An AHANA Summit Lead prepares over a four-week period to give a themed talk, facilitate a small group, and help to build community. AHANA Summit Leads are upperclassmen AHANA students. No previous AHANA Summit experience required.
Fall 2016 AHANA Summit Leads
The application for the 2019-2020 AHANA Summit Lead position is now closed. Check back in the spring for our 2020-2021 application.
*Juniors and Seniors are eligible to apply
An AHANA Summit Lead prepares over a four-week period to give a themed talk, facilitate a small group, and help build community.
All junior and senior AHANA students are welcome to apply to lead. We also welcome AHANA juniors and seniors who have not led retreats or other programs in the past.
- Four lead meetings during the four weeks leading up to the AHANA Summit
- A few talk coaching sessions in preparation for your AHANA Summit talk about a theme (past themes include: transitioning from home to Boston College, the challenge of academics, involvement at BC, and privilege)
- A participant recruiting event where you will help with recruiting efforts and meet AHANA students
- The AHANA Summit, February 21-23, 2020 (Fri-Sun)
You will have fun leading a great group of AHANA students and being a key player in enhancing the AHANA community here at Boston College. It will be an opportunity to be an upperclassman leader who younger AHANA students can look up to. You will also work with the Center for Student Formation Staff and develop small group facilitation skills, public speaking skills, and additional leadership skills.
Please contact Danielle Date with questions.
Ascend Leads are junior or senior women who will guide first-year women in weekly small group conversations and group activities throughout the spring semester. Ascend Leads will help first-year women build a great BC experience through community, conversations, and mentorship.
As an Ascend Lead, you will meet weekly with your small group of first-year women, build community, plan small group activities, and talk about the shared experience of being women at BC. Boston College women have the opportunity to build a great experience. Be a part of helping our first-year women reach new heights!
All juniors and senior women are invited to be an Ascend Lead.
Ascend Leads commit to:
- Recruiting and selecting first-year participants (weekday evenings in October/November)
- Participating in a weekend long Leads Retreat (Friday-Sunday, October 16-18, 2020)
- Co-facilitating weekly 90 min. meeting with your group of first-year women (January - April)
- Planning 1-2 small group activities with your group of first-year women (between February and April)
- Participating in an all-program overnight with first-year women (Saturday-Sunday, January 23-24, 2021)
- Attending Friday Leads Summits (six total meetings throughout the year)
- Attending optional program-wide events throughout the spring semester (January - April)
NOTE: Due to social distancing requirements resulting from Covid-19, Ascend will be operating in a hybrid model. We will continue to keep participants/leads/interns informed about program specifics as the semester progresses.
Ascend is a program for first-year women through the Center for Student Formation where participants have an opportunity to meet new peers, engage in meaningful conversations about life at BC, and connect with upperclass women mentors. The program consists of weekly small group meetings (two leads, eight first-year women) facilitated by junior and senior women, small group activities, optional program-wide events, and one off-campus overnight. The program launches in the spring semester, but Leads will start preparing and training during fall semester.
For more information about the Ascend program, or if you have any questions, please contact ascend@bc.edu.
The Center for Student Formation is committed to inclusive programs that welcome all students.
A Freshmen League Captain is a junior or senior male who is interested in leading and mentoring a small group of first-year men. Through regular meetings and monthly outings, League Captains will help first-year students learn how to navigate and succeed at Boston College.
- A junior or senior man at BC.
- A person who wants to (along with a co-captain) mentor a small group of eight freshmen men.
- Someone who is friendly, trustworthy, responsible, and authentic.
NOTE: Due to social distancing requirements resulting from Covid-19, Freshmen League will be operating as a hybrid model. We will continue to keep participants informed about program specifics as the semester progresses.
Must be available for a Captain’s Retreat on October 16 - 18.
All Captains should plan to attend the most important part of the program, the Captains' Retreat, on Friday, October 16 - Sunday, October 18. (If you have a conflict of any kind with that weekend, please STILL APPLY. We can discuss your conflict during your interview. We are flexible and will work with you!)
Willingness to meet:
- Once every week in the Spring with your team to discuss life at BC
- Once a month for creative programming with freshmen (more details to follow as information becomes available)
- Once a week for five weeks following the Captains' retreat. You'll be with seven other Captains and a young alum who was a Captain
- Once a month with the other League Captains during the Spring
As a Captain you will get to mentor and lead a small group of BC freshmen who will look up to you and seek your advice. You’ll benefit from being part of a group of 80 of the best junior and senior men at BC who have also chosen to serve as Captains. You will be connecting with faculty and staff mentors of your own.
The Center for Student Formation is committed to inclusive programs that welcome all students.
The Center for Student Formation is looking for a Graduate Assistant to work 20 hours per week for the academic year. This position is a one-year appointment.
Halftime Leads help participants understand the themes of Halftime and talk about how to implement these themes into daily life at BC and beyond. If you enjoyed your Halftime experience or would like the opportunity to lead a retreat, you should apply to lead Halftime!
The application for the 2019-2020 Halftime Leads is now closed. Check back in the spring for our 2020-2021 application.
Halftime leaders are responsible for giving a talk and facilitating small groups of participants. Halftime is a free weekend away to share your experiences with others, meet new people, and connect with BC faculty and staff. It will be the job of the leaders to help participants understand the themes of Halftime and talk about how to implement these themes into daily life at BC and beyond.
Lead applications are open to ALL students in the class of 2021 and the class of 2022 even if you have not been on Halftime.
Applications to lead Halftime in the 2020-2021 academic year are now being accepted on a rolling basis. You will be contacted for a 30 minute interview in the first few weeks of the fall semester and if selected you’ll be placed on the November, February or March Halftimes depending on your availability.
Fall 2020 Halftimes
Halftime 103: November 13 – November 15
Spring 2021 Halftimes
Halftime 104: February 12 – February 14
Halftime 105: March 26 – March 28
All Halftime Leads commit to the following:
1) Leading one full Halftime weekend.
2) Attending 5-6 training meetings with fellow Leads in the 6 weeks leading up to the actual retreat.
3) Participating in one half-day Lead Team Summit.
- If you've gone on Halftime before, you get to go again!
- Have fun working alongside seven peers to go deeper into the 3 Key Questions and prepare to guide others.
- Work with the Center for Student Formation Staff on retreat preparation.
- Develop leadership skills in small group facilitation.
- Develop public speaking skills in talk preparation.
- Gain a solid grasp of the meaning of Halftime and how it fits into Jesuit education.
POD Leaders are juniors or seniors interested in being academic and social mentors for first-year students. POD Leaders attend course lectures and run a weekly discussion for 15 first-year students in the course.
Open Fall 2021 POD positions:
ECON1702/UNAS1702 POD Leadership Application
Life, Liberty & Heath: The Economics, Policy and Law of Healthcare – ECON1702/UNAS1702
Note: The deadline to apply is Thursday, April 15.
ENGL1733/EESC1720 POD Leadership Application
Crisis and Storytelling in the Age of Climate Change – ENGL1733/EESC1720
Note: The deadline to apply is Thursday, April 15.
HIST1715/SOCY1713 POD Leadership Application
Citizenship, Immigration and Belonging in the U.S. – HIST1715/SOCY1713
Note: The deadline to apply is Thursday, April 15.
A POD Leader is a junior or senior who works with a student partner in Reflection sections of some specific interdisciplinary core courses.
PODs (stands for Purposeful, Ongoing Discussion) are places where near-peer mentors help freshmen and sophomores tackle course material through intellectual conversations and reflections that help students connect content to their daily lives. In this way, PODs help Boston College fulfill its goals of producing "men and women for whom discernment is a habit" (A Pocket Guide to Jesuit Education). Leaders often become important mentors for those in their POD.
Four courses currently use the POD Leadership Program model:
- Our Ocean: Understanding & Protecting The Seas in the Wake of Climate Change – BIOL1706/ENVS1075 (a 6 credit Complex Problem core course, fulfills 3 Natural Science core credits, and 3 Social Science core credits)
- Citizenship, Immigration & Belonging in the United States: Can Education Save US? – HIST1715/SOCY1713 (a 6 credit Complex Problem core course, fulfills 3 Natural Science core credits, and 3 Social Science core credits)
- Global Implications of Climate Change - SOCY1501/EESC1501 (a 6 credit Complex Problem core course, fulfills 3 Natural Science core credits, and 3 Social Science core credits)
- Where on Earth: Foundations in Global History, Culture, and Society - INTL 2200 (a 6 credit International Studies Program foundations course, fulfills 3 History II core credits, 3 Social Science core credits, and the cultural diversity core credit)
POD Leaders are willing to serve as academic facilitators and mentors for a small group of students (around 15) enrolled in the course.
POD Leaders want to work with a student co-lead and be part of a group of 10 juniors and seniors who make up the POD Leader cohort.
POD Leaders must attend the regular class lectures. One evening per week each POD Leader (and their co-lead) directs their POD in discussion and/or activities related to the course material.
Students in the POD Leader cohort also meet once per week for their POD Leadership Seminar, which is designed to help POD Leaders be successful with their small group of freshmen or sophomores.
As a POD Leader you will get to be an academic and social mentor for a small group of freshmen or sophomore students. You will receive 3 credits (Pass/Fail) for attending interesting lectures on complex problems of global importance and running small, weekly group meetings to help freshmen engage with the material. You and your co-leader can help younger students have a fantastic academic experience while being intellectually challenged and stimulated by the course material yourself.
A Stride Lead is a junior or senior leader interested in helping sophomore students "find their stride" and feel established at BC. Leads will join their small group of co-ed sophomores in a lecture series by prominent faculty and engage in weekly small group discussions.
Stride is a program specifically designed to help sophomores feel established at BC.
The program introduces second-year students to some of the most popular and respected faculty on campus through a lecture series, builds social connections through regular co-ed small groups, and helps students grow as leaders through a formational retreat experience.
The purpose of the sophomore formation program is to help students begin to ask bigger questions about who they are and who they want to be as a person. In order to be a leader, you first have to know yourself. Stride combines an academic, social, and spiritual approach to help second-year students integrate different aspects of their lives on campus.
Applications for the 2021-2022 academic year open on March 15, 2021 at 9:00 a.m.
The Stride Lead position is open to all rising juniors (Class of 2023) and seniors (Class of 2022) who want to help sophomores make roots at BC and grow in their self-knowledge and leadership ability.
The Stride program is for the Fall 2021 semester only.
As a Stride Lead, you will be both a mentor and a facilitator for your small group of eight sophomores with another Junior or Senior co-lead.
Stride Leads will:
- Move in early and attend a Lead Training the weekend before classes start
- Participate in a program-wide kick-off event prior to the first day of classes (Saturday)
- Attend 4 lectures, one every other week, from amazing faculty members on a variety of subjects
- Meet weekly with your co-ed group of eight sophomores
- Attend a weekend overnight experience about leadership and vocation called Halftime
Below are the learning outcomes for student participants and student leaders at the Center for Student Formation.
After engagement with the Center for Student Formation, students will be able to...
- Identify one reflective habit that they have integrated into their lives
- Pursue a mentoring relationship with an adult or older peer
- Demonstrate competence in one of the following areas: public speaking, small group facilitation, or mentoring peers