UT Junior Focuses on Humanity in Interfaith Movement

Faith Ponti ’17 thinks of herself as a human before she adds on the descriptors of “woman” and “Christian.” And she wants to encourage a movement of others doing the same.

“If we can cultivate the conversation in the room, maybe this way of thinking can be in the front of their minds like it is for me,” this idea of human connectedness, Ponti said.

Ponti is the student coordinator of the organization Better Together, a group of students working for interfaith cooperation on campus and in the community through dialogue and education, promoting respect of spiritual and nonspiritual beliefs. The group’s mission is “to promote awareness and understanding of both similarities and differences between all religions, as well as establish a basis in which students can develop strong diverse friendships through interfaith cooperation.”

“The interfaith movement seeks to remove barriers that have been placed due to faith and belief and to build bridges that we can actually cross, because we are better together,” said Gina Firth, associate dean of wellness.

The UT organization is part of the national Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), a Chicago-based nonprofit fueling the interfaith youth movement. IFYC’s founder and executive director, Eboo Patel, spoke at the Sykes Chapel and Center for Faith and Values in 2011, where he said his dream is for interfaith leadership and interfaith literacy to be hallmarks of a college education.

This semester, Ponti was chosen to serve on the IFYC National Leadership Team based on the work she is doing on UT’s campus and her commitment to Better Together. The year-long post capitalizes on her experience with the interfaith movement locally where she is able to advise on campaigns and actions from the student perspective.

“We are part advisory council and part action team,” said Ponti, noting that most of the team’s interaction will be through social media.

Ponti’s interest in getting involved on a deeper level stems from her desire to be a coach to other student leaders. This was a way to educate herself more fully and become more fluent in inclusive practices. By joining the leadership team, she is also able to reach a broader audience.

“It’s silly to have a goal for yourself and limit yourself,” she said. “If I have the opportunity to affect all students involved in IFYC, then I should.”

Ponti is a President’s Leadership Fellow and during one of its regular gatherings her freshman year, Firth led a workshop on self-exploration and spirituality.

“It was the first time I heard about religions without the context of you’re right and I’m wrong,” said Ponti, an Honors student from Monument, CO, who got swept up in a megachurch back home where she had formative positive and negative experiences. “I told Gina my story, and she mentioned Better Together.”

Ponti, still feeling hesitant about joining anything spiritual, went to her first Better Together meeting with reservations. She remembers meeting students from an array of faiths including Hindu. Before her only interaction with a Hindu was to evangelize him.

“I started to become more open minded,” said Ponti, a psychology major with a minor in sociology, who was asked to lead the group as student coordinator the following year.

“Faith is a truly inspiring student leader. She comes from a place of authenticity and has a passion to help people be the best they can be,” Firth said. “She radiates compassion and understanding, and her approachability and enthusiasm has helped to build our Better Together organization to its largest membership since its inception.”

Wellness Coordinator Addie Carothers oversees the student organization Live Well UT, of which Better Together is an initiative, whose student leaders often are responsible for being well versed in important and sometimes controversial topics on campus.

“Faith frequently displays humility in acknowledging that she may not know every single thing about every single religion, but always is ready to learn more and to provide a space for that learning,” Carothers said. “This humility and her eagerness to learn and contribute is contagious in Live Well UT.”

Ponti has continued to meet diverse friends through Live Well UT, and eventually changed her career goals from physical therapy to student affairs.

“I came to UT as a physical therapy major who didn’t know herself, to becoming someone who knows you can be loved and accepted for who you are,” said Ponti, who wants to work directly with students making the impact her friends and mentors, including Firth and Carothers, have made on her. “They changed my life.”

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