This week’s post reflects on the Jesuit value of Contemplation in Action, which was on full display at the Welcome Event on Capitol Campus. Students are pictured here enjoying a meal and connecting on the Eleanor Holmes Norton Green.
In his book, Seeing with the Heart: A Guide to Navigating Life’s Adventures, the Jesuit Fr. Kevin O’Brien, S.J. describes the importance of balancing a life of action with a life of contemplation:
“Living with purpose demands that we work through certain creative tensions. We must pay attention both to where we are walking and to the distant horizon: not so focused on our end that we miss out on what is right around us, not so focused on what’s around us that we lose sight of the end that keeps us on track. Like those early Jesuits, we are also meant to be contemplatives in action: not so reflective that we become preoccupied with ourselves, not so active that we miss the meaning that comes with taking time to reflect. Finding the right balance from day to day is challenging, so much so that we might be tempted to simply choose one over the other to make our life less complicated.” (14)
This insightful reflection on the value of Contemplation in Action helps set the stage for my own reflection on this week’s Welcome Back event that took place on the Eleanor Holmes Norton Green. The start of any semester presents this tension between action and contemplation. Students, faculty, and staff can find themselves so focused on the details and logistics about the start of class and other university activities that they miss the opportunity to pause and reflect on the larger purpose of our educational enterprise at Georgetown. On the other hand, there is a temptation to spend too much time reflecting on the larger purpose of our learning that we miss the opportunity to dive into and initiate the pressing work that calls us. Getting the details right, especially in the completely new 111 Massachusetts Avenue building, matters for our end goals.
The Welcome Event on Capitol Campus illustrated this balance between action and contemplation. On a resplendent August afternoon in Washington, D.C., students gathered on the green and enjoyed food, music, lawn games, resource tables, and unplanned connections with students, staff, and faculty in various programs. It was an exciting moment in the life of the growing Capitol Campus as the potential of co-location, agglomeration, and density (all urban planning principles) were realized. By being proximate to one another, the many academic programs that now call the campus home have new opportunities for engagement across disciplines. I personally marveled at the sight of students meeting each other from outside of their programs. The possibilities are endless about the collaborations that may come.
I appreciated that action and contemplation were occurring simultaneously. Students were making important connections with resource offices, including the Office of Mission and Ministry, and signing up for early semester programs. They were in the midst of activity. But students were also resting, soaking up the sun, and finding companions around small circles to enjoy their meals. The overall atmosphere was encouraging and upbeat. It was a prolonged moment of pause and peace, welcomed by all as we get back earnestly to all the sacred work that calls us.
This week, the Mission and Ministry Multifaith Center on the fourth Floor of 111 Massachusetts Avenue opened. You can learn more about the space and Mission and Ministry on the Capitol Campus online.
These have been some exciting weeks at the Capitol Campus. With the move from 640 Massachusetts Avenue for the SCS community and the arrival of faculty and staff from other units and programs at 111 Massachusetts Avenue, there is much anticipation as the fall semester begins next week. 111’s opening to students marks a major milestone in the evolution of Georgetown University. Like all of our endeavors at the University, this growth in Capitol Campus strives to remain anchored in Georgetown’s foundational Jesuit heritage, mission, and values. There are many indications of this commitment on the campus, but two stand out especially.
First, we have opened the new Mission and Ministry Multifaith Center on the fourth floor of the 111 Massachusetts Avenue building. You can learn more about what the Georgetown community can expect from this new space, along with other Mission and Ministry spaces and programs on Capitol Campus, by visiting this website. Adorned with a common area filled with comfortable seating, offices for chaplains and staff, and a contemplative space suitable for individual and group use of a diverse spiritual nature, the Multifaith Center expresses in its design Georgetown’s abiding commitment to sharing its Catholic and Jesuit heritage in a way that is open to all. Soon enough, students, faculty, and staff will begin making their way into this space along with the other shared services offices and suites on the fourth floor of the building. In future posts, we’ll share more about developments in Mission and Ministry on Capitol Campus, including available opportunities in this amazing new center.
Second, the cornerstone of the 111 building, customary for all Georgetown constructions, is marked by AMDG, or Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, and the year of opening (in this case, 2025). The Spirit of Georgetown tells us that AMDG is the motto of the Jesuits and refers to the primary religious purpose of all Jesuit works, which is to more effectively reveal God’s active presence in the world. It is fitting that the cornerstone of 111, situated as it is the middle of the East End of Washington, D.C.’s downtown and in the shadow of the civic heart of the federal government, communicate Georgetown’s mission to the world that engages with this new dynamic building. There is something appropriate and resonant with Jesuit mission strategy that such a modern glass building, heavily renovated from its prior condition, is anchored by such a classic cornerstone. The mission strategy of the Jesuits has always sought to balance the competing goods of mobility and place, discerning in each situation of work how to be free to meet the greatest good as circumstances change while maintaining a fixed presence in a particular place (as in schools and their brick-and-mortar facilities).
The cornerstone of the 111 building expresses the primary religious purpose of all Jesuit endeavors, AMDG or For the Greater Glory of God.
St. Ignatius was well aware of this tension and constantly guided and counseled his earliest companions, dispersed around the world, to ensure that in running schools, they did not become too attached to particular activities and places. Remaining faithful to the investment needed to establish excellent schools also means deeply resourcing the needs of the land and property where the school is located. 111 represents both the fluidity and mobility of Georgetown’s newly created undergraduate and graduate programs as well as the fixity of Georgetown’s traditions as an exemplar of humanistic education rooted in Washington, D.C.
I hope that newcomers to the 111 building reflect more deeply about the meaning of this AMDG cornerstone and the opportunity it presents for all of us in this dynamic new moment on the Capitol Campus to commit to mission in all that we do.
In this week’s post, we hear from Fr. Taroh Amédé, S.J., a development officer for American Jesuits International, as well as a student in the SCS Master’s in Emergency and Disaster Management program. He reflects on the global mission of the Jesuits and how he is working to realize that mission through his work and study.
Last week, we reflected on the enduring significance of St. Ignatius of Loyola on the occasion of his feast day. This week, we feature a living embodiment of the Ignatian charism by introducing Fr. Taroh Amédé, S.J., a development officer for American Jesuits International, an international organization that helps build just and equitable societies by mobilizing support for Jesuit education and development initiatives that serve marginalized communities in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. In addition to his professional role, Fr. Taroh is currently studying in the Master’s in Emergency and Disaster Management program (EDM) at the School of Continuing Studies and living in the Jesuit residential community at Gonzaga College High School. This academic year, he will contribute to religious life on Georgetown’s Capitol Campus by occasionally presiding at the Sunday, 5 p.m. Capitol Campus Catholic Mass at Holy Rosary Church.
Since its inception, the Jesuits, also known as the Society of Jesus, have been a global religious community with various works situated throughout the world. What binds this universal project together is a shared mission to work for the greater glory of God, or AMDG, one of Georgetown’s ten Spirit of Georgetown values. This blog has previously covered how this global religious order regularly reviews, reflects, and chooses how best to serve its universal mission in light of changing “signs of the times.” The most recent affirmation of Jesuit priorities, the four Universal Apostolic Preferences, reflect how all Jesuit works, including schools, should be responding to the world’s greatest needs in this moment. These preferences include showing the way to God through the Spiritual Exercises and discernment; walking with the poor, the outcasts of the world, those whose dignity has been violated, in a mission of reconciliation and justice; journeying with young people in the creation of a hope-filled future; and collaborating, with Gospel depth, for the protection and renewal of God’s creation.
In this reflection posted on the American Jesuits International website, Fr. Taroh invites us to “Learn from Ignatius of Loyola, Work for the Great Glory of God.” I invite you to read his reflection in its entirety. In particular, I wanted to point out a particular image that Fr. Taroh uses, the bridge, that resonates deeply with Georgetown’s own global mission of generous service for justice and the common good. He writes:
“Ignatius understood this centuries earlier. The Jesuits, together with our lay collaborators, know of the transformative power of education. We continue to walk with the poor, ensuring that even those who struggle to afford a meal or pay school fees are not forgotten. We know that providing an education means we are opening the opportunity for a brighter future.
As a Jesuit from Chad working as the Development Officer for American Jesuits International, I am blessed to be a bridge between those in need and those with the means to help them. I am deeply moved each day by the struggles of people in Latin America, Africa, and Asia who lack access to basic education and are often marginalized. At the same time, I am inspired to see the impact of our global mission and grateful to each person who helps us attend to those in need.”
Inspired by Fr. Taroh’s reference to the Ignatian tradition of education for the common good, I wanted to learn more about how his own education at Georgetown has shaped his worldview and preparation for mission. I asked Fr. Taroh the following question: “How has your education at Georgetown’s School of Continuing Studies informed your vocation as a Jesuit? How will your Georgetown education help you better serve the mission of the Jesuits?” Here is his response:
At Georgetown’s School of Continuing Studies, I am studying Emergency and Disaster Management. Whenever I introduce myself and mention this field of study, people are often curious, how does being a Jesuit priest connect with training in emergency management?
The mission of an Emergency and Disaster Manager is to protect communities by coordinating and integrating all necessary activities to build, sustain, and improve the capacity to mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural disasters, acts of terrorism, or other man-made crises. The mission of the Society of Jesus is one of justice and reconciliation, helping people to be reconciled with God, with themselves, with one another, and with creation.
What unites these two missions is a shared commitment to the protection and dignity of human life. Both seek to prevent harm and alleviate suffering. I am studying EDM not in addition to being a Jesuit, but to become a better Jesuit. My education at Georgetown is deepening and expanding my vocation in meaningful ways.
Through EDM, I see more clearly how the Jesuit call to be “men and women for others” intersects with the urgent challenges facing our world, especially those affecting vulnerable communities before, during, and after crises. These studies are strengthening my compassion, sharpening my skills, and confirming me more and more in my vocation.
When I reflect on how my Georgetown education will help me serve the Jesuit mission, I see it from two perspectives, present and future.
Currently, I work with American Jesuits International (AJI), an organization that supports Jesuit education and development projects across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Through this work, I see, hear, and encounter the suffering of people living on the margins. My education in EDM gives me a better understanding of the systemic challenges they face, and prepares me to respond more effectively and with greater empathy.
Looking ahead, I hope to continue using the knowledge I gain through the Emergency and Disaster Management program to serve God’s people and help build a world that reflects the justice, compassion, and hope God desires for all creation.
The post reflects on the meaning of Ignatian discernment in light of the coming move to 111 Massachusetts Avenue and the growth of Georgetown’s Capitol Campus. Georgetown honored the July 31 Feast Day of St. Ignatius with Mass in Dahlgren Chapel followed by a reception. Image: Jesuits.org
Every July 31 is a welcomed opportunity to pause and reflect on the enduring meaning of the life of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits or the Society of Jesus. This innovative leader revolutionized religious community life, spiritual practices, and mission engagement strategy in ways that still reverberate today. Surely, the global presence of schools, retreat centers, and other works of the Society of Jesus testify to this lasting innovation. But the genius of Ignatius rests, I believe, in something more intangible. I believe that this year’s feast day is an opportunity to honor St. Ignatius of Loyola by utilizing his most significant achievement, a time-tested framework for discerning how to most fully live out our personal and collective mission as a university community.
My affection for Ignatian discernment approaches is based on direct experience sharing this wisdom alongside Ignatian-animated collaborators with students, faculty, and staff through engaging retreats, workshops, meditations, critical immersions, and coursework. I am especially grateful that this discernment framework is adaptable and flexible, an especially important characteristic as Georgetown enters the next phase of growing our Capitol Campus.
In a nutshell, both individual and communal Ignatian discernment invites participants, who are in the midst of civically engaged activity, to step back, pause, and check in on some fundamental questions of meaning and purpose, like:
What is the mission that I am serving with the use of my gifts and talents?
Have circumstances sufficiently changed that require me to re-assess whether my service of the mission needs to adapt in order to fully realize this mission?
What data am I regularly collecting in moments of interior quiet (whether that data be thoughts, feelings, intuitions, social information, etc.) that help me assess my faithfulness to my personal and collective mission in the world?
What is the greater good being served by my individual and our common work? How do I know that I am contributing to these greater goods?
How am I asking God for help in making such discernments? What does my inner life need in order to engage in richer interior practices? What companions do I need to cultivate to help share and collaborate in this vital work of advancing mission?
In a dynamic and evolving external circumstance like the emerging Capitol Campus, which includes a major move and transition for many Georgetown units to 111 Massachusetts Ave. in a matter of weeks, such discernment questions are especially timely and relevant. Ignatius was no stranger to major new undertakings, overseeing the growth of a truly global organization with hundreds of members and many schools founded throughout the world in a very short time. The founding of these schools was not without complications, as the Jesuits had to balance the preferences and prerogatives of a variety of voices in the community about how they wanted these schools to be run.
Check out some of Georgetown’s Jesuits reflecting on the significance of Ignatius’s Feast Day by visiting the University’s Instagram Page.
Ignatius composed a record-setting number of letters, around 7,000, to check in with these globally dispersed Jesuits and make sure that, despite the on-the-ground challenges, these Jesuits were actively reflecting on whether the means of their work were aligned with the intended ends of their work. Across this correspondence, Ignatius routinely reminded his companions that the work of schools was not only about the obvious educational benefits but also about the edification and common good of the cities.
So too today the Georgetown community is about to embark on a new chapter of the University’s life of realizing a universal mission that unites all Hoyas in a shared endeavor. Ignatian discernment reminds us on the eve of the move to 111 Massachusetts Avenue that our mission attends very clearly to the individual (cura personalis), the institution (cura apostolica), and the common good of all.
When you remember the 640 Massachusetts Avenue campus of SCS, which we will bid farewell to at the end of July, what will first come to mind? This post is a reflection on more than ten years of memories in this mission-animated space.
Readers of this blog are no doubt aware of the exciting developments on Georgetown’s Capitol Campus, including the opening in August of the 111 Massachusetts Avenue building (see: “Anticipating the Opening of 111 Massachusetts Avenue on the Capitol Campus”). But anticipating the opening of the new building means reflecting well on the closing of another, the 640 Massachusetts Avenue home of the School of Continuing Studies since 2013. With a Farewell to 640 Celebration planned for July 29 (RSVP here) and an invitation to share your memories of 640 (upload here), I wanted to share some perspectives about the meaning of this campus location from a broader view of the University’s mission and values. Sharing these perspectives involves my own personal and professional experiences of the building and its many spaces.
A thoughtful study of the built environment includes evaluating why certain physical structures have particular historical or cultural features worth preserving. We often think of only certain types of facilities worthy of this kind of designation, especially buildings with notable historical, cultural, artistic, or religious significance. In this way, the highly modern, rehabilitated, and redesigned four floors of the 640 SCS campus, embedded in a larger office building, do not necessarily possess historical attributes of a building worthy of historical preservation. But the 640 campus location does carry significance for its enduring meaning in the life of Georgetown University. A July 2012 Georgetown web story, “University Announces Expansion of ‘Georgetown Downtown’ Presence,” reveals the University’s mission-based vision for the growth of SCS and increasing presence in this area of the city. President Emeritus John J. DeGioia reflected on this meaning and said: “This new home provides us with an opportunity to extend the impact of the university into new parts of the city and to broaden the reach of our work. We are excited to be aligning our interests with this vibrant and growing city.”
Operating for more than a decade in a dynamic area of downtown Washington, D.C., we can confidently say that 640 has become a home. I can remember the first time I entered the building in 2014 when I interviewed for a staff position in the Master’s Program in Urban & Regional Planning: I was struck by the building’s light and air, polished modern amenities, and the surprising way that the dynamic modern environment pointed my attentions back to Georgetown’s long history and heritage as a Jesuit institution of higher learning. I knew then, and continue to know as we embark on a new phase of Georgetown’s life, that our Catholic and Jesuit mission, with its abiding commitment to interreligious dialogue and multifaith programming, would be animated in a distinctly Ignatian way in this urban campus location.
But I will remember most the human connections and the relationships of meaning that occurred in this building. I will savor the memories of staff-organized potlucks, with colleagues in pre-COVID 19 times regaling in each other’s company over a diverse, homemade spread of delicious food. I will savor the memories of learning the craft of teaching in the classrooms of 640 and getting to know new students semester after semester as they began their academic journeys at Georgetown. I will savor the memories of growing the bonds of colleagueship with other staff and faculty through spontaneous interactions, impromptu communal uses of the space (like watching the World Cup on the projector in the atrium), and planned gatherings like all-staff meetings and new student orientations. I will also remember my particular trip to campus, enjoying (usually!) my walk up and down 7th Street from the Gallery Place Metro Station. I will remember the feeling of pride at showing friends and family the incredible learning spaces in 640 and watching as visitors marveled at the touch and feel of a truly technologically-enabled modern urban campus building.
Buildings are more than buildings if we take to heart that it is the people who make the physical experience of a place into something much more. I have found my own deeper connection to Georgetown’s mission, heritage, and identity through the people I have encountered at 640. I feel such an enormous privilege to have called 640 home for a little over a decade. And now I’m ready for another home at Georgetown, and I pray that 111 Massachusetts Avenue will become a home to so many in the way that 640 has been one for me, my community of colleagues, and a generation of Georgetown students.
With over five years of posts, this Mission in Motion blog now observes some annual traditions. This week, I would like to revisit two traditions: spiritual practices especially suitable for the summer months (see “This Summer: Learn to Pray, Read Slowly and Spiritually, and/or Explore Nature”) and learning more about the deeply mission-aligned Summer College Immersion Program (see “Vocation, Discernment, and Decision-Making with the Summer College Immersion Program”). The occasion for discussing both things is my experience this week of providing an introduction to reflection in the Jesuit Tradition to the students in the Summer College Immersion Program (SCIP). This three-week college prep program for rising high school seniors from the Cristo Rey Network, the KIPP Foundation school systems, as well as other select schools, networks, and community-based organizations helps prepare high-achieving students for the college admissions process.
My introduction to reflection in the Jesuit tradition included an Examen meditation about the students’ initial experiences of SCIP and their encounters in the first week of the program with the Georgetown campus. By modeling this core reflective practice, I sought to introduce these rising seniors to a contemplative tradition that serves as a needed antidote to the distractions and preoccupations of our heavily technologically-dominated digital age. It is my common experience that sharing the Examen with large groups, especially with persons who have never engaged with the practice, can cause participants to realize just how much need they have in their lives for more quiet and concentrated attention. This week’s experience of the Examen with the SCIP students was no different.
The session also involved a bit of teaching about the identity and mission of Georgetown as a university founded in the Jesuit tradition. At the very least, my goal in an engagement like this is to make students aware of Georgetown’s Catholic and Jesuit identity, mission, and heritage. I always relish when students appreciate that the University’s enactment of its core values includes an abiding commitment to religious diversity and hospitality of differing views, identities, and life experiences. I use Georgetown’s mission statement as the point of departure for growing awareness about this characteristic of the University’s commitment to pluralism and dialogue across differences. And like the Examen, this exercise of introducing the mission becomes an embodied spiritual practice: Lectio Divina (or the tradition of sacred reading).
The students took turns reading each paragraph of the mission slowly and intentionally. I then asked the group to let the statement’s words and phrases simmer. What stands out to you? What captures your attention? What energizes you? What confuses or distracts you? Without realizing it, the students were using all of their sensory experience, not just their cognitive processing, to engage with this exercise. The result? Students shared insightful responses to particular ideas in the mission statement and how these concepts related back to their actual experience of Georgetown and their time in SCIP. In this way, the students were beginning to appropriate the mission in their own lives. And hopefully students leaving this program with an intention to apply to Jesuit colleges and universities will have more vocabulary and more understanding about the mission and values of institutions in the network.
Sacred Reading is a powerful practice because it can illuminate the deeper meaning and personal resonance of individual words and phrases. Even something we regularly read, like the University’s mission statement, can present new transformative insights when we give the words our disciplined attention.
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down—
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
—Mary Oliver
In her poem, “The Summer Day,” Mary Oliver, beloved by many Jesuit-animated spiritual guides, gives the world an invitation to savor the scenes of summertime. Oliver asks us to look more closely at the creatures composing the scenes of our views and vistas. And then she recognizes that while she does not “know what exactly a prayer is,” she does know “how to pay attention.” In this way, the poet gives instructions for how to engage with an Examen by paying deeper attention to all the daily flora and fauna we encounter through our sensory experience. This kind of embodied knowing is beyond mechanical processes or conceptual knowledge. In this exercise of attention-paying, the Examen can shape choices in a spirit of abundant gratitude for our “one wild and precious life.” Oliver wants us to fully embrace the possibilities and potentialities of a life more fully lived. She wants us to be most fully alive by delighting in all that surrounds us.
With the possibility of a more abundant, fully realized life as our backdrop, I would like to recommend that summer is a welcomed season for this kind of paying attention. I invite members of the Georgetown community to engage in the intentional pause of an Examen and, true to the Spirit of Georgetown, live the value of “Contemplation in Action.” This means that, like Oliver’s poem, we can find prayer in the midst of our awe and wonder at the scenes of daily life. Our paying attention becomes a form of spiritual practice, a prayerful way of being. How to do this, you might be asking? Especially how to do this, you might also be wondering, when awe and wonder do not accurately capture our present moods but instead belie a climate of challenge, difficulty, and anxious uncertainty?
The Ignatian spiritual tradition suggests that we need to balance two kinds of imaginative lenses as we navigate the journey of life. On the one hand, it is necessary to employ a lens of wonder, which sees the beauty and majesty of people and the natural creation. A disposition of noticing the world through this view means savoring the goodness of humanity and the utter grandeur of the natural world. Try this lens out, especially during times of rest and relaxation this summer, and just give yourself over to what happens when you sit with the deep gladness that can arise in paying concentrated attention to everything you encounter.
On the other hand, we also have to also use a lens of critique or skepticism as there is injustice and suffering and depravation in this world. This imagination requires a moral response, some kind of externalization of a better choice to be made, a more loving or healing decision, in light of the despair that we notice in our daily scenes and become aware of through our reading, learning, and social analysis. These realities can animate our conscience and give rise to actions for justice and the common good.
I encourage you to use both views as you journey these days. Before long, the bells will toll for the fall semester and a new season will be upon all of us. For now, let us find some measure of rest in these long days.
This week’s post is a reflection about the much-anticipated opening of the 111 Massachusetts Avenue building on Georgetown’s Capitol Campus that will begin operations in the Fall 2025.
In his classic work, City, Church, and Jesuit Urban Strategy, Rev. Thomas Lucas, S.J. describes the approach to the city taken by the founder of the Society of Jesus, St. Ignatius of Loyola, and says that:
“Ignatius’ improvisational genius cannot be appreciated if removed from its proper proscenium, the ancient tradition of the Roman Church as aedificatio aedificans et semper aedificanda, building in process and ever in need of rebuilding…Ignatius was the first founder of a major religious order in the history of the Church to locate his headquarters in Rome and the first to opt deliberately for complete insertion of a religious order’s works and residences in the center of the urban fabric.”
The key idea here is that for mission-driven institutions there is something more happening than the physical construction of buildings and spaces that house the works. In this sense, there is always some building in process for an organization discerning how best to realize its mission in new conditions, especially “in the center of the urban fabric.” And often, because the circumstances of the city’s needs change and evolve, just like the downtown of Washington, D.C., the physical buildings need to be rebuilt in order to address these new challenges. Being located in the heart of the city gives institutions like Georgetown important opportunities to be rebuilt in greater service to meeting the civic, economic, and political challenges facing D.C.
I took this lesson to heart this week as staff from the School of Continuing Studies and other units on the Capitol Campus had dedicated building tours of the new 111 Massachusetts Avenue building, which is slated to open for the Fall 2025 Semester. This rehabilitated and remodeled eight-story building will be the home to several Georgetown schools and units, including SCS, McDonough School of Business, the Earth Commons Institute, the School of Health, the School of Nursing, the Capitol Area Learning Labs (The CALL), and executive education programs. This is a pivotal moment in the ongoing build-out of the Capitol Campus and the 111 building is set to anchor this next phase of development. This was the first time that many staff were able to experience the new space and concretely imagine what work could feel like in the coming years. Eager questions and excited observations abounded during the brief tour of the floors.
Staff at SCS and other units and schools at Georgetown had an opportunity this week to visit the almost completed building and imagine the future of their workspaces and classrooms.
The reflection by Lucas opens up important ponderings for the populations preparing to move into the 111 Massachusetts Avenue building and begin a new phase of the University’s life in the downtown of Washington, D.C. As I consider the mission significance of 111 Mass. Ave opening up this fall, I wonder about how we as a university community can make good on the strategic urban location of this new growing campus. The Capitol Campus is situated between monumental expressions of civic architecture in the forms of the U.S. Capitol and the Supreme Court and long-time residents and communities striving to flourish in the midst of so much urban change. I hope these contrasts and occasional tensions continue to inspire the mission-animated decisions of the Georgetown community on the Capitol Campus.
The new 111 Mass. Ave building represents a new opportunity for Georgetown to deepen its mission commitment in the city.
This week I was invited to present at the second annual Staff/AAP Symposium organized by the Staff and Academic and Administrative Professionals Advisory Council. The theme of the day’s programming, which includes presentations, peer mentoring, fellowship, and breakout sessions about different topics, was “Thriving at Georgetown.” I gave a short presentation titled, Putting Mission in Motion: Ignatian Resources for Exercising Leadership Every Day. Given my recent work with SCS professional certificate programs like the Master Practitioner in Leadership and the Certificate in Strategic Thinking & Leadership, I have been thinking a lot about the most effective ways to integrate Jesuit mission and Ignatian heritage into leadership development.
In this post, I want to offer three Ignatian practices originating from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius that can be broadly translated to a large and diverse audience. My hope is to spark some deeper connection between the tradition and resources of Ignatian heritage and Jesuit mission and the inner, self-development that we are invited to as members of the Georgetown community. Ultimately, I believe that creating a bridge between Ignatian spirituality and contemporary leadership theory and application exemplifies our Spirit of Georgetown commitment to the value of “Contemplation in Action.” Growing in leadership for the tasks we are called to each day and doing so in a way that is generous and life-giving requires that we grow more and more rooted in our self-understanding and self-awareness. Generous “doing” flows from generous “being.”
The first practice is to make a daily self-inventory and awareness. The Ignatian term for this is a daily Examen of Consciousness. The Examen, described many times on this blog, is a spiritual method of growing in self-awareness by noticing, with God’s eyes, how one’s daily feelings, thoughts, and actions align with one’s True Self. Utilizing a full sensory experience, one’s Examen is a form of healthy self-inventory in which the person, in an atmosphere of trust and safety in relationship to God, notices the convergences as well as the divergences from one’s True Self. In non-religious terms, one might think of this step as an honest self-evaluation or reflective review of one’s flourishing as well as one’s faults. Authentic leaders are not afraid to regularly engage in this kind of deeper self-awareness because they recognize that sensing the needs of others, including the dynamics in a group, depend on first being aware of what is happening in themselves.
The second practice is to discern daily choices with intention. The Ignatian terms for this are Discernment of Spirits that can lead to an Election, or choice. The premise here is that making decisions that ultimately serve our ultimate purpose both as individuals and organizations requires intentional consideration of multiple kinds of data that we collect on a regular basis. In particular, an authentic leader is paying attention to the inner movements of thoughts, feelings, imaginings, etc. in order to track how different possibilities correspond to different inner movements. The discerning leader attempts to follow the sequence of these movements in a way that the direction of the potential choice is most in service of mission and the greater good. Habituating discernment in this style requires daily practice and regular support of a spiritual guide, coach, or mentor.
The third practice is to savor your “flow” experiences. The Ignatian term for this is Consolation. For Ignatius, Discernment of Spirits leads a person to notice two kinds of contrary states: Consolation and Desolation. The former is a state of feeling or thought in which our inner movement in response to human experience both brings joy and inclines us to act in ways that bring us closer to God and our deeper purpose. Consolation in this sense is more than just a positive feeling, but a movement that directs us toward loving actions. Desolation is the contrary situation in which one’s reaction to life’s events leads one to doubt or despair and can cause one to question one’s purpose or de-commit from realizing mission.
Obviously, a human life includes both kinds of experiences and Ignatius counsels us to store up our Consolations for when we will inevitably fall into periods of Desolation. The modern school of “Positive Psychology” has picked up on consolation with the term, “flow.” In this theory, one should pay attention to regular experiences of flow marked by intense concentration, effortlessness yet full engagement, and a loss of anxiety or pre-occupation. The Jesuit Nicholas Austin takes up this connection in more detail in the article, “Towards an Ignatian Spirituality of Study.”
Growing as leaders, especially in difficult times like these, requires support and I would offer up these Ignatian practices as resources for your journeys ahead.
Each year, Georgetown SCS honors outstanding students, faculty, staff, and alumni at the annual Tropaia Awards in Gaston Hall. This is a treasured occasion to publicly celebrate the ways that SCS community members bring the Spirit of Georgetown, the Jesuit mission and values that animate this entire learning community, to life in their study and work. The SCS Spirit of Georgetown award is selected by a committee of faculty and staff through a rigorous process of reviewing peer nominations.
This year’s winner is Zaki Mohammed, a graduating student of the Master of Professional Studies in Cybersecurity Risk Management program. Mohammed has demonstrated extraordinary leadership during his time at the School of Continuing Studies that has contributed to the School’s reputation for applied innovation in the fields of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. Both within the University and outside of it, Zaki has strived to advance the University’s leadership in these ever-evolving and dynamic areas of professional life and practice. I hope you will find, in his responses, connections to the University’s mission and values, particularly Georgetown’s longstanding commitment to forming lifelong learners who are generous in service with and for others.
This week’s post is an interview with Zaki Mohammed, a graduating student who realized his dream of coming to Georgetown to help grow his ethical leadership in the professional practice of cybersecurity.
Tell us a bit about your story. What led you to Georgetown SCS and where is your journey heading a few years after your graduation?
When I look back at my journey, from the vibrant, technology-driven streets of Bangalore, India, to Georgetown’s inspiring and intellectual community, I reflect on something much more than just a professional career trajectory. I see a deeply personal transformation driven by purpose, hard work, passion, and values that transcend any achievement.
Growing up in Bangalore, India’s “Silicon Valley,” technology was always a significant part of my life. The exponential advancements in technology overwhelmed me with uncertainty about my future. My mother, who always believed education and the pursuit of knowledge were the best ways to find one’s place in this world, constantly reminded me that I would be fine. Yet despite studying computer science engineering as a 16-year-old, I initially struggled to find my place in this modern world. It wasn’t until my senior year when I took a class on advanced network security that something profound sparked within me—a calling not just to understand technology but to protect people from the vulnerabilities it creates. This moment of clarity set the stage for everything that followed.
I made it my life’s goal to become a highly skilled cybersecurity professional, aiming to be an integral part of the digital revolution and to help build a trustworthy digital world that our civilization is headed towards. I started by learning cybersecurity, working on research projects in healthcare cybersecurity, publishing papers, and gaining over three years of experience in cybersecurity, threat intelligence, and information assurance. I’ve designed, implemented, and validated risk management strategies for enterprises navigating today’s complex threat landscape.
In pursuit of further knowledge, I traveled across the world and came to Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies seeking expertise. However, I quickly discovered something far more valuable: a community that inspired me to lead with empathy, integrity, and purpose. My time at Georgetown profoundly shaped both who I am and who I aspire to become. Coming from humble beginnings as an international student, Georgetown welcomed me with opportunities and a community that valued not just my potential but also my story.
At Georgetown, my proudest moments went beyond technical research or career milestones. Serving as senator for the Cybersecurity & Risk Management Program and director of the Online Students and Technology Committee allowed me to advocate for my fellow students and thousands of online students, building meaningful connections. Growing up in a small town in India and coming from a humble middle-class family, I had never dreamt I would one day be among such great company and represent them. Learning from experienced industry professors and working with them on futuristic research projects are experiences I will never forget. These experiences weren’t merely extracurricular—they taught me about leadership, the power of hard work, and the profound responsibility that comes with advocacy.
Creating Georgetown’s first-ever cybersecurity student society and working as a research assistant provided deeply personal experiences that made my time here truly worthwhile. Understanding the intersection of artificial intelligence and cognitive biases wasn’t just academic; it was about creating fairness and equity, ensuring technology serves humanity ethically. This pursuit of ethical technological implementations through innovation continued into my work with Siemens, helping protect critical infrastructure.
My graduate student life at Georgetown involved working 12-hour days during the summer, managing an internship, assistantship, volunteering for GradGov and Georgetown University Cybersecurity Society, keeping up with academic rigor, and achieving professional certifications. At times, all of this seemed overwhelming, but the pursuit of knowledge, growth, and intellectual curiosity kept me going. While being deeply involved and committed to multiple responsibilities, the “why” always mattered more to me than the “how.” Throughout it all, I never lost sight of the “why.” Whether publishing research, raising $25,000 in alumni engagement as a student engagement specialist at the Office of Advancement, or advocating for funding for new cybersecurity initiatives, I was driven by the belief that technology is only as powerful as the values guiding it. My focus consistently remained on safeguarding trust and ensuring people remained at the heart of technological progress.
The most precious moment of my Georgetown experience, which I hold closest to my heart, was when my efforts to pursue academic excellence and contributions to the betterment of fellow graduate student experiences were recognized with the Exceptional Master’s Student Award by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences last spring.
Graduating from Georgetown University this year, receiving the prestigious Spirit of Georgetown Award, and being honored as the outstanding student in the Cybersecurity Risk Management Program, as well as leading 1,400 exceptional graduates as the student marshal at the convocation ceremony, were profoundly humbling milestones. These experiences were precious to me not merely due to the recognition itself, but because they affirmed that I had successfully embodied the values Georgetown cherishes. It reminded me that while professional accomplishments are important, true success lies in how deeply you touch the lives around you and how genuinely you live out your values.
Being recognized as the 2025 Spirit of Georgetown recipient, I now carry the responsibility of walking in the path of some of the greatest individuals who have carried this honor throughout the 200-year history of this prestigious university. This responsibility and the exciting expectations of my professors, who have instilled precious knowledge and wisdom in me, will guide me in my future pursuits to embody the values Georgetown proudly cherishes.
Looking forward, my vision remains rooted in the values Georgetown instilled in me. Whether working at the forefront of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, shaping ethical technology policies, or building inclusive communities, my goal is to lead thoughtfully, act responsibly, and always stay guided by the spirit of service.
Georgetown didn’t just prepare me for a career—it shaped me into someone who sees technology as a tool for meaningful and compassionate evolution. This spirit, more than any skill or achievement, is what I’ll carry forward wherever life takes me.
Hoya Saxa.
Your degree was in Cybersecurity Risk Management, and you have been involved in research about artificial intelligence, including cognitive bias. What do you think are the most significant ethical dimensions of this new technology?
My work as a research assistant to Dr. Lemieux on cognitive bias detection using advanced prompt engineering deeply reinforced my belief in the ethical responsibility we hold when developing and implementing new technologies like artificial intelligence. While our research was not specifically focused on cybersecurity, my background in Cybersecurity Risk Management constantly reminded me of how biases and misinformation can compromise trust, security, and fairness in our digital society.
Cognitive biases, such as confirmation bias and circular reasoning, significantly impact critical decision-making across areas like media, healthcare, and legal systems. Our research addressed these issues by engineering structured prompts to guide AI systems toward accurately detecting these biases in real-time. This capability is ethically significant because it promotes transparency, reduces misinformation, and ultimately leads to fairer outcomes.
In this week’s Mission in Motion, Georgetown SCS graduating student Zaki Mohammed reflects on how Georgetown has shaped him as a person and a professional.
As you reflect back on your time at SCS, what advice or inspiration would you like to share with the soon-to-be graduates?
As I reflect on my journey at Georgetown SCS and my life experiences thus far, the best advice I can share with soon-to-be graduates, especially young individuals like myself, is to anchor your lives around four key pillars: the pursuit of true independence, the pursuit of knowledge, the pursuit of happiness, and the pursuit of love. True independence gives you the freedom and courage to chart your path; knowledge equips you with the tools to understand and impact the world around you; happiness fuels your spirit and passion; and love connects you deeply and meaningfully with others.
My grandmother often reminded me, “Make your corner of the world beautiful, and the world will eventually be an amazing place.” This simple yet profound wisdom has guided me through my toughest moments. It taught me that creating positive change starts small, right from your immediate surroundings. If each of us commits to making our corners of the world more compassionate, inclusive, and hopeful, collectively, we will transform our communities and ultimately, the world.
Embrace these pursuits wholeheartedly, live your values, and know that your unique story and voice truly matter.
