by Bethany Rowland | Feb 15, 2017 | News Slider
Dr. Lee Camp stressed to students the importance of knowing what they each live for and asking themselves “Why?” in The Gathering on Tuesday morning in Allen Arena. Beginning with a story about the late architect Albert Speer, Dr. Camp shared the concept of a “master narrative.” He told parts of Speer’s story and emphasized a quote from Speer himself: “I wanted, above all, to be a good architect.” This is what Dr. Camp called Speer’s “master narrative.” It was what Speer lived for and was the answer to the “Why?” in his life. However, Dr. Camp continued to explain that this is an insufficient master narrative because it is too small of a goal to base an entire lifetime on. Dr. Camp shared with the students his love for reading books about business and starting companies, stating that they can teach us three very important virtues of self actualization in a search for one’s own master narrative: Take your intellect seriously. Challenge your brain. Take your body seriously. Challenge yourself physically. Go on adventures. Take risks. Recognize the social virtues. Appreciate the people around you whom you love and who love you. “If self actualization is our master narrative, woe be unto us,” Camp said. “It’s way too small.” Camp noted that, along with self actualization, one must also consider the virtue of justice. He gave the students a moment to think to themselves about what their own personal master narratives are — what are they living for? He finished with a reference to the famous novel by Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, discussing the part of...
by Bethany Rowland | Feb 14, 2017 | News Slider
Last week, junior Summer Starkie traveled to Dubai with the International Model United Nations Association, an educational non-profit that promotes Model United Nations (MUN) conferences across the world. MUN is a style of debate that allows students to simulate the work of the United Nations. Starkie arrived in Dubai on Jan. 31 and returned to Nashville on Feb. 5. In Dubai, she worked eight-hour days with a middle school MUN conference, directing a committee of delegates ranging in age from 11-13 and teaching them what MUN is all about, how to write resolutions and how to debate. After her sessions ended, Starkie and her co-workers spent the afternoon exploring Dubai. “We went to the Mall of Dubai, the Burj Khalifa, the Arabian Desert, the Gold Souk, Palm Island, and all of the crazy extravagant things you see on the Internet when you look into visiting Dubai,” she said. Starkie explained that the importance of MUN is to step outside of one’s own opinions to learn how the world works in different cultures. “As an American who was born here and raised here and might live here for my entire life, I have had to step outside of an American mindset and learn about how the Middle East, South America, Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe consider different policies and issues,” Starkie said. MUN teaches both the leaders and students a great deal about different cultures and why they tend to disagree. This, in turn, helps emphasize how to handle conflict in order to understand another’s opinions. Starkie said she loves her job because working with the kids brings her joy; she said she values the opportunity she is...
by Bethany Rowland | Jan 28, 2017 | News Slider
After days of chatter and a well-received video debut in chapel on Tuesday, every Lipscomb University student knows the up-and-coming company’s name: Ed Pack Global. Created by a group of Lipscomb business students, Ed Pack Global sells original backpacks and partners with Thistle Farms and Mi Esparanza to enable women to be educated, employed and empowered. The idea for Ed Pack Global first began as a vague business concept in the mind of CEO Luke Benda. As the idea grew and a team began to form, it became a vision, and it became an official limited liability company (LLC) in October of 2015. As they began to explore what their mission was and what they wanted their company’s purpose to be, Benda said right off the bat the team knew they wanted to use their business for good and to make a difference. The CEO had recently been inspired by Bob Goff’s book Love Does, and, together with his team, that inspiration grew. “We started digging into that — how can we help?” Benda said. “What would be the most effective use of our money?” After much conversation and collaboration, it was clear that they felt a call and connection to educating women around the world. Benda shared that 70 percent of people in poverty are women, and the Ed Pack Global team felt that they could do something about it. The team — made up of five members including Luke Benda, Macy Cottrell, Kayla Ford, Ansley Waller and Meg Stafford — had a Kickstarter party on January 16 at The Well Coffeehouse to promote their company and share...
