Kayla Heslin (left), Kate Schin- delar, April Magneson and Amber Wiltgen, students from Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa, interned at Denver Health Group, one of many opportunities available through Wartburg West, the college’s urban immersion program in Denver.
COURTESY OF WARTBURG COLLEGE
I
t may look like a typical youth room with comfortable, mis- matched couches and tables.
But today the space at St. John’s [Episcopal] Cathedral in down- town Denver is a college class- room where Nelson Bock leads three students in a discussion about “buying local.” At first he stays local, dis-
cussing the Mile High Busi- ness Association of Colorado. Ten Bock mentions a chain of stores in Waverly, Iowa. It may be an unusual example for a class called “Te Metropolis,” but the students immediately get the reference. All three are enrolled at Wartburg College in Waverly and are spending this term in Denver through Wartburg West.
Many classrooms
Wartburg College’s Denver site
teaches life lessons By Meghan Johnston Aelabouni
36
www.thelutheran.org
Urban immersion Bock and his spouse, Bonita, both ELCA pastors, direct the college’s Wartburg West program, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Originally conceived by Wart- burg alumni and pastors in the Denver area, the program is a way that college students, many from small towns and rural communities, can experi- ence an urban environment through internships, living in the city and taking interdisci- plinary classes.
Students build community through retreats and
shared meals. Many use their free time to explore the Denver area through hiking, concerts, museums and other local spots. “Te benefits are multifaceted,” said Alex Tibodo, a
sophomore who interns at the Colorado Center on Law and Policy. “I’m stimulated by an urban environment with a lot of diverse perspectives. … It’s a good real- ity check to put what I know into practice and to learn what I still need to improve.” For Fatima Pai, a fourth-year student from Abuja,
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