked on transferring information between systems.

“Getting to dip my toes into the accounting field for a few months has given me the chance to see how accounting works throughout a business and keeps that business running behind the scenes,” Tieszen said.

Aidan Yoder, a political science and history major from Kalona, Iowa, is with the ‘s Washington office. At MCC he’s focused on the issues of climate change and militarism, which involves being active in several interfaith working groups to coordinate their efforts. He’s written articles, made educational TikToks and processed organizational sign-on letters to indicate MCC’s support for certain issues.

“My most significant experience from my internship at MCC has been learning how organizations can work together in a way to multiply the impact that they would have had on their own,” Yoder said.

Summer 2023 placements included:

• Justin Aggrey, a digital media and communication major from Culpeper, Virginia, at video production company Washington Digital Media.
• Laura Benner, an engineering and computer science major from Telford, Pennsylvania, at the Smithsonian National Zoo.
• Ben Childers, a liberal arts major from Chesterfield, Virginia, at the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington.
• Gelila Dibekulu, an economics and political science major from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at nonprofit financial reform organization Jubilee USA Network.
• Clare Henschel, a Viterbo University psychology major from Kiel, Wisconsin, at Little Friends for Peace.
• Ethan Klassen, an engineering major from Mountain Lake, Minnesota, at HVAC and plumbing contractor Shapiro & Duncan Inc.
• Zoey Mongold, a history & social science and secondary education major from Mathias, West Virginia, at Sumner School Museum and Archives.
• Isaac Sawin, a nursing major from Harrisonburg, Virginia, at Bread for the City, which provides food, clothing, medical care, and legal and social services to low-income residents.
• Lily Simpson, a social work major from Limerick, Pennsylvania, at affordable housing nonprofit Jubilee Housing.
• Will Stutzman, a music interdisciplinary studies major from Denver, Colorado, at The Keegan Theatre.

Jamie Reich, WCSC’s associate director of communications and recruitment, collaborated on this article.