Katie Boehnlein is a senior at Seattle University in Seattle Washington. A former Shinnyo-en Summer Fellow, Katie reflects on her journey to becoming a Shinnyo-en Summer Intern this year. She credits Shinnyo-en with helping her continue to discover her authentic self and career aspirations. In her reflection below, Katie discusses the ways in which key relationships, work experiences and thoughtful literature offered by Shinnyo-en provided support in integrating her experiences throughout the past year.

“Vocation is the place where your deep gladness meets the world’s great need.” – Frederick Buechner -

I heard Buechner’s quote for the first time last summer as a Shinnyo-en Summer Fellow at Seattle University. The fellowship combined direct service work in the Seattle community, leadership development through service work with the Seattle University community, and vocational discernment work with my fellowship community. I had the wonderful opportunity to work at the Education Department of the Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle that summer, leading kids on tours around the park and teaching them about how a Great Blue Heron catches its prey or how photosynthesis works. I was just beginning to discover what I am passionate about, and this experience as a fellow was formative for me. I had the time, space, and guidance to delve into myself, merging interests of my childhood with my more “practical” scholarly and academic pursuits. This summer, as a Shinnyo-en Summer Intern, Buechner’s quote resonates deeper as I consider what my life will be like next summer and beyond.

I don’t think that it is coincidental that my introduction to the concept of “vocational discernment” happened at the same time as my introduction to Shinnyo-en Foundation. Mid-July, I got on a plane with Kent Koth and Katie Pinard, from Center for Community Engagement at Seattle University, venturing down to the Bay Area for “some retreat,” a gathering that Kent had been going to for years. He said it was a place where he could come every year to reevaluate his life, reconnect with old friends, and relax in a beautiful setting. Upon arriving at the Marconi Center near Point Reyes, California, I was immediately greeted with an overwhelmingly warm welcome. This was my introduction to the Shinnyo-en Foundation, a scene that has remained with me over this past year representing the reflection, hospitality, kindness, humility, friendship, and gift-giving nature that is the epitome of being part of this organization’s strong network.

Last summer, my world was opened to the prospect of independence. Living in my first apartment, biking to work, growing a garden, beginning to discover and rediscover what makes me “me,” and enjoying time with close friends were all part of my summer in Seattle. This summer in San Francisco has been quite different. All my Seattle friends have scattered to our respective directions, each of us being able to discover what we are passionate about and what we want to focus on in this time in our lives. Some friends have been able to explore Washington D.C., others Colorado, Michigan, Korea, Germany, Zambia, Chicago, or Princeton. I have had the privilege of exploring the city of San Francisco and been able to experience a taste of what it is like to work in an office 9-5, riding the wave of daily commuters and skyscraper life.

These last three months were full of exploration and reflection. My summer of discovery and reflection last year built on itself this year, creating experiences for even deeper discoveries. After having such a formative experience last summer as a Shinnyo-en Summer Fellow, I kept in touch with the Foundation and was able to move down to the Bay for the summer to work in the office. I feel as though I have come full circle in this internship, transitioning from grant-recipient to temporary Shinnyo-en Staff. This has been a recharging summer for me, reflecting on my past work and looking forward to where I want to go next. I have charged my body and spirit with what I have gained here and look forward to how that will guide me as I head into my senior year. I have come to a deeper understanding of how proactive grantmaking works and helped to create documents designed for grantees and partners, but I don’t think that my summer would have been quite as meaningful without my previous experience as a recipient of the Foundation’s hospitality last summer. One thing always feeds the next. For instance, doing vocational discernment with Katie Pinard last summer has prepared me fully to contribute to and help create SEF’s “What’s Your Path?” reflection guide.

The philosophy of the Foundation is about creating and fostering meaningful relationships. I have come to understand that this is primarily accomplished by building a community of like-minded people, inspiring interconnectedness, offering tools for reflective practice and lastly offering grants to people bringing that philosophy to life. It is refreshing to work for an organization that sees money as secondary to symbiotic relationship building, both parties nurturing each other’s growth in an organic way. I have felt the ripples effect of this overarching philosophy in the office and beyond as the Foundation and I have formed a lasting relationship. The hospitality, kindness, humility, and friendship that I felt when I first met the Foundation at the retreat last year have only continued to become more real as I have now become a giver myself in the gift-giving and hospitality rituals that make this Foundation so unique.

Relationship-building is not just a philosophy for Shinnyo-en, but a philosophy for life in general. I have met so many people this summer taught me things in their own way. I learned professionalism, integrity, humility, and work ethic from the Shinnyo-en staff in the office and how to maintain a balance of intensity and fun in an office setting. I have also learned first-hand about the integration of work and passionate service that Beuchner talks about in his quote. I learned about networking, connection, the breadth of work being done in our country, and was inspired by the people I met at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service. I was even able to use my customer service skills at the booth that I haven’t used since I was an employee at GAP. I have learned about human connection, surreal experiences, positive life-style choices, facilitation methods, and how to be a role model from my new family at Youth to Youth. I have learned about passion, drive, and focus from the Shinnyo Fellows and have been inspired by how they have been able to turn their dreams into reality. I have learned about deep reflection, relaxation, and community from the participants at the Peace, Service, and Spirituality retreat at the Marconi Center and was also able to connect to my Seattle family that weekend. It was relieving to spend time with my home away from home. And I have learned about education that works, networks, grassroots change, the power of music to transform and connect, and surreptitious bonds from the folks I met through Music National Service in Marin.

During the Fellows Institute, we met with Amanda Crowell from the Haas Center at Stanford. She had us do an activity called “Where will my impact be? Reflections for future public service leaders.” I had done activities like this before, but had never thought about my skills as directly connecting to different outlets of leadership: Direct service, advocacy, policy, activism, philanthropy, research, social innovation, and entrepreneurship. I felt myself immediately gravitating to a combination of direct service and research and my feelings of connection to these things immediately explained the career paths that I have been considering: teaching and writing. This activity was enlightening and has influenced many of my thought processes afterwards.

Connecting to Shinnyo-en grantees in the East Bay and Peninsula, attending the retreat, being on staff at the Youth to Youth Western States Conference, and giving a workshop at the Music National Service retreat tapped into my yearning to get my hands dirty with direct service. I was able to indulge in my more intellectual and creative side by researching the Women’s Conference, helping staff prepare for a Japan presentation, writing articles for the website about my experiences, helping to create the Six Billion Paths to Peace Sourcebook and Reflection Guide, and aiding Shinnyo-en staff in making the Summer Institute a success. All of these experiences have only helped me to clarify my vision for how I will use my skills in the future but I am still asking and am sure that I will continue to ask, “What is most authentically me?”

So what will I take away from this summer? I think that the most tangible outcome of this summer experience is, in typical Shinnyo-en Foundation spirit, connections that I have made to people. I am grateful that the Foundation has taught me to strive towards living a more peaceful and meaningful life. I have become a more peaceful person this summer, trying to become the peace that is around me through my actions, my thoughts, the food that I eat, and the choices that I make. Cultivating peace within myself is the beginning of bringing peace into the world, so I am glad that I have made headway in this first step.

I think it’s only fitting that Fredrick Beuchner’s quote has become even more apparent to me this summer as thoughts of vocation and future are even more glaring heading into my senior year. After internalizing the impact of Beuchner’s words, I think about what makes me deeply happy and how I can use these interests to serve in my post-graduate years. It is an added bonus that I am constantly surrounded by competent and amazing people at the Foundation who seem to embody understanding of Frederick Beuchner’s words, are putting their talents into action. Exposure to ideas such as alignment, philanthropy, authenticity, small acts of kindness, the ripple effect, universal values, a borderless garden of truth, polishing of self, reciprocity, intention, the paradigm of service, other-centered actions, harmony, reflective practice, interconnectedness, transformation, and empowerment. My experience will surely direct me to the next step, continuing on this journey of discovering “where my deep gladness will meet the world’s great need.”

Check out Katies’ Article Notes on Mother Turtle!