From November 2009 until August 2010, a research and development project called LifeMAPS will investigate leadership development among UC Berkeley undergraduate students, and the role of meaning, purpose, spirituality, religion and faith. The initial inspiration for this initiative is the desire to add texture—from the perspective of UCB undergraduates—to the findings of UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute’s (HERI) 2003 Spirituality and Higher Education national study. This study found that while college students’ participation in religious services decreased from freshman to junior year, students also identified themselves as more engaged in their spiritual lives and sought meaning and purpose in their pursuits. Therefore, the goals of this research and development project are:
1) To explore meaning and purpose with students to understand why undergraduate students become more spiritual and less religious and
2) How community-based organizations can support students, and more specifically faith-based organizations, in their spiritual development
If you would like more information about this project, please email Jennifer Morazes, MSW, M.Div.
Jenn Morazes is the new Project Director for the research study “Exploring Meaning and Purpose: How Community Organizations Support the Spiritual Quest of UCB Students.” She is a doctoral candidate in the School of Social Welfare, and her dissertation work focuses on stress, coping and college students. She also graduated with a Master of Divinity Degree from Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, MA.
Jenn is interested in college students because she is herself a first-generation college student. This study presents a unique opportunity to gather information which can inform ways of addressing the spiritual needs of college students—young adults who are at a critical point in their social, professional and spiritual lives. She also enjoys working with college students and mentoring their research interests.
Jenn’s previous social work experience includes service with homeless people and people re-integrating from prison to the greater society. She also enjoys international ministry and social welfare issues, and has travelled to Mexico, South Africa, and most recently, Berlin, Germany.