Student Reflection: Jessie Light

Here are words offered by Jessie Light at the 824 breakfast at the beginning of April.

Saying I would be a different person if not for PSF is not only true, it's an understatement.  As a senior with less than a month left at Vanderbilt, my life would look a whole lot different without this ministry.  To begin with, without PSF, I wouldn't even be here.  I wouldn't be at Vanderbilt.  When I met Jennifer Fouse for the first time at Montreat Youth Conference as a rising Sophomore in high school, it was the first time I'd ever heard of Vanderbilt, but I was SOLD on coming here.  Besides my major and the location of the school, PSF is the reason that I came to Vanderbilt.  Knowing that there would be a strong and welcoming Christian community waiting for my arrival was all I really wanted. Without PSF, I wouldn't be heading in the direction I am because I wouldn't have received as many empowering leadership opportunities and moment of affirmation, and I wouldn't have had so many incredible experiences in which I have discerned that sometime in the near future, seminary is where I want to be.  Without PSF, I would be lacking in a home away from home, in a support system that I cherish and rely upon, and in so many priceless and life-changing relationships.

When I think about who I was four years ago and who I am now, I can't help but identify PSF as the source of so much of the positive growth I have undergone.  Two mission trips to Guatemala pushed me way outside of my comfort zone, exposed me to a world beyond my own, and made me passionate about traveling and experiential learning.  Multiple leadership positions have given me the chance to practice and develop both task-oriented and interpersonal skills.  Most of all, I have had this place and this community as a refuge and a safe place to process everything that has happened during this crazy and wonderful time in my life.

This ministry is invaluable.  Though we balance budgets and manage spreadsheets and host fundraisers, no dollar amount can be put on the impact that PSF has on people's lives.

Looking forward, despite the fact that I won't be involved in the day-to-day life of PSF, I see so many opportunities for this ministry to grow.  A new official partnership with Belmont (which has been in the works for a very long time) doubles the pool of potential students to reach out to- students who would add (and are already adding) new color and energy to this community.  I can't help but be excited about the many students younger than me who are filled with just as much passion as I am about this ministry, and who will do incredible things in leading this group into new realms.

I look to each of you today with gratitude.  Because of you, and people like you, who have given so willingly and freely of your time, energy, and resources, I've been shaped and molded, supported and loved, by an irreplaceable community.  This place exemplifies an open table.  So many have come hungry or lost, many more have come confident and faithful.  The time we have spent together and will continue to spend together, sharing bread and cup, has filled and will continue to fill us up and change us for good.