Beyond Campus

Urbana 22 taught me what God can do with empty hands opened to him. 

Anxiety drove me into the arms of Jesus. And over the years, I began to see patterns of how some ways of prayer mirror psychotherapy techniques that help reduce anxiety. Going further and studying spiritual formation, I was exposed to even more ways to pray in ways that are helpful. I was intrigued that the little bit of neuroscience that had informed my early graduate work helped me make sense of new discoveries about the brain and how it’s shaped by anxiety and reshaped by various forms of prayer.

The summer after my sophomore year of college, I prayed to God for a community of friends. My time thus far in college had been dull and I knew something seriously important was lacking in my life. Shortly after, I got plugged into InterVarsity on campus and made a ton of new friends.

Andrew McDowell, an InterVarsity alumnus of Occidental College, experienced Jesus through InterVarsity in a way that shaped the rest of his life. Today, he runs With Love, a nonprofit centered around a social enterprise market and cafe, that helps fund community programs around health, child development, and career skills for those in southwest Los Angeles.

Before Andrew McDowell founded With Love Community Programs, he was a college student trying to figure out his purpose.

“I came into college wide-eyed, not knowing what I wanted to do,” he said.

As a former InterVarsity student and campus minister, I know the struggle of making your skills and experiences as an InterVarsity student really pop on resumes and in job interviews. But I’m here to help you!

Here are some simple ways to remind ourselves of the way we’ve learned to be with Jesus in college. These can help us get through the college transition.