Thus far, my education finals have been quite interesting. In my Spring semester Edu 201 class, my group and I had to simulate our dream school – which was truly a lot of fun. Hopefully, someday Greyhorn Academy will be a reality (Please help it happen, Linda McMahon!). This semester, our Edu 202 final, conversely, has been noticeably more hands on. The assignment required us to interview an Iona University faculty member who may not have been given the time of day and I immediately thought of none other than my good friend, Liam Vanderberg. As a prospective educator, I recognize that no matter how overlooked,
everyone in this world has value and an equal ability to make a difference in said world. And boy, has Liam made more of a difference than many realize. Yes, I may know him, but not enough of our fellow Gaels do To provide background, Liam has worked as a custodian at our great Iona University since the beginning of the current semester. Having previously been a student here last year, Liam had to shift his focus to employment, much like his brother, in order to help provide for his family.
He spent all of last summer searching for a job, but most other institutions were quite demanding, and perhaps most importantly,Liam eventually felt God calling him to work at Iona. And that is, in large part, what inspired me to pen this article. While many of us are concerned with the commercial aspects of Christmas , we are merely three weeks away from celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ and we must remember the true meaning of the holiday. After all, I have always said that the term “Christmas” can be broken down into “Christ” and “más”, the Spanish word for “more.” As a result, I have interpreted “Christmas” to mean a time to learn about and be with Christ even more. Liam obviously felt the same way, as the Lord and Christianity in general dominated much of our discussions that day.
Liam attributes everything in his life to God and consequently when we reached the section of the interview pertaining to negative stories, he answered that he had none because “God ordains everything that happens.” Very much true! Liam does, however, think there can be improvement at Iona. He wishes for the availability of more free or affordable retreats such as Kairos, in which students connect with one another through
prayer and Christian faith, without any access to electronics for a few days.As someone who embarked on a Kairos retreat at my Catholic High school and can affirm how life-altering it was, I definitely agree. Perhaps Liam’s most positive memory on campus is his occasional involvement in Young Life, a national Christian Youth group. He appreciates the aspect of community that is prevalent among the group and hopes that it will soon permeate on campus. Having attended several meetings myself, I encourage anyone taking the time to read to please join Young Life. The more the merrier!
As a Christian man myself, I wish to take Liams’s disposition into the education profession, always viewing everything as an act of God and seeing the light in every student and staff member. Whether in a secular or religious manner, there is no other way to approach education or life in general. Each one of us are a child of God, created in the Imago Dei, and thus inherently have human dignity. Remember this as you head into the holidays and have yourself a merry little Christmas!
