Memorial Day with WJI Family: Monday, May 27, 2024

By Elizabeth Bandelin from Dordt University

Memorial Day looks a little different this year. No boating out on the lake.

We gather out at Dordt University’s Agricultural Stewardship Center for a cookout.

The ice-cream is a bit freezer burnt and the Iowa wind tunnel adds another level of intensity to yard games. But as I kick around a soccer ball with my classmates and instructors, it still feels like time spent with family. That’s what the past eleven days have been like: a giant family reunion, with people that I had never known, but who are all united by a passion for Christ and a shared calling for journalism on our lives.

It's been an incredible experience.

We’re all in different tracks now. Broadcasting, Feature Writing, and News.

Though we’re not all together as much, it’s been fun to see my classmates grow and come to life in their assignments. I am encouraged by the way they tackle disappointments and triumphs. I pray the Lord is already stirring in their hearts what He has in mind for them in this field.

I know He already is.

I got placed in the TV Broadcasting Track, which wasn’t on my top choice list…

But Brian Basham and Michelle Schlavin quickly softened the blow.

There’s six of us students and it’s a fun group – we make each other laugh and are all eager to learn. Brian and Michelle love what they do and the joy of the Lord shines through them.

People with passion are always the best instructors, and I can already see the ways I’m growing as a reporter, journalist, and person as a result. Even though this wasn’t a track I was rooting for, I am so thankful I got in. I want to learn all I can and am excited to see how the Lord will use this experience. He’s got a plan, and his ways are better than mine.

I’m incredibly grateful for this opportunity to work under professionals whose goal is to tell the truth from a Biblical worldview, and it’s such a great example for how I desire to be as a journalist.