A Blog on McConnell Center Life

By Camryn McPherson In February, news spread nation-wide about a Christian revival happening in our beautiful commonwealth. Just 90 miles east of Louisville, many gathered spontaneously to praise the Lord Jesus Christ with one voice and one mind. A member of The Church, I made the drive with friends to join alongside my brothers and sisters. It was a beautiful, natural event that had little flare and lots of Joy. Upon reflecting together a few days later, someone described the event perfectly: “powerful, yet unspectacular.” It really was true. Tens of thousands of people gathered over the course of the revival to witness a bit of Heaven on earth. As Revelation describes Heaven, “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages,” gathered to praise the Lord (Revelation 7:9 ESV). Every generation gathered, a variety of languages were spoken, and a diverse people praised the same God. How powerf...

 By Mallory Slucher “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me” Matthew 25:35 During spring break, I gathered with students from several other universities across the US to participate in Cru’s Becoming People of Welcome spring break trip right here in Louisville. Our theme for the week was Matthew 25:35 as we learned how to be effective in connecting with our refugee and immigrant neighbors. During the week, we listened to refugees and immigrants as they shared their stories with us. We had the opportunity to bless a community in Louisville with a vision clinic where we gave out 72 pairs of glasses. The ladies on our team organized a women’s health clinic for some women in the community who came to America as refugees. We had  the opportunity to provide an Arabic translator to ensure everyone was able to understand the content of the clinic. As we all learne...

 By Anna Williams How are you? How was your weekend? How was your day? These are all conversation  starters that I absolutely despise. There is usually no deep inquiry of seeing how someone is  really doing. It saddens me that I see people, and even myself at times, mindlessly saying these  polite phrases as a deficient way to check-in with someone–knowing that if someone were to  answer an honest “I’m not doing too well” or “I really struggled today” that we wouldn’t know  how to adequately support that person. Removing yourself from your own problems, your own time obligations, and your own  intimate thoughts to empathize with someone takes a great deal of effort. It goes against our  innate human nature, which is to simply mind our own business. This is neither a virtue nor a  vice, but just the reality of the flow of our brain patterns. I believe this becomes a virtue or vice  when we become aware of the lack of substance behind our ...

 By Allie Rose Phillips “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” You are likely not a stranger to this saying as it is frequently used to characterize a difficult situation. We receive this advice for the most minor inconveniences and for the most life-altering difficulties we face. This quote is overused, a little corny, but it reflects a major lesson that we ought to observe. Life will constantly throw you lemons, and you will face difficulties that you may feel like you cannot make it through; however, during these times, look for your lemonade. Your lemonade is your chance to turn a minor or major difficulty into a positive and amazing opportunity. When I came to the University of Louisville as a freshman, I decided to live with a random roommate in Kurz Hall. As a naïve freshman, I did not realize that this situation would turn into one of the largest lemons life has ever thrown my way. I had hoped that my random roommate would ...

 By William VonHandorf A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of traveling to the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) for a student leadership consortium. I was excited for many reasons. It was my first time heading to Colorado and out west in general, so I was excited to see some amazing sights and meet some amazing people. While both hopes came true, I was more excited to learn about how to grow as a leader and what leadership meant to some impressive people. I truly enjoyed my time in Colorado, so I thought I would share my thoughts on leadership, what I learned, and some quotes from the experience. The first leadership lesson USAFA offered me was “Sometimes you have to be alright with good enough.” At first, this quote from Colonel Brittany Stewart seems to be a weird lesson for a leader. Shouldn’t leaders strive for perfection from themselves and all their team members? This was certainly something I struggled with until I discussed it...

 By Piper Coleman Typically, I am not keen on public display of emotion. You likely will not see me beaming with joy or fuming with rage; those are emotions reserved for my inner circle. However, when “Unwritten” by British pop-singer/angel Natasha Bedingfield comes on, I am willing to physically display how much I love the song for all four minutes and twenty seconds. There is never a bad time to sing “live your life with arms wide open/Today is where your book begins/The rest is still unwritten.” No matter how anxious you are at the start of the day, or how disappointed you are at the end of it, you can remind yourself that nothing is written in stone to the sound of uplifting pop music. Since becoming a die-hard fan of “Unwritten,” I have noticed the theme of the song in a variety of media. Recently, late night talk show host Stephen Colbert sat down with Steven Spielberg to discuss the director’s long and illustrious career. When Col...

By Joe Wilson One night at the dinner table, I remember my mother saying to me: “Joe, you live life like there’s a musical playing in your head." She had a point. Anyone who knows me knows that I love music. Growing up, I used to sing in my church choir. As a teenager, I took guitar, piano, voice, and even banjo lessons after school. And over the years, I also accumulated an extensive collection of Barbra Streisand albums that I would play at full volume on my Crosley record player (much to my siblings’ chagrin). Music still plays a significant role in my life to this day. I keep an acoustic guitar beside my bed, and I pick it up to strum a few chords whenever I need a quick break from my homework. I try to go out to the theater to see concerts and musicals as often as possible. I also listen to my favorite albums on my headphones whenever I’m doing chores around my apartment (I’m currently listening to Carole King’s Tapestry as I write out t...

 By Shelby Disney                                    “How did it get so late so soon. It’s night before it’s afternoon. December before it’s June. My goodness, how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?” Dr. Seuss 842,400 minutes, 14,040 hours, and 585 days have come and gone since I began college in August of 2021. Reflecting on the moments, the memories, and the mistakes it is jarring to realize that I am almost halfway through my college experience. It forces me to beg the question, “how did it get so late so soon?” I’ve met countless people, made numerous friends, and submitted hundreds of assignments; yet it feels as if I only arrived here last week. For most of my life, I have always focused on the future and failed to enjoy the present. In reflecting I have focused on three lessons that I have learned from my time here.  “People who need people are the l...

By Megan Crowley Last Saturday, I volunteered with the Migrant and Refugee Services branch of Louisville Catholic Charities. The program collects, sorts, and delivers household and clothing items to immigrant and refugee newcomers across the metro area, and so I spent my Saturday morning digging through and subsequently sorting the contents of rather suspicious looking boxes and trash bags. In addition to throw pillows, durable pots and pans, and drinking glasses, I found several less than desirable items: a pocketknife, an assortment of small paper bags, a Benadryl tablet, the password for a likely defunct WiFi router, and 83 cents, to name a few. Mostly, though, I spent my time volunteering considering the significance of the items immediately in front of me, and, more broadly, the meaning attached to material things. At home, my family maintains a small collection of dining china; at least, we maintain it for the 364 days of the year that ...

 By Jack Moseley I’ve been reflecting on milestones lately. When we were babies, our parents undoubtedly obsessed over our milestones. They anxiously wondered, “When will he roll over? When will he sit up? When will he crawl? When will he walk? When will he talk?” Keeping track of such things is only natural. Of course, parents are often consumed with worry; watching with great anticipation as their children grow. Comparing their child’s progress to that of other children, and discussing concerns with fellow parents, is a common practice to ensure their child is meeting expectations. Incidentally, this practice tends to stick around past its expiration date. One of life's few unavoidable experiences is the perpetual interrogation, the cattle-prod of small-talk, that forces us to confront our achievements and aspirations. The infamous “Where are you?” question. We're all familiar with its variations: the nosy "When will you finally get a girlfriend...

By Greta Noble In 2006, at about the same time as I was starting my first day of preschool and mastering the art of tying my shoes, Taylor Swift released her debut album simply titled, Taylor Swift, and as some would say, her first “era” was born. As a three-year-old, barely able to pronounce the word Taylor, I was utterly unaware of the vast impact this small-town country singer would have on the eras of my own life. In 2008, just days before Fearless soared to the top of the US country music chart, I was entering the doors of my elementary school for the very first time. With my sparkly Skechers and pink and orange polka dot lunch box, I was embarking on a new chapter, or rather era, of my life. Within weeks of the school year starting, You Belong With Me and Love story were top of the queue on my iPod shuffle. While I was yet to understand the meaning behind a single lyric, the moment that Taylor Swift rocked the Crowley Corner Fundraiser ...

by Bryson Sebastian   Last November, I found myself standing at Trophy Point, an iconic location at the West Point Military Academy. From this spot, overlooking a bend in the Hudson River, the sights and sounds of West Point’s campus can be taken in – a helicopter landing on “The Plain” to pick up a group of paratroopers; a train rolling around the bend; the drill team relaying orders and the routine clicking and clacking of their polished rifles; West Point’s traditional Scottish bagpipe band rehearsing across the field. The order and routine of West Point felt foreign to me, but I could not fail to appreciate the beauty embedded within the great tradition. I was attending the 73rd Student Conference on U.S. Affairs, an annual gathering of civilian undergraduates to discuss the future of both foreign and domestic American policies. For 4 days, we were split into roundtable groups that partnered us with West Point cadets; we were tasked ...