The Wild Hope Center for Vocation is excited to offer opportunities for alumni and friends of PLU to consider our common vocation to promote human and ecological flourishing, especially in a time of increasing polarization and environmental degradation. These presentations focus on the core of PLU’s mission to link learning with care for others, their communities, and the Earth. As a university committed to life-long learning, we are eager to welcome thoughtful discussion among our alumni and friends on pressing issues of the day. Join us as we explore various dimensions of our vocations in the world.
UPCOMING PRESENTATIONS
The Calling to Coach!
Thursday, September 17, 2026
4 p.m. (Pacific Time)
Join PLU Head Football Coach Brant McAdams as he discusses the calling to serve as a coach, the challenges he faces in coaching today, and what his hopes are for the PLU students he mentors. Brant is the tenth head football coach in the history of the university.
The Bishop and the Traveler
Sunday, October 18, 2026
7 p.m. (Pacific Time)
Eastvold Auditorium in the Karen Hillie Phillips Center
Wild Hope welcomes Mr. Rick Steves and Bishop Shelley Wee ’88 as they discuss the growing threats of fascism and Christian nationalism in American life. This is an in-person event though the event will be live-streamed. Seating is limited.
Step in to a world of wonder
Tuesday, November 17, 2026
4 p.m. (Pacific Time)
Women have made foundational contributions to physics, from discovering radioactivity and nuclear fission to pioneering work in quantum mechanics and astrophysics. Join Dr. Katrina Hay, the first woman to serve as the PLU Physics Department chair, as she discusses the vocation to teach physics: its wonder, challenges, and relevance in today’s world.
(Photo: Marie Curie, the first woman physicist to receive the Nobel Prize)
Weary of digital and physical noise?
Thursday, December 3, 2026
4 p.m. (Pacific Time)
Health professionals and social scientists warn that urban and suburban living produce an increasing harmful though often “silent” toll on human health and wellbeing. In this busiest season of the year, join Dr. Samuel Torvend as he discusses an ancient yet contemporary antidote to the noise and cognitive fatigue of modern life.
PAST PRESENTATIONS
If We Aren’t Church Now, We Have No Business Being the Church
April 23, 2026
In a world that feels fractured and uncertain, when so many rights are being stripped from those on the margins, and Christianity is being co-opted by those seeking power, what does it mean to be called into leadership and to proclaim healing and hope? Join The Rev. Shelley Bryan Wee ’88, PLU alumna and bishop of the Northwest Washington Synod of the ELCA, for a conversation about what it means to be a leader in the church today. Watch the recording from the presentation
A Therapist’s Calling to Heal Pain and Help Humans Thrive
Thursday, February 26, 2026
Virtual Presentation
Jane Ryan ’98, PLU alumna and therapist, discusses the vocation of a psychotherapist, the significance of this work for her clients, and the challenges faced by therapists in this era of political and social turmoil. Watch the recording from the presentation
The Gift of Wilderness: Hammarskjöld on Hiking
Thursday, October 23, 2025
Professor Don Johnson offers illuminating insights on the calling to hike as embodied in the life of Dag Hammarskjöld, Swedish diplomat and General Secretary of the United Nations. Watch the recording from the presentation
Dag Hammarskjöld: Servant of Peace
September 18, 2024
In this presentation by Professor Emeritus Donovan Johnson from South Puget Sound Community College, participants will consider the spiritual foundations of Dag Hammarskjöld’s secular vocation to peacemaking as the Swedish Secretary General of the United Nations. In a time of armed conflict and political polarization throughout the world, Hammarskjöld’s vocation can serve as a model for our commitments to peace. Watch the recording from the presentation
Preparing for Death, the Last Calling in Life
November 4, 2024
In the month of November, most Christians throughout the world remember and give thanks for their beloved dead. Dr. Marit Trelstad, professor of theology whose courses include “Death and the Afterlife,” and Dr. Erik Hammerstrom, professor of Asian religions, will discuss the last calling or vocation to prepare for death and how that preparation can be a gift for one’s family and friends.
More than Blonds and Candles: The Surprising Story of the First Santa Lucia
December 5, 2024
In this illustrated presentation, participants will consider the life and vocation of St. Lucy, Lucia of Syracuse in Sicily, the much-beloved winter saint in Nordic countries. Her calling to serve the most vulnerable people of her community invites Lutes and friends of PLU to consider the university’s vocation to “care for other people and their communities” at a time of the year marked by conspicuous consumption. Watch the recording of the presentation