The following was written by Léal Makaroff , B.A. Biology, Westmont College, Class of ‘19
While I brought much to Au Sable, I left with even more. What I encountered there enriched my mind and delighted my senses. I found an education urging intimate knowledge of nature as a means of enacting more perfectly gratitude and servant- hearted love for God and His world. I found a community intent on living a joyfully faithful, somewhat countercultural life; and I found a wisdom born from sustained reflection on our Christian mandate and human(izing) vocation.
Our professors clearly desired we know them as friends, mentors, and guides on our learning journeys. They invited us into their homes, enjoyed fellowship with us at church and at the table, hiked and camped with us, and guided us through the five wonderful weeks with deliberate generosity. Questions were welcomed; I recall one of my professors urging us to interrupt with good questions as often as we wanted. The curriculum, too, fit snugly into our well-crafted five weeks together. Given the rapid time frame, we struggled to complete our assignments; but despite the long nights of study, the experiences of the day—the smell of petrichor amidst still forests; dazzling, mountaintop euphoria—drew us along. As we engaged Wendell Berry’s profound and articulate essays, or studied in detail the flora and fauna of the Pacific Northwest, I delighted in seeing how my convictions and love for nature might flower in creation care’s multifaceted expressions, such as conservation, agriculture, business, or green tech & design.
Aside from the curricular content, our experiential education was full of other "affective" lessons. Worshipping aloud on the Whidbey bluffs, for instance, drew forth the delight, awestruck longing (Sehnsucht), and joy that hovered nearby those entire five weeks. Our teachers, too, shared our delight; they loved to learn (or re-learn) that which we were discovering, bringing their knowledge to our shared wonder. That being said, wonder was balanced with sobriety, for we faced daily the disease of human folly and sin. I will not forget easily the mournful testimony our beloved Beth Horvath shared concerning the plight of the resident killer whales; nor was I little grieved to discover how few consider or learn from the tragedy of biological extinction. The space for meditation and reflection permitted the excitement and struggle of the outer world to influence and engage the heart. I wrote some profound poetry that I will hold dear for years to come.
It’s a rare and beautiful thing to find a place where the affective, curricular and aesthetic lessons align, but perhaps because I experienced something akin to this at Au Sable did I find myself so refreshed as I brought those studies home again. As I’ve thought about future endeavours, the prospect of teaching sustainable agriculture or performing toxicology research has led me to apply for a Fulbright for the upcoming academic year. Both these fields introduce interdisciplinary perspectives cutting to the heart of the intrinsically beautiful gift that is Creation. I want to share my enthusiasm and gratitude with others in faithful witness, encouraging Christians and non-Christians to enjoy the sacrament God gives us daily in his world.
“As Lesser Bows”
Léal Makaroff B.A. Biology, Westmont College, Class of ‘19
