In this journal, I reflect on my experience working with the Mennonite Central Committee’s partners in Rwanda - Transformational Leadership Center (TLC), an organization that runs the peace library where I was placed as an intern.
Liv Miller is a student graduating shortly at the end of this fall term. She shared some reflections and thoughts on the PACS program, how it helped their career and extra-curricular service activities, advocacies and initiatives, and how they imagine it will help her career moving forward after graduation.
The third Global Mennonite Peacebuilding Conference and Festival (GMP) took place on June 15-18, at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) in Harrisonburg, VA. A diverse range of scholars, Mennonite practitioners, artists, and theologians from around the world were invited to share about their work for peace and listen to each other’s stories.
When Devon Spier, a Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) Alumni, was asked to summarize their experience with the program, and to talk about what take-away they carried forward with them, they talked about the need to exist in difficult spaces and celebrate differences. Experiences from studying PACS to where they are now are all linked by the importance of finding strength through your differences.
As a co-op student, a Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) student, and someone involved in leadership roles at Waterloo, Afiyah has been able to make the most out of her degree. Afiyah is a double major student of PACS and Psychology, and as she completes her 4A term, she can reflect on the classroom and co-op experiences that have helped her grow.
On March 8th, 2023 four students competed in the C. Henry Smith Oratorical Contest. This contest invites people from Mennonite and Brethren in Christ colleges and universities across Canada and the United States to compete. Here at the University of Waterloo, Peace and Conflict Students as well as Grebel Residents were invited to share their voices on topics of Christian peace position on contemporary concerns and were judged on topic, content, delivery, introduction, conclusion, and creativity.
This past term, several students had the opportunity to go to New York for a Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) United Nations (UN) Office Seminar. It was a chance to connect with other students, hear guest speakers from all over the world, and tour the UN headquarters. One of the students who went was Joshua Cheon, a second year PACS (Peace and Conflict Studies) major, who came out of the trip reflecting on what he had learned and experienced.
Ryan Bromley is a 3A Arts and Business student with a Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) major. Ryan was a fall 2021 Enterprise Co-op pitch winner. Enterprise Co-op (E Co-op) is a co-op pathway that allows students to pursue an entrepreneurial co-op option in which students start their businesses while earning a co-op credit. Ryan’s original pitch was to create a “Peace to co-op” business that would teach university students critical personal and professional skills related to PACS. Throughout the work term, Ryan displayed incredible flexibility, drive, and vision in his journey through the term as he worked towards a dream that extends beyond the four months of the co-op.
When Abbey began her co-op position last spring, she struggled to see how her Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) education could be relevant to her work. Now that she has finished her co-op position, she can hardly fathom a position where PACS would not apply – at least in some capacity.
Rebecca Chinamasa, a second-year Master of Peace and Conflict Studies student, recently became a member of The Record's Community Editorial Board for 2020-21. Chinamasa joined the MPACS program with a background in healthcare and passion to combine the theory and practice of peace and conflict studies with healthcare services.