Pedaling Toward Purpose: A New Course Links Faith, Sustainability and Cycling

Biking towards the future of sustainability was put into action weekly during the Spring 2026 Core Integration Seminar. Students spent the semester learning hands-on bike mechanics, biking for class learning urban cycling , health and cycling, and cycling safety.

Sustainability is part of Gonzaga's Mission, which states the University is committed "to safeguard the integrity of our natural world for present and future generations" and to being "a leader in responsible environmental stewardship."

A spring 2026 Core Integration Seminar, "Care for the Person, Care for the Planet," invited students to practice personal reflection and environmental engagement in a setting that intertwined the two.

The course took six years to develop, starting in 2019 and finalizing in 2025. Within the first four weeks of the course, students received hands-on training in bike mechanics and safety before moving into course readings that reflected on faith as well.

The course draws heavily on Pope Francis's "Laudato Si." Scott Starbuck, senior religious studies lecturer and a lifelong biker himself, said the encyclical aligns well with the course. Throughout the semester, students participated in mentorship through Bike Bus and Bike Rodeos in Spokane’s West Central Neighborhood. The class was able to spend time with kids learning to ride bikes.

The seminar traces back to a personal shift in Starbuck's own life. He cycled often in high school but drifted into more sedentary habits through college. In 2015, personal health reasons pushed him to start commuting to work by bike.

"The health benefits paid off quickly," he says, "but I discovered something even more renewing. It was fun. It helped reunite me with my inner self, back to my cycling days in my youth."

From there, he moved from commuting to recreational riding, then endurance riding and, eventually, cycling competitions, chasing both the challenge and the joy. He also helped lead a cross-state ride in Washington to advocate for refugees, an experience where the connections between faith, activism and human connection emerged naturally.

Driven by some regret over his decision to set aside cycling in his college years, Starbuck began developing his Core Integration Seminar, "Care for the Person, Care for the Planet," in 2019. He designed it around the environmental commitment of utility cycling to cut down on fossil fuels, build community connection, embrace cura personalis, and integrate spirituality.  
 
“Because we live in the state that is considered the #1 Bike Friendly state in terms of infrastructure, community involvement, community-business partnership, and education, enhancing our Bike Friendly status has the potential to draw students interested in cycling and ecology to GU as well as help meet wellness, environmental, and institutional goals,” he shared.

For Starbuck, the seminar is proof that Gonzaga's commitment to environmental stewardship doesn't have to live only in policy language, it can live in a bike ride, a shared road, a conversation about faith between two students pedaling side by side.

The Core Integration Seminar will return in spring semester 2027, with registration opening through the Religious Studies department and GU Outdoors.