On Coming Home: Part I

Four years ago, as I shook President Kent Chabotar's hand and received my diploma, I remember wondering, "Will I return to Guilford?". Then, it seemed clear to me that the answer was yes. However, it was not evident how or when this "return" would happen. Now, that is also clear. I am so excited to be coming home. I simply cannot imagine a better way to return to Guilford. I am both honored and humbled to begin my work as the first ever Friends Center Intern. This blog post will be dedicated to introducing (or re-introducing) you to me. I will start where I ended last, by filling you in on what I've been up to since Guilford. I will tell you where I have been, what I have done, etc...

Graduation '07, John Wilson Irwin, Saul Meyerson-Knox, Nathan Sebens, Amber Donaldson

I graduated from Guilford with a Major in Vocal Performance, a Minor in Quaker Studies, and as a member of the Bonners Scholars program as well as the Quaker Leadership Scholars Program. I officially graduated in December of '06 and was excited to continue my studies at the Earlham School of Religion, but took a temporary position teaching elementary music. I entered this position knowing it would only be for the spring, until I headed up to Earlham. I learned a lot about myself and the American educational system in those six months. I was grateful for the experience, but my real excitement was around the studies that awaited me at ESR.

So I moved to Richmond, IN in the fall of  '07 to begin a Masters of Divinity program at the Earlham School of Religion. While there, most of my classes focused on Quakers Studies, Biblical Studies, and Pastoral Care. I stayed at ESR for exactly one half of the program. In my last semester there, I felt as though I was being called to return to performance. I had begun to perform in the local community theater (Richmond Civic Theatre) and had accepted a position as a choir director for one of the local meetings (West Richmond Friends). It became clear that this was where my energy was. My passion had shifted back to the performance world which I had all but forsaken to attend ESR. And so, with the help of my community, I discerned that it was time to leave ESR and see if I could make performance my vocation, as well as my career.

  

ArtReach '10-'11, Nathan Sebens, Stevyn Carmona, Ashley Brown, Taryn Bryant

I think that the challenges one faces when they choose to make any type of performance a career are well-documented. I found that for the most part, all the stories I had been told were accurate. I continued to be involved with the local theater and the choir at West Richmond, but also found myself needing to spend more and more time in that haven for actors, the restaurant industry. I attended several professional auditions before I was offered my first paying role with The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati. Over the next two years, I went from being in the chorus for a couple of shows with the Children's Theatre, to becoming a full-time member of ArtReach, the touring arm of the same company. So I got my wish to be a full-time professional actor. It was amazing to be doing what I loved, and getting paid for it. However, near the end of my nine-month contract there, it again felt like something was missing. I missed the intentional spiritual community which had surrounded me at Guilford and at ESR. And so I was left to ponder what would happen next.

As my girlfriend and I discussed potential moves (we discussed things like an "around the world" trip, farming in Australia, and a move to San Diego), it became clear that we both wanted to move back to North Carolina. This was exciting at first, but very quickly the need for a job and a place to live began to weigh on both of us. I knew I would feel better if I could at least line up a few prospects (no small feat in this economy). And so I began to look for potential positions, especially but not exclusively in performance. At the end of one especially frustrating day, I thought to myself, "There probably isn't anything, but I'll check Guilford, just in case." And lo and behold, when I looked on the Guilford website, I found the listing for this job, and it immediately felt right. I had a very real sense that I had found what I was looking for. I didn't know if I was called to do this work yet, but I knew that I was called to apply. As the application process continued, it became obvious that this was the work I was supposed to do this year. And as they say, the rest is history.

So here I am, back at my Alma Mater, and loving the work that I am doing. Tomorrow I will post another entry entitled "On Coming Home: Part II" in which I will discuss the work I am doing here, and how it feels to be back on campus.

in the Light,
Nathan Sebens '06, Friends Center Intern