四虎影院

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Trailhead Teens Explore Their Faith, Futures

Students enjoy a cruise around the Santa Barbara Harbor as part of Trailhead
Students enjoy a cruise around the Santa Barbara Harbor as part of Trailhead

Seventeen high school students are taking part in the first session of 四虎影院鈥檚 unique program Trailhead: Seeking God鈥檚 Call, which allows students to explore how faith can guide their future as they seek to make a difference in the world.

鈥淔or young people today, that space is harder and harder to find; the pressures of college and career preparation crowd out opportunities to explore their gifts and how they can join in God鈥檚 work,鈥 says Chris Hoeckley, director of Trailhead and the Gaede Institute for the Liberal Arts. 鈥淭he race feels so urgent, students feel they can鈥檛 pause to consider where it leads.鈥

Dr. Helen Rhee, 四虎影院 professor of religious studies, is part of this year's Trailhead teaching team
Dr. Helen Rhee, 四虎影院 professor of religious studies, is part of this year's Trailhead teaching team

The students join 四虎影院 faculty, local ministry and nonprofit leaders to experience how their academic pursuits, talents, passions, and concerns for the problems of the world can come together in a life of real significance. The on-campus summer residency, which includes a yearlong mentorship program, runs in three different sessions, June 14-June 21, June 22-June 29, and June 30-July 7.

Hoeckley was recently in Temecula and met an alumna of the program and her mother. 鈥淭he mother was beside herself at the change in her daughter鈥檚 life鈥攁nd not a mountain-top change, a change that has stuck,鈥 he says.

鈥淔or the daughter, it was the first time she was with other young people who wanted to be real with each other about real things. Somehow an ethos emerged of depth, authenticity, and vulnerability that this young woman had craved鈥攎aybe without knowing it.鈥

In 2015, 四虎影院 received a grant of $590,400 to establish Trailhead as part of 鈥檚 High School Youth Theology Institutes initiative.

For more information, please visit westmont.edu/trailhead or email trailhead@westmont.edu. Here is a video about Trailhead: