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College life The end of the school year usually means a summer of relaxation. For high school graduates, however, it means something else entirely: getting ready for college. Students new to the college scene face multiple challenges. One is academic. Another may be the process of moving from parents’ religious beliefs to their own personal faith, particularly if they are coming from families with strong Catholic traditions and are entering a four-year state college. Helping them make that transition is campus ministry. It is more than a do-good idea. It is a solid, formal program to help not only college students but the faculty and staff to meet the daily challenges facing them in the higher education environment. Campus ministers are paid, full-time professionals, most with masters degrees in pastoral ministry or theology, who work on-site at colleges and universities, usually in Newman Centers. They even serve at Catholic universities and at least one works at every community college. “We often find new college students undertake a huge academic challenge and at the same time have to make that transition between adolescence and adulthood,” said Jan Slattery, director of Ministry in Higher Education for the Archdiocese of Chicago. “They also must move from parents’ beliefs to their own personal faith. That process is even more difficult in a four-year state institution which covers everything and questions beliefs.” Slattery adds many new college students come from a Christian background where their beliefs were black and white. Young people often are not prepared to respond quickly when those traditions are questioned. “Our Catholic traditions have more depth to them than just a fundamental belief,” she said. “We are expected to believe and live those beliefs. Now students are challenged and must make a lot of decisions and integrate their faith into all of those matters. That is why campus ministry is here to help.” Slattery refers to the Newman Centers as a living room away from home, a place where students like themselves with the same values in terms of Catholic traditions will be supported. “We walk the path with them,” said Slattery. “We offer many services, not just Sunday Mass.” Some of those services include Catholicism classes; penance services; presentations on the liturgy; Bible study; peer ministry programs; Taize prayer; busy person retreats; interfaith dialogue sessions; and a variety of service opportunities. Slattery said Newman Centers once were primarily a hand-holding place to help new students through the hard times. “Now there are many places on campus where students can get this help,” she said. “Campus ministry is more concerned with supporting young people in their faith development. They are forging new territory, seeking to understand so much more than past generations. There is a lack of authenticity. It is hard for them to do it alone.” Slattery attributes some of the problems students have integrating their faith into their everyday lives to a lack of knowledge about their Catholic religion. “What continues to amaze me is how illiterate many students are about their Catholic religion,” she said. “I am not faulting parents. A lot has changed including practices. Many young people and their parents have not had the opportunities to receive the Catholic education that people in their late 40s and beyond had. Many are not confirmed.” Slattery and her campus ministers are not shy about reaching out for assistance to better ensure students’ faith development. They invite alumni to return and make presentations about their experiences to help current members of the college community. There are invitations to become retreat leaders. Slattery says the church is recovering now but the need for faith development of young people is great. She adds it is imperative that the Catholic community look at ways to support young people—helping them in their quest towards full adulthood; selecting a work place that is compatible with their value system and choosing a spouse. “There are a lot of decisions these young people must make,” Slattery said. “How to help them integrate their faith into the work place and choosing a mate are matters all of us should be concerned about. We want them to know we are here when they are making these significant decisions in their lives so they can be truly well-developed human beings. We want them to know we care.”
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