(Noemi Zendejas Rodriguez ’26 reflects on her weekly experience at the Scott Center’s SlowDown program.)

The SlowDown helped me get through my first semester at Middlebury. As a first-gen student, I didn’t fully know what to expect at a college like Middlebury. All I knew was that I had to do my best.

The workload and expectations were thrown at me without a warning. I was trying tofigure out how to stay on top of everything while taking care of my mental and emotional well-being. Besides the academic rigor, I was also adjusting to new people and the environment. It was a huge transition that was slowly dragging me by the feet. However, I learned about the Scott Center after arriving here and visited when I was able to. I felt very at home and welcomed, like a weight lifted completely off my shoulders.  I felt overwhelmed with this huge transition, but the SlowDown helped ease all the new adjustments I was facing.

Every Tuesday, after my first-year seminar class, I head to the Scott Center ready to feel some stress relief. My focus/thoughts shift from worries about assignments to enjoying the moment with coloring, having tasty cookies and tea, and chatting with others. The people at the SlowDown create acomforting and delightful environment. Music usually plays in the background adding to the heartwarming environment. Afterwards I feel ready to get back to everything ahead of me: my assignments and the rest of the week. 

I’m excited to try new activities such as knitting and making bracelets. I would recommend this event, and the Scott Center, to anyone, especially those looking for a place where they can feel at home and at peace.

Nathaly Martinez ’24 was one of eleven Middlebury InterVarsity Christian Fellowship students who attended this nationwide conference in December, and reflects on her experience here.

It was at the New England InterVarsity Fall Retreat that I first heard about Urbana 22. It was advertised as a guaranteed life-changing experience with speakers from all over the world. God delivered.

Faith has always been an integral part of my life, but yet my closest friends did not know about it. For the first time, I felt a boldness in my faith I had never experienced before. For the entirety of the trip, I was constantly reminded of the presence of God. On the plane ride there I could hear stories of faith throughout. The woman that drove me to the hotel I would be staying at, Debora, shared her testimony with me and I was not even at the conference yet. The car ride to McDonald’s on the first night was just a group of students hungry for God and chicken nuggets. There were Christians at every corner of downtown Indianapolis willing to strike up a conversation about God and it was the most refreshing feeling.

The first morning, wanting to take advantage of all Urbana had to offer, I woke up early for morning prayer which became a routine during my time there. Here, we were led into guided prayer, which gave me a new appreciation for how I could make my time with God intentional. My days were filled with so many different ways to seek God, Morning Prayer, Service at the Gathering Hall, Small Group Bible Study, a million and one seminars throughout the day ranging from Migrant Ministry & Migrant Justice to Discerning your Call, Prayer Rooms, Intercession Prayer, Prayer Ministry, and Coaching Spaces.

One of my prayers to God before embarking on this journey was that I would find others who had a similar faith background as mine so I could feel encouraged in my walk with God. So I took intentional steps to find my community by signing up for a Spanish Bible study group. When I arrived at table 165, there were only two other students and our group leader while other groups had upwards of seven people. Nevertheless, God is good. That same day God brought two new members to our Bible Study Group, Pabel from Perú and Yeny from Venezuela, a couple in their late twenties who met at Urbana and got married! Slowly, the community I was looking for kept growing and growing even in the short time I was there.

While I did not know it yet, God wanted more from me than to just listen and be inspired. On the evening of December 30th, Rev. Dr. James Choung summed up the entire conference for me in one sentence, “A relationship with God is meant to be personal but not private.” Had I been hiding God and from God? What did I have to be embarrassed or ashamed about? God chose me and patiently waited for me, it was my time to choose Him. Towards the middle of the sermon, the speaker walked us through a guided prayer where we listened for a word from God. As I stood there with a blank mind and open heart, the only word entering my mind was surrender. I knew this was not a coincidence, so when Rev. Dr. James Choung did the call to faith I knew exactly what God wanted from me, to fully surrender, to walk with Him. When I stood up, God released all my fear, anxiety, and self-judgment, and I was overcome with joy and peace only God can bring.

Urbana started a fire in all eleven of us with the Holy Spirit being our 12th disciple guiding us through the journey. Every night, we would all cram into a small hotel room and just talk about that one speaker or seminar that spoke to us. The amount of vulnerability in that room fostered a community I had never experienced before on campus. We were scribbling down, brainstorming ways to reach our small campus in Vermont. The stories of students creating Bible study groups for their athletic teams, creating prayer spaces from their dorm rooms, and doing compassionate outreach brought a wave of inspiration for revival on campus to make safe, encouraging spaces for students to grow their faith and live out boldly their relationship with Jesus.