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This article was written by Peter Dziedzic, a sophomore at DePaul, who is pursuing a double major in Religious Studies and English. Peter is the co-President of DePaul Interfaith and member of the Executive Committee of the Better Together Campaign at DePaul University.

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As I write this, I am putting together the last few essential tidbits for my weekend excursion to D.C. for IFYC’s Interfaith Leadership Institute. I am truly excited for this trip not only because I will be able to connect with my fellow DePaul students and brainstorm on how to utilize what we learn in D.C. on campus, but also because we will be exposed to the raw, bustling energy of the growing interfaith movement.

As the program states, we will be trained, as interfaith leaders, on how to mobilize, sustain, and integrate interfaith action and cooperation on our campuses. Our focus, when we come back, will be to promote and integrate our Better Together campaign on campus, because when we set aside our differences and collectively work for the attainment of a common, shared goal, we truly are better together. The Institute will be an exciting experience to gain the training that will be beneficial to integrating interfaith work in our student experience, and I fully intend to come back to DePaul ready to promote interfaith cooperation.

I hope to, in my interaction with other interfaith leaders, learn from their own unique backgrounds and learning where the interaction and dialogue of different perspectives, in this case, from across the country and religious spectrum, can help us in our own campaigns and campus initiatives here at DePaul. I also hope to be able to network with these fine young leaders and see how we can truly integrate, together, the energy of our respective initiatives.

The prospect of all these creative minds coming together for the common goal of interfaith peace building is truly inspiring. The volume of applicants to the Institute called for the addition of another training session immediately following the first Institute session. This fact in and of itself shows how expansive the interfaith movement is becoming, and in all aspects, this is a wonderful sign. Our generation needs to cultivate and promote an ethos of understanding for varied traditions and backgrounds, and I believe that this shift is embodied in the energy of all the young people who will be attending this Institute.

I look forward to the experience, training, networking, and inspiration that IFYC’s Interfaith Leadership Institute will provide, and above all, I look forward to the work and progress ahead.