Recently, a group of GC sophomores went to Father Tom’s Franciscan Friary on their Sophomore Retreat. They played games, spent time together, and overall gained a greater sense of community among each other.
But the sophomores weren’t the only ones that went on that retreat. There were also a few members of Campus Ministry to lead them.
As one of those campus ministry leaders, I had a much different experience leading the sophomore retreat than the sophomores, specifically because the whole retreat was made for them. Despite this, I got just as much out of the retreat as they did, in a different way.
All the activities were done in groups, and the leaders, who had little preparation before this, were going through the games and speeches with a similar mindset to the students. As a Junior who never got a Sophomore Retreat at the Friary, it was like a second chance, so I tried to make the most of it.
One of the main parts of the retreat was “small groups,” in which each leader was given a group of six to seven sophomores. The students had this chance to bond to better understand those around them in their community, specifically because they did not know each other personally before this.
The “small groups” portion of the retreat lasted about an hour. As the person responsible for carrying on a conversation between seven people all that time, it was pretty scary. Over time though, the conversation began to flow a bit more naturally, and in the end, I think that the goal of growing closer to each other was accomplished.
After that, everybody had free time, and they all seemed much more comfortable around each other than before. So even though I did not work with each and every sophomore, I still felt a sense of accomplishment with my fellow leaders at the end of the day, and I think that I was able to get a lot out of the whole retreat experience, even if it was not mine.
A retreat is a good demonstration of making the most of any given situation, even if, like this, it is not crafted for you specifically or if it does not seem to be a good learning experience. There is something to be gained from everything in life, and you have to look at it the right way to see it.