Finding Room to Grow: CM’s Campus Ministry Retreat For Sophomores

Catholic Memorial School sophomores reflected on friendship and their journeys as young men at the first Campus Ministry Sophomore Retreat of the year, held on Oct. 29 at Glastonbury Abbey in Hingham.  

Hearing talks from upperclassmen and teachers, taking walks around the grounds and defending their positions on matters important to them in discussions, more than twenty sophomores found plenty to reflect on.

"I was really surprised by this group, how every one of them participated and got serious," said senior Joe Isaksen, one of the peer ministers tasked with organizing the retreat. Isaksen addressed the sophomores on decisions he had made, both small and large, in his development as a young man at CM.  

"We talked about stereotypes and how they affect women in our lives and how we can stop negative stereotypes," said Isaksen.  "We had small group discussions on what it means to be a man and how to be better role models for others."

For sophomores Dylan Ryan and Meshach Dowman, the retreat had much to offer.  "When we first got here, we did icebreakers, answering things like 'what's your dream job' and 'who's your neighbor?'" said Ryan.  "I came because I wanted to spend time with my friends and get to know them better, and my teacher said it would be good."

Dowman appreciated the talk on manhood.  "It had more to do with me," he said.  "They were really good speakers, putting their own experiences into it."

Along with Campus Ministry director Leah Ramsdell and Campus Minister Kathryn Boyle, theology teacher Christopher Russell joined the group to help direct their conversations and reflections over the course of the day.  "This particular group was really good," said Russell.  "They've been able to take advantage of the quiet atmosphere.  I could tell they were really mulling the ideas over and were good-natured about it."

This article was submitted by Catholic Memorial.