Tag: Jesuit Values

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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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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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The Feast Day of St. Ignatius: An Opportunity on July 31 to Reflect on the Saint’s Enduring Meaning for Professional Education

This week’s Mission in Motion is a reflection on what St. Ignatius, founder of the Jesuits, whose feast day is July 31, means for professional and continuing education.

On Monday, July 31, Georgetown will honor the feast day of its patron saint, St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, with a mass and a reception to follow in Dahlgren Quad on the Hilltop. You can find more event details at this University site.

Over the years, Mission in Motion has narrated the significance of the story of St. Ignatius in many ways, including coverage of the Ignatian Year, a more than year-long celebration of the 500th anniversary of the saint’s transformative conversion after suffering from cannonball-induced wounds. The unique events and testimonials to the meaning of Ignatius’ life presented a welcome point of departure for greater reflection across Georgetown about the relevance of the Jesuit founder in our present age. 

At SCS, the life and example of St. Ignatius uniquely address the life experience, hopes, and dreams of our student population. There are four elements of Ignatius’ biography that I would like to call attention to in light of the characteristics of adult learners engaged in professional and continuing education. 

First, St. Ignatius was himself an adult learner. After his conversion to a deeply purpose-driven life anchored in prayer and love of God and others, Ignatius decided that realizing his earthly mission and that of the Jesuit order required educational credentials. This insight speaks to the motivations that bring so many early-, mid-, and late-career students into programs at SCS. Acquiring the skills and knowledge recognized by professional bodies and academic communities makes it possible to accomplish great deeds in the world. Ignatius was humble in this recognition of the need for formal study, electing in his adult years to return to school with much younger students. The Jesuits themselves inherited this commitment to adult education, innovating the Church’s style of preaching and teaching by hosting sacred lectures (like the ones that Georgetown still sponsors) intended for adults with busy lives. 

Second, St. Ignatius was a military-connected student. To put an even finer point on this, Ignatius was actually a wounded warrior, having suffered the physical and emotional wounds of combat. SCS is ever proud to be a welcoming community for veterans and counts many military-connected students amongst its students, faculty, and staff. According to the 2021-2022 SCS Dean’s Report, 250 degree-seeking students are military students. More than coursework, these students have access to a comprehensive set of resources provided by Georgetown’s Military and Veterans’ Resource Center. It is fair to say that Ignatius understood the challenges of military life and many of the insights that he brought into his leadership and administration of the Jesuits reflect these lessons. 

Third, St. Ignatius used technological innovation as part of his leadership strategy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, SCS utilized a motif from early Jesuit history, “A Community in Dispersion,” to describe the possibility of using technology to maintain the unity of a globally dispersed community. There is analogy in the use of online education to foster common bonds despite the physical distance of students and the way that St. Ignatius pioneered the hand-written letter, a technology of his time period, as a way of keeping Jesuits unified throughout the world. SCS has made great strides in recent years in the development of high-quality online education programs. With the help of creative instructional designers, subject matter experts, and a coordinated strategy to incorporate the Spirit of Georgetown into online courses, SCS online programs are renewing a 500-year-old tradition in ways that address contemporary education needs. 

And finally, St. Ignatius proved that busy adults can still lead contemplative lives. In this way, Ignatius was an exemplar for Contemplation in Action, a cherished value at SCS because of the reality that so many of our students are juggling competing personal and professional obligations in pursuit of their Georgetown educations. The style of spirituality that St. Ignatius encouraged has made it possible to simultaneously reflect on the meaning of daily experience (through tools like the examen of consciousness) and generously and vigorously act in the world in the service of the common good. In so many ways, I recognize the spirit of the Ignatian biography when I observe committed, ambitious, and dedicated students descending on SCS classrooms at the end of a long workday. These same students also find time to contemplate, attending retreats and committing to other spiritual practices. 

St. Ignatius is a universally beloved figure in Jesuit education. And while all parts of this global enterprise can make claim to St. Ignatius and his unique contributions, there is a special way that this man resonates with the adult learners who comprise Georgetown’s School of Continuing Studies. Happy feast day! 

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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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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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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.

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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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A Mission Focus on Environmental Sustainability During a Warm Winter Week

The occasion of unexpectedly warm weather this week in Washington, D.C., while welcomed as an interruption of a cold stretch as well as a reminder of the warmer months to come, can also point our attention to the reality of a warming climate.

This week’s post explores Georgetown’s mission commitment to environmental sustainability and how all of us are called to engage in the work of repairing the natural world.

Mission in Motion has previously explored the mission-based university commitments to environmental sustainability that arise out of the Spirit of Georgetown, namely the value of Care for Our Common Home. The launching point for this particular value is the articulation of a morally informed environmental vision of Pope Francis in his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si. In that document, Pope Francis comprehensively addresses the spiritual, economic, social, and cultural components that have led to our environmental crisis and the ongoing threats from climate change. Engaging the best of science and empirical research, while grounded in an ecumenical and multi-faith humanistic appeal, Pope Francis invites urgent action: 

“I urgently appeal, then, for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenges we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all.” 

Such an urgent appeal should implicate all that we do at the university. And at SCS, the pursuit of environmental sustainability should inform our approach to teaching, learning, community engagement, and facilities and operations. The School has already made a major commitment in this way through its certified LEED Gold campus building as certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. The environmental crisis is so significant that it has to be a coordinated, multi-pronged local, national, and international strategy. But we can all do our part in this shared effort.

So in this season, I invite you to consider three questions below to reflect upon and then consider developing an ongoing plan of action. Such questions are especially fitting in this moment of the religious calendar, with the Christian community going through the time of Lent and the Jewish community preparing for Passover. Both of these religious events invite deeper self-reflection about the way that we are called to take part in the repair of our broken and bruised world. 

Three questions for you to consider in that spirit of a social motivated-commitment to healing the earth: 

  1. What have I done to make my local community, the places that I live and work, and the wider world more environmentally sustainable? 
  1. What am I doing to make my local community, the places that I live and work, and the wider world more environmentally sustainable? 
  1. And what ought I do to make my local community, the places that I live and work, and the wider world more environmentally sustainable? 

As you ponder these questions, I invite you to explore Georgetown’s education and practice resources for developing a personal action plan. Check out the research-based Earth Commons Institute and the Office of Sustainability. 

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A Week of Welcomes: SCS Opens Its Doors and Its Heart

This week’s post shines a spotlight on two events of hospitality this week at SCS: the prospective student open house and a Valentine’s Day rose giveaway sponsored by GradGov. 

This week, the SCS community opened its doors for the first in-person prospective student open house in more than three years. The well-attended event featured dedicated program staff and faculty sharing insights about SCS with everyone who made their way to the downtown campus. With festive music and a generous spread of food, visitors experienced first-hand the hospitality and mission commitment of the SCS community. 

A recent Mission in Motion post explored the School’s biennial marketing campaign, themed this year as “Be continued.” As I walked around the open house, I noticed how prospective SCS students manifested the energy of the campaign. As they waited in line to talk to a particular faculty member or made spontaneous conversation over food with fellow prospects, these visitors to the SCS campus displayed an eagerness and an enthusiasm about their professional futures. And this future-directed energy from potential students was received warmly by friendly and informative staff and faculty. Conversations were more than interactions that transacted information. I noticed meaningful conversation occurring on multiple floors of the building. 

The culture of an organization is reflected in its people. In this way, the community of SCS faculty and staff are the living embodiment of the Spirit of Georgetown. A student’s enriching experience of meaning, belonging, and purpose at SCS arises from the tremendous efforts of the faculty and staff community working in a coordinated way to deliver on the promise of a Georgetown education. The scale of this enterprise and the many parts involved is not always visible to students. But the open house revealed how the SCS staff and faculty community work together to make the mission come alive. 

This poetic prayer, “Falling in Love,” is a fitting message for the care and support that students, faculty, and staff extend to one another as part of their shared work of teaching and learning. 

Later in the day, the SCS community again put the mission into motion. SCS GradGov members, the elected students who represent the School on the university-wide graduate student governance body, passed out free roses in the late afternoon preceding evening classes. Everyone was invited to take some flowers as a token of appreciation. I even noticed that the students purposefully placed boxes of roses in staff office areas with a note of: Thank you for your work! I observed how fellow staff members embraced this gesture of gratitude on Valentine’s Day. The dynamic of mutuality required in a well-functioning structure of relationships between students, staff, and faculty points to the deeper meaning and purpose of a Georgetown education. 

This GradGov initiative coupled with the open house on Valentine’s Day brought to mind the poetic prayer, “Falling in Love.” Often attributed to former Jesuit Superior General Pedro Arrupe, this prayer reflects the ways that having a durable and abiding purpose in life and work, anchored in a dynamic relationship with God or whatever one names as the transcendent Other or mysterious ultimate in their life, is the motivation that sustains everything. I like to think that events taking place on this Valentine’s Day reveal the loving commitment and deeper sense of purpose that students, faculty, and staff bring to the shared endeavor of professional and continuing education at Georgetown SCS.