Billikens Reflect on Advent's 'Big Ideas'
12/18/2019
As Saint Louis University marks the season of Advent, students, faculty and staff members were asked to share reflections on the season's big ideas - themes that warm their hearts, ideas that lead them to seek greater truths and moments that inspire them to nurture the light of good in themselves and others through winter's darkest days.
From finding joy in new family members and student smiles to discovering the deeper meaning of welcome through the hospitality of others, SLU's Billikens have considered the ways that those "big ideas" can light flames, large and small, to change the world for the better.
Service and Giving
Vrushangi Shah, a senior studying health management and public health in the College for Public Health and Social Justice, spoke at the 2019 Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice about her experiences as a Hindu social justice advocate at a Catholic Jesuit university.
Vrushangi shared her thoughts about giving herself in service to others.
Hospitality
Mary O'Connell is a senior majoring in environmental science and theology in the College of Arts and Sciences, who has studied abroad in Argentina.
Mary reflected on her memories of her time abroad and the ways her experiences illustrate the meaning of hospitality.
Hope
Timothy Major is a 2019 graduate from the School for Professional Studies.
Timothy shared his definition of hope and the ways it has helped him find new, positive ways to approach life's predicaments and the dilemmas inherent to everyday life.
Joy
Marlene Wu recently celebrated her first year as an academic coordinator with the University's TRIO-Educational Talent Search. Marlene works with middle and high school students to help them as they pursue their dreams through college educations.
She spoke about what has sparked joy for her this year.
Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious Catholic institutions. Rooted in Jesuit values and its pioneering history as the first university west of the Mississippi River, SLU offers nearly 13,000 students a rigorous, transformative education of the whole person. At the core of the University’s diverse community of scholars is SLU’s service-focused mission, which challenges and prepares students to make the world a better, more just place.