Given that it is the busy time of the semester, I thought it was time for a “Student Shout-Out.” You know, those shout-out to students to acknowledge all of the things they do both inside and outside of the classroom? Today’s goes to sophomore Communication Studies major Geena Serles and her work as a Group Leader for a Kairos Retreat at her former high school. When Geena first told me about it, I asked if I could blog about her experience because we have Kairos Retreats here at USF through University Ministry. I thought it would be fun to learn more about them.
COMS major Geena, smiling because she has a secret!
I asked Geena to tell us about what a Kairos Retreat is. According to Geena, Kairos Retreats “are offered at schools all over America (even at USF!), for all different age groups. Kairos is a three-day retreat where students really get to know their classmates, teachers, leaders, and most importantly themselves. I can’t describe too much about Kairos, because what goes on during the retreat is a secret.” Oooooh. But I love secrets! And now I want to know even more. Back to Geena… I’ll try to break her… “It’s part of the whole experience of Kairos, since you have no idea what to expect, the whole experience really hits you in the end. Students who have been on Kairos before cannot share anything about it with those who have not.” Okay, I see it is going to be harder to crack her than I thought. “With this being said, it builds up a reputation as ‘the best’ retreat you’ll ever go on. At first students are skeptical of this idea, but they always leave with a good attitude, and most say it’s one of the best things they’ve done in their lives. The Kairos that I led was Kairos L, or the 50th Kairos at my high school, St. Joseph Notre Dame in Alameda, CA. This retreat was for about 50 students who will graduate in May. In addition to the seniors, about 8 alumni of the school who have been on Kairos lead the first group’s retreat, along with about 10 teachers from the school. Then, for the second retreat, the seniors who went on the first Kairos are the leaders for their own classmates in few weeks.”
Welcome to Kairos!
I asked Geena how she got involved: “My role on Kairos was a group leader. I was in charge of all of the students, and had to lead different activities throughout the three days. More specifically, I was a leader of a smaller group that met a few times during the retreat. Again, I can’t share too much of what I actually did,” Are you sure? “but in general I led the group and made sure they had a good time!” Thanks for the juicy details. Just kidding! “I got involved through one of my good friends that I graduated high school with. She was a leader last year, and knew I was interested in doing it too. She emailed me and asked if I wanted to help, and that was that! We had several meetings throughout the summer to prepare, and it took up a lot of my time but it was worth it in the end!”
I don't know what they're doing, but it does look like they are having fun!
Finally, I asked Geena what her favorite moment from the retreat was. Specifically. “There are so many great memories that I took away from my own Kairos, and this Kairos. My favorite memory from this past week is probably the moment when the students first arrive in their bus. None of them knew who the student leaders were going to be, so seeing their reactions was priceless! They were all surprised (some had even been texting us that morning, and had no idea). That’s also my favorite moment because you know that they have no idea what’s going to happen, and to observe how differently they act when they start off Kairos compared to when they leave Kairos is such a cool thing to see.”
The Kairos team leaders... their identities are disguised because what they do is Top Secret!
Okay, so I couldn’t crack her and Geena kept the Top Secret Kairos details Top Secret. It just shows us that she must be really good! Congratulations to Geena for her important work with this excellent program! You can find out information about USF’s Kairos retreats here: http://www.usfca.edu/university_ministry/kairos_retreat(2)/
Thanks, Geena, for sharing your experience!
