{"id":52242,"date":"2026-09-14T15:30:35","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T15:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/?p=52242"},"modified":"2026-09-14T15:30:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T15:30:35","slug":"vocation-without-borders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/2026\/09\/14\/vocation-without-borders\/","title":{"rendered":"Vocation Without Borders"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jessica<\/a>Jessica Spanswick\u2019s ’10 path to a life of service didn\u2019t begin in one place, but it took clearer shape during her high school years in Perham, Minnesota. Influenced by her father\u2014who grew up on a farm and later saw the world through his time in the Navy\u2014she carried an early awareness that there was more beyond what she could immediately see. That awareness took on new meaning when she arrived at Augsburg.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt Augsburg, learning wasn\u2019t just something you studied\u2014it was something you lived,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Through experiences in Cedar-Riverside and across the globe, Jessica began to understand how people, cultures, and systems are deeply connected\u2014and how her own life might fit within that larger picture.<\/span><\/p>\n

At Augsburg, that understanding was grounded in the idea of vocation. Jessica found language for something she had always felt but never quite defined: that her life and work could be part of something bigger than herself.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t have a concept of vocation before Augsburg,\u201d she said. \u201cIt helped me see that my path could be about contributing to something beyond just myself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, her Lutheran faith deepened in meaningful ways. In theology courses, she was challenged to think more critically about belief, context, and history, while her relationships in the community\u2014especially tutoring immigrant students and adults\u2014brought those questions into real, human connection.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a lot of growth for me,\u201d she reflected. \u201cI was learning about other faiths and cultures, and also really thinking about what I believe. I started to see how many shared values there are across communities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Her semester in Namibia and South Africa during her sophomore year became a turning point. Living with host families and studying the histories of colonialism and apartheid offered a new way of seeing the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was completely eye-opening,\u201d she said. \u201cI started to understand how history and systems shape people\u2019s lives\u2014not just there, but here in the United States too.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

That way of thinking stayed with her.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you start asking those questions\u2014about history, about systems\u2014you carry that lens with you wherever you go.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Jessica carried that perspective into the years that followed, continuing to seek out opportunities to learn and serve. Her work took her to communities in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean\u2014whether supporting students in rural South Africa, serving in the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic, or studying migration and human rights during graduate school.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cService can look like a lot of different things,\u201d she said. \u201cBut for me, it was always about working alongside communities\u2014learning first, and contributing where I could.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Over time, that path led her back home. Jessica realized she wanted to bring what she had learned into her own community, where those same questions about systems, equity, and opportunity are just as present.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI realized I could make the biggest impact in my own community,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, she works in Hennepin County in climate and resilience, focusing on the ways environmental challenges intersect with the lives of the most vulnerable residents.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAll of these issues are connected\u2014climate, housing, migration,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd the same communities are often carrying the greatest impact.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Jessica speaks about her work with clarity and conviction. She sees it not simply as a career, but as a continuation of her vocation\u2014a way of contributing to something meaningful, alongside others.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a privilege to do work where you feel like you\u2019re contributing to something bigger,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

That sense of purpose, she says, began at Augsburg\u2014where she was encouraged to engage deeply, to ask hard questions, and to see her life as part of a larger story of service. Jessica lives in St. Paul with her husband and son. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jessica Spanswick\u2019s ’10 path to a life of service didn\u2019t begin in one place, but it took clearer shape during …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":470,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,12,844],"tags":[926,869,47],"class_list":["post-52242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spotlights","category-giving-back","category-young-alumni","tag-class-of-2010","tag-theology","tag-vocation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/470"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52242"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52244,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52242\/revisions\/52244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}