Interview with 2010/2011 Student Senate President

Redeemer Blogger, Katelyn B. holds a phone interview with Joel Van Steenbergen, Honour Biology Major and Chemistry Minor, and President of Student Senate for the 2010/2011 school year. (Last year Katelyn was a First Year Senator and looks forward to serving under Joel this year as the VP of Finance. With both persons being Senators, this interview got a bit interesting at times. Read on to hear what all the hype’s about!)

Katelyn: Last year you were the Senate Clubs Coordinator. What did you learn from last year that will help you this year as President?
Joel: I’ve learned the value of coordinated community. In that everybody needs to know what’s going on in order for things to work smoothly, like what each persons' responsibilities entails. Once people have that they can not only do their position, they can grow in it and expand it.

K: What made you decide to run for President?
J: I had the capability to do the position and somebody needed to do it. I had a vision for how Student Senate could run and I went with that vision. I felt the need and responded to that need.

K: That’s a really good quote!
J: Thanks, I’m looking up quotes online as I’m talking to you.

K: Seriously?
J: No. *pause* Oh here’s one: “To be or not to be...”

K: Haha. Ok, you said that you had a vision for Senate...
J: Yeah, the vision I have isto ensure that Student Senate runs like clockwork. To have an organized government that shows students its function, what its purpose is, and hopefully makes students really aware of what goes behind the doors of the Student Senate office. I want students to know that their Senate is available, that we’re interested in them, not just in doing our jobs. I also plan on expanding horizons for myself: getting to know people that I didn’t know before. I want every person that attends Redeemer to know that Senate is for them. We want Student Senate be truly for the students – and that’s all the students, not just the ones we see on a daily basis. *pause... hiccups* haha. I’ve had the hiccups all day long because I ate my apple wrong.

K: This is 29th year of Redeemer is seeing a lot of firsts: new president Dr. Krygsman, new dean of students Karen Cornies, and your first time as president of Student Senate. What do you see your role is in integrating our new Redeemerite-admin into the Redeemer community?
J: Yup, that’s three changes right there. One’s normal; it’s natural to have a new Senate president every year, but a new president and dean will be a bit of a challenge. I need to get them familiar with the Senate government so that they can be the guide of all the student body. When this happens we can all work together as a team. I have already met the new president and I’m excited for this year because I know that together with the new dean we will all be able to work efficiently together to best serve the students.

K: Rock, Paper, or Scissors?
J: Rock, ‘cause who doesn’t wanna rock?

K: Stick or Carrot?
J: Stick ... or carrot? [pause] You mean like a stick; like a piece of a tree, or a carrot; like an orange vegetable. [pause] I’ll go for the carrot.

K: *laughs* Clearly you’re not a poli-sci student.
J: Oh... Like would you rather lead a donkey with a stick or a carrot. Oh my goodness; you’re terrible!

K: And one last question: What room in Redeemer would you most like to be locked in overnight if it were possible?
J: Umm... it would probably be a room with a bed in it. And the only room that I know of with a bed it is the Kinesiology lab as it’s used for experiments, but I could probably sleep on it.
K: Any last words?
J: I am looking forward to this upcoming year. I think it’s gonna be a blast, with its challenges, but I’m looking forward to those too. I’m looking forward to my Senators – even if they ask questions about sticks and carrots... But yeah, I’m looking forward to it. Just praying that we’ll have a really good year!

My Life in Boxes

For the last four years of my life it feels like I have always been on the move. From home to university and back every academic term, from university to my summer job at camp, and from home to Paris. Now I am on the move from residence to apartment in Paris and once again meticulously cramming my clothes and books into boxes. This move, though, is a rather happy one. My mom and my sister are visiting Paris for a week and so Iugging my suitcases across the city on the metro wasn’t such a dreary experience.

For me, this is the big finale here in Paris. I just finished moving out of my student residence and saying the bittersweet goodbyes to all the good friends I made along the way, including my two very funny Algerian roommates. They made me a nice French meal as their going-away present and I left them some good old Canadian maple syrup. After I made it to the new studio apartment I went to go pick up my mom and my sister from the airport. They we’re really excited to be in Paris for the first time and their excitement for Paris is definitely rubbing off on me. I feel a bit like I’m discovering the city again for the first time even though I’ve lived here already for about five months.

So far we have surprisingly seen a lot. On their first night here we visited the Eiffel Tower, the Invalides, and the Seine at night. On their second day we took in the famous Notre-Dame cathedral, the classic université Sorbonne, the quiet Saint-Séverin, and the rustic bohemian bookshop Shakespeare & Company. It’s been a bonus to all of us to have each other here since my family treats me to food and I point out all of the best deals for them and steer them away from the tourist traps. Tomorrow we are going to visit my church and then take the afternoon on a boat tour of the Seine. Here’s to a week being nothing but a tourist after a full semester of having my nose in the books.

Passing Exams and Saying Goodbyes

Exam week has arrived in Paris! It’s hard to believe our courses have already come to an end here, even those dreadfully long 2hr grammar courses have started to grow on me. Leaving is always a nostalgic thing: happy to welcome change but nobody really likes goodbyes. Luckily my professor gave out a list to the class of everyone’s name and email if they wished to share it, so keeping in contact with the friend’s I’ve made in class shouldn’t be too hard...thank you Facebook! This week, after my last final is passed on Tuesday, I am looking forward to welcoming my mom and my sister who are coming up to visit for six days. They are pretty excited to say the least. As their well-travelled tour guide of Paris, I’ve got a whole itinerary planned for them and I’ve even put in a “No Speaking English Day” for something different and to help them improve their French.

Yesterday, after an afternoon of wandering down the Champs-Élysées in the sun, we had our farewell day at the church. Since it was so sunny and mild out we had a little church picnic following the service in the park facing les Invalides. It was really nice and apparently very French. I am learning that as soon as the biting cold wind leaves the city Parisians are out of their apartments lounging on the grass and kicking around soccer balls late into the night. After sharing food together with everyone we gave a little speech in French thanking everyone in the church for being so welcoming and helpful to us Canadians. As the sun went down and the great dome church lit up, we all went home singing happily (the few songs we all knew in common). We’ll I better head off, since the girls are leaving very soon to go back (June 2) we’ve decided to do some last minute “sorties” in the city. This morning it’s Sainte-Chapelle and a walking history tour of Paris. Until next time!

United in Christ: Taizé’s Message of Trust, Love, and Reconciliation

When I first arrived at Taizé I thought to myself, “Oh, this is it?” I walked up the dusty path into the community and found hoards of young people strewn out across the welcome area. I walked past the great Taizé bells and into the picnic tent with my newfound American friend, who happened to know the community like the back of his hand. As we past a group of teens laughing and spraying each other with the dish-washing hoses, we found a nice spot to sit and grabbed some extra food that was left over from lunch. One thing I got from being there already on the first day was how welcoming and accepting this community was to new pilgrims. I got a real sense of that as I went through the reception process with a young person from Germany named Jenni. Although she had only been in Taizé for a day, she happily showed where I would work, sleep, and participate in Bible studies. She seemed as though she knew so much and she had practiced at her job for weeks. But I knew that Jenni simply put her heart into this small job, because she loved people and she was responding to the trust she was given by the Brothers.

It’s just amazing to me how the Brothers have set up this community: it is completely trust-driven and run by the pilgrims who come to stay each week regardless of their age or background. I was given the task of cooking the dinner meal for about 1000 young people and leaders. Although I had very little experience or knowledge in the kitchen, I was given this job with a high degree of trust and confidence that I could do it well. Before I could say to the welcome team “well, you know I’ve never worked in a kitchen and what if I mess up?” they signed me up for the job. There was no room for doubting oneself here, just trust that God will equip pilgrim to step up to the task given. This principle of trust in young people is echoed throughout the community and in my opinion it is one of the reasons why young people continue to come back to this inconspicuous hill year after year. In a world where teenagers and college agers are suspect from the start, Taizé models a faith in young people that runs deep. The community’s former prior, Brother Roger once said, “I am willing to go to the ends of the Earth to shout my trust in young people.”

This sense of responsibility gives the pilgrims affirmation and confidence; to know that they are trusted, regardless of their previous mistakes or employment botches. For me, the work also gave a notion of contribution. I knew that if I didn’t do my job well that the community would not be able to eat each night, and so I saw how my job fit into the whole. During morning meals, when I wasn’t working, I got to sit and eat with everyone and share stories. One pilgrim I met along the way was Laura, an undergrad student from Berlin who had taken two weeks off from classes to re-think her life in the thick of it all. It was really interesting to me that she wasn’t at all worried about getting those notes or catching up for the exam, she simply knew she needed time to think, listen, and seek God...and so she took the risk. Many other young people come to Taizé for the same reason; it is a haven of peace and quiet that stands almost antithetical to the buzzing noise of the modern world. Dominique, another friend, was a Swiss youth leader at a Catholic church who brought with him two young teens to experience a week of uniqueness at Taizé. For Dominique, although he comes back every year with a handful of new youth, Taizé is a spring of rejuvenation and fresh air for him where he can listen attentively and without distraction to the truth God has to speak into his life.

Overall what I think stood out the most for me during my time at Taizé was the simple reality that I could peacefully and without a gulp in my throat have good, real fellowship and conversation with Christians from other traditions. At Taizé, the question of denomination usually comes secondary (if indeed it comes at all) to the reality of being followers of Christ. No marginalizations or separations were made based one’s Christian tradition and all the pilgrims worshipped together with the Brothers three times a day. We sang together in praise of the Lord and we prayed together for the peace and reconciliation of the world. It was a deep and very fulfilling experience for me and I gained a new hope for the future of the Church, one where the message of Christ’s uniting power comes first and division is left behind.

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