Category: Service in Action

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In Times of Global Crises, Georgetown’s Center for Social Justice Realizes Value of “People for Others”

Georgetown is a large enterprise and relies on a constellation of mission-driven units to animate the mission and values of the University. So much of this animation rests on the Office of Mission and Ministry and Campus Ministry, who provide critically important spiritual care to the community in ways that further meaning, belonging, and purpose. These offices are understandably associated with the Spirit of Georgetown and a team of chaplains and ministry staff carry much of the work of mission integration across the campuses. But there are other key partners that realize Georgetown’s Jesuit mission and values and do so in explicit ways that invite deeper engagement with the larger meaning and purpose of Jesuit education.

This week’s post shines a light on the mission-committed work of Georgetown’s Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching & Service (CSJ). CSJ not only helps the Georgetown community respond to humanitarian disasters around the world but also offers an array of programs, like Hypothermia Outreach Team, to realize the Georgetown value of being People for Others.

One of these key partners is Georgetown’s Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching & Service (CSJ). The organization’s mission clearly expresses its mission-serving purpose: “In order to advance justice and the common good, CSJ promotes and integrates community-based research, teaching and service by collaborating with diverse partners and communities.” The statement registers as a distinctive element of Jesuit education, which has been clear about the social justice implications of teaching and learning in this tradition. 

Current Jesuit Superior General Arturo Sosa, for example, through a global discernment process, has made this commitment a pillar of the four Universal Apostolic Preferences, an orienting set of principles that should guide all Jesuit works across the world. One of these four, “Walking with the Excluded,” invites each Jesuit institution to “walk with the poor, the outcasts of the world, those whose dignity has been violated, in a mission of reconciliation and justice.” The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) makes this commitment to justice one of their seven guiding characteristics of all Jesuit schools. AJCU Characteristic 3, “The Pursuit of Faith, Justice & Reconciliation,” challenges Jesuit institutions to actively “respond to the most morally urgent issues of our times in ways that reflect the deepest sources of the Jesuit, Catholic tradition; anchor healing in truth; and recognize the fulfillment of justice as the forging of right relationships.” At Georgetown, the CSJ is centrally involved in realizing these global and national Jesuit priorities. 

The start of the fall semester has coincided with several global crises. These disasters have included wildfires in Maui, earthquakes in Morocco, and floods in Libya. In each of these instances, the University community has received a broadcast email with resources for support and information about how to respond to these situations of profound human need. You can review CSJ’s dedicated responses to each crisis here. Every notification includes opportunities to support disaster relief by tapping CSJ’s network of Catholic, Jesuit, and mission-based partners that are serving in affected regions. At moments of global challenge and disaster, it is a consolation that CSJ is in a position to help members of the Georgetown community respond to human suffering in a timely way. 

Responses to humanitarian disasters is only one part of the CSJ’s portfolio of programs and resources. SCS students, faculty, and staff should consider all of the opportunities made available for greater engagement. Of particular importance in the Downtown Campus is the work of CSJ’s Homelessness Outreach Meals Education (HOME) program. This is a comprehensive effort to promote human dignity and respect for people experiencing homelessness through outreach, education, and direct service. In the coming months, there will be more information about how the SCS community can become more involved in HOME efforts in the Downtown. 

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URP Celebrates 10 Years: A Reflection on Mission Commitment in Urban Planning Education @ Georgetown

This week’s post celebrates the 10-year anniversary of the Master’s in Urban & Regional Planning program at SCS and emphasizes how the program forms students to pursue the work of mission and values in their careers. 

Former Jesuit Superior General Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., provided one of the most universally employed metrics to define what “success” looks like in Jesuit education when he said in 2000 that: 

“The real measure of our Jesuit universities lies in who our students become. For 450 years, Jesuit education has sought to educate ‘the whole person’ intellectually and professionally, psychologically, morally, and spiritually. But in the emerging global reality, with its great possibilities and deep contradictions, the whole person … cannot be whole without an educated awareness of society and culture with which to contribute socially, generously, in the real world. Tomorrow’s whole person must have, in brief, a well-educated solidarity.” 

These words of Kolvenbach reverberated in my mind as I participated in last week’s 10-year anniversary of the Master’s in Urban & Regional Planning (URP) program.  

Over the span of four hours, a series of students, alumni, faculty, and special guests reflected on the most pressing issues facing the professional practice of urban planning today and how Georgetown prepares them to meet these challenges. The vibrant and spirited reflections in the auditorium kept attendees, which included program supporters from the University and the broader community, engaged and curious about what the Georgetown master’s program has to offer cities and their residents around the world. The formal convening later transitioned into a celebration in the SCS atrium where Rabbi Rachel Gartner, SCS Senior Advisor for Spiritual Care, and Dr. Kelly Otter, Dean of SCS, toasted the URP program and its visionary faculty director, Uwe Brandes. 

The 10-year anniversary celebration featured a reception with toasts by Rabbi Rachel Gartner, SCS Dean Kelly Otter, and URP Faculty Director Uwe Brandes. 

As a faculty member in the URP program and the mission integrator for SCS, I reflected on how the entire event manifested the profound ways that this program at SCS is organized to advance the University’s mission and values. If the measure of our Jesuit universities, according to Kolvenbach, is who our students become, then it is quite evident that URP is meeting this standard. I observed both current students and alumni of the program articulating one after another how their time at Georgetown shaped deeper personal and professional commitments to mission. Students and alumni are advancing social equity, community building, cultural preservation, environmental sustainability, and other core values-based practice areas in a wide variety of ways. They are working at every scale of government and across the private and nonprofit sectors. But more important than a particular work area or site of work, I noticed that all of these program representatives manifested a passion for making cities and the world more just and more whole. 

In this way, I could more easily understand how urban planning can help realize the vision for the environmentally sustainable and socially just world envisioned in Pope Francis’ 2013 global encyclical, Laudato Si. In that document, Pope Francis names a special responsibility that urban planning has to realize an “integral ecology” that honors the gifts of God’s creation: 

“More precious still is the service we offer to another kind of beauty: people’s quality of life, their adaptation to the environment, encounter and mutual assistance. Here too, we see how important it is that urban planning always take into consideration the views of those who will live in these areas. There is also a need to protect those common areas, visual landmarks and urban landscapes which increase our sense of belonging, of rootedness, of ‘feeling at home’ within a city which includes us and brings us together.” 

This is not easy work and there is little delusion that urban planners alone can solve the great challenges facing the planet. But it helps now and again to step back, celebrate a milestone like a 10-year anniversary, and then step back into the urgent and necessary work a little more refreshed and perhaps more grateful about the role that programs at SCS, like URP, play in advancing the common good. Cheers, URP! 

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Care of the Person + Care of the Work = Care of the Mission

Georgetown Staff Appreciation Day took place this week and gives us an opportunity to explore two key terms in Jesuit mission: cura personalis (care of the person) and cura apostolica (care of the work). 

This week featured an annual highlight in the life of the institution: Georgetown Staff Appreciation Day. Converted to an indoor celebration because of the heat wave, the multi-hour event included lots of food, games, raffles, and even massages. Coming together as members of the staff community, arriving from a diversity of offices and campuses across Georgetown, is a welcome opportunity to enjoy each other’s company and reflect on the purpose of our shared commitment. 

This may come as a surprise, but I believe that this yearly event provides a rich platform to explore core concepts of Jesuit mission. In particular, the gathering of staff for the purposes of honoring their individual and collective contribution to the University brings out two Jesuit ideas that are fundamental to Georgetown’s mission and values. These are: Cura Personalis (care of the person) and Cura Apostolica (care of the work). You can read Jesuit Superior General Fr. Arturo Sosa’s much more detailed account of these terms in this universal letter issued to Jesuits across the world a few years ago. In short, care of the person in a Jesuit context is to always pay individualized attention to the needs, desires, strengths, and weaknesses of the individual when discerning how best to realize their potential. This commitment is realized at the University not only in the teacher-student relationship but also in the relationship amongst staff and between staff and faculty. 

Where Cura Personalis is about the person, Cura Apostolica is about the work. In a Jesuit institution, this means that the individuals responsible for the work or the shared project need to pay attention to ensuring the flourishing of the organization as a whole. To care for the work is to discern choices on the basis of what ultimately serves the needs of the collective enterprise. Often, these two commitments are in alignment, but there are occasionally times of tension between the two. In some instances, commitment to the ultimate purpose of the work might result in less care of the person (and vice versa). According to Fr. Sosa, this tension is sometimes unavoidable but can be navigated in a way that ultimately serves shared mission:

“However, Ignatius’ experience shows that care, deeply rooted in his spiritual experience and his mystical journey, offers the true dimension of the unity cura apostolica-cura personalis, dimensions of one single cura, that is, care for mission. The single cura has as its focus persons, communities and works, which are the service of mission. It is mission, therefore, that must be the fundamental criterion that unites cura apostolica and cura personalis. Our mission includes and implies inseparably our way of living and relating to each other, of caring for people and communities. This care for our way of living and relating is also a mission in itself.”

The unity of these two communities – personal and collective – is possible through discernment about mission. This point affirms the need at Georgetown and other Jesuit institutions to share about the mission of Jesuit education and what this five centuries’ heritage and tradition mean for today. I hope that one of the takeaways of this reflection is to find time and space to more deeply reflect on how you are in relationship to the mission of Georgetown. How are you attentive to the needs of individuals in your work? How are you advancing the work overall? How are you relying on the resources of the mission to find unity when these two conflict? 

Staff Appreciation Day helps focus our attention on the various ways that day-in and day-out the members of the Georgetown staff community realize the University mission by caring for people and the work to which they have been entrusted. 

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Vocation, Discernment, and Decision-Making with the Summer College Immersion Program

This week’s post is about the Summer College Immersion Program. During their three weeks on Georgetown’s Hilltop, students experience a range of courses and experiential learning opportunities, including a four-session program entitled “Reflection in the Jesuit Tradition.” 

“I want to help people be proud of their smile, especially people who are embarrassed by their teeth.” 

I heard this during a mock college admissions interview with one of the students in the Summer College Immersion Program (SCIP), an intensive three-week residential experience on campus for rising high school seniors from the Cristo Rey Network and KIPP Foundation school systems around the country. Mission in Motion has previously covered this highly mission-aligned SCS program (“Summer College Immersion Students Enter Into Silence,” “Students in Summer college Immersion Program Experience Reflection in the Jesuit Tradition,” “Summer College Immersion Program Expands Access to Transformative Georgetown Education,” and “Making an Impact Along the Way: An Interview with Caitlin Cochran, SCS Associate Dean, Summer and Special Programs”), which comprehensively introduces high-achieving students to an experience of college life through academic coursework, community building, and experiential learning. The mock college interview is one of the final steps in the three weeks, presenting a practice opportunity for the real college application experience that these promising students will undergo in their senior years. 

The quoted student’s deep commitment to the service of others through a hoped-for college education in dentistry epitomizes the transformative potential of these students to use their gifts and talents for good in the world. I had asked in the interview for the student to share more about their hopes for the college search process and how they would like college to inform and shape their passions. This response stopped me in my tracks and I found myself in a profound pause before asking another question. I was relishing in the calm confidence expressed by this rising high school senior. I was amazed by the bold practicality of her vision: to fix smiles because too many people, especially families in the low-income community in which she lives, do not have proper access to affordable dental care. To join together an educational interest in dentistry with a mission commitment to serve others is to realize what animates the heart of the Spirit of Georgetown. 

SCS Dean Kelly Otter welcomes everyone to the final banquet of the Summer College Immersion Program. SCIP is a program that involves the dedication and generosity of many hands, including administrators, faculty, staff, and donors. 

This year I offered a four-session program entitled “Reflection in the Jesuit Tradition.” In the first session we explored the mission of the University and how it relates to the larger mission and purpose of Jesuit education. In the following session, we discussed and then practiced several forms of meditation, including the Ignatian-inspired examen of consciousness. This was a revealing session because it illuminated the various ways that these students experience silence. Like all the sessions, a mindfulness body and breath scan began our time together and a short examen meditation ended it. These bookends were restorative as I could see the students appreciating the opportunity at the end of a busy day to quiet their minds and push aside, however briefly, their daily distractions. In the final two sessions, we discussed discernment and decision-making in the Jesuit tradition, offering a set of resources and practices for how to engage in spiritual discernment related to a significant decision. The presentation became more real as students formed small groups and shared with each other an example of a decision in their own lives that they will contemplate in the coming year. 

I left this year’s program with a profound gratitude for SCIP and the amazing network of staff, faculty, and donors that make it possible. Several students asked me in their interview to reflect on my time at Georgetown and without hesitation I shared that this program is one that makes me especially proud to work at SCS.

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A Reflection on the “Why” of Professional & Continuing Education at the SCS Summer Open House

This week’s post reflects on the SCS summer open house for prospective students with the help of Rabbi Rachel’s invitation to consider the deeper meaning of summer.

In last week’s post, Rabbi Rachel Gartner invited the community into a deeper consideration of the meaning of summer. Rabbi Rachel ended with a list of open-ended questions. The final question in the group stood out to me: “What insights into the ‘why’ of your work and of your life does summer uniquely offer up to you?” I pondered this question during this week’s SCS Summer Open House for prospective students.

Throughout the calendar year, SCS opens the doors of its beautiful downtown campus to prospective students. The event is structured to encourage spontaneous conversation between those inquiring about the Georgetown experience and the dedicated SCS faculty and staff who are on hand to answer questions. Hospitably organized around delicious food and drink, the open house showcases how the SCS community lives out the Spirit of Georgetown and embraces the values of Jesuit education. In higher education, we often talk about the “lifecycle” of student experience – from the very first inquiry online through to study and program completion to becoming a committed alum. The open house offers a unique glimpse into how prospective students experience Georgetown culture at the earliest stages of their journey.

Rabbi Rachel’s final question was on my mind while I walked around the open house. I delighted in what I noticed: staff and faculty enthusiastically making the case to interested visitors about what makes a Georgetown SCS education stand apart in the field of professional and continuing education. I observed prospective students entering the building unsure of what to expect and leaving the campus with a stack of program handouts and their lunch hungers satisfied. All in all, it was an energetic event throughout and the sounds of spirited conversation and interaction confirmed the event’s success.


I am reflective about how this summer open house helped these guests get in touch with the “why” of their interest in continuing their journey at Georgetown. Earlier in the year, Mission in Motion highlighted the theme of the SCS biennial marketing campaign: Be Continued. SCS has made an intentional decision to market around this question of how the journey of continuing education at Georgetown satisfies a deeper “why” of professional life. This blog tells some of the story about how SCS is committed to forming discerning and generous lifelong learners who want to continue their learning journeys consistent with the University’s mission. During the open house, I considered how each visitor to the campus and potential future SCS student reflected on their open house experience as part of their continuing story of meaning and purpose in work. I imagined these prospective students gaining some valuable insights into the “why” of their interest in Georgetown during their time in the 640 Massachusetts Avenue campus.

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SCS 2023 Commencement Emphasizes Celebration, Care for Self, Commitment to Others

This week’s post is a reflection of the 2023 SCS Commencement, which can be viewed on the University’s Facebook page. 

Commencement is a time of unique festivity. The graduation exercises (you can watch a recording of the SCS Commencement ceremony) bring together the entire SCS learning community for a public event of immense joy. At this event, SCS welcomes into its community the friends and families of graduates as well as distinguished guests who spend a little time getting to know this unique school at Georgetown. This is not only a party, however, as the occasion of Commencement provides an invaluable opportunity to reflect on our shared purpose as a Georgetown community and to renew our commitment to serving the University’s mission. For the proud graduates, this invitation to deeper mission commitment will be realized through the activities of life post-SCS. For the faculty, staff, and continuing students, the Commencement serves as a springboard back to the continuous cycle of teaching, learning, and service. 

Many details stand out from the week of Commencement. Recently, Mission in Motion shared a feature about this year’s SCS Spirit of Georgetown winner, Courtney Eury, who was honored at Tropaia (you can watch a recording of the SCS Tropaia ceremony). Courtney’s story of discovering personal and professional purpose through the experience of adversity and loss resurfaced in the messages that were communicated in the Commencement ceremony.

 Jason Kander, who received an honorary degree during the ceremony, centered his commencement speech on the transformative possibilities of actively pursuing self-care, particularly when self-care means relying on the support of mental health professionals. A military veteran and accomplished politician, Kander surprised many observers when he decided to pause his political career in order to receive needed mental health treatment for the persisting symptoms of his post-traumatic stress disorder. He intentionally flipped the script in the speech by inviting graduates not to serve others but to serve their own needs first. Seemingly counterintuitive, this advice actually encourages more generous service in the world.

“I am not here today to inspire you to think of others. I’m actually here today to inspire you to think of yourself,” said Kander.“My message to you today is one that I learned the hard way: that there is nothing selfish about self-care, because if you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t change the world. But if you do, you just might.”

For Kander, self-care is not selfish. This might seem like an obvious message, but the truth of it is so easily lost when social and economic pressures send a different message. Mission in Motion has previously reflected on the “long, loving, look at the real,” a stance of appreciation and gratitude that reflects this same idea. A stance of appreciation and love for one’s self, one’s entire reality as an authentic whole person, occasionally requires taking a contemplative pause and appreciating that life is about more than our activities. The temptation to measure ourselves by the objective standards of productivity and what we do can actually erode our healthiest sense of who we are. Our worth as human beings is unrelated to what we accomplish in the world but intimately connected to our status as people of inherent dignity worthy of love. 

Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia closed the ceremony with the long tradition of Jesuit education. 

Georgetown University President, John J. DeGioia, picked up on this idea in his closing reflections as he reminded listeners of the University’s Jesuit heritage and tradition of education. The Jesuit tradition invites self-care through a felt experience of love. The bedrock experience of love is a love that flows within the self, between the self and others, and between the self and the immanent and transcendent Other. President DeGioia attempted to thread the last 50 years in Jesuit history to the present moment by relying on the wisdom of the much-honored Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J., Superior General of the Jesuits during the tumultuous 1960s, 70s, and early 80s. President DeGioia selected from Fr. Arrupe’s famous (or infamous – depending on one’s perspective) 1973 speech to a group of Jesuit alumni in which he enforced the centrality of love and service in the Jesuit way of proceeding. For Arrupe, graduates of Jesuit schools are called to use their gifts of “conscience, intelligence, and powers” in order to “go out of” themselves and give themselves “In love,” which is the “all-embracing dimension,” which gives mean to all other dimensions. This reminder of the longer arc of Georgetown’s educational endeavor was a welcome message, especially considering how much a world in need of healing will be served generously by the graduates of SCS. 

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2023 Spirit of Georgetown Winner Reflects on Friendship, Professional Journeys, and Shaping the Next Generation

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 Courtney Eury, a 2018 graduate of the Master of Professional Studies in Project Management. Courtney exemplifies the core values at the heart of the Spirit of Georgetown in her ongoing commitment to the service of others. She has transformed profound personal grief into service for the common good. She founded the Craven Apiary Foundation, which supports young women in their pursuit of advanced education in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (S.T.E.A.M.). The foundation offers resume and scholarship essay review along with interview preparation and a scholarship fund for students seeking to pursue further study in S.T.E.A.M. fields.

This week’s post is an interview with Courtney Eury, a 2018 SCS graduate who has committed her life to the service of others, inspired by her Georgetown education and her transformative response to personal loss.  
  1. 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? 

Since 2008, I have worked in government and technology, living in D.C., California, and North Carolina. When transitioning from government to corporate America, I knew that I wanted to pursue an advanced degree. After extensive research, Georgetown SCS became my top choice, as I have always aligned closely with the values at Georgetown and the education that it provides. Since graduating, I have continued to work in technology, currently at Splunk as a Customer Success Manager, as well as recently founded The Craven Apiary Foundation in January 2023 to honor my late sister. The Foundation’s mission is to provide scholarships and support to young women pursuing advanced studies in S.T.E.A.M. This year, we have been able to provide six local women with scholarships for their 2023–2024 academic year. My time at Georgetown provided me with the tools to succeed, enabling me to help others pursue their own dreams.

  1. What does the Spirit of Georgetown mean to you? 

Opportunity, inclusiveness, and connection are the top three words that come to mind when I think of what the Spirit of Georgetown means to me. Opportunity to challenge myself professionally and academically, learning from those around me. Inclusiveness to allow for me to be my truest self, share ideas and see other perspectives. Connection to others, even after our time at Georgetown, building a network of individuals that support and encourage me through my professional journey. Both during and after my time at Georgetown, I have been able to connect with faculty and other graduates, offering growth and friendship that would not have been possible otherwise. These individuals have inspired me to provide others with the same, therefore allowing me to give back to my community and network. 

  1. As you reflect back on your time at SCS, what advice or inspiration would you like to share with the soon-to-be graduates? 

There are two pieces of advice that a mentor/colleague has shared with me over the years that have helped guide me through difficult situations or decisions. 

  • “Create your pull, not a push.”

When you meet others, whether personally or professionally, be authentic, make an impact, and create connections. Don’t try to push or force yourself into a situation, a job, etc. If you try too hard to make it happen, it most likely isn’t meant for you.

  • “If you ask permission to be great, you will remain mediocre.” 

Be authentically you. Don’t allow others to tell you how bright you should shine or what your true potential is. Only you know that. If you wait for validation from outside sources or worry about what others may be perceiving you as, you may miss out on some of your greatest opportunities. 

  1. Anything else to share?  

I am so humbled to be selected for this award and all that it represents. I look forward to many years of sharing the Spirit of Georgetown with others, providing a safe space for people to be their most authentic selves, as well as creating opportunity whenever possible. I urge others to live a life of kindness and compassion, allowing those around them to be their most authentic selves.

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Recent SCS Alum Shares Inspiration About Personal Struggle and Guidance for Soon-to-Be SCS Graduates

In May 2022, Malak Badeer graduated from the Master’s in Human Resources Management program. That same month, she shared publicly with the SCS community her brave story of overcoming the tragic loss of her husband, Hamza, who passed away months after the birth of their first child, Omar. Four months into the pregnancy, Malak and Hamza suffered a severe car accident that led to hospitalization and intensive rehabilitation. Malak persisted in her studies, however, and achieved her dream of graduating from Georgetown. In the next several weeks, Mission in Motion will dedicate attention to the season of Commencement and its milestone events and celebrations, including the Spirit of Georgetown award at the Tropaia ceremony. In preparation for Commencement, a time of “sending forth,” we sat down with Malak for an interview that explored her transformative personal story, the meaning of her Georgetown education, and the advice she would like to give to this year’s graduating class. 

This week’s post is an interview with Malak Badeer, a 2022 SCS graduate with an inspiring story of persisting through tragic loss and finding noble purpose. 
  1. Last year, you shared with the SCS community your own story of personal loss and adversity. What inspired you to do that? 

Sharing my story with the SCS community wasn’t easy. The inspiration to share my loss and adversity came after an immense amount of thinking and resentment toward the idea. Initially, I was very hesitant because I did not want to receive pity for my story. I did not want people to feel bad for me or sorry for anything I had to endure. I wanted to share my story with the only intent of shedding light on the reality that life will hit us so hard at times, and it’s up to us to keep moving forward. I want students like me who may be between the decision of giving up or finding the internal strength within yourself to continue moving forward. I invite you to continue moving forward by seeking the support of others, including all the resources in your community.** For instance, for students at Georgetown, the Every Hoya Cares microsite is a good place to start in terms of the supportive resources available.  We all have our struggles and obstacles throughout our lives, and some just come a lot sooner than later, and at times we expect them to happen the least. It’s what we do when we’re facing those struggles that matter. I am sharing my story in this public way because I want others to know that seeking help from others is what helped me keep going and move forward. 

  1. In preparation for Commencement, what are your reflections on this season of graduation? What stands out for you one year after your own graduation? 

I can reflect on this graduation season and say, “I did it.” I overcame those obstacles, and I did it, and I’m so happy that I did. One year later, I began my career in a global organization that feels like home with a manager that I wish for every single one of you. One year later, I was lucky enough to join an organization that embraced me and made me feel at home and wanted to see me flourish alongside a manager who goes above and beyond to ensure it happens. One year later, what stood out the most was that all these difficulties passed, and they finally didn’t weigh as heavy anymore. I hope it reminds all of you that there’s a light at the end of every tunnel. 

  1. What advice would you like to share with students who are preparing to graduate and conclude their time as students at SCS? 

As you conclude your time here at SCS, I want you to know that life will test you in many ways. It will break you and shake you to your core. But I want you to rise above those tests and conquer them with the help of others and understand that your own internal strength in adverse times comes from the community that surrounds you. Do what it takes to be the best version of yourself.  Life is too short. My late husband passed with a dream, a dream to take control of his own life, and as he was reaching that dream, he did not make it. So please, live your life and refuse to have anybody in this world compromise your freedom to live out your true calling. 

  1. How is your Georgetown education shaping the next steps in your professional journey? 

Georgetown began shaping the next steps in my professional journey even before graduation. The quality of knowledge and education I received from my mentors, professors, and educational materials are all quality resources I wouldn’t trade for the world but rather things I would repeatedly go back to for reference over again. If I could take a class every semester for the rest of my life, I would. Knowledge is power, and it’s the building block to shaping our future. I have been able to contribute so much of my knowledge from Georgetown and transform my current business line in many small but effective ways through the power of education that Georgetown University has provided for me, from conducting employee engagement activities within my team and creating a more positive work environment to creating forums to help support colleagues with simplifying team necessities and future goal planning. **Editor’s Note: May is Mental Health Awareness Month and a good reminder to all in our community about Every Hoya Cares, a comprehensive set of resources to assist with mental well-being and connection. You are not alone in your journey at Georgetown.

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Military Veteran and Author Leads Profound Conversation at Georgetown About Faith and Culture

The School of Continuing Studies is proud to serve a student body so connected to the military. The most recent SCS Dean’s Report details this military population, with 250 military-connected students enrolled across SCS programs in the 2021-2022 Academic Year. Georgetown’s commitment to this group is comprehensive with an array of programs and services intended to help veteran students and their families. And Georgetown is also a university, grounded as it is in its Catholic-Jesuit faith heritage, that welcomes and invites conversations about the most significant moral issues facing our world. In this spirit, Georgetown welcomed to campus last week Phil Klay, an award-winning author and veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. As part of the Faith and Culture series organized by the president’s office, Klay presented on his recent works, including his much acclaimed most recent novel Missionaries. 

This week’s Mission in Motion shines a light on a recent conversation at Georgetown with military veteran and noted Catholic author Phil Klay. SCS has a considerable population of military-connected students and this recent conversation illuminates their ongoing journey.  

One of the goals of this Mission in Motion blog is to connect the SCS community with events and resources occurring throughout the university. The intimate conversation with Phil Klay in Riggs Library, moderated by Paul Elie, senior fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and the director of the American Pilgrimage Project, is an excellent example of how Georgetown engages in critically important moral and ethical conversations in a way that community members across the university can appreciate. I would like to amplify this conversation and encourage you to take a look because I think the 60 minutes of discussion illuminate some of the biggest questions about the moral dimensions of how the United States engages in war in the 21st Century. 

Klay’s writing is motivated by his faith as a Catholic, a journey that has led him to embrace this tradition, leave this tradition, and ultimately return to it. But the meaningfulness of Klay’s insights about what it means to engage in war transcend any particular faith tradition. He is writing about the fundamentally human questions that continue to accompany military action in this time and age. What Klay represents so well in this conversation is the perspective of the person engaged in a war that he or she did not choose but must attend to out of their obligation. What are the lasting impacts of this engagement? How can military and military-connected persons make sense of their experience of war? What does faith have to say about any of this? 

There are no simple or easy answers to any of these questions. But the conversation with Phil Klay demonstrates well that the healthiest and most spiritually mature responses to these conundrums should be openly discussed and considered. I hope that we can all take from this discussion the enormous costs of war, the moral challenges that such war poses for its participants, and the relevance of this conversation for all of us as a university community. 

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Finding God in All Things: An Interview with an SCS Student Pursuing the Common Good Through Real Estate

The academic programs at SCS benefit from the inclusion of a wide range of students who bring with them invaluable personal and professional experience into the classroom experience. As a School at Georgetown committed to a “world-class, values-based education to a diverse array of communities and individuals throughout their academic and professional careers,” SCS attracts students from across the lifecycle of professional experience and industry knowledge who share in a common desire for lifelong learning. In this edition of Mission in Motion, we sit down with Vincent Reppert, a student in the Master of Professional Studies in Real Estate (MPRE) program. Vincent reflects on his career in professional athletics, his decision to apply to Georgetown after years serving as a litigator, and how his faith and the Spirit of Georgetown motivate his passion for learning about real estate. 

This week’s post is an interview with Vincent Reppert, a student in the Master of Professional Studies in Real Estate program. 
  1. Tell us a little bit about yourself. What led you to apply to the Master of Professional Studies in Real Estate? 

I am a practicing real estate attorney and have been for over 20 years.  For much of this time I have served as a litigator, engaged in many real estate issues related to affordable housing, banking, predatory lending, and criminal activities committed by government officials.  Litigation is extremely stressful and it can be detrimental to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. So after many years of litigation practice, I discerned that I needed to pursue professional practices that were healthier and more personally meaningful.   As a result, I transitioned into more of a practice representing individuals and investors concerning the development of properties and the acquisition of properties. The decision to change my practice focus was based on lessons I’ve learned in athletics (I played Division I college and professional football) and in my life of faith (I’m a committed Catholic).  In this discernment process, I realized that I wanted to use my God-given talents to become a more generous person who helps people with my knowledge and skills.  Also, as an owner of real estate, I have become interested in understanding the principles and practices of real estate so that I can share my knowledge with others. 

  1. One of the hallmarks of Ignatian Pedagogy, the style of teaching and learning inspired by the Jesuit education tradition, is regular reflection about our lived experiences. How has your career in law informed what you bring to the classroom and your learning experience in the real estate program? 

My athletic experience enabled me to develop a very strong work ethic and allowed me to be aggressive when I needed to be, but also supportive, especially when others are hurting. I have attended Catholic universities like Seton Hall University School of Law. There, I was particularly impacted by a course in Canon Law taught by a priest who practiced in the Vatican.  Through this connection, I was able to attend Canon Law disputes in Rome. This experience gave me a new light on how I viewed not only my profession but my life in general.  I realized that I needed to do something more meaningful than assist wealthy people become even wealthier. While I have no regrets about my legal career, I believe that God has invited me to give back to others in a more meaningful way. I am grateful that the MPRE Program has allowed me to do this in the classroom.  The program and the diverse student and faculty perspectives included in the community have expanded my views about real estate.  I find this component of the MPRE Program invaluable and I believe that my classmates feel the same way.

  1. People for Others is one of the core values of the Spirit of Georgetown. How is your Georgetown education inspiring you to practice real estate in ways that serve the common good? 

My Georgetown education, especially my interaction with my MPRE Program colleagues, has allowed me to offer examples from my own career of how to serve others, which is core to a Jesuit education. For example, I have shared with classmates from my professional experience about an actual development of an affordable housing project in Newark, New Jersey. I represented the developer and owners and that led to the development thanks to a pilot program of 100 percent affordable units in exchange for a 20-year tax abatement. I provided actual testimony from the applicants and tenants, and I also presented actual lease agreements, explaining the provisions in them to the class. My colleagues were extremely grateful and expressed this in their comments.  This was a highlight experience for me in the MPRE Program.  As I reflect on why this was so personally meaningful, I noticed my own enthusiasm about helping others learn from an actual application of professional practice. 

  1. What advice would you give to prospective applicants who are considering graduate study at SCS after years of professional practice? 

I would strongly recommend any person considering graduate study after years of professional practice to pursue it and not to just “think about it.” Life moves very fast and I cannot believe that I am close to completing the program (it feels like just yesterday that I was contemplating an application). I have been able to give a lot, but I have been able to learn just as much by observing the viewpoints of the multiple generations represented in the program.  Again, my advice would be: make choices in your professional life that allow you to share your gifts and talents with others and serve the society. I think of Benjamin Franklin as a role model for continuing education, as his entire life was devoted to continuous, lifelong learning. Pursuing lifelong education is also reflected in Georgetown’s mission and in the values of the Jesuits, who have helped me appreciate Finding God in All Things by valuing the opportunity to learn anew every day.