Torch, Spring 2005

(Left to Right) Stephanie Hueni, Kirsten Gibbs, and Jessica Dodson participate in Veranda Life. 12 TORCH / Spring 2005 mentoring program designed to connect female students with faculty/staff women is growing in popularity at Cedarville University. “Veranda Life” is based upon Psalm 145:4-5, which describes how “one generation will commend Your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.” Dean Kirsten Gibbs, who conceived of and oversees the program, said, “Our idea is that these mentoring groups will let women ‘live life’ alongside one another, sharing both ups and downs.” Veranda Life started in 2002 as a result of feedback in a Student Life Division audit. During that audit, female students expressed a desire to be connected to adult women in a significant way and to talk to them about life. With that in mind, Veranda Life is all about sharing life’s experiences and discovering common bonds. Gibbs said that the name “Veranda Life” came out of a conversation with Kim Ahlgrim, director of academic assistance, while the two women were discussing how the program would be organized. Gibbs had a photograph of a veranda in South W omen C oming A longside W omen Africa, where she had previously shared precious time with missionary women. As Ahlgrim and Gibbs discussed their vision for the mentoring program, Gibbs said she was taken back to that veranda, remembering the many hours of sharing and connecting with sisters in Christ. “It dawned on me that it was the perfect picture of what our desire was for these mentoring relationships,” she explained. The program was well-received and has grown rapidly, with 120 mentors and mentorees now involved. Because participation numbers were limited the first year, only class officers and women of the Student Government Association and Campus Activities Board were invited to participate. “The next year, we expanded that group to include organizational leaders. And this year, we chose a totally different approach and By Cessna Catherine Winslow Photo courtesy of Kirsten Gibbs A