Symposium Schedule

Full Events Calendar

Student can earn up to four Chapel credits during Symposium week. Events with a * indicate that Chapel credit is offered.

Time	Event Name	Location	Participant(s)	Description
8:30 AM	The Empire Divided Against Itself: The Fall of the Theocratic Eastern Roman Empire*	KOSC 124	Lilyannie Rodrigues	Christians today sometimes wish they could experience heaven on earth by living in a fully Christianized world. What would happen if there was a multinational Christian empire? Well, centuries ago there was– the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire. In my thesis presentation I will discuss the challenges and implications of having a Christianized Empire by exploring how multiple emperors dealt with the theological and doctrinal divisions they encountered as a result of the multicultural nature of the empire.
9:00 AM	Citizen Science: Understanding God's Creation through the One and the Many*	KOSC 127	Zachary Barneson, Dorothy Boorse, Jordan Bretton, Olivia Dodge, Isaiah Feliciano, Kaelee Forman, Jenna Freitas, Jane Lyu, William McCormick, Jean Moise, Jordyn Montes, Elizabeth Norton, Paige Paul, Abagael Swenson, Ivana Toro Guzman, Rebecca Ware, and Abbie Zorrilla	Our event aims to show the benefits of citizen science. Our goal is to give Gordon students, faculty, and staff the ability to take action independently and help give the authorities and environmental companies information on how to take action in each of their fields to better our environment. Four groups will be talking about water quality, wildlife cameras, pollinators, and more to give students opportunities to be a part of the one and the many, helping protect the environment.
9:00 AM	Many Innovations, One Social Purpose: Celebrating the Innovation and Social Enterprise Minor*	KOSC 109	Jonathan Palmer, Lauren Colt, Kyla Lange, Sherley Reyes, and Caleb Railsback	The beauty of the ISE minor centers on this balance between unity and diversity. We come from a diverse range of majors. Kyla is a biblical studies minor. Lauren is a political science minor. Jonathan Palmer is a kinesiology major. We also have differing internship and research experiences. Jonathan Palmer completed a research internship where he was able to work with biotechnology to assess the heart rates of Down Syndrome patients. Lauren has worked with numerous start-ups and has explored the world of innovation from a church plant in Brussels to the San Diego Rescue Mission. We will show that even with differing internships or experiences, we are all able to celebrate the world of innovation and entrepreneurship. Through this panel discussion, we want to show that the world of business is not simply spreadsheets and stock trades. Yet, valued-centered entrepreneurship can exist within all fields of study and business can be applied to various contexts. We all are united in this panel in our desire to be innovative and think creatively about social impact.
9:00 AM	Bird-Watching Walk	Gordon Woods	Restore Creation, Allison Bekas, and Bird Watching Club	We will be doing a guided bird-watching walk around the Gordon Woods. We will start at the trailhead behind Frost.
10:30 AM	Wisdom: One or Many?*	KOSC Chair's Room	Tal Howard	Wisdom: One or Many? This talk will explore the category of wisdom in the Christian intellectual tradition. Some questions broached it in include: What does wisdom actually mean? How does it speak to God's role and the role of humankind in the divine plan? How has it been treated by past tehologians, thinkers, and artists? How might a recovery of a vocabulary about wisdom breathe new life into Christian higher education, which currently finds itself facing many challenges?
11:30 AM - 3:00 PM	Higginbotham Legacy Employer Visits	Chapel Loop Emmanuel Gospel Center, Dorchester, MA	James Higginbotham Legacy Fellows Program	This visit is scheduled to see firsthand the ministry and work being done in Boston through individuals and programs affiliated with the Emmanuel Gospel Center. The trip will also provide a short stop at the Clarendon Street Baptist Church building (A.J. Gordon's church) and the original Frost Hall on the Fenway to reflect on the mission and history of Gordon College. The trip leaves from the Chapel Loop at 11:30 am and anyone interested in going should email [email protected]
12:00 PM	JAF Post-Debate Discussion*	KOSC 124	Abe Antonelli, Abi Eisner, Sophia Hefner, Lily Jache, Giovanna Johnson, Simon Kim, Juliana Leach, Danya Li, Charlotte McNamee, Hannah Morton, Jonny Paul-Faina, Daimen Storch, and Eliza Weigelt	Join us for a post-debate discussion of the 20th annual JAF debate on the resolution: "The concept of human dignity cannot be supported apart from a religious or transcendent justification." Hear from the JAF participants about their debate experience, and get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the JAF debate process in this Q&A discussion of the topic and the arguments.
12:00-3:00 PM	Modern Composting and Sustainability	2nd Floor Lounge in KOSC	Dr. Boorse, Taylor Halik (La Vida), Shelby Teresa, Alice Gould, Carolina Franca, Alison Subat, ASF, Gordon Biology.	We want to educate the Gordon community on how composting affects the world around us. Composting is important to reduce food waste. It is important to do it the right way and to educate people on how not to do it, most importantly. There are many benefits for composting. By educating the community on this, “the one and the many” of us can reduce landfills which are already at the brink of capacity around the world, create fertile soil and organic fertilizer, and enrich the ecosystems around us. Composting is good for all of us!
12:30-1:30 PM	Blueprint for Church Based Community Engagement*	KOSC 109	Patrick Pires, Bernard Ocansey, Carissa Moy, Caleigh Williams, Kyla Lange, Cecilia Gilbert, Miheret Asegid, Niomi Ayoyna Speight, Tyrick Cedon, and Zabdy Veliz	The Clarendon Scholars will be exploring the idea of the one and the many through church based community engagement in which the church/Body of Christ is the one and the individual members are the many. The assets of both are being employed to holistically and compassionately serve the needs of the community. Leaders in the urban church are presenting on various topics such as education, healthcare, employment, and more.
1:00 PM	Jews in Modern Spain	KOSC 127	Alexis R LaPia	A presentation on research on the Jews in Modern Spain done during a semester abroad in Seville, Spain.
1:00 PM	Making Recycled Bird Feeders	KOSC 128	Restore Creation and Kaitlyn Di Vito	This event will be making bird feeders to hang around campus out of recycled materials. There will also be a discussion dialogue about Christian’s obligations to caring for nature and what that looks like to different people.
1:00 PM	The 1 and the Infinite*	KOSC 125	Nathan Hong, Aidan Lowther, Ben Rothman, and Bronwyn Rowton	We’re going to talk about how, in math, infinite different things can collapse to one value(series and sequences) and how that simultaneous oneness/multitude connects with the Trinity.
1:00 PM	The Need for Spanish Speaking Healthcare Professionals	KOSC 126	Katherine Maloney, Major Adair, and Julia Cole	Healthcare professionals should have introductory knowledge of Spanish language to help with communication and cultural differences. We want to bring awareness and inspire ideas to take steps to make medicine better every day. With focus on the well-being of the patient and community.
1:15 PM	Many Voices, One Sound: Music & Communion*	Phillip Hall Recital	Eliza R Weigelt	Music has the unique ability to connect people across barriers of time and place, creating space for conversation between those with diverse cultural, spiritual, and ethnic backgrounds in ways that image the unity of the Church as one body, made of many parts– many smaller individual contributions coming together to create a whole that is greater than just the sum of its parts. The world of classical music can be largely seen as something inaccessible to the public, or even divisive, but classical music can move people to a place of profound connection that points to the Church, bringing people from every nation, tribe, and tongue together to sing one song. This event will showcase faculty, staff, and students sharing their own stories of experiencing this, both in their work at Gordon and beyond, and discussion of what it means to be a Christian classical musician.
1:30 PM	Sloth: a Personal and Global Vice*	KOSC 124	Johnny Paul-Faina, Matthew Pan, Karis Duck, Seraphina Chong, Jasmine Yoo, Hope Ferdyn, Vanessa Johnston, and Elena Mowrey	The vice of sloth, or acedia, is prevalent in modern society and across diverse cultures. This presentation defines sloth and its manifestation in the broader global context.
2:00 PM	The One and the Many in Conflict and Reconciliation*	KOSC 126	Olivia Gregory	Olivia Gregory will examine conflict and reconciliation and posit that Christians can take agency in the healing process with "informed forgiveness", which can ultimately benefit our communities.
2:00 PM	Civil Rights Seminar*	KOSC 127	Caleigh C Williams and Abigail Dundore	Engaging with our country’s horrific history of racism is a critical step in building a just, compassionate, and reconciled present. Students in the Civil Rights Seminar spent their spring break pilgrimaging through the South, visiting monuments and museums that illuminate our nation’s story of racially-motivated violence and the Civil Rights Movement. Out of this trip, we share reflections on how racism is an issue with collective and modern impacts in addition to individual and historical implications.
2:00 PM	Allegorical Interpretive Methods of Origen and Philo and Their Impact on Christianity’s Identity in Relation to Judaism*	KOSC 125	Charlotte N McNamee	Come explore how some of the earliest work in Christian biblical interpretation has shaped how we understand our relationship to Judaism today. This presentation explores the earliest Christian interpretation of Jewish tradition and how it has perpetuated beliefs in Christianity about Judaism for better or for worse. The early Christian theologian, Origen, and his use of Jewish tradition and the Jewish theologian, Philo, will be explored to demonstrate the debt that Christianity owes to the Jewish tradition. This is Charlotte McNamee’s Pike Honors capstone project and BCM Departmental Honors Thesis presentation.
3:00 - 4:00 PM	Open Gallery \| Student Arts Collective	KOSC Chair’s Room	Abby Durkin, Anne Shearer, Bianca Russo, Cintina Urias, Eden Harfield, Ivy Davis, Kate Coburn, Kewana Gooden, Lauren Colt, and Lukas Karagiorgos	Encounter God in the lives of the Gordon community through student photography, poetry, visual art, textile art, music, and videography. This spring, a group of eleven Gordon students have worked to create a body of multimedia work honoring the testimonies of Gordon staff, faculty, and students. Come interact with the artwork, talk to the artists, and reflect on your own experiences of God’s faithfulness.
3:00 PM	Art and Faith: Explorations in the Senior Art Theses*	KOSC 124	Molly Forget, Molly Jacobsen, Bella Runcie and Cintina Urias	Through the process of developing a senior thesis exhibition, senior art students collaborate to put together a collective show. The work of all four seniors presenting explores how the Christian artist's contemplations communicate with viewers and engage with the wider art canon.
3:00 PM	Gordon Greek Life	KOSC 126	Zachary G Hutt	In exploring potential ways to bring the One and the Many to Gordon, this discussion will propose the introduction of Fraternities to campus as a solution to unity, diversity, and other campus-wide issues such as Gordon's campus life, spiritual identity, and pride.
3:00 PM	Graphic Design Workshop!	KOSC 127	Nate Stote and Jane Lyu	Come and unveil the insider techniques graphic designers use to make their art look fantastic! Customize your own fonts, magnets, and bookmarks with us. You will be able to view the graphic designs of renowned artists from across the globe. Join us and elevate your design skills to new heights!
4:00-5:30 PM	Family and Faith: An Analysis and Examination of Evangelical Campaign Stratagems via Former Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina*	KOSC 124	Caleb Railsback	Are you an evangelical? Yes. Then you must be a Republican, right?” Often campaign strategies focus on specific voting blocs, which tends to disregard the large moderate sect of American voters. In examining the strategies of former Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. Senator Tim Scott, one can come to see the flaws in such strategies, ways to refine and redefine campaign strategy, and how to appeal to the many and not just the one!
4:00 PM	Restore Creation Photo Contest	Jenks in front of bistro	>Restore Creation and Mark Stowell, Susan Gross, Kaitlyn Di Vito, and Dorothy Boorse.	This year's Restore Creation Photo Contest theme is The One and The Many! This topic allows us to explore what it means to unite towards a common goal while also recognizing the beauty in differences. Is it possible for us to have both present at the same time? How does this relate to nature and our place in the world as Christians being made in God’s image? Photography is powerful for people to visualize ideas and see the thinking of others. Allow yourself to represent The One and The Many through your art and submit your photo today!
6:00 - 8:00 PM	Student Arts Collective Gallery & Feast	KOSC Chair’s Room & Loggia	Abby Durkin, Anne Shearer, Bianca Russo, Cintina Urias, Eden Harfield, Ivy Davis, Kate Coburn, Kewana Gooden, Lauren Colt, Lukas Karagiorgos	Come celebrate stories of God’s faithfulness in the lives of our campus as told through student photography, poetry, visual art, textile art, music, and videography. Admire and hear “portraits” of Gordon staff, faculty, and students, enjoy delicious food, and delight in meaningful roundtable conversations with other image-bearers (“the Many”). *Note: this is a registered event. Due to capacity limits, this event is unfortunately already full. However, our 3:00pm reception with the student artists is open to all!