Women at the Well: The Heart of a College Senior
Editor’s Note: Women at the Well is an ongoing blog series. Each month, a different woman shares how God is meeting her in her current season of life. Today, we’re thrilled to have Emily Bradfield joining us to talk about her walk with God as a college student.
Tell us a bit about yourself, your current vocation as a college student, and your normal daily routine.
Hi there! My name is Emily and I’m a UNC Tarheel, chihuahua lover, and most importantly, child of God. I’m a senior (eeek!) at Chapel Hill studying Public Health, specifically Health Policy and Management.
My weekdays often include drinking cold brew, walking to campus, going to class, meeting for group projects (of which I have a lot of, but hey — I’m kinda a fan!), running a couple miles, hanging out at the UNC Newman Center, debating about the best LaCroix flavor, and meeting with the college women’s small group that I lead. Oh, and you’ll likely never catch me in a library (nothing against them, though!) Yes, I’m “that girl” — coffee shops are my vibe.
Although my days are pretty typical college days, packed with all the college things, I’ve learned that it is among the craziness where I often encounter God the most. Because my current season of life places me on a campus among 20,000+ other undergrads, my vocation as a college student means trying to live in a way that reflects the love of God to all of those that I walk by on campus or sit next to in class. It means striving to say no to the sin that surrounds me and instead taking refuge in the Eucharist. I’ve also come to understand that it means aspiring to live St. Therese’s Little Way.
If we look closely, we see the hand of God working in our lives. How is Jesus reaching out to you right now, in your current season of life?
For the entirety of our school-aged years, we are taught to always look towards the next thing in life. In eighth grade, we cannot wait to walk the halls of high school. In high school, we become obsessed with the idea of getting into our dream school. As a college senior, I worry about what I will do and where I will live and how things will be after graduation. We are conditioned to want to leave behind our childhoods and become “adults.”
Matthew 18:3 says, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children you will not enter the kingdom of Heaven.”
One of my primary roles at my university’s Newman Center parish involves teaching Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, which is a Montessori- based faith educational program to 3-5 year old kiddos. Let me tell you, these kids ground me. I truly believe that I have learned more from them than they have learned from me about what it means to be a child of God.
My little student Jack taught me that sometimes the best way to show someone love is to give them a tight hug. Elizabeth taught me that you can find joy in doing chores, always coming early and volunteering to help me set up the classroom before the other children came. Tommy taught me how to listen, meditate, and search for meaning -- always tugging on my sleeve and begging us to read the same book week after week. It is through them that Jesus reaches out to me and reminds me to live like a child of God, especially at a time in my life where I feel a need to plan everything and take control and relinquish trust in the Lord.
What truths about yourself has the Lord been revealing in prayer? How does acknowledging these truths in your heart affect your vocation in life?
I’ve learned that I am not great at all at letting go of control. However, living in this vocation right now means being okay with uncertainty and what the future may hold after I graduate. Encountering Jesus in prayer helps me to stay grounded and remember that I am not defined by any grade I achieve or any job that I eventually land. It means finding peace in uncertainty and trusting in His plan for my life.
Annie Alexiou, @candidlycomposed.
How has encountering Jesus in prayer radically changed your life? What fruits do you see manifested in your day-to-day that flow from encounters with Him?
When thinking about living out my faith in college as “children of God,” I think of St. Therese of Lisieux, who is one of my favorite saints. Her feast day was actually earlier this month, on October 1! But, she wasn’t always a nun or a Saint. She was a very regular little girl — she even fell asleep during community prayer!
Canonized in 1925, her life was unassuming and hidden. I often think of her as one of my contemporaries — because she died at age 24, she did most of her writing in her early 20s. Her spirituality was simple. She focused on trusting God, as a child does. She proclaimed how much she saw herself as a child of God.
St. Therese codified her dedication to living as a child in her practice of living what she called the Little Way. She translated the Little Way in terms of a commitment to the tasks and people she met in her everyday life. She says that the smallest action, done with love, is more important than great deeds for personal glory, gratification, or even just obedience. Therese taught that God is everywhere — in every person and situation — in Jack’s warm hugs. Elizabeth’s dedication to pruning flowers. Tommy’s willingness to listen. In the person who swipes me in at the dining hall, in the girl who shares notes with me after class, in the professor who offers to stay late and walk through a problem with me. He is in the guy I bump into accidentally on my way to class and in the older woman I see sitting opposite me in Church.
Even in the ordinary, simple details of life, He is there. It is in these little daily moments of unconventional prayer where I meet Jesus and am given so much grace to go forward with my day.
It can often be easy to fall into the trap of discontent in our specific vocations. What has been bringing you peace lately? Do you have any habits, hobbies, or self care practices which fills your heart with peace?
Running is another practice where I find so much peace with the Lord. It is my medicine; it is my prayer. It is a place where I can find God in the pain and exhaustion but also encounter the Lord in the beauty of nature around me. It is where I feel so incredibly free.
What words of encouragement would you like to pass on to a woman facing the same choices and challenges as you?
We should take great comfort in realizing that spreading our faith can be easier sometimes than we realize, and that there are often many small opportunities that we can take advantage of. I remember a specific instance during my sophomore year, when I forced myself to go to office hours every week for organic chemistry. The class was not easy, and I needed all of the help that I could get. One day, when discussing alkanes and stereochemistry, my professor noticed my Newman card holder on the back of my iPhone.
“Newman?” — he asked.
Immediately, I could feel the hair standing up on my arms. I expected hostility or some kind of snide remark. “Yes,” I replied.
This led us down a long rabbit hole discussion about the intersection of faith and molecular structure. He explained that in his scientific studies, he had observed that things are so well designed that it could only be explained by the work of a God. Something so small like the little Newman wallet on the back of my phone provided me with a small opportunity to share my faith and love of God with others.
Sisters, I encourage you to find rest in the Lord and know that He will lead you on your path. He loves you immensely and goes before you, always, no matter where on the path you may find yourself.
“Be patient with everyone, but above all, yourself.” - St. Francis DeSales
Meet Emily Bradfield
Emily is a young college woman in her senior year at UNC-Chapel Hill studying Health Policy & Management. She loves hanging out at the Newman Center, running, listening to podcasts, teaching Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, and spending time with family and friends. She also has a spunky chihuahua, Chickie, whom she absolutely adores.