Her experience reflects the new ways and new places that education takes place these days for 91����Ƶ students, including , , grant-funded research and practicums, and being part of a cohort at a site to which 91����Ƶ faculty come for classes.

Enns, from Winnipeg, Canada, lived in the nation’s capital at . While taking two courses at the center, she worked at , an interfaith coalition that seeks to end anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S. As an intern with the organization, she used her experience as co-editor of , 91����Ƶ’s student newspaper, to produce a bi-weekly newsletter, compile fact sheets, and otherwise pitch in on the group’s various initiatives.

An internship through 91����Ƶ’s Washington center is more than just a taste of real-world work and an opportunity to develop contacts, ideas, and credentials for life after college. It’s also a launching point for deeper examination of the relationship between faith, values, and career.

“How do we as Mennonites engage the state, and how much do we build our alternative systems?” asked Enns, whose great-grandparents were part of the mass migration of Mennonites from Russia to North America during the turbulent years after the Bolshevik Revolution.

What relationship, exactly, should a person of faith hold toward advocacy in a secular environment, she wonders. Doesn’t faith like hers, one that prescribes action on behalf of “the least among us,” require this sort of entanglement with the wider world? But does this very entanglement with the wider world undermine the foundations of her faith?

Enns doesn’t have answers to her questions yet, but she knows she would like to continue doing faith-based advocacy after she graduates this spring. In fact, her plans at this point are to join .

During her four-year career at 91����Ƶ, Enns took advantage of other non-traditional ways of learning.

Soon after she arrived on campus as a first-year student, she took an optional field trip with her Restorative Justice and Trauma class to a penitentiary, where she participated in three days of a Quaker-developed “Alternatives to Violence Program” with inmates.

In her sophomore year, Enns satisfied 91����Ƶ’s cross-cultural requirement by creating her own semester-long study experience in the African nation of Chad, where her parents were serving with .

For 10 weeks between her junior and senior years, Enns was part of a offered at 91����Ƶ that gives college students a chance to be an intern, mentored by a pastor, in a congregational  setting. Her assignment was at .

91����Ƶ offers a variety of other new ways and places for students to pursue their education.

More and more graduate students are taking their courses online, usually studying from their homes. The was the first unit at 91����Ƶ to offer distance learning, and now most of 91����Ƶ’s also offer courses online.

Nurses who are studying for a master’s degree in nursing leadership and management don’t have to come to campus very often (or to .).  The program is designed for working nurses who need to maintain family commitments and remain on the job. Jeanette Nisly ’96, for example, is and raising two children with her Guatemalan husband.

Sometimes the students are surprised to see that online learning actually offers more interaction with class members and professors than a traditional classroom. A faculty advisor provides ongoing support for students and helps with logistics, technology questions, and other issues. Students also receive support from staff, graduate writing tutors, and library staff.

Other non-traditional learning opportunities at 91����Ƶ:

• , which offers a mix of study through the annual Summer Peacebuilding Institute at 91����Ƶ and experiences in the students’ home countries. The first group, in 2012, included 12 women from Africa and the South Pacific. They were selected from more than 100 applications. Funds for the program are provided by USAID and the German development organization, EED/Bread for the World.

• . The latest example, announced in February, is a $20,000 grant from the United Service Foundation that will send eight undergraduates to foreign locations (Colombia and Iran in 2013), supervised by an 91����Ƶ-linked mentor. The grants are for peacebuilding and development majors, who are required to complete off-campus practicums.

• . Many of the students enrolled in 91����Ƶ’s programs run from Lancaster, Pa., don’t actually go to classes at the center’s facility in a business park. Students in the pastoral studies program, for example, attend classes this spring at Lancaster Mennonite Conference offices or sites in Philadelphia, Hatfield, and Morgantown. The three-year program, called , is for new pastors or prospective pastors.

• Taking trauma courses all over the world. In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, established a program to help community leaders deal with the trauma of disasters and conflict. Called , the program has trained more than 7,000 people worldwide. The training seminars take place at 91����Ƶ, across the United States, and all over the world in places like Lebanon, Haiti, and Mexico.

She found that unique blend at Harvard.

“Harvard Law School has a growing commitment to public interest work and alternative dispute resolution,” said Sauder, a first-year law student. “I just started working as an intern for the Program on Negotiation where I’ve connected with other people who also care about peacebuilding, restorative justice and conflict resolution.”

A foundation of law…

Sauder was drawn to the pre-law minor at 91����Ƶ as a freshman because it encouraged her to challenge preconceived assumptions and “look at creative ways the law can build peace and resolve conflicts.”

“I learned to think through multiple sides of issues, appreciate questions and stop seeing the world in black and white,” said Sauder. “I was worried law school would ruin that important transformation but I’ve realized that law is full of ambiguities and recognizing them is critical.”

Dan Wessner, a former history professor at 91����Ƶ, initiated the pre-law minor in 2005. Sauder credits Wessner with preparing her for the challenges of law school. “As a lawyer, he taught me how to write more concisely and argue thoughtfully and effectively.”

In addition to Wessner’s classes, Sauder appreciated her pre-law capstone class taught by , a who holds an MA from . She believes the time spent discussing multiple sides of a case and reading legal theories helped her mind transition to think “like a lawyer.”

“Our time spent in personal reflection and analysis gave me an opportunity to consider the type of person I want to be in my legal career,” said Sauder. “I have continued to apply what I learned about myself in that class at Harvard.”

In addition to Wessner, Sauder points to , and to colleagues in Sawin’s with influencing her path to Harvard.

“The pre-law classes in peacebuilding, theology, ethics, business and philosophy showed what a unique and well-rounded program 91����Ƶ has,” said Sauder. “I loved how inter-disciplinary the pre-law minor was…It helped me to see the connections and consider the law in both broad and narrow contexts.”

…rooted in peace

Harvard Law groups incoming students into sections where they maintain the same class schedule with other students. Sauder enjoys the camaraderie and small community feel of her section which has softened her transition from a smaller campus.

“I’ve found a number of others who connect with Mennonite values including a student who studied under John Paul Lederach (founding director ofCJP) at Notre Dame,” said Sauder. “I’m excited about the vibrant community here that’s passionate about social change and justice issues.”

As the newness of the semester has worn off, Sauder is looking forward to continued dialogue with her peers on social justice and peacebuilding.

“I’ve really enjoyed sharing about my unique experiences at 91����Ƶ and the values I developed there.”

Activities will open with a presentation 8 p.m. Monday, Mar. 23 in Suter Science Center room 109 on “food issues in Africa.” The presenter is Debbie Scott, who recently completed a three-year term of service in Nairobi, Kenya with Mennonite Central Committee, Akron, Pa.

Ms. Scott served with ACORD, a pan-African organization working for social justice and equality. Her focus was on agricultural trade policy analysis.

Author Mark Winne will discuss his recent book, Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty, 8 p.m. Tuesday, Mar. 24, in the Common Grounds Coffeehouse in the University Commons. Facilitating students are from Dr. Dan Wessner’s pre-law capstone course, “Law, Values and Worldview.”

Res Judicata, 91����Ƶ’s pre-law student organization, is co-sponsoring the event.

A petting zoo will be set up on the front lawn of campus, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday, Mar. 26. Bread baking will take place 7 p.m. that day in the Maplewood residence hall lounge.

Persons can meet 10 a.m. Saturday, Mar. 28 in front of the University Commons to bike or carpool to the Harrisonburg Downtown Farmers Market. A workday will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday in the 91����Ƶ garden at the corner of Mt. Clinton Pike and College Ave.

For more information on Food and Farming Week, contact first-year 91����Ƶ Student Daniel H. Sigmans, daniel.sigmans@emu.edu.

For students considering law school or law-related vocations, one path to achieving that goal may now run through 91����Ƶ.

The board of trustees has approved a university proposal to add a pre-law minor to the curriculum, effective with the 2005-2006 academic year.

, associate professor of international and political studies, said the program will draw on the strengths of 91����Ƶ’s emphases on service, cross-cultural understanding, international concerns, and justice, peace and conflict studies