Jamie Z. Goodson '97 came to Harvard full of verve and ambition.

She had always viewed college primarily as a stepping stone to a successful career and had planned to use her time here to set herself up for life.

But by the end of her first year at Harvard, doubts about her goals began to set in. And shortly into her sophomore year, she hit rock bottom.

"All through high school you work to come here; you have your whole life ahead of you," Goodson says. "When I got here, I didn't think it was worth it. I didn't think that this was what life was about."

She had always been Christian, but Goodson found herself turning more and more to God. She joined the choral group Kuumba to sing "God's words." She began participating in Bible study. And gradually, she came to her own understanding of salvation.

Goodson's experience is illustrative of larger campus trends.

Many religious groups report that an increasing number of students, dissatisfied with the pursuit of secular ideals of success, are seeking other ways of fulfillment.

And although some attribute the perceived increase to a greater interest by the media, they acknowledge that the intensity of religious activity on campus has clearly grown in the past decade.

Increased Membership

Most large religious student organizations have seen an increase in membership since the beginning of the decade.

The Asian-American Christian Fellowship has grown exponentially over the past four years.

Scott D. Sugimo '96, a four-year veteran of the group, reports that the club's membership has doubled every year he's been on campus, to a current size of 80.

The Harvard-Radcliffe Christian Fellowship has also seen a significant increase in membership over the past several years. The club now counts between 80 and 100 students as members, an increase from last year, according to co-Executive Coordinator Jennifer Rodriguez '96.

Bernard Steinberg, director of Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel, says the Jewish organization has also witnessed extensive growth.

The organization does not keep membership lists, but Steinberg says the difference from previous years in the intensity and diversity of activity is obvious.