Shea Savage is a student at Regent University! This week he told us a little about himself and his involvement with Regent’s IJM chapter.
HC: What is your major?
SS: My major is English! And my concentration is European history. Because I wanted to [doom] myself to complete uselessness in all areas except sheer abstract academia.
HC: What attracted and brought you to Regent?
SS: I was in England when I applied here, so I really knew jack squat about it. Basically, I wanted to go to school in Virginia, but I’d never even thought about or considered a Christian school. It just hadn’t come to mind until I met someone who went here. I met her as an online friend through very roundabout and convoluted means that aren’t interesting enough to describe here, but essentially she tuned me to an awareness of Regent’s existence, and I looked into it and found it to my liking.
HC: What is your favorite class this semester? And why?
SS: Phew, I honestly love every class this semester because [they’re all classes for my major, covering] topics I love with professors I love, but I’d probably have to give the very slight edge to [my] Shakespeare class. Dr. Painter brings such passionate joy and profundity to our discussions, that as much as I already loved the Bard, I find myself growing in love all the more with each class.
HC: You are currently the secretary for IJM, can you tell us more about what you do and what IJM is all about?
SS: My particular job is basically to send the spammy emails, to keep track of meeting agendas, and to fill out forms. It’s very admin-y and boring. But IJM itself is awesome. It’s the largest anti-slavery organization in the world, and explicitly Christian in its approach. And not only do they work to bring victims out of it, but they help recovered victims heal. Even more, they work through judicial channels to prosecute the slavers, and seek ground-up strengthening of entire systems, so that the root problems of corruption and poverty can be addressed, and not merely the symptoms.
HC: What can students do to get more involved in IJM and fighting against human trafficking in general?
SS: Donate to IJM, pray a lot, come to our meetings [and] come to our events. We usually have UnChapel announcements or posters for the bigger things. Read articles and get educated, understand your culpability in the products and companies you support. Simply talk about what you know about the issue of slavery and share. Knowledge forces you into a place of responsibility, and if you want to affect change, then bring people into the knowledge you possess.