Newspapers / The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.) / Nov. 19, 2004, edition 1 / Page 4
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Nov. 19, 2004 Www, guilfordi an. com Profile: Scott Pierce Coleman, QISP Director Ben Kelly Staff Writer Scott Pierce Coleman first heard his vitae voca, or life's calling, while driving a lawn-mower. Coleman had just graduated from Amherst College and didnt know what he wanted to do with his life. He had taken a summer job mow ing his alma mater's lawns. "I could point out the bush I was mowing around," Coleman said. "It's still there. And, all of a sudden, it hit me like a ton of bricks." In that moment, Coleman realized that his life's calling would be helping other people listen for their own call. Guilford has given Coleman a new opportunity to help others. On Nov. 5, Vice President Adrienne Israel announced that Coleman will serve as the new director of the college's Initiative on Faith & Practice. 'The essential mission (of the Initiative) is to enrich Guilford's premises: to help prepare peo ple for a life's work," Coleman said in an interview. He defines "a life's work" as a person's vocation. The word "vocation" is often misinterpret ed as synonymous to a job; Coleman said the true meaning is the "merging of one's gifts Guilford bookstore gets new manager and new style Continued from Page 1 file a BMX Bike worth approximately S3OO. The bookstore has been owned and managed by Follett Higher Education Group since 2000. That will not change, nor will there be any changes in pricing or location according to Trish Large, Follett "trouble-shooter." Walker is making changes to the book store website which will show Guilford images and allows students and faculty to buy items sold in the bookstore. In addition, faculty can place book orders on the website. The changes have been reviewed in the Guilford College Bookstore Report. The Bookstore Task Force (BTF) wrote the report to educate students, faculty and staff about plans ensuring that their needs are being met. The BTF was made up of administration staff, faculty and students from the Guilford communi- and passions in faithful service to God, humanity and the earth." Former Director Sarah Beth Ten-ell '77 will take over as coor dinator of faculty and staff retreats for the Initiative. Her voluntary resignation ended her three-year appointment as director. "I think there's definitely room to do it better. I think Scott brings gifts I didnt have," she said. "Administration is not my (strong) suit. I am much more gifted at working with small groups." In 2001, the Lilly Endowment Inc., a private foundation, subsi dized the creation of the Initiative on Faith and Practice. The Lilly Endowment granted Guilford $2 million, the largest foundation grant in the college's history, to establish the pro gram. "We hope that young people, whatever their profession turns out to be, will have plentiful opportunities (thanks to the grant) to think deeply about what they want to do with their lives and how their faith can enlighten and shape their choic es," Craig Dykstra, Vice President for Religion at the Lilly Endowment, said at the time. As the Initiative's first director, ty, and Duvall Group Consulting Inc. The Administrative/Vice Chair, is actively consulting group was brought in to ana- working with the bookstore to assist in lyze the bookstore and its contract with the implementation of an action plan out- Guilford. lined for the 2004-05 academic year. The recommendations ranged from The report summarizes the operational extending bookstore hours to bridging and financial review of the contract munication I jgg. campus and the , "VWHHMMHHfI bookstore. Booth by, - J f! j$ | ||Jif I President of Finance I and TALEISHA BOWEN/GUILFORCHAN Some of the school supplies offered at the Bookstore NEWS Terrell sought to encourage stu dent thinking about the nature of vocations. "Helping students find their direction in life ... is just simply part of what higher edu cation should be doing," she said. Coleman plans to continue using the Initiative to help stu dents find direction. He currently oversees the Service, Experi ence, Reflection, Vocation, and Education (S.E.R.V.E.) work shop, a faculty training program designed to teach professors how to orient their students towards their post-graduate lives. The Initiative staff also works closely with the Career and Community Center to help guide undergraduates towards their lives' callings. Coleman, who also serves as Director of the Initiative's Quaker Leadership Scholars Program (QSLP), is looking for ward to the opportunities for reaching out to students that come with his new appointment. "Being the Director doesn't mean much to me. What is important is growing into an identity that will open doors into trust and respect," he comment ed. "I feel like authority and respect are earned." Coleman described the frus trations many students en counter when trying to discover H^HgL£^. v - ffrrr Aft l^ I. sj { i '1 21 J TALEISHA BOWEN/GUILFORDIAN _ Scott Plerce Coleman their purpose compared choosing between pur suing career or calling to nessorjoy. ' calling is about em the expense of happiness," Coleman He ex- . . ... , plained that the pursuit of happiness focuses on instant gratification, whereas the pur- suit of joy requires sacrificing happiness in the short-term. Ultimately, however, the pursuit of joy will reward those willing to wait. Choosing to follow one's call- ing over a profitable career might require material sacri- fices, but the ultimate pay-off is as great as the difference between being joyful and being happy, according to Coleman. While he admitted that some students may not be ready to make the sacrifices requisite to Greensboro. N.C. finding their vocation, Coleman believes the Initiative can help those people, "I think it's good for students to be asking themselves 'How serious am I about following my calling?" 1 he said, explaining that discovering one's vocation is a life-long task without any clear ending, Changing careers is not uncommon. Changing voca tions, once you have heard the call, is impossible. Though he has been promoted, Coleman is still very much working for the same boss.SM! between the Follett Higher Education Group Inc., the largest owner/operator of college bookstores, and Guilford College. Its findings, recommendations, survey results and financial analysis indi cate that the needed changes have taken place. People directly from the Guilford community gave their input and the recommendation stated that Guilford should continue to use the Follett Higher Education Group to manage the book-, store. However, the report did cite some areas in need of improvement, such as building stronger lines of communication, greater product selection and a more proactive approach to customer service. The bookstore has changed in some way: hours have been extended during rush periods and an advisory committee now works with the store in an effort to make sure the needs of the campus are being met.3£ Page 3
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
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