Tag: Jesuit Education

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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.

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SCS Students Receive Fellowship Awards, Affirming the Value of Academic Excellence

This week’s post highlights Academic Excellence as a mission commitment deriving from the history of Jesuit education. Recently, SCS students have received prestigious scholarships and fellowships that affirm these values. 

Georgetown’s status as a top university in the world is not in doubt. Students apply to the University because of its heritage as one of the globe’s most accomplished educational institutions. The academic quality of Georgetown’s schools and programs, including those at SCS, is not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind, however, when considering the University’s Jesuit values. Some might wonder how a commitment to excellence in teaching and research can live alongside other values that emphasize social justice, environmental sustainability, and a community in diversity. But academic excellence is one of the core values of the Spirit of Georgetown and has been a guiding principle since Jesuits started running schools in the mid-16th century. 

To commit to academic excellence is to commit to the life of the mind as a means of uncovering truth, discovering meaning, and serving the common good. The reflection document “Characteristics of Jesuit Higher Education” by the Association of Jesuit Colleges & Universities describes the Academic Life as the second characteristic of Jesuit schools. According to the document, Jesuit education is distinctive because of its “emphasis on developing the whole person” who “relies not only on the communication of content, but also on the quality of relationships among a wide community of educators and co-learners.” And in their document “A Distinctive Education: Reflections by Georgetown Jesuits on Education at Georgetown,” Georgetown’s Jesuit community affirms the social impact of a high-quality education: 

“Academic endeavors can contribute to the project for the common good in a variety of ways: sensitizing students to the challenges facing various communities (our own but also those facing the national and global communities); helping students to see connections between esoteric learning and practical responses; challenging students to develop balanced and sophisticated understandings of these issues; providing students with the resources to discover real life responses to these challenges. The Jesuit educational tradition places great value on how knowledge can contribute to the common good.” 

With this larger context of the purpose of Jesuit education in mind, I turn to the recent news of several SCS students winning prestigious national and global fellowships and scholarships. Gabriel Antuna-Rivera, who graduated in May with a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies degree, was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to teach abroad in Mongolia. Gabriel will teach English to vocational and university-level students, helping him realize his mission-oriented goal to become a public educator. In addition to this Fulbright, two incoming SCS students, Courtney Souter and Lisa Guagliano, were recently awarded the Foreign Affairs Information Technology (FAIT) Fellowship. The FAIT fellowship involves two years of academic funding for IT-related master’s degree programs along with internships, professional development, and mentorship in preparation for work in the U.S. Foreign Service. Courtney is pursuing a Master’s in Information Technology Management and Lisa is pursuing a Master’s in Cybersecurity Risk Management. 

These SCS students exemplify the value of Academic Excellence and make the University’s Jesuit mission and values come to life with their mission commitment to serving others and the common good. SCS is proud to advance the mission of Georgetown in this way. 

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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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Why Does the Core Ethics Course in the SCS Master of Professional Studies Matter?

This week’s post reflects on the recent environmental crisis by affirming the required MPS course in professional Ethics. The University recently announced that its downtown residential building at 55 H St. NW achieved a major sustainability milestone. 

This was a week that made me especially grateful that all SCS Master of Professional Studies (MPS) programs have a required course in Ethics. This common feature of the MPS degree programs is a distinguishing characteristic of the commitment at SCS to integrating Georgetown’s Jesuit and Catholic mission and values within the curriculum. While each program designs its own course that reflects the unique discourses and practices of that particular professional discipline, all the offerings in Ethics challenge students to consider the personal formation of professional ethics in light of the University’s mission to form graduates who are “lifelong learners” and “responsible and active participants in civic life” who “live generously in service to others.”

My own gratitude for this feature of academic life at SCS is related to this week’s current events. The distressing smoke billowing throughout much of the United States, including Washington, D.C., due to accelerating forest fires in Canada should awaken our collective conscience to the need for significant changes in human behavior toward the environment. Mission in Motion has previously called attention to the Spirit of Georgetown value, “Care for Our Common Home,” and the mission-critical work of environmental sustainability and climate adaptation during an unusually warm week earlier in the year. The increasing recognition that status quo policies and actions are not satisfactory to address the global crisis of a warming planet makes it all the more important that professional students reflect on the ethical and moral imperative of cooling down a warming planet. 

You might still be asking: How does this week’s disruptive weather event relate to the MPS course in Ethics? My reflection on this question consists of three points. 

First, the Ethics course invites students to move beyond a rules-based or legalistic framework approach to what is ethically necessary in professional life. While knowing professional codes of conduct and policies that govern particular communities of practice is important, simple compliance with prescribed requirements is not enough to address threats to the common good. I teach the core ethics course in MPS Urban & Regional Planning and students meaningfully engage with the American Institute of Certified Planners Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. But the discussions, the assignments, and the applications move well beyond the text of the professional code to a deeper consideration of how ethical skills and habits depend on more than following external rules. Ethics is more than how we behave at work and includes the ways that we form personal values that guide our actions in the world. 

Second, the MPS course in ethics invites students to challenge their preconceptions and existing worldviews by adopting the perspectives of others. As a Jesuit institution, Georgetown invites students to consider the ethical significance of a wide range of topics from the view of marginalized persons and communities. Considering the ethical implications of real-world events like this week’s spike in air pollution from the viewpoint of the most socially, economically, and politically disempowered is a primary orientation of Jesuit education, which is emphasized in the religious order’s Universal Apostolic Preferences that include “Walking with the Excluded” and “Caring for Our Common Home.” Fr. Daniel Hendrickson, S.J., in his recent book “Jesuit Higher Education in a Secular Age” captures the “solidarity” commitment in Jesuit schools and argues that students need to develop an awareness of others that leads to personalized commitments to realizing social change. 

Third, the class in ethics reveals that all professional disciplines have a common stake in universal challenges. This invites greater interdisciplinarity and cross-silo thinking about how the various professional communities can assist one another in addressing global problems. Students can leave the class appreciating their common interests with related and allied disciplines. For instance, Georgetown recently announced that its newly built downtown residential building at 55 H St. NW achieved LEED Platinum from the U.S. Green Building Council. Achieving the highest possible LEED certification reflects the University’s priority of environmental sustainability in its strategy and operations. This achievement also reflects a very real-world example of how professionals from various disciplines had to come together in order to make this project a reality. The journey toward a more just and healthy climate future will require that students trained in the knowledge and skills of particular professional industries actively seek out collaborations with others. 

Forming professional students in ethical thinking and practice is one of the many ways that SCS lives out the Spirit of Georgetown and contributes to a healthier and more just world.

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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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When Networking Helps Meet the Mission: Le Moyne College Visits SCS

This week, Stacey Corcoran, Georgetown’s Chief Marketing Officer, presented to a group of students from Le Moyne College, a peer Jesuit school in New York, visiting DC during their spring break. 

What comes to mind when you hear the term “networking”? For many, I imagine, this is a concept totally associated with the business of advancing one’s career. In this sense, networking is a necessary but not always enjoyable part of rising in the professional ranks. Students are often encouraged to grow their “network” by attending professional events and initiating contacts with experts in their industries. For many, there is an inherent discomfort in networking because it means taking risks to meet new people and build new relationships that are advantageous to one’s career. Many students come to a university like Georgetown because they believe that Georgetown’s global network of alumni will ultimately be helpful in realizing their professional ambitions. I would like to affirm these aspects of networking but also offer some values-based considerations about this practice. 

The visit from Le Moyne was a powerful reminder about the deeper purpose of networking. All Jesuit schools share a universal mission.

The Jesuits have spoken in recent years about the importance of networking. For a global religious community operating in countries across the world, it is critically important that the Jesuit organization be comprised of local and regional networks that relate to one another through shared projects. Clearly defined networks help ensure that “mission can be carried out,” according to the Jesuits’ General Congregation 34. Realizing universal values like a commitment to justice and the common good requires collaboration and coordination among partners in a defined network. Cooperation is key to realizing the global mission of the Jesuits. Georgetown and the other universities in the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities contribute to that mission through the work of higher education. 

This week, SCS engaged in a mission-committed form of Jesuit higher education networking by welcoming to campus a group of undergraduates from our peer Jesuit school, Le Moyne College in New York. The students from Le Moyne, accompanied by staff guides, came to Washington, D.C. for a week of visits during their spring break in order to explore post-graduation opportunities. Through the Manresa Program, a comprehensive, multi-year career preparation and personal development program at Le Moyne, these students are on track to discover how to apply their greatest gifts in life after college. In addition to meeting with Le Moyne alumni in Washington, D.C., the students wanted a more in-depth understanding of graduate and professional education so they reached out to SCS to learn more. 

Chief Marketing Officer Stacey Corcoran and I welcomed Le Moyne to campus for a short tour and an open discussion about how to approach the post-graduation journey. The students were especially interested in learning more about what graduate programs look for in applicants. They also desired more information about how students typically arrive at SCS. It became clear in the interactive conversation that students understood there is no “one-sized-fits-all” model for how one decides to apply to a professional graduate program. Given some baseline familiarity with Ignatian discernment frameworks, I was able to offer some suggestions about how to structure the individual decision-making process after graduation. 

It was reassuring to be with the Le Moyne group because of the kinship due to our shared values as peer Jesuit institutions. While the expression of mission and values might look differently in different contexts, there is a reassuring commonality among Jesuit schools across the world. This one small effort at networking is a reminder of the potential strength of working together as aligned partners with a unified commitment to the principles of Jesuit education. SCS, through its innovative and flexible approach to values-based, mission-committed graduate professional and continuing education, is contributing to this global effort. 

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SCS “Be Continued” Campaign Shines Light on the Mission of Continuing Education

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This week’s post takes a closer look at the new SCS branding campaign, “Be continued,” and connects it to Georgetown’s mission and values. 

Every two years, the gifted SCS marketing staff plans for a distinctive brand campaign that raises awareness about the School of Continuing Studies. The campaign has multiple components, including creative placements (like this article in The Washington Post: “Turn the Page In Your Career at Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies”) and messaging that is highly visible around the city and the D.C. region. You might have seen the campaign advertised on a city bus! The entire undertaking is an enormous effort and requires the coordination of many stakeholders. 

This year’s campaign, “Be continued,” is a creative on-ramp to a deeper exploration of the mission and values that animate Georgetown SCS. Through the campaign’s messaging points, “Turn the page in your career,” “Your next chapter starts here,” and “Your story is far from finished,” we can appreciate the resonances with the larger mission of Georgetown and the particular mission of SCS. The University’s mission commits to educating “women and men to be reflective lifelong learners, to be responsible and active participants in civic life and to live generously in service to others.” The SCS mission picks up on the University’s commitment by further specifying populations served in the implementation of Georgetown’s universal mission: “To deliver a world-class, values-based education to a diverse array of communities and individuals throughout their academic and professional careers.” Both statements draw attention to the critical importance of education being “lifelong” and professionally and civically oriented. 

You might see the campaign in action on a city bus near you! 

The dimensions of adult professional and continuing education at SCS that make it particularly unique and distinctive are the connections to the Jesuit heritage of Georgetown University. As readers of the Mission in Motion blog can attest, there are many ways to name this uniqueness, including the University’s commitments to multi-religious chaplaincy and inter-religious dialogue and action. There are 10 values in the Spirit of Georgetown that attempt to narrate the meaning of this Jesuit heritage in a way that resonates with our diverse community. I would like to point out a specific connection to Jesuit values and education that arises for me as I contemplate the meaning of the “Be continued” campaign. 

In his 2000 address at Santa Clara University, then Superior General of the Jesuits, Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., gave some guidance about how Jesuit colleges and universities should be measured in terms of their effectiveness in realizing the mission. According to Kolvenbach, Jesuit schools strive to form students not just for worldly success but for a deeper personal and social commitment:

 “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…Tomorrow’s ‘whole person’ cannot be whole without an educated awareness of society and culture with which to contribute socially, generally, in the real world. Tomorrow’s whole person must have, in brief, a well-educated solidarity.”

-Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., former Superior General of the Jesuits

The measure Kolvenbach suggests, “who our students become,” feels unmeasurable in some ways. How exactly can we assess who our students become? What criteria can we establish to evaluate whether this “becoming” is a sign of mission achievement? 

I think the “Be continued” brand campaign points to an important mission-defining aspect of SCS in response to Fr. Kolvenbach’s reflection. Students never fully “become” because we are always on the path to “becoming” who we are truly called to be. The educational offerings at SCS, in the form of degree and certificate programs, make possible the work of ongoing whole-person formation and development for the purpose of realizing the good in one’s own life and in the surrounding society. Each of our stories is being written anew each day and we cannot know how our own story will end. But the transformative gift of a Georgetown SCS education helps provide more options in the living out of our personal and professional stories. And together, our individual stories of professional self-discovery and advancement can add up to a larger shared story. Becoming active participants in this larger shared story, one that invites deeper commitment to justice and the common good, is exactly how the mission of SCS comes to life. 

So how are you being called to “Be continued”?

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2022 SCS Dean’s Report Highlights the Role of Mission and Values in Forging Ahead as a Community

The 2022 SCS Dean’s Report, which covers Academic Year 2021-2022, is the focus of this week’s Mission in Motion. The report tells a deeper story about how the School uniquely manifested Georgetown and Jesuit values throughout the year. 

Each year, the SCS Dean’s Report offers a meaningful review of the School’s most significant work during the Academic Year and its vision for the year ahead. I like to think of this annual exercise as an Examen of sorts, given the document’s reflective spirit and the wide variety of student, staff, faculty, and alumni perspectives that give the report its life. In addition to individual articles authored by a breadth of voices, the report uses facts and figures to present a holistic snapshot on the state of SCS.

The framing of each report is instructive because it communicates to its readers something important about how the School lived out its prior year of work. This year’s document, “Forging Ahead,” tells the story in a series of reflections about how SCS returned from the pandemic to both pre-existing, pre-pandemic habits and to new ways of teaching, learning, and working together. As Dean Otter offers in her opening reflection, the balance of old and new ways of proceeding are reflected in the unique ways that SCS inspirits Georgetown and Jesuit values in its work: “The Dean’s Report is only a snapshot of achievements across our varied portfolio, and the diverse stories herein capture our community’s perseverance, and also our profound commitment to enacting our Georgetown and Jesuit values.” The document then provides multiple concrete examples of how SCS has put the mission into motion during Academic Year 2021-2022.

Many of the highlighted examples of work should be familiar to readers of this SCS Mission in Motion blog. For example, Miranda Mahmud, Manager of Communications, tells the story of Summer High School Programs returning to the Hilltop. You can read this past Mission in Motion post to learn more about the deeply mission-aligned Summer College Immersion Program (SCIP). Dr. Sherry Steeley, Associate Teaching Professor, goes into depth about the collaboration between the SCS English Language Center and Georgetown’s Institute for Women, Peace, and Security that provided direct English language and professional development support to Afghan refugees (the blog shared more about this partnership in a post: “Serving a Community in Dispersion: Reflections on Sharing English Language Learning with Afghan Refugees”). And I authored a piece about how SCS celebrated the Ignatian Year 500 through a set of dedicated activities covered by Mission in Motion throughout 2021 and 2022. The article explores the special events, retreats, and experiential pilgrimages that characterized Georgetown’s embrace of its Ignatian heritage in this milestone year of celebration.

The annual publication of the SCS Dean’s Report is more than a static document about a point in time. The words that comprise this document, a project undertaken by a dedicated team of SCS staff, are living testimony to the School’s enduring commitment to Georgetown and Jesuit values. I hope you will take a closer look at this year’s report and reflect from your unique position in the SCS community about how you have forged ahead over the last year of life and work.