Cross Current Seminars are 1-credit, pass/fail courses designed for sophomores and juniors at a pivotal stage in their academic and personal development. These seminars offer students the opportunity to explore a focused topic in depth while linking classroom learning and real-world experiences–such as community engagement, ethical reflection, post-graduate discernment, and vocational exploration. 

Cross Currents invites students to engage some of the most consequential questions of their undergraduate journey: 

• How do I connect what I’m learning to who I’m becoming? 
• How do I live and work in ways that reflect my values? 
  

Today’s students are preparing not just for a single career, but for a life of evolving roles, relationships, and responsibilities. Research shows they will navigate multiple jobs—and even careers—over the course of their lives. To thrive, they need more than technical skills; they need the capacity to reflect deeply, adapt thoughtfully, and make decisions grounded in their values, commitments, and evolving sense of purpose.  

Cross Currents helps students develop these tools through dialogue, mentorship, and thoughtful integration. Students begin to reflect more intentionally on their values, interests, and aspirations–connecting academic learning with personal purpose and practical direction. 

While each seminar takes a distinct approach, all are grounded in three essential ingredients that research consistently links to purpose and belonging:

• Meaningful relationships with instructors, mentors, and peers
• Hands-on experiences that bring ideas into lived practice
• Intentional reflection that helps students align experience with a deeper sense of direction and contribution

Courses are taught primarily by administrators from Student Affairs and Mission & Ministry, in close collaboration with faculty partners.  This collaborative model expands mentoring capacity while fostering integration across disciplines and divisions.

Learning Goals:1. Connect Academic Learning with Purpose and DirectionStudents will explore how their coursework and lived experiences intersect with their values, interests, and evolving sense of purpose–supporting discernment around future choices, commitments, and vocational direction

.2. Develop Lasting Habits of Reflection and DiscernmentStudents will engage in structured reflection–individually and in conversation with others–to examine who they are becoming, what matters most to them, and how they hope to engage with the world. 

3. Apply Learning to Real-World ContextsStudents will connect classroom ideas to tangible challenges–such as community engagement, ethical dilemmas, vocational and career exploration, or global issues—and reflect on how knowledge becomes action. 

4. Cultivate Adaptability and Self-AwarenessStudents will build habits and mindsets–curiosity, resilience, reflective thinking, and a capacity to navigate life with intention.

5. Clarify Commitments in CommunityStudents will reflect on roles they play in their communities and explore how they might live out their values in ways that feel meaningful and responsible to themselves and others.