Good Mentor Hunting
The journey to integrate academia and faith for PhD students in Canada
by PhD candidate & GSC Intern, Chloe Liu
Inspired by GSC’s vision for missional Christian academics to redemptively influence the world, I asked: How might I be a part of this as a current PhD student? My university offers great research and teaching training toward becoming a renowned scientist in my field, and my church delivers sound biblical teachings. But how can I express my Christian faith through my academic research and teaching?
As an Emerging Leader Student Intern at GSC, I regularly saw a robust network and resources that supported the ongoing needs of current Christian professors. Yet, an intentional linkage to graduate students as the next generation of Christian professors – where? This inspired me to develop a pilot project that would become the successful ‘GSC Mentorship Program’ of 2022.
The goal of the program was to enhance graduate student and postdoc academic vocation through access to a mentor – a Christian professor, in their very discipline. The response was tremendous. 16 graduate students in universities across Canada registered with ready reasons for why they were interested in joining: “I want to know how my faith can connect to the work I am doing, especially in everyday research and teaching life.” ” I hope to connect with someone that has experienced these feelings [of discouragement] but has continued to find meaning in God, and has stayed in this discipline.”
The Mentorship Graduate Cohort met on Zoom and was assigned to small groups based on their disciplines. Each of the groups then met virtually to probe their Mentor regarding Christian faith and the university. Decidedly a worthwhile venture, especially coming away from the unique challenge to campuses of a worldwide pandemic, respondents (12 out of 16), said the program was indeed encouraging in their journeys as Christian Academics.
“The discussions were very helpful and have really helped me with finding my place in academia as a Christian…” Mentors encouraged us to see God’s guidance in our lives, that we are made in his image and raised our curiosities through questions, offering reference and resources to help us in the search for answers. Mentors served as living examples of faith in an academic world that often discourages its expression. Indeed, they fueled the hope that “humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” Matthew 19:26.
With 10 of the 16 participants being international students – the project was testament to the global nature of GSC’s calling. Christian professors worked toward building legacy for future missionally-minded professors of caliber, influence and importantly, faith. Imagine the exponential effects that this next generation of Christian scholars might bring to the world!