After IV

What was your favorite thing about being involved with InterVarsity as a student? 

Was it community???

Without fail, every alum we talk to shares that their chapter community was one of the most beloved parts of their InterVarsity experience. Navigating a season of such significant faith development within the context of deep, meaningful friendship was transformational. Thankfully, it doesn't have to end at graduation. Yes, Christian community looks different after you graduate, but it's still the best path forward for continuing to grow in your faith walk with Jesus.

And it's not just community. There were so many experiences we had on campus with InterVarsity that trained us up in a way of following Jesus; a way that was good for campus and good for a lifetime! 

This week, we're kicking off our new series, "For a Lifetime". We're spending the next 4 episodes exploring some of our favorite on-campus experiences as students with InterVarsity. Things that shaped us as followers of Jesus and things that are still useful, today, as a way to continue following Jesus for the rest of our lives.

RELATED EPISODE(S)

• Help! How Do I Grow in My Faith Without My Chapter? (E210)

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This is a painful story...

We're wrapping up our Unspoken Rules of Life After Graduation series with the most challenging story of transitioning to life after graduation we've heard since After IV started. New town, job loss, family crisis, exhaustion, loneliness, mental heath problems, apartment issues... The list goes on and on for the painful moments one alumna experienced in her first year after graduation. But in the midst of those trying times she met God in amazing ways, her faith was transformed, and she experienced God's abundant provision at exactly the right moment.

Enjoy the fourth and final episode of the series with Rule #4: It Doesn't Get Easier (...but it does get better).

RELATED EPISODE

• What Should I Do About My Anxiety? Pt 1 (E181) - Apple, Spotify, YouTube

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Think about it. For the last two decades, you have been a student. That's an identity you've carried almost your entire life... What happens when all of that changes?

We're continuing our Unwritten Rules of Life After Graduation series with Rule #2: Everything Will Change. Jon shares another story from his own transition experience about the time his entire future changed in the blink of an eye. Following an intense season of rejection and disappointment, a friend said 7 words that completely derailed and (eventually) rerouted his life into a completely unexpected direction; a direction that eventually led to the existence of this podcast.

Are you ready to experience the unavoidable changes that come with life after graduation? If not, or if you're in the middle of those changes right now, then this episode is for you!

RELATED EPISODES

• What's My Purpose? (E186) - Apple, Spotify, YouTube
• Help! Where Does God Want Me to Work? (E211) - Apple, Spotify, Youtube

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The adults aren’t coming…

For some, those are words of empowerment. For others, words of great anxiety. Either way, it’s a rule for life after graduation. The adults aren’t coming… because you are the adult now. Consult with wise counselors. Pray, pray, pray, and ask the Lord for wisdom and discernment. But the decisions you make about the direction of your life are yours to make.

Enjoy as Jon and Selah tell stories about the first time they realized the adults weren’t coming.

RELATED EPISODE

• Where Does God Want Me to Go?: Developing Tools for Discernment (E166) - Apple, Spotify, YouTube

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You will be lonely.

That's Rule #1 and it's kicking off our new series, The Unspoken Rules of Life After Graduation. Listen in as Jon shares an emotional memory of the loneliest season of his life... and then recalls the exact moment when the God of the universe squeezed himself down into Jon's tiny apartment to bring him comfort and reassurance.

Alumni, you will be lonely after graduation. But you are never alone.

RELATED EPISODES

• Embracing Your Loneliness: A Recipe for Disaster or Deeper Compassion? (E95) - Apple, Spotify
• Kyong & Soul Crushing Loneliness (E2) - Apple, Spotify
• Oops! I Guess We're Not Getting Married (E204) - Apple, Spotify, YouTube

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• Socials: @afterivpod
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What if volunteering somewhere changed your life forever?

It might sound a little melodramatic, but that's exactly what happened for today's guest. After obtaining a Bachelor's Degree, a Master's Degree, and spending 7 years as an elementary school teacher, all it took was one specific volunteer position to change Amy's career trajectory. It was a cause she knew and loved and had enjoyed financially supporting. But when she started investing her time, something changed. She connected at a new level, grew in love for the work she was doing, and before she knew it, had filled out an application for employment.

Enjoy the final conversation in our Side Quest series as we discuss one last way to invest your post-graduation free time with purpose: volunteering. And though you might not change careers because of it, is there a meaningful opportunity out there inviting you to invest your time and talents for the good of others?

RELATED EPISODE(S)

• From Gap Year to Volunteer: Why "Failure" Should Always Be an Option (E87) - Apple, Spotify

OTHER RESOURCES

• Are you interested in serving a local InterVarsity chapter? Get started HERE!

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Are you looking for a hobby after graduation? Or is it looking for you?

We’re continuing our Side Quest series this week as we explore how we spend our free time after graduation. Thus far, we’ve found that our free time can be easily spent in ways that are joyful, sustainable, and surprisingly significant. And hobbies are no different.

InterVarsity Alumna, Campus Minister, and professional ultimate frisbee player, Melissa LaFrance, joins this week to share how she didn’t have time to go searching for a hobby after graduation because it found her first. And it turned out to be a life giving side quest that provided both friendships and amazing opportunities to share Jesus with people she would never otherwise have access to.

RELATED EPISODES

• The Struggle for Friendship: Moving from Isolation to Connection (E168) - Apple, Spotify, YouTube
• Evangelism When... My Friend is an Atheist (E209) -  Apple, Spotify, YouTube

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• Socials: @afterivpod
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What if the side quest actually turned out to be the main quest?

InterVarsity Alum, Michael Lopez, say that’s exactly the situation when it comes to the way we invest. We’re continuing our “Side Quest” series this week as we explore how to thoughtfully spend our free time in life after graduation. Admittedly, investing might not sound like a typical “free time” activity. Automatic transfers, compounding interest, and future withdrawals all sound very passive. It’s stuff that happens in the background on autopilot, not something we actively engage with.

That’s where Michael would politely, but firmly, disagree. Michael is an investment advisor, certified financial planner, and an InterVarsity alumnus from Harvard. Michael is joining us today to share why the time, attention, and resources we devote to the “side quest” of investment has an impact that reaches all the way into eternity.

Sounds like some main quest material!

RELATED EPISODE

• Understanding Your Financial Narrative (E142) - Apple, Spotify

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Does your life ever feel like a jar of dirty water?

A brand new series starts today called, “Side Quests”. We’ll be discussing healthy non-work rhythms after graduation that are filled with purpose, starting with rest and retreat.

InterVarsity alumnus Jonny Gose shares about his own journey into rest and retreat after graduation (including how a jar of dirty water transformed the way he thinks about slowing down with Jesus). And he’ll walk us through some practical ways to build a rhythm of rest that not only fits this season of life after graduation, but also becomes a rhythm you never want to miss.

RELATED EPISODE

• A Foundation for Healthy Rhythms of Rest (E122) - Apple, Spotify

OTHER RESOURCES

• Grab your alumni retreat box today!

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• Socials: @afterivpod
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Should I join staff with InterVarsity?

It's a common question for alumni ask. After so many meaningful experiences as a student, we often wonder if staff work is the next logical step. But how do we know? This week, veteran InterVarsity staff, Lucas and Chelir, provide a few tips for discernment, some tangible benefits, and a helpful dose of reality for what it means to join staff. Ultimately, it comes down to one decision: is joining staff a good thing or a God thing?

Whether you're still a student, a recent grad, or a veteran alum, this episode is for you as you ponder where God might be calling you!

RELATED EPISODE(S)

• Future as a Barrier to Calling (E217) - Apple, Spotify, YouTube

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• Socials: @afterivpod
• Visit our Website