The sophomore LOTAs retreated on campus to spend their day learning about love. Topics range from self-love, how God loves them, and even the five love languages. Throughout the day on February 29, LOTAs learned about themselves, each other, and their leaders, many of whom people had not talked to before. 

Kendall Mullen, the Campus Ministry intern, was one of the many people working on the sophomore retreat. She is studying Pastoral Studies at the Catholic University of America and, in order to earn her certification, she has to do an internship in a religious education environment. She was excited to take on the challenge of sophomore retreat, and could not wait to make it a memorable experience. She had many favorite moments, but there was one in particular that stuck out.

“I think it was like in the beginning when we were all being goofy, and like seeing you just being teen girls having fun, and like fostering community and fellowship together,” Mullen said. “I didn’t get to have that at my high school, and I’m glad I was able to help provide that.” 

Linda Ruszkowski, Director of Campus Ministry, had been working for a few months with a group of juniors who would be leading the retreat. They worked to create lasting memories for the sophomores, hoping they would take the lessons they learned with them.

“[The process] was super smooth, this year in particular, because our intern Kendall Mullen took this on as her project,” Ruszkowski responded. “I also had an all-star team of leaders who are super easy to work with and took on all the preparations and used their time wisely.” 

Ruszkowski worked with a group of 12 juniors, who learned a lot about themselves, their faith, and leadership. They worked to prepare the activities, learn to lead a group, and changed the way they viewed their faith. Emily Dukes, a junior leader, was extremely excited for this opportunity, and had been wanting to lead since she went on the retreat. There were some worries as the retreat came closer, but it ended up going extremely well for her.

“Going into the retreat, I was kind of anxious about leading a group. I have always seen myself as awkward talking in front of large groups of people, and I kind of threw that awkwardness away and I was able to just talk with them,” Dukes mentioned. “I feel like I really grew in my personal confidence.” 

The retreat was not just about growth for the sophomores as the junior leaders were able to benefit too. Another leader, Lindsey Reynolds, was surprised by the joy and excitement that would come out of the retreat.

“I had a lot of fun. I had a lot more fun as a leader than when I went on it,” Reynolds recalled.

The experience helped Reynolds learn about how she leads and how she can change her leadership for the better. She expressed how excited she was to continue leading others. 

“It was really great to learn about myself and how I lead others,” Reynolds recalled.

There cannot be a sophomore retreat without sophomores though. The theme of love, and God’s love especially, had a large effect on many of the sophomores. Victoria Colaianni had not been the most excited for the retreat, but her perspective completely changed once she went on it. Colaianni had not anticipated her perspective and view of faith to be changed. 

“I understand the way God is able to love us unconditionally because I learned how we should love ourselves and others,” Colaianni mentioned. “Which is crucial to understanding why and how ago we loved each other.” 

The sophomores were able to grow in their faith and have fun. Many sophomores made amazing memories and friendships, and they were able to walk out with new perspectives. Tess Myers, a sophomore who attended the retreat, took it on in a different manner.

“[I was] bedazzling my face and putting the stickers about compliments on people and seeing what people thought of me,” Myers recounted. 

All the students have different memories, some sillier than others. Caroline Serra, another LOTA who attended, was excited going into the retreat. There were little things, but the overall view of the retreat was very positive.

“It was great. I enjoyed listening to the speakers about how they’ve grown with their relationship with God and others,” Serra reminisced. “I thoroughly enjoyed connecting with my peers that I may not have normally connected with.”