I was born and raised among the cornfields of Illinois, and I find myself still among cornfields in Bluffton, Ohio, where I will be embarking on my senior year of college. I am majoring in Communication in Church Organizations, with a minor in Peace and Conflict Studies. Last fall semester was spent in Northern Ireland with Bluffton’s Peace and Conflict Transformation program, where I took classes, interned at Corrymeela (a peace and reconciliation community on the north Antrim coast) and traveled around the UK.

When I learned about bikemovement, it was a ‘coming together’ moment for me…the people, the timing, the method, the vision. Pieces seemed to fit. I am deeply excited to be part of this movement…

This trip weaves together several life-giving elements for me…biking, stimulating conversations, thinking/critiquing/talking about “the church,” experiencing nature, traveling, and communing among people with whom I resonate. This movement is a voice that I believe to be essential to the church (and perhaps broader society?) at this time, and one that I continue to find myself engaging, intentionally or not! :)

After touring around Europe with Bluffton’s Camerata Singers in May, I am currently living in Madison, Wisconsin for the summer, as a Ministry Inquiry Program (MIP) intern at Madison Mennonite Church. I am eager to see how this experience also might also weave together with bikemovement. I will join up with the group in Chicago in August and head eastward. Though I will be biking for only a portion of it, my spirit journeys throughout.