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Dave Westerlund

westerlund_dave.jpg“Had I not been part of a vital campus ministry like I found at Pitt, I imagine I would have gotten my degree but had a lot narrower focus on the world,” says Dave Westerlund, environmental technician at Whatcom Environmental Services in Washington State. “The CCO’s ministry taught me how my faith connects to the rest of the world. Without that conscious connecting of faith to life, I think I’d be floating along, doing my job, and collecting a paycheck. Instead, I’m always thinking about ways to live better, to contribute to the larger community.”

Dave researched campus ministry opportunities at the University of Pittsburgh before he even started his freshman year, and he got plugged into the CCO’s ministry at Bellefield Presbyterian Church from the very beginning. CCO staff workers Henry Knapp and BJ Woodworth encouraged him and equipped him to own his faith in ways he never had before.

“Henry taught me how to think critically and how to view my life through a Christian worldview,” Dave says. “But it wasn’t all about the mind. Henry and BJ gave us all experiences to engage our hearts and connect us with the word.” Not only did Dave participate in fellowship and Bible study meetings, but he also volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, including participating in and leading spring break trips throughout his college years.

“I was given responsibility to help lead, both Bible studies and spring break trips,” Dave remembers. “I was given more responsibility than I thought I was ready for, and I really grew from that.” He was also encouraged to participate in the life of a church body.

“That connection to the local church was key,” Dave says. “I went to church before college, but the importance of it was emphasized in college and later, when I worked on CCO staff.”

Dave worked for several years as a CCO campus minister with students at Pitt and at The University of Akron before moving to the Pacific Northwest to study at Regent College for a year. He then moved sixty miles south to Bellingham, Washington and now lives ten blocks from his sister, Amy, and her husband. He is an active member of Christ the Servant Lutheran Church, where he serves on the adult education ministry and teaches adult Sunday school classes. He is also involved with Tierra Nueva, a ministry to migrant workers, ex-convicts and others who are marginalized in society.

“The CCO’s ministry had a big impact on me, making me realize that my studies were a part of my Christian vocation, and that vocation is so much broader than our paid work,” says Dave. “I also learned the value of relationships with other Christians. Henry and BJ took me to new horizons in my faith that I hadn’t conceived of before. Interacting with ideas and people and transformation are what I’m all about. The CCO helped lay firm foundations for how I live today and how I hope to continue to live the rest of my life.”