So I haven't blogged in a while but I will be on a blogging spree for about a week or so playing catch up. I've been really busy and have tons to share....Here's some of it!
Grace and Peace to you!
It is wonderful to be writing another letter to all of you. Why, you might ask? It means that another period of my life has passed and is worth sharing with those in my life who care. I am writing this letter a couple of weeks later than usual because I wanted to have a better understanding of my summer schedule before I sent this letter. I’m going to try to not explain anything in too much detail because a lot has happened since Christmas.
To start off, I’d like to address some of the items I mentioned in the Christmas letter. I did have the opportunity to submit a research paper to the Central State Communication Association Conference. Unfortunately, I had a little too much on my plate (surprise, surprise). I’ve decided to submit it for next year’s conference. Hopefully I’ll have some time to work on it this summer. I also didn’t have the opportunity to participate in the International Play Festival as the Assistant Stage Manager. My golf schedule was not compatible with the demands of the production. It is possible that I may have the opportunity to participate in a production next year.
As usual, I expected to do a lot of things with my time but I ended up doing a lot of other things. At the beginning of spring quarter I decided to change my minor in Religion to a major. So now I am double majoring in Organizational Communication and Religion while participating in the Pre-Seminary professional program. I have managed to keep my GPA around a 3.0. As a result, I was inducted into the communication honorary, Lambda Pi Eta, this past spring. I also had the opportunity last quarter to create a video on cross-cultural appointments in the United Methodist Church from the perspective of young adults. It was for the Issues in Professional Communications course on globalization. I thoroughly enjoyed that project and have since had my hands in a couple of other video projects. None of the others are finished yet but you can see the completed video on my blog.
Spring is also the primary golf season. I was given the award of Most Improved which is typical for me. I haven’t decided if that’s a good thing or not. It either means that I am a pretty good player because I’m constantly improving or that I’m so bad that I always have a lot of improvements to make. I’ll let you decide. Aside from that, this golf season was particularly difficult for the team. The coach that we had in the fall, Coach Hairston, resigned and moved to Canada about a month before the start of the season. The school hired Coach Dawn West, which turned out to be a blessing. She previously played on the Futures Tour of the LPGA and had plenty of advice and structure to advance our team. Unfortunately, she won’t be returning in the fall but we are all excited to see what God is going to do with this team next year.
Since the end of the school year in May I have stayed pretty busy. I’m currently working on creating a workshop on Creating and Maintaining Supportive Climates for an organization called Sing Watson Studios in Tipp City, Ohio. I will conduct the workshop later this summer. I’m also working on a promotional video for Sing Watson Studios that will be a summer long project, possibly spilling over into the fall. Another communication opportunity involves an organization called Heaven’s Oven in Athens, Ohio. I’m working on a portfolio for them to look over and decide if they’d like for me to work with their organization.
Just last weekend I moved to Athens for the summer. I’m here for an internship that I have received through the West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church. Through this program I have taken a trip to D.C. for a Mission and Justice Seminar on Immigration. The group of 13 interns had the opportunity to speak to members of Kilgroy’s and Voinovich’s offices about immigration reform. It was an amazing learning experience! I will also attend Rob Bell’s conference in Michigan and go on a Seminary bus tour. This program is designed to allow us to explore our call into ministry. Therefore, I will experience individualized opportunities at my host site, Central Ave. UMC, as well. I will be preaching on June 26th and August 23rd in addition to organizing four church social events and increasing participation in their food pantries. I am working on videos as a means to increase participation and fuel a desire to fill the need in the surrounding Appalachian communities. As you can see, there are a lot of things going on this summer!
As for preparing for my senior year in college, I plan on starting an organization called Acting on AIDS through World Vision. I’ll be writing the constitution and bylaws this summer while preparing for recruitment at Welcome Fest in the fall. I’m also spending some time networking with professionals in the communication field in order to prepare for hosting a panel discussion/conference through Lambda Pi Eta next year.
There are a ton of things going on in my life right now. I’m assuming it’s the nature of being in college. Then again, maybe it’s just me! J If you’re interested in keeping up with my thoughts and actions a little more closely feel free to check out my blog tiffanieinministry.blogspot.com or follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/TAShanks.
Thank you so much for your support and encouragement!
With Love,
Tiffanie Shanks
And as always....
In Christ,
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