Shipwreck And Spirituality: College Women’s Experiences Of Encountering Deep Challenge And Surfacing With Renewed Purpose

The purpose of this dissertation study was to understand how college women use spirituality during moments of shipwreck, and how these moments serve as a catalyst for self-discovery, personal growth, and transformation for college women’s spirituality. In particular, the study was born out of an interest in how college women describe their experience in seeking support from a higher education professional during and/or following a shipwreck moment. This qualitative research was conducted using feminist spirituality as the theoretical framework and narrative inquiry as the methodological approach. The five college women who were selected as participants completed three individual semi-structured interviews to share about their spiritual practices, their journeys through shipwreck and resurfacing, and their ideas for the ways in which Student Affairs professionals can support the spiritual development of college students. The women shared about how their experiences of deep challenge aided them in finding their purpose in life and how the experience gave birth to true self. The study provides important and timely implications for the work of Student Affairs professionals in aiding students in their spiritual development, especially as a way of working through a shipwreck experience.