Wheaton College Alumni Magazine Winter 2015 | Page 17

by Jeremy Weber ’05

J

ourneying through the recently submerged
Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans in 2013, Kelsey Nikcevich ’16
observed how Hurricane Katrina led to a restructuring of education
from public to charter schools.
“I was taking a class focusing on urban education at the time, and
New Orleans was a perfect case study, as they had the chance to
completely restructure public education,” says Nikcevich, who grew
up in the diverse schools of inner-city Indianapolis. The trip brought
life to in-class discussions on the possibilities and limits of charter
schools.
Nikcevich’s field experience—attending the Christian Community
Development Association (CCDA) gathering in New Orleans
in 2013—has become an annual trip for students involved with
Wheaton’s urban studies program and Global Urban Perspectives
(GUP) ministry. She remembers conversations with urban
practitioners on topics ranging from gang intervention to fair-trade
coffee to work on Native American reservations.
“I had never been exposed to so many ways to do community
development,” says Nikcevich, who will be one of the first Wheaton
students to graduate with a major in urban studies. “I was struck by

the enormity of the problems community developers face, but greatly
encouraged by the amount of like-minded people taking them on.”
More Wheaton students than ever are preparing to serve in cities
nationwide, and on-campus opportunities for urban engagement are
drawing more participants:
●

The Wheaton in Chicago program, now in its 15th year, hosted its
largest and most diverse group this fall: 21 students selected from
a variety of majors.

● Wheaton’s

Passage program (remembered by many alumni as “High
Road”) has added an urban track to complement its wilderness
and camp tracks at HoneyRock. Up to 36 students have begun their
Wheaton experience in downtown Chicago in recent semesters.

●

The GUP summer ministry program, which promotes awareness
and advocacy of urban issues, sent the first teams of students out for
internships in 2003 and continues to thrive, sending nine students
to London and three U.S. cities during summer 2014.
“Students are going to graduate into the most urban world we’ve ever
known, and it will only continue to get more urban,” says Dr. Noah

From Wheaton’s campus to the Chicago Loop, professors and students cultivate rich dialogue . . .
Dr. noah Toly ’99, M.A. ’12 outside of the Memorial Student
Center on Wheaton’s campus; Sophia Jenkins ’15 and Kelsey
Nikcevich ’16 at the College Avenue Metra station heading
downtown; Rene Cruz ’15 outside his internship site at the
Goodman Theatre in the Chicago Loop.

W H EA T O N . ED U / M A G A Z I N E

  W H E A T O N   

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