Calvin College hosted its 13th annual Faith and International Development Conference (FIDC), bringing speakers such as Deborah Dortzbach, Steven Bouma-Prediger and Belinda Bauman, along with over 300 students from across the United States.

Kaitlyn Kline, co-director of the 2017 conference, shared her experience as a FIDC director, hoping to enlighten students on the work behind this year’s conference, “Home: Restoring Our Dwelling Place,” and the work Lyric Floria and Lilly Jeltema, the current directors, did to make it all come together.

“It’s a lot of work,” Kline reminisced. “It goes beyond an on-campus job or even the first job you’ll have, because you’re completely responsible for all the details and for making sure it goes over well.”

Directors begin as early as May, spending the next ten months dedicating their lives to planning, organizing and running FIDC. In the spring, directors work together to choose and develop a theme. The summer revolves around speaker research and preliminary contacts. The busiest time for directors occurs over interim, when they spend 40 to 50 hours a week organizing volunteers, managing sponsorships, setting up room reservations and contacting speakers.

According to Kline, the concept of having students manage all these details is fairly unique. Few colleges give students this amount of freedom and responsibility, allowing them to learn what it means to juggle over 300 conference attendees, monetary sponsorships, hundreds of emails, and all the miniscule conference details.

While this amount of responsibility can be a lot of pressure, it also leads to a great deal of success — both for the college and for the director, according to Kline. FIDC provides a platform for student directors to make a tangible impact on those around them, instilling a sense of justice into their community.

Though the work is often grueling, Kline affirms that every bit of effort is worth it in the end. Though FIDC 2018 is now over, their leadership will continue in the legacy of Calvin’s Faith and International Development Conference.