SOPHOMORES

Welcome to SOPHOMORE YEAR! Here are the key dates for the upcoming year: 

Below are the essential SDS requirements for you during the 2024-25 academic year.

COMMUNITY RETREAT 

The Community Retreat will be held on Marian University's campus during the week of August 12th. This is a mandatory retreat and you are expected to be there for the entirety. The goal of this retreat is to better form community among your fellow peers and to learn about the Indianapolis community and the ministry needs. One outcome from this retreat is for you to select your Service Immersion for the year by meeting a variety of ministry organization leaders. The Community Retreat will run side-by-side the Encounter Retreat (freshman retreat) with some crossover. During this retreat, you will identify your gifts, meet community members, engage in dynamic prayer opportunities, and determine your service immersion. 


SMALL GROUPS 

Small groups are a cornerstone for ongoing formation within the San Dam Program. The goal of the small groups is to study and contemplate the fundamentals of Sacred Scripture, learning to apply them to life, build life-giving Christian fellowship that is intentional, supportive, and ecumenical, and witness the joy of the Gospel to others in word and deed. Each small group is comprised of 2-3 freshman, 2-3 sophomores, and 1 junior/senior mentor. Small groups meet weekly flowing from the Encounter and Community retreats. Each small group will remain together for the academic year and will reset each year. Small groups will be selected during the retreats based on schedule availability. The main text to be read in small groups is the Joy of the Gospel by Pope Francis. The following format is to be followed for each small group meeting:  

SERVICE IMMERSION 

The Service Immersion during the sophomore year of San Dam is to provide either an on or off-campus opportunity to serve in a ministry. A ministry as defined as “any activity conducive to the salvation of souls” (USCCB, Glossary of Catholic Terms). These ministries must be discerned, applied for, and selected with the assistance of SDS leadership during the Community Retreat (in August). Each sophomore is expected to commit 32 hours per semester (at minimum) to serving in this ministry and have an advisor who oversees the primary work of the ministry. The Service Immersion should be seen as the means by which we live out an authentic faith by serving God’s people in the community. “An authentic faith – which is never comfortable or completely personal – always involves a deep desire to change the world, to transmit values, to leave this earth somehow better than we found it” (EG, 183). Upon the conclusion of the Service Immersion, you will be asked to write an article as part of your self-evaluation reflecting on the experience and what you learned. The options to choose from will be presented to you during the Community Retreat.  


PRAYER PRACTICE

To build up the prayer practices offered on campus and to help you individually build a robust prayer life by implementing a variety of spiritual practices, the San Dam Program is implementing structured, weekly prayer practices led by San Dam Scholars. During the Encounter and Community Retreat, we will introduce and teach the prayer practices listed below.  

For the freshman, the goal is to participate in as many of these practices to gain a wide scope of prayer experiences in the first year. For sophomores, juniors, and seniors, the goal is to select one prayer practice each semester and lean into it. These prayer practices will be discerned and selected during the August and December SDS Days of Reflection.  

The Prayer Practices:  

At the conclusion of the academic year and at the April SDS Day of Reflection, you will be required to submit an article informing people at Marian University about your prayer practice and an idea, sentiment, or image that captures your experience with the prayer practice.  

DAYS OF REFLECTION 

During each academic year, the San Dam community will gather all-together for three, individual days of prayer, reflection, renewal, and community. Each of these days is mandatory for you and will serve as checkpoints for your progress within the program. Here are the three dates for the upcoming year:  

The following is a tentative structure for each of these days:  

10:30am / Mass / BCMC 

12:00pm / Lunch / Dining Commons 

1:00pm / Opening Prayer & Keynote / TBD 

2:00pm / Breakout Sessions / TBD  

4:00pm / Keynote / TBD  

5:00pm / Dinner / TBD  

6:00pm / Closing Session / TBD  

7:00pm / Social Time (optional) / TBD 

LEADERSHIP WORKSHOPS

Leadership workshops will be offered five times each semester. The topics vary. By the end of your sophomore year, you should have completed three leadership workshops. More to come on these.  

SELF-EVALUATION

The self-evaluation will be a great tool for you to reflect and process your growth within college and the San Dam Program. It is also a great way for us to hold you accountable for your progress within the San Dam Program. The goal of the self-evaluation is to assist you with the ongoing discernment process of self and relationship with God. The process will begin each August with goal writing, questions distributed in January, and submission in April. The categories for evaluation are Scholarship (academics and vocation), Discipleship (prayer and community), and Leadership (service and stewardship).  Once a self-evaluation has been submitted, it will be read and responded to by a Marian University staff member in the Office of Catholic Franciscan Leadership Programs or University Ministry and will go in your file.

CHECK-INS

Each semester you will be asked to check-in with SDS leadership to build relationship and demonstrate formation progress as a college student at Marian University. The SDS leadership team will initiate these check-ins. In the spring semester of your sophomore year will be your two-year review with the SDS leadership team. In the two-year review, we will review your Suitable profile/resume as well as walk with you through your self-evaluation.