The SOPHIA Program Sophomore Initiative at Assumption College

ACPATampa, FL

Consider, Collaborate, Create, CommitMarch 7, 2015

Catherine WoodBrooks, Ph.D., Vice President for Student Affairscwoodbro@assumption.edu

Assumption CollegeWorcester, MA

• Catholic• Approximately 2100 students• 90 percent residential• Founded by the Augustinians of the

Assumption: “Assumptionists”• Liberal arts and professional studies

NetVueNetwork for Vocation in Undergraduate

Education

• Committed to enriching the intellectual and theological exploration of vocation among undergraduate students

• Administered by CIC• Supported through members and Lilly Endowment• Biennual conference (2011) attendance: Inspiration

behind submitting the

Teagle-Funded Grant

• Measuring the moral, ethical, religious, and spiritual development of students at three Catholic colleges

• Found significant increase from first to senior year

• Looking to focus on the “deep questions” during sophomore year connected to mission

SOPHIA means…

“… ‘wisdom’, and it is part of the etymology for Sophomore. … But we also intended it to stand for Sophomore (SOPH) Initiative (I) at Assumption (A).

Assumptionist Ideals

“…foster a culture of vocational exploration at Assumption College in order to enhance the educational mission of the Augustinians of the Assumption. … the conviction that truth exists; that its pursuit orients love; that tradition coupled with a fundamental openness guides; and that faith sustains. … helps students deepen their appreciation of the complexity of the world and the Divine Reality sustaining it. SOPHIA is designed to help students discern a personal response. …

Assumptionist Ideals

“This attitude of responsiveness to the demands of reality may take many forms—active, contemplative, religious, political, familial, professional, and so on. SOPHIA is open to any understanding of vocation consistent with the educational philosophy of the Assumptionists. SOPHIA invites sophomores to recognize that vocation lasts a lifetime, but it begins here and now with the need to respond to the world in which they find themselves.”

Goal 2: Reinforce Existing Programs

• Cited: Campus Ministry and Student Affairs.

• Not Cited (But Worth Considering): • Many major programs at AC.• Internships.• Community Service Learning. • Other experiential learning.

Goal 3: SOPHIA Collegians

• 2-4 cohorts of 5-6 sophomores the opportunity to live together in residence.

• Mentored by faculty members selected for this purpose.

• 24 Collegians (rising sophomores) chosen through application and interview process

“Collaborative Colleague Project(before the launch of SOPHIA)

• Dinner and discussions: faculty• Dinner and discussions: staff• One large dinner and discussions: faculty and

staff• Applications and interviews for faculty

mentors• Summer: week-long seminar (stipends)

Collegians’ Courses• Each semester, SOPHIA Collegians enroll in one common course:

– Fall 2013: Living Lives that Matter (Philosophy)– Fall 2014: Keats and Company– Spring: Seek & Find: Augustine Seminar (Philosophy)

• Additional SOPHIA course offerings include:– Life Stories (Honors)– A Still Small Voice (English/Poetry)– Vocations in Public History (History)– Justicia Poética (Spanish)– Spiritual Seekers and Teachers (Theology)

• Students may take these courses as part of their regular load, or as a sixth course (without paying additional tuition). Classes may be taught in the Living/Learning Center where the students will reside.

Gatherings

• Fall and spring retreat. • Monthly gatherings with faculty mentor. These

gatherings include dinners at mentors’ homes, service activities, reading discussions, films, recreational team-building activities, and more.

• Individual meetings with faculty mentor.

Summer Impact Grants

• Community engagement• Ministry• Life of the Mind

SOPHIA Rome

• Collegians invited to participate in a two week trip to Assumption’s campus in Rome.

Assumption’sRome Campus

• President of the College hosted the trip• Rome as the backdrop for self-discovery and

self-reflection• The eternal city: how does it discern its role in

the landscape of change and still stay eternal?• Keats House/grave: Students will have studied

Keats in their Fall 2014 course

Faculty Mentors

“Ethical Considerations in Mentoring for Vocation ” by By Paul J. Wadell• Why is friendship a way to think about mentoring? Benevolence

is a key quality of friendship –wish for another’s good• Allow space in each others’ lives• Patience, vulnerability, shaping lives for the good• How it is different: lacks equality, they come to us with need but

not reciprocal• Virtues of mentoring: trust, honesty, empathetic imagination,

humility

Ethical Considerations in Mentoring for Vocation

• Is it helpful to you to think of a mentoring relationship with a student as a kind of friendship?

• How would you describe the world of your students? What has formed them? How do they see the world? What gives them hope?

• What would you expect of a student in a mentoring relationship?

• Is there anything that would make you wary of mentoring a student?

Students: Discerning VocationKnow Yourself

• My greatest strengths are . . .• My limitations are . . .• I am not interested in . . .• The world needs less of . . .• I have always wanted to try . . .• You would never catch me . . .• My hero/heroine is . . .• If I only had one year to live, I would . . .