Supported by a recent $600,000 grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc., the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies (IAJS) at Boston College will establish a program to help high school students deepen their spiritual lives while strengthening their leadership qualities.
The Ever to Excel program, which will debut this summer, will draw on Jesuit education and spirituality for its five days of workshops, discussions, presentations and other activities. Program content will include elements from BC’s student formation initiatives, as well as newly developed resources by the Institute that build on its existing offerings for high school students.
“This grant for the Ever to Excel program will aid Boston College and the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies in their efforts to promote the history, spirituality, pedagogy and educational heritage of the Society – in this case, with special focus upon the young,” said Casey Beaumier, S.J., the center’s director. “The Ever to Excel program will engage the hearts and minds of high school leaders through intensive experience of Jesuit spirituality and education.”
Launched in 2014, the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies is, in partnership with other BC departments, offices and programs, a locus for courses, workshops, publications, scholarly symposia and other events and activities that convey the character and nature of the Jesuit mission.
Among its programs and activities -– including a nine-credit Certificate in Jesuit Studies and an international symposium on Jesuit studies – the institute offers “The Summer List,” a guided summer reading program for high school and first-year college students presenting supplementary materials to selected Jesuit readings. Its inaugural text, A Purposeful Path: How Far Can You Get with $30, a Bus Ticket, and a Dream?, written by Fr. Beaumier, explores the Jesuit tradition of begging pilgrimages through his own experience.
Boston College is one of 82 schools participating in the Lilly Endowment Inc.’s High School Youth Theology Institutes initiative, which seeks to encourage young people to explore theological traditions, ask questions about the moral dimensions of contemporary issues and examine how their faith calls them to lives of service. Although some schools are independent, many reflect the religious heritage of their founding traditions, including Baptist, Brethren, Lutheran, Mennonite, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Reformed churches, as well as Roman Catholic, non-denominational, Pentecostal and historic African-American Christian communities.
The $44.5 million in grants awarded by the Lilly Endowment are a commitment to identify and cultivate a cadre of theologically minded youth who will become leaders in church and society.
“These colleges and universities are well-positioned to reach out to high school students in this way,” said Christopher L. Coble, vice president for religion at the Lilly Endowment. “They have outstanding faculty in theology and religion who know how to help young people explore the wisdom of religious traditions and apply these insights to contemporary challenges.”
Fr. Beaumier expressed gratitude to Senior Associate Director for Corporate and Foundation Relations Megan Welch and Raymond Rivera, director of business affairs in the Office of the President, for their roles in helping the institute develop and present its proposal. He also noted that IAJS Assistant Director for Marketing and Programming Kendra Butters will play a leading role in the piloting of the Ever to Excel program.
“Through Ever to Excel, these students will have the opportunity to strengthen their faith, deepen their prayer life, become more effective leaders, serve in the community, explore possible paths for their future, and discover the great tradition of Jesuit spirituality and education,” he said.