In all my dreams of my wedding day, I never knew that one of the things I would be most excited to do was to send photos to a group chat of friends from all around the country. Having attended a summer session on the Boston College campus just two weeks before my wedding, I was sent home with so many warm well-wishes that I knew I had to send them an update (photos, or it didn’t happen!). Their kind congratulations in our group chat and even in discussion post replies in an online class in the fall proved that I had a community of friends and fellow ministers who truly cared about me as a person. That’s the beauty of the CSTM experience!
These past two years, my peers and I have stayed connected despite time differences and geographical location. Here are a few ways that you too might stay connected as a part of the Boston College community:
1. WhatsApp
Using WhatsApp or any other group chat is a great way to get quick answers for an online class. All it takes is one person to reach out, and once the group is formed, it’s an excellent way to clarify due dates, work on group assignments, or even just complain about the difficulty of a reading. It is also a place for more informal conversation, where we can give one another advice about what future classes will be like.
2. Faith sharing online
I knew that studying at the CSTM would help me grow in knowledge, but I was especially surprised and delighted to become friends with fellow ministers who worked in different contexts than my own. Catechists, school counselors, youth ministers, musicians, deacons – this just scratches the surface of the many areas of expertise that can be found among the CSTM student body. Staying connected with others by starting up virtual faith sharing groups is a great way to share resources and to support one another across distance.
3. Retreats or immersion experiences
CSTM student Brenna Fankell recalls: “As a hybrid student, one of the most formative parts of my studies at the CSTM was getting to participate in two different immersion trips, one to the US-Mexico border in Nogales, Arizona, and another to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. These experiences made the theology I had learned in my studies come alive in practical ways as I encountered Christ in so many people with vastly different and extremely difficult realities, who through their unwavering hope inspire me to continue to hope in a God of love.”
4. Forget about school for a second!
Once you’ve made connections with CSTM peers, it can be easy to lose track of them once everyone returns to their homes. But collegial relationships can become friendships when you keep one another updated on things aside from school. One of my roommates brought watercolor with her and shared her supplies, and now I have a new hobby and can update our group chat with my latest art attempts from time to time. Another friend had started going to the gym with us at BC, and now updates us when she goes on her own. Sharing moments like these is what allows us to maintain community.
Studying at the CSTM has truly helped me grow in my relationship with God and with others. My peers have shaped me as much as my professors have. It is with bittersweet joy that I look to the last few semesters I have left, but most of all, gratitude. I carry with me the profound confidence that this community of theologians and ministers is but one text away.