photo by matthew styer
“EMU definitely challenged me to listen to other people on moral and ethical issues.”
for me to see beyond people’s titles. To me, they don’t matter. We are all humans in God’s eyes.” Friendly and diligent, Jeff must have made a good impression – he was invited back to work with the Hearst corporation during the 2006 Christmas holiday period. When he finished his college studies in the spring of 2007 and sought a permanent job, he immediately landed the O magazine position. 6 | crossroads | spring 2008
hours-long conversations with friends in the dormitory, at Common Grounds and at Martin House. He also loved EMU’s international emphasis. Jeff has visited his father’s home country, Guyana, twice. Before coming to EMU, he went to Zimbabwe as part of Eastern Mennonite Seminary’s LEAP program. (LEAP – or Learning, Exploring And Participating – is offered to selected high school juniors and seniors each summer.) On two professor-led trips, Jeff went to Spain, Morocco and the Middle East, where he explored both Israel and the West Bank. This spring he plans to visit four EMU friends working in Equador. He keeps in touch with his wide network of college buddies via Facebook. “EMU definitely challenged me to listen to other people on moral and ethical issues, but not to be afraid of questioning anything and to form my own opinions. I was one Jeff Boodie says Mom is proud. of those on campus who helped organize forums on homosexuality and discussions Jeff’s father, Michael – an engineer who surrounding the war in Iraq.” closely follows the work of the United At work when people learn that Jeff is Nations and of international politics – was Mennonite, a few wonder if he is Amish. skeptical that O magazine was a viable He laughs at the notion that he somehow career path for Jeff. He preferred something could have emerged from a horse-andcomparable to his own engineering work or buggy farm-family. “I tell them we are all to the dental practice of Jeff’s older brother. Anabaptists, and that one of our biggest But “he’s coming around, and Mom was messages is peace. We are against war and really proud of me for landing a good job we are against poverty, and many of us are with a top magazine,” says Jeff. activists on these issues. But, no, we aren’t At EMU Jeff enjoyed exploring ideas in all Swiss-German Amish.”