Tag: Jesuit Education

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SCS Convenes Interdisciplinary, Intersectoral Series on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence

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This week’s post considers the deeper ethical questions at the root of artificial intelligence and highlights a series of events at SCS on this topic. 

A day does not go by without artificial intelligence, or AI, making headline news. The advent of new AI applications, like ChatGPT, has been much discussed in higher education. Georgetown is no exception to this phenomenon, with the University devising new protocols around the use of AI in classroom settings in an effort to preserve academic integrity. The growth of AI tools, and their deployment through commercial and military entities, has sparked much discussion in the academy. There is growing recognition that AI brings both possibilities and perils as this set of techniques and technologies becomes more broadly adopted. 

Pope Francis, for example, in his New Year 2024 World Day of Peace message, comments on both the enormous potential for human flourishing presented by AI as well as the ethical pitfalls. On the one hand, Pope Francis notes that advances in science and technology remedy “countless ills that formerly plagued human life and caused great suffering.” These gains for human flourishing are notable and reflect the awe-inspiring power of scientific discovery and new applications of research. On the other hand, Pope Francis comments about the significant ethical and moral challenges posed by this burgeoning technological movement: 

“The inherent dignity of each human being and the fraternity that binds us together as members of the one human family must undergird the development of new technologies that serve as indisputable criteria for evaluating them before they are employed, so that digital progress can occur with due respect for justice and contribute to the cause of peace. … We need to be aware of the rapid transformations now taking place and to manage them in ways that safeguard fundamental human rights and respect the institutions and laws that promote integral human development.”

Christopher Brooks, a professor of Computer Science and Engineering at peer Jesuit institution the University of San Francisco, echoes these points in an article in Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education: “Artificial Intelligence: The Brave New World of Moral Issues.” Brooks makes four fundamental claims related to potential misunderstanding that the operation of AI is automatically a net positive for humanity. He advises that ethical caution is necessary as this set of practices and tools become more commonplace because 1) Data is not information; 2) Information is not knowledge; 3) Knowledge is not understanding; and 4) Understanding is not wisdom. He goes on to affirm the contributions that Jesuit education can make to growing a base of wisdom about the ethical applications of AI. Given that “idea of reasoning about reasoning, asking those deeper, more fundamental questions, is a hallmark of Jesuit education,” Brooks argues that Jesuit education can advance the ethical considerations of this conversation through ideas of discernment, invitations to choose the “Magis” or better choice, and solidarity, which “reminds us to know and connect with the people affected by this technology.” The imperative to deeply interrogate the ethical and moral repercussions of AI has a special place, therefore, in the teaching, research, and service that occurs at a Jesuit institution like Georgetown.

Georgetown SCS is taking a leading role in this ongoing public discourse by launching a semester-long series, entitled “Responsible AI: Intersectoral Seminar Series.” This timely series investigates how diverse sectors, many of them represented among the degree programs offered at SCS, are navigating the challenges of AI deployment. The series is an excellent representation of how SCS uniquely advances the larger Georgetown mission to encourage “reflective lifelong learners” who might become “responsible and active participants in civic life.” 

Rooted in the SCS scholar practitioner model, the series showcases on speaking panels a diverse professional array of leaders working in fields like urban planning, project management, marketing and communications, and journalism. The mission commitment of Georgetown to advance knowledge that supports human flourishing and the common good is manifested in how the series presents an interdisciplinary approach to these vexing ethical questions that touch upon overlapping and interdependent facets of human life. The fact that every degree program has something important to say about this ongoing discernment is a testament to the enduring ethical importance of the SCS programs. 

Emerging technologies should be rigorously assessed from the vantage point of various ethical frameworks. Georgetown SCS is bringing interdisciplinary attention, rooted in the ethical principles that animate the mission of the University, to these important questions. I hope you check out the remaining events in the spring semester series! 

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Reflecting on “Eloquentia Perfecta” as Center for Social Impact Communication Celebrates 15 Years

This week’s post highlights the 15th anniversary of CSIC and the ways that this mission-serving Center brings to life the Jesuit characteristic of perfect eloquence. 

In an article in Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education, “Rhetorical Education in the Jesuit Mode With Five Bullet Points for Today,” Jesuit historian and long-time Georgetown professor Fr. John O’Malley, S.J., reflects on the distinctive characteristics of Jesuit education. Central to O’Malley’s presentation is the way that the art of communication factors into the training and education provided in Jesuit schools. He makes note of how the humanistic tradition values the gifts of oratory and public rhetoric as a way of serving the common good. The schools run by Jesuits for the last five centuries have evolved and taken on many new forms, but one consistent thread is a commitment to eloquentia perfecta, or perfect eloquence. Fr. O’Malley describes the concept in this way: 

“This expression took hold in the Jesuit tradition as capturing the most immediate goal of rhetorical training. The goal was achieved through the study of great literature in one’s own language and in the languages of other cultures. Eloquence, a word sadly out of fashion in most quarters today, is the skill to say precisely what one means and to do so with grace and persuasive force. It is the fundamental skill needed by anyone in a leadership position, however humble. It is a skill, as well, that helps one ‘get ahead’ out in the marketplace, and sometimes get farther ahead than those with nothing more than the technical skills of the trade.”

The notion of perfect eloquence arises as SCS prepares to celebrate on December 4 the 15th anniversary of the Center for Social Impact Communication (CSIC). This Center has stood out since its founding as an indispensable mission-serving entity at Georgetown. CSIC’s focus is on supporting the social impact sector to meet the most intractable issues faced by society and it does this by “embracing the blur.” What does this mean? According to CSIC, “embracing the blur” acknowledges “the level of effort it takes to create measurable—and sustaining—social impact. The problems we seek to solve are too complex for one sector to tackle, or one functional area to own. … Embracing the blur means uncovering your own unique strengths and recognizing how they can work synergistically with those of your collaborators to ultimately create impact.” As an educational unit, CSIC accomplishes this critical social change vision in several ways. 

The Center works through applied research, graduate courses, community collaborations, and thought leadership. CSIC helps clients apply for pro-bono services, including marketing, communication, fundraising, and journalism services from SCS graduate students. By matching real-world clients addressing real-word social needs with Georgetown students, CSIC is integrating the Spirit of Georgetown values into the applied curriculum of SCS. One of the Center’s signature courses, “Cause Consulting,” provides students with the opportunity to share integrated communication services for non-profits and socially responsible businesses. The measurable positive impact of this course alone is notable, with over 22,000 pro-bono support hours contributed over the last decade and more than 75 clients served through the partnership. This is just one example, in addition to others like applied research and “Strategic Storytelling,” in which CSIC at SCS is helping support social transformation through the power of effective communication. 

The story of CSIC is truly one of using communication with both “grace and persuasive force,” a combination that reverberates with the Jesuit tradition of eloquentia perfecta. 

The 15th anniversary celebration for CSIC will take place on December 4. Be sure to visit CSIC at its homepage.

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This Veterans Day, Reflecting on the Military-Connected Patron Saint of Jesuit Education

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St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, was a military veteran like many SCS students. This week’s post considers the relevant connections between this saint of the 16th-century and the military-connected population at the University. 

This semester, a group of SCS staff are going through the four-part Ignatian Tradition Seminar, a deep exploration of the enduring meaning and significance of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits. The four-part series takes place over the span of a semester and invites close reading, group discussion, and discernment about how to make Jesuit mission and values, as they arise from the life of Ignatius and the development of the Jesuit order, a part of one’s work at Georgetown. The seminar examines the history of Ignatius and the founding of the Jesuits, the origins of Jesuit education, contemporary Jesuit commitments to social justice, and the ways that Jesuit universities like Georgetown bring to life their Ignatian identity. 

Each Jesuit institution is unique, reflecting the context of its operation. This particular seminar at SCS emphasizes Georgetown’s abiding commitment to multi-faith and inter-religious dialogue. Of particular interest to the SCS participants is the opportunity to consider the relationship between the School’s hallmark incorporation of technology into learning and the heritage of Jesuit history and values. In other words, what can a 500-year-old tradition of humanistic education offer the ongoing development of innovative online and technology-mediated learning like at SCS? 

Through all of the seminar’s many conversations,St. Ignatius remains a central character in the narrative. Participants engage with the many personae of the patron saint and what relevance this 16th-century Spanish figure bears today for our work and study at Georgetown. Mission in Motion has previously reflected, as part of the Ignatian Year 500, about the aspects of the Ignatian biography that most align with the culture and characteristics of SCS. There are four ways that St. Ignatius and his story align so closely to the community of learners at SCS. St. Ignatius was: an adult learner, used technology as part of his leadership strategy, developed a model for incorporating contemplation into a busy and active civic life, and served in the military. It is this last attribute, Ignatius as military veteran and wounded warrior, that motivates this week’s reflection in light of the Veterans Day holiday.

Georgetown honors its military-connected students and faculty through dedicated resources and celebrations of the stories of these individuals that focus on their service. The core of the University’s efforts extends from student veterans to military spouses, caregivers, and other military-connected persons. A sizable military-connected population exists at SCS and has access to a comprehensive set of resources provided by Georgetown’s Military and Veterans’ Resource Center. 

The whole-person approach to caring for student veterans is evident not just in tangible resources but also in intentional messages and the creation of hospitable spaces for this community. At last year’s SCS commencement, for example, Jason Kander, military veteran and accomplished politician, gave a stirring address that focused on the particular mental health challenges facing military veterans. Kander made the point that self-care is not selfish, an idea that might seem anathema to a community that is so accustomed to putting others’ needs before their own. This emphasis on self-care provides a relevant connection to the military meaning of the Ignatian story. 

In their article in the magazine Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education, “Wounded Warriors: Ignatius of Loyola and Veteran Students,” Thu Do and Mary Dluhy make explicit the contemporary relevance of St. Ignatius for modern military veterans: 

“Ignatius is recognized as the patron saint of veterans because of his knighthood and military experience. Like Ignatius, veterans, service members, and wounded warriors experience both physical and spiritual sufferings. Leaving the military and returning to the civilian life, veterans often miss the sense of commitment to an important mission, deep fellowship, and intense stimulation on the battlefield.”

Ignatius provides a set of discernment resources and a structure for spiritual development that can help any person grow into the meaning and purpose of their life. The Ignatian biography, which included dramatic shifts in vocational choices—from courtier to soldier to pilgrim and finally to administrator of a global company—reveals that a person’s deeper meaning and purpose can stay the same even as the circumstances of one’s life can change. The important takeaway for veterans and other military connected students is that the entire University community has an important role to play in helping this community reconnect to their sense of mission and purpose after military service is complete.

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Jesuit Heritage Month Presents Opportunities to Pause and Ponder Georgetown’s Mission

Mission in Motion recently posted about the ongoing Mission Priority Examen that Georgetown is undertaking this academic year. This reflective, university-wide process of more deeply considering how effective Georgetown is at living out its Catholic and Jesuit mission will provide insights that shape the future of this work at the University. One of the themes that typically emerges in this collaborative process of reflective self-assessment is how to make explicit what it is often implicit in terms of Georgetown’s Jesuit mission and values. 

 The bell at the top of Dahlgren Chapel on Georgetown’s Hilltop Campus is a visible sign of Georgetown’s Jesuit identity. This week, Mission in Motion explores the reflective possibilities of November’s Jesuit Heritage Month.

Every November, the University makes this movement toward the explicit with Jesuit Heritage Month, a series of events and programs intended to invite deeper connection with the Jesuit values and the Spirit of Georgetown. Fr. Mark Bosco, S.J., Vice President for Mission and Ministry, describes this annual occasion as an opportunity to reflect on not only the Jesuit and Catholic dimensions of Georgetown’s unique identity but also the ways that the Jesuit values affirm a commitment to interreligious understanding: 

“This month is also a time to reflect on, and reaffirm, the core aspects of our university mission. Since its founding in 1789, Georgetown has been a home for all faiths. Our commitment to interreligious understanding – especially over the last 25 years – is rooted in our Catholic and Jesuit identity, informed by the documents of Vatican Council II on interfaith dialogue, and shaped anew by the call of Pope Francis to deepen our fraternal love for one another. These values shape the best of who we are as a university.”

As a mission integrator for the SCS campus, I am aware that many in the community feel like Georgetown is a very active place, sometimes too active. Every day at the University there are public events and other gatherings promoted through regular emails broadcasted to the entire Georgetown community. Each week, a list of events communicates the depth and breadth of conversations happening across the campuses. Students, faculty, and staff, who are busily engaged in the work of academic excellence in classrooms, have to make decisions about what extra-curricular experiences enhance their academic pursuits. The amount of potential activity to choose from can feel overwhelming. Especially for our adult learning population at SCS engaged in professional education, there are significant opportunity costs in choosing how to expend limited resources of time given other demands of work, family, and civic obligations. 

My invitation is to spend this Jesuit Heritage Month as an opportunity to pause and slow down. There are some good events to spur deeper engagement with the materials of Jesuit mission and values. You can check out the list here. But I also invite you to take a pause, especially in the context of the coming Thanksgiving holiday, and reflect on what Georgetown’s mission means to you. Is this mission at the center or the margins of your conscious awareness? Do you desire a shift or a transformation of your understanding of Georgetown’s mission and how it might be relevant to your work and study at the University? 

At SCS, we work to bring the Jesuit values to life in ways that meet the contextual needs of our unique community of learners. One of the ways you can directly engage with the spirit-mindfulness tradition of Jesuit practices is by signing up for the SCS Daily Digital Meditation. The meditations take place each day of the workweek at 12 p.m. ET. The sessions all occur on Zoom (registrants receive the link and instructions for joining via email) and last around 15 minutes. From Monday through Thursday, the session is organized as a mindfulness meditation that consists of a short body scan, intentional breathing, and then a period of silent, centering meditation with a melodic piano track playing in the background. The Friday meditation is reserved for an inclusively presented Examen meditation, modeled on the reflective practice arising from the Ignatian tradition of spirituality. The Examen consists of five reflective prompts that invite participants to notice with sacred awareness the significant events of their past week, exploring in more reflective detail times of gratitude, consolation, desolation, and hope for the week ahead. 

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Georgetown Reflectively Assessing Its Mission Effectiveness

Being a Jesuit and Catholic University, Georgetown belongs to a national and global network of colleges and universities that are united in a common purpose. While each particular school context is unique, there is a shared heritage across the institutions rooted in Ignatian principles and values. Every now and then it is important for participating schools to enter into a reflective process about how Jesuit mission and values are coming to life in special and characteristic ways at these particular places. In the United States, the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) sponsors a process called “The Mission Priority Examen (MPE)” in order to reflect as a network on the Jesuit characteristics of individual institutions. With the support of partners in Jesuit higher education and the governance of the Jesuits, the MPE process helps schools discern where to focus their mission energies into the future. Each AJCU member institution goes through the process every seven years. 

This week we explore the Mission Priority Examen taking place at Georgetown this year, a process that occurs every seven years at Jesuit colleges and universities in the U.S. This is an opportunity to highlight the many ways that SCS lives out Jesuit mission and values, including this ongoing partnership to increase educational access for refugees in Amman, Jordan, through the Jesuit Refugee Service. 

Georgetown President DeGioia recently announced that the University is undergoing the MPE process this academic year. The basis for the MPE, which is intentionally situated more as an examen (learn more about this Jesuit spiritual practice) and less as a formal accreditation methodology, are some core Jesuit sources: “Characteristics of Jesuit Higher Education” and “Universal Apostolic Preferences.” The seven characteristics are intended to reflectively consider all aspects of the University’s life, culture, operations, and impact. The uniting theme that brings these characteristics together is a recognition of gratitude for the centuries-old tradition of Jesuit education and a hope that such a mission-committed foundation will be realized into the future. The Universal Apostolic Preferences, described in this earlier post, are anchoring orientations of all Jesuit works across the world. Of special importance to Georgetown’s self-reflection as a university is its commitment to “Journeying with Youth: Accompany Young People in the Creation of a Hope-Filled Future.” 

My hope is to encourage more reflection in the SCS community about the MPE process and encourage more sharing about how Georgetown might grow in mission effectiveness in its work of student formation, interreligious dialogue, Ignatian spirituality, inclusive community, and global engagement. There are two primary ways to add your voice to this conversation: 

  1. All members of the SCS community should consider sharing their feedback via this University survey. 
  1. Current SCS students are invited to participate in a live conversation during the month of October with SCS Associate Director for Mission Integration, Jamie Kralovec (i.e., me). Please reach out to Jamie if you are interested in joining this discussion. 

Mission in Motion was created to shine a spotlight on the many ways that SCS lives out its Jesuit mission and values in ways that are distinctive. SCS has played an important role in bringing the Jesuit heritage to life in curriculum design, technologically enabled learning, global engagement and service, community partnerships, and much more. This is an important moment for the SCS community to reflect not only on the strengths of these various efforts but also on how the School can further deepen its commitment to mission effectiveness. I hope you will join in the process! 

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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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An Invitation into Your Imagination: Spiritual Exercises for a New Semester

This week’s post relies on the spiritual wisdom of Jesuit founder St. Ignatius of Loyola and invites us to use our imaginations as we begin this semester.  Photo credit: Jesuit and Ignatian Spirituality Australia

One of the core purposes of the SCS Mission in Motion blog is to help make connections between the teaching, learning, and service happening across the School and the living spiritual tradition of the Jesuits and their founder St. Ignatius of Loyola. The source for this spiritual wisdom is the Spiritual Exercises, a structured retreat designed by St. Ignatius that invites retreatants into greater and greater interior depth and growing union with God through contemplation and meditation. What remains such an enduring insight of the Exercises is that one of the surest paths to spiritual transformation comes through the imagination. St. Ignatius encourages retreatants to imagine themselves as active characters in the Gospel scenes that they are contemplating in prayer. But instead of potentially getting lost in the imaginative depths, Ignatius puts up some conditions about how to enter the imagination and ensures that the inner work of imaginative prayer should be discussed with a spiritual director or guide. 

This Labor Day weekend, as the new semester is now underway, I invite us to turn our attention to our imaginations. Do you desire deeper reflection about how to imagine yourself journeying the next few months at Georgetown in ways that bring you closer to your personal and professional purpose? This feels like an opportune time for such reflection before the work of the semester begins to accumulate. St. Ignatius offered some still very relevant suggestions for how to enter into the imagination that I would like to share with you. 

  • Take a moment to pause and grow quiet. Settle into your breathing and notice your body relaxing. When you feel grounded in quiet, I invite you to picture yourself from someone else’s perspective (perhaps a dear friend, family member, or even God). What does this other see about you when they look at you? How does it feel to be seen from another’s perspective? What do you notice about their gazing at you? How does this feel? 
  • In your imagination, relive in the present moment all the significant events of your life to this point. In these moments of quiet, I invite you to linger on the most important events that come up. Is there a single moment from your story of life that rises to the surface? What is the importance to you of this moment? Does it bring you peace? Or does it challenge you in some ways? Try this exercise over multiple days. Is there a pattern to the life events that show up in your imagination? 
  • St. Ignatius suggests that one technique of making discerned choices in the present is to imagine how you might interpret a present choice from a place in the future. Is there a choice that you are considering in your life right now? It might be a choice that concerns how you spend your time on a daily basis. Or it might be a bigger choice about your vocation (job, family, community involvement, etc.). As you contemplate this choice, how might your much older self in the future look back and assess your approach to this decision? 

One of my motivations for sharing these reflective suggestions is to encourage all of us to imagine more deeply the possibilities of making the most of our experience at Georgetown. As a student, faculty, or staff member, are there invitations and opportunities at the University that you want to pursue? Are there programs, events, communities, and spaces at Georgetown that you want to engage and learn about? You might take a few moments and scan the list of incredible events happening at the University. You might review the spiritual accompaniment resources offered at SCS and across Georgetown. Wherever your journey into the imagination leads you, I wish you peace and rest as you make your way.

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2023 Mass of the Holy Spirit Invokes the Struggle for Truth and Justice, Blesses the Academic Year

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In this year’s Mass of the Holy Spirit, Fr. Matthew Carnes, S.J., challenged the university community to meet the demands of truth, justice, and reconciliation in light of the attacks on higher education in Nicaragua and here at home.

The Mass of the Holy Spirit is a hallowed tradition for Jesuit universities around the world. Since the Jesuits began operating schools five centuries ago, every academic year in a Jesuit institution of learning begins with this Mass. The Catholic liturgy for this occasion implores the Holy Spirit to bless and accompany the university community of students, faculty, and staff as they go about their work in the coming academic year. This year’s Mass followed this same pattern and featured the same timeless rituals and observances of prior years. These practices include concluding remarks by President John J. DeGioia, a faculty procession, attendance by the religiously diverse chaplains and staff of the Office of Campus Ministry, and a packed Gaston Hall filled to the rafters. 

But in some ways, this year’s Mass of the Holy Spirit felt different because the stakes for higher education seem greater. Fr. Matt Carnes, S.J., Associate Professor in the Department of Government and School of Foreign Service, gave a homily that challenged the status quo and invited the community to renew their commitment to leading lives of service and justice in a world threatened by violence and division. Knowing Fr. Carnes, who has supported the SCS community-based learning course “Jesuit Values in Professional Practice,” I was not surprised by his prophetic and timely words (you can read the full copy of his homily here). Steeped as he is in the Latin American experience and the ongoing quest for liberation and peace among powerless residents of these countries, Fr. Carnes turned our attention to the tragic situation in Nicaragua. An oppressive regime in that country, in pursuit of its totalitarian aims, is suppressing dissent and seeking to silence all who question and challenge its power. The Jesuit university there, Universidad Centroamerican de Managua, was recently shut down by the authoritarian regime, who confiscated the property, seized the university’s assets, and dismissed faculty and staff. Police then threw out the Jesuits who lived nearby. 

This shameful event, offered Fr. Carnes, should open our eyes at Georgetown to the reality that Jesuit education is not a riskless endeavor. In fact, being true to the deepest purpose of Jesuit education means risking the comforts of safety and security in pursuit of the transcendent aims of truth, justice, and peace. Linking the Gospel passage for the Mass with our situation today, Fr. Carnes invited all of us into the difficult work of healing and repairing a broken world: “And he sends them out – to be agents of truth and of reconciliation. To see clearly the sin that exists in the world – in unjust structures and social relations, in oppressive regimes and in the grinding inequities that keep individuals and groups down – and to seek to free humanity from its own worst actions.” We can cower from this task of truth and justice or we can be set on fire for the mission of healing divisions and making sure that all are included. Fr. Carnes reminded us that the attacks on higher education are not far away from home – the “many battles over education and inquiry – over truth and justice” are also happening in this country. 

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The Mass of the Holy Spirit took place this week in a crowded Gaston Hall and featured remarks by Georgetown President DeGioia. 

The message of the homily by Fr. Carnes reinforces all of the values in the Spirit of Georgetown, especially a “Faith that Does Justice.” To be about the work of peace and justice, reconciliation and truth, is to be ready, willing, and able to sacrifice on behalf of the greater good. This is a welcome perspective at the beginning of a new academic year. Perhaps we can return to this view whenever we find ourselves stuck in the coming months and in need of a reframing about why we’re here at Georgetown and how we all have a part to play in the continuing struggle for justice. 

You can learn more about the situation in Nicaragua and how the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities is responding by checking out: “AJCU Statement on the University of Central America in Nicaragua.” 

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Renew, Review, Recharge: Three Reflective Suggestions as You Prepare for the Coming Fall Semester

This week’s post invites a reflective pause between the summer and fall semesters. As we prepare for the coming term, how would you like to renew, review, and recharge? 

As the summer semester comes to a conclusion, the attentions at Georgetown turn toward the fall. SCS operates year-round and welcomes students throughout the calendar year, but the fall semester still carries a special significance. In a few short weeks, Georgetown’s new-student-welcome infrastructure will go into high gear and the summer will fade into memory. 

But before this happens, I would like to invite a reflective pause. Whether you’re a new SCS student beginning your first semester, a continuing student, or a member of our faculty or staff, this opportunity to slow down, catch your breath, and prepare your mind, body, and spirit for the coming semester might be a welcome invitation. Here are three ideas for how to meaningfully enter into quiet before a new semester begins. 

Renew. As you prepare for a new Georgetown semester, take some time to get in touch with your motivation for being here. What drew you to Georgetown? What inspired you to take on your particular program? What are your desires for your experience at this University? As you begin to reflect on these questions of your “why,” it might help for you to familiarize yourself with the deeper purpose of Georgetown as an educational community. You can spend this time with this Mission in Motion post: New to SCS? An Introduction to Georgetown’s Mission and Values in Four Points. 

Review. Spending time renewing your commitment to your Georgetown education might lead you to consider your future and where you are heading. But it is also important to take stock of where you have been and how you arrived at this current moment. Reviewing your past for the sake of reflecting on how your prior lived experience might inform your present and future is at the heart of the Jesuit spirituality that animates the mission of Georgetown. One of the core practices arising from the Jesuit tradition that helps in this review process is the examen of consciousness. You might consider signing up for the SCS Daily Digital Meditation sessions, which include a weekly examen that occurs every Friday. In whatever ways you construct a practice of review, I invite you to explore how your present self reflects the authentic fullness of your entire journey of life. 

Recharge. Taking up “rest” as a meaningful practice of spiritual wellness is a challenge in a culture that values constant activity and valuing one’s life choices on the basis of utility or value maximization. Rabbi Rachel Gartner, SCS Senior Advisor for Pastoral Care, reminds us that the Jewish tradition of “Shabbat” requires that we “leave behind the regular flow of time and the productivity we imbed in it. We do this not in order to escape life, but in order to enter into it more deeply.” My hope is that you can find some intentional ways to truly rest in the time before the fall semester. Take lots of walks. Take time for silence. Truly enjoy the company of others. Give yourself some space to unplug from the daily distractions. Your soul will thank you! 

One of the great joys of working at Georgetown is welcoming new members into our community multiple times in the year. There is so much anticipation before a new semester. My hope is that you can savor this time and arrive in a few more weeks a little more rested, a little more reflective, and a lot more reinvigorated.

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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.