“During Mission Week, students are able to make Spring Hill campus members aware of its mission and apply it to their everyday lives,” said Colleen Lee, director of campus ministry at Spring Hill College.
“We think of our mission as what directs us and our purpose on campus,“ she said. “My hope is that every student and faculty member can rediscover what Spring Hill’s mission is and make a commitment during the year to actively live that, whether that is on campus or some of our projects off campus.”
A Mass of the Holy Spirit kicked off the Week of Service on Monday. Typically, the special mass takes place at the beginning of the semester, but the date was pushed back to coincide with the Missions Week festivities. The mass offered prayers for the academic year and community.
Jennifer Scalici MD, FACOG delivered a keynote speech for the Mission Lecture in the LeBlanc Ballroom on Tuesday. The Spring Hill alumna (’99), who is a Mobile area doctor specializing in gynecologic oncology, shared the story of her formation at Spring Hill College and how it drives her research and vocation.
Mission Week features events every day, including:
• A temporary walking labyrinth will be set up for Thursday’s festivities focused on reflection. A self-guided meditated walk across campus will be available for faculty and students, along with a student discussion about faith in the real world that evening.
• A tailgate at the women’s soccer game on Friday will end the week’s programming. Students are welcome to join in “Spirit Day” in support of the Badger community.
“The week focuses on our specific Spring Hill mission, but also on the tradition of Jesuit education – that we belong to this worldwide network of Jesuit education that goes beyond what we do at Spring Hill, that we are connected back to something so much larger than what we are in Mobile, Alabama,” Lee said. “Jesuit colleges and universities around the world are using some of the same language that we are in our mission.”
Along with the campus-wide programs, students and teachers will engage in “Mission Conversations,” where professors will take time to talk about Spring Hill’s missions and themes for the week. Hill said these discussions will focus on how to live and actively engage in the mission.
While focusing on campus is important, students can also see the greater mission and goal through the programming, Lee said.
“Our hope is that once students leave Spring Hill that the mission that they have been formed in helps them and guides them in their vocational goals, whether that is their family life, their work life, or their service,” she added. “I think it is important for us as we begin this academic year to take that time to reflect on what our mission statement says that we do.”
ABOUT SPRING HILL COLLEGE:
Founded in 1830, Spring Hill College is the oldest Catholic college in the Southeast and the third oldest Jesuit college in the United States. Spring Hill combines the Jesuit tradition of excellence in education and a commitment to caring for the whole person – mind, body, and spirit – with innovative educational experiences. Located in Mobile, Ala., Spring Hill’s mission is to form leaders engaged in learning, faith, justice, and service for life. As a result, Spring Hill students are engaged, inspired, and transformed by their experiences.