Journey-Men Recovering From Loss of Advisor
Kellie Herson
Issue date: 12/2/08 Section: News
|
Mathias, a former counselor in Health and Wellness Services, left the college when his contract was not renewed last spring.
"It was really shocking. We felt like the rug had been pulled out from beneath us," said Journey-Men Intern Adam Norder '10. "[Mathias] noticed that there were some e-mails from Mary Oling-Sisay [Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students] that kind of foreshadowed it, so he was expecting it, and then it was confirmed after we all received the official e-mail."
Despite being understandably upset, the group held a going-away party for Mathias. "We wanted to seek closure so that we could come in strong into this year," said Norder.
Instead of seeking a single advisor as a replacement, the group now has an advisory board consisting of four members: Dr. Kurt Weber, psychologist in Health and Wellness Services; Associate Pastor Fr. Sal Cuccia; Shawn Johnson of Campus Ministry, and Corday Goddard, assistant dean of student development.
In their desire to "come in strong," Journey-Men have continued to hold programs, organize activities for men on campus, and run the Knight Owl Cafe, located in the basement of the Pennings Activity Center.
On Thursday, November 20, the group hosted an event in the lower level of the PAC entitled "A Slice of Pizza, A Slice of Life: The Road of Ashes: Revival After the Fall."
"It's our biggest program for the fall semester," said Norder.
At the event, a panel of three different men spoke about difficult situations which they had to overcome: one dealt with the loss of his job, one with clinical depression, and the third with the death of his wife.
The group plans to host more programs in the spring semester as they continue to move forward.
Be the first to comment on this story