News

Grebel students have served with Mennonite Disaster Service on service trips since as early as the 1960s. Isabel Song and Mona Bailey, two winners of the MDS Scholarship Award this year, reflect on their experiences in service, and Sara Fretz-Goering shares some insight into one of the early MDS trips that have since become a tradition at Grebel. 

There are many paths that lead to the Master of Theological Studies (MTS) program at Conrad Grebel University College. For MTS alum Peter Haresnape, it started with learning goals for pastoral work.

Throughout the stages of her life, music has played an important role for alum Nicole Simone. After graduating from the University of Waterloo with a joint honours degree in Music and Systems Design Engineering in 2016, she returned to Conrad Grebel University College’s Music department as the accompanist for the University Choir in 2018. “People often come back to choir after graduation, which creates a strong, supportive environment,” she reflected.  

While Grebel is physically located in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, Grebel alumni can be found across the world! At the end of October, Grebel’s presence in Winnipeg, Manitoba included both recruitment activities and a music premiere, bringing together several Grebel-related activities in one city.

Students in the Applied Studies stream of the Master of Theological Studies degree at Grebel find Supervised Experience in Ministry (SEM) courses to be highly rewarding aspects of the curriculum. With two required placements, students explore ministry in a practical setting. Under the guidance of a local supervisor, students set learning goals, develop a reading list, and write a summative paper.

Not only does Grebel have a long legacy of talented and engaged professors, but many students in Grebel courses and dorm rooms have gone on to become distinguished scholars in their own right. We were delighted to hear from alumni studying very diverse topics—reflective of the conversations students might have around the lunch table. We asked them to explain their scholarship to a non-expert and to share a question that is the basis of their work right now. We wanted to know if their work today relates to what they studied as an undergraduate student and how Grebel might have influenced their career path. These profiles are just a glimpse into the scholarship of some of the many Grebel alumni inspired by curiosity in their work. 

For more than two decades at Grebel, Peter Hart has been a consistent, kind presence for residents. As a custodian at Grebel for 24 years, Peter was initially in charge of cleaning the residence wing, where he made genuine connections with students. For decades, Peter has been invested in student lives and their successes.  

As rain seeped into clothes and muddy rivulets ran down the path, 31 Grebel alumni and friends were taking a slippery hike into the mountains of Bäretswil, Switzerland. Their destination was a hidden cave known as the “Täuferhöhle,” where Anabaptists once worshipped in secret. In the dim, damp cavern, the group sang hymns and shared a meaningful communion service, breaking bread with others who had also made the trek.

With intramural teams, athletic facilities, and a supportive community, there are countless ways to have fun and stay physically active at Grebel. Students share their experience of playing in an intramural team, enjoying the gym, and living at Grebel while playing varsity. 

At the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging (RIA), knowledge gained through research is valued. Even more important is that knowledge becomes practice, to enhance life for older adults. Research generated through the RIA’s Spirituality & Aging program housed at Grebel is directly supporting spiritual care in long-term care (LTC) through resources provided online to the LTC sector.