JOSEPH TAFESE
Bachelor of Software Engineering, Honours, Cognitive Sciences Minor, Artificial Intelligence Option
After five years at Grebel, I find myself with a parable and a phrase: the parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18) and the term ‘positive peace’. Let me explain.
In this parable, Christ shows us how we ought to respond to the arms he has opened up to us. He shows us how we so quickly forget his love, grace, and forgiveness, and the importance of passing on what we have received. These same gifts have been generously afforded to me by Grebelites over 5 years, and I sincerely hope I’ve done the same.
I’ve heard the term “positive peace” quite a bit and have wondered what a community that strives to live in positive peace looks like. Now, I’m not a PACS expert, but I learned that it points to the kind of community where members are conscious of the love, grace, and forgiveness they have received. Not only that, but they also recognize the responsibility they have to lead with the same. This is what Grebel taught me.
Grebel has shown me love through quality time over beautiful meals—that secret ingredient in the diligent hands of our kitchen staff who produce “good food…always.” It has shown me grace through the efforts put into building mutual understanding. And finally, Grebel has shown me forgiveness through the countless times I have been afforded another chance.
Now then, what would be expected of an Engineer who has been afforded these gifts? I can only hope that they are nurtured and grown to build communities that live in positive peace.
JOSHUA RAMPERSAD
Bachelor of Computer Science, Honours, Computer Science, Music Minor
A lot has happened in five years. I have grown and changed immensely. From being on Larger Leadership Team and Social Committee to directing two Grebel musicals and donning, there are so many lessons that I have learned. Late-night deep conversations, thoughtful mealtime discussions, heartfelt don meetings, heated games lounge debates, prolonged musical planning sessions—these are where some of my most significant growth and learning occurred.
Grebel is one of the most diverse spaces I’ve ever been in. With such a broad range of beliefs, opinions, perspectives, and areas of expertise, there was a lot to learn from the people around me. The trick is to keep an open mind and let your ideas and preconceptions be challenged. I truly got a whole lot more out of asking questions than giving answers, and I learned so much more from the people I disagreed with than those who I agreed with. The Grebel table at meal times is an ideal time to ask questions. I’ve had my mind changed, learned about a new perspective, or even just fostered understanding between myself and my peers.
Learning by example was also a key part of how I figured out who I was and the type of person I want to be. Actions really can speak louder than words, and by getting involved around the community, I grew to better understand things like work-life balance and what makes a good leader.
Over the past five years, Grebel has become home for me. Everyone in this community has made me who I am today, and I am so grateful for that.
NATHANIEL KIM
Bachelor of Science, Honours, Kinesiology, Pre-Health Specialization
I started at Grebel in September 2014 in Nanotechnology Engineering. I’ve been here for seven years. I’m graduating from Biochemistry. How does someone do that? Through a lot of mistakes. The last seven years look kind of like Madoka Magica, a horror anime—it starts off happy and bright-eyed and then suddenly, BAM! It goes to crap. But looking back on it, God was with me through it all.
God was there when I failed my 3A term the first time, setting up another eight-month term at my same place and He was there when I couldn’t find a place to live until the last second. God was with my friend who let me stay over, and God was with me as I made the then-heartbreaking switch to Biochemistry. God was there in my mental agony and my family life. He gave me the courage to ask if I could take a third-year nano course as a Biochem student that I’d been looking forward to since 2A. He made it possible for me to get into a Fine Arts course and a fourth-year Nanotechnology course last term. God made it possible to end this term with two more 4B NanoBio courses and my last music studio course.
Jesus was always there by my side, just like He promised, even if I didn’t see Him and even when I didn’t want to see Him. And that’s how I know He will be there for me on the other side of this degree and how I know He’ll be there for you. “And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.”
ZARA PACHIORKA
Bachelor of Science, Honours, Biology Minor, Diploma in Sustainability
I lived at Grebel in my first year, associated in second and third year, and for my last year, I’m living in the apartments. I’ve been a part of the Peace Committee, Social Committee, Grebel musical, quite a few coffee houses, and of course, intramurals. I’ve served Grebel as an Ambassador, Special Projects rep, and Commie Supper server, and on the Grebel Orientation Committee.
Before Grebel, I went to boarding school for high school, so I am quite familiar with having many, many students living in a relatively tight-knit community. I am also quite familiar with the feeling one gets when they have to leave that tight-knit community. It’s really tough to not be able to open your door and call down the hall to your friend, or not see 20 different Grebelites on your way to and from class. I had to leave this environment in 2020 when COVID started to go crazy, and I’m realizing that I’m unfortunately going to have to leave again.
But I am leaving here with many great memories, and my time at Grebel will be remembered fondly. My hope for all future Grebelites is that they will continue to make Grebel home, and continue to make memories and friends. I hope new traditions are started and continued, and I hope they recognize how special this community is.
I also want to thank Mary Brubaker-Zehr for being such a dedicated and important part of Grebel. Although I was never a don and never directly worked with her, I feel the impact she had on Grebel, and the impact she will continue to have regardless of her retirement.
ADAM NEUFELD
Bachelor of Science, Honours, Physics Minor
Coming to a Mennonite institution like Grebel was an extension to what I grew up in. I expected Grebel to be a familiar place to continue to grow in my faith. In many ways it has been very similar. But the people who fill this space are not all Mennonite or even Christian, and I’ve learned so much from this.
In personal conversations and small groups at Grebel, I have been able to listen to the different perspectives, values, and ideas that everyone brings here. Church small groups with fellow Grebelites have strengthened my relationships with other Christians in discussions about our individual experiences and understandings of Biblical readings and sermons. I am also so grateful for my first-year roommate, Liban, and the many conversations we had about my Christian faith and his Islamic faith. I became aware of the similarities we shared and the differences which shaped our faiths.
These experiences with the people around me have shaped my faith today in ways that I couldn’t have imagined coming from a small-town Mennonite church. Grebel has stretched me to explore new ways of expressing my faith and sharing in it with everyone I meet. Just as 1 Corinthians speaks of a diversity of gifts, I see such a diversity of people here who all contribute different gifts to life at Grebel and that is something that I will take with me into the rest of my life. University has surrounded me with the largest source of diverse knowledge that I will ever have access to, and I take this knowledge with gratitude and humility as I continue to learn from those I meet.
