Taking time to pause and appreciate the unique experiences of any season of life is essential, Rebekah Dell, dean of women, said in her introductory talk at the Curate Summit on Feb. 3.
“Ask yourself, ‘What is something to experience in this season of life that I may not experience in any other season,’” Dell said.
Women across campus gathered in the Searle Center for the fifth annual Curate Summit for a day centered around the theme of wonder. The event lasted from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with breakfast and lunch provided, and presented talks on topics including family origins, friendships, marriage and motherhood, hospitality, identity, and social media.
“One of my biggest takeaways from Curate every year is the essential need for a community of women because we are connected and supported through one another not only by humanness but specifically by the callings of womanhood,” senior Ingrid Dornbirer said.
Dell and other speakers challenged women to find beauty in the ordinary.
Freshman Lucy Hicks said she appreciated Dell’s advice to notice what the blessings are in every season.
“Be content in the season you are in, embrace that season, wonder at it and at what you have now,” Hicks said. “However, that doesn’t mean you can’t look ahead, plan for the future, and be excited about it. But don’t skip over where God has put you now.”
Speaker Caroline Greb ’19 also challenged her audience to slow down and consider the beauty around them.
“We have lost the muscle to exercise something slow,” Greb said. “We must chew instead of just snack. Let yourself enjoy the six course meal.”
Greb spoke on reclaiming beauty in a digital age, sharing her balance as a mother and artist and her usage of social media. She played on the social media idea of an influencer, saying that her influence is over her children and her customers in her efforts to show them the beauty in front of them.
“With Christian liberty comes Christian discernment,” Greb said. “The gospel should always be the ultimate place people are pointed. I must point them to the first things first and the second things second.”
The intention of influence and ease at which it should be done also emerged in a panel on hospitality.
“A hindrance is thinking it has to be a big ordeal, but it doesn’t have to be. It can be very casual,” Grace Balkan, executive assistant to the president, said in a panel on hospitality.
Balkan described how hospitality is an imitation of Christ in our desire for relationship and connection.
“Hospitality is a taste of heaven,” Balkan said. “The Lord was hospitable. It’s sharing the love of Christ to people.”
Dornbirer said she intentionally attended the hospitality panel because it would directly apply to her life after college as she adapts to apartment living and hosting.
She also said she loved connecting with younger women on campus, especially because this was her last Curate Summit.
Hicks said her favorite talk was from Health Services Counselor Kaitlyn Zellner on families of origin.
“I didn’t know what it was about before, but it was a really great way to reflect and think about how I was raised and what things were good and what things could be better,” Hicks said.
In addition to the lectures and meals, the summit offered free giveaways including copies of some of C.S. Lewis’ works. During leisure time, women could create their own individual tea bags to bring home with them and browse the racks of Hillsdalian Goods, a local, traveling boutique founded and run by Ashlyn Neveau, ecommerce product merchandiser for the college.
“I was definitely a little worried about lectures on my Saturday, but they were really good, and it was super flexible,” Hicks said. “You could attend the ones you wanted to and go to whatever worked with your schedule. All the goods and giveaways were so fun, and I loved Hillsdalian Goods.”
