Taking place all throughout February, Sophomore Retreats held by Jesuit High School Sacramento concluded on March 8.

For their retreat,  sophomores miss a day of classes in order to take a trip to the Christ the King Retreat Center where, as Assistant Director of Campus Ministry Mr. Adam McGrew hopes they  can take advantage of a valuable opportunity to reflect and refocus.

“I hope the sophomores were able to take a step back from the busyness of daily life and contemplate the man that God is calling them to be,” Mr. McGrew said. “Student schedules can be jam-packed with classes, studying, sports, and other co-curriculars. I hope that they seized this opportunity to give thought to what their own personal values are so that they can get a sense of where God is present in their life and the direction in which he is calling them to proceed.”   

In order to achieve such a profound effect, the retreat is led by Jesuit’s Senior Retreat Team (SRT), which is a group of Senior student leaders who facilitated small group discussions with the sophomores. Retreat Leader Taylor Vicente ’22 notes that the preparation for the seniors involved them putting themselves in the sophomore’s shoes.

“We prepared by attending two full-day informational sessions, where we went through each and every step of the retreat,” Taylor said. “Basically, we’re experiencing the retreat in order to properly lead it.”    

Luckily, it seems that  the leaders’ efforts paid off as the sophomores reported their positive experiences. As a recent retreatant, Jonah Reynolds ’24 experience reflects  the diligence and passion behind it.  

“I feel that this retreat was a great opportunity for self-focus,” Jonah said. “This was a great opportunity to align my goals and focuses, helping me realize what I need to do to be a better person.”

If Jonah’s experience is any indicator, then the Sophomore Retreat realized its hopes. By letting students pause their overly-busy lives to reorient themselves to their true goals, the retreat was a success. And its profound effect was no surprise thanks to the tireless effort of  student leaders and the adult team in Campus Ministry.