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Beyond the lazy days of summer
BENNIES RESEARCH, TRAVEL,
INTERN AND SERVE
Brian J. Bruess, Ph.D. President, College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University
There’s a nostalgic rhythm to summer that many of us know by heart.
It begins with the slow unwinding of spring, the scent of lilacs and cut grass, and the long-anticipated exhale that arrives when the academic calendar fades into warm evenings and wide-open schedules. In our own college days, summer might have meant freedom – rest, maybe a job, a road trip, a stretch of time that invited a little idleness, a little aimless wandering.
But let me assure you: Bennies today are rewriting the meaning of summer.
This season, far from drifting,
our students are diving into opportunities that are as bold, rigorous and impactful as the women themselves. With the support of your generosity – through scholarships, programmatic funding and endowed experiences – Bennies are trading flip-flops for fieldwork, beach towels for boarding passes, and lazy days for leadership.
Students are spending the summer right here on campus, conducting faculty-mentored research that could change our understanding of things like medicine or our collective
economic future. Others are in places like Germany, part of new embedded courses that integrate travel, cross-cultural exchange and deep academic inquiry. More are in Washington, D.C., where our Summer Study program is placing Bennies squarely in the center of national policy conversations. And yet others are serving the common good through a Summer Leadership Fellowship, advancing their commitment to civic engagement and justice.
It’s extraordinary. It’s empowering. It’s energizing.
The education we offer at Saint Ben’s has never been confined to the walls of a classroom. It’s a living, breathing, ever-evolving experience – rooted in the liberal arts and the Benedictine practices that form our moral compass. Saint Ben’s offers transformation: real-world readiness,
global fluency, ethical leadership and deep personal growth.
So yes, we still welcome summer here. The sun still sets over the pines with that familiar golden glow. But these days, that light is illuminating the remarkable paths our students are taking.
In labs, in libraries and in legislative offices. In Germany, in D.C., and right here in St. Joseph. They’ll be exploring, leading, discovering and growing.
Thank you for walking alongside them, and for helping to build a future as bright and boundless as a June sky.
“I definitely wanted to do something on campus this summer, because I just love this campus. It’s beautiful,” laughs Christina Luchi ’28.
And, while she makes a valid point, she’s quick to expand on her reasons for taking on undergraduate research work this summer at Saint Ben’s.
“I’m just finishing my first year,” she says. “I’ve never done summer research and I’m excited. It’s in a field that’s not my major, because I’m trying to see my other opportunities that aren’t biochemistry. So I’m going to do research in the economics department.”
And while biochemistry and economics might seem like two disparate disciplines, Luchi likes keeping her options open. “I’ve listed myself as a biochemistry major and an econ minor,” she says, “But I didn’t get to take any econ classes in my first year. So this is my way of seeing if I can make it in the economics field.”
“Christina and I will be working on compiling literature on life expectancy outcomes across the United States, exploring the diversity of these outcomes,” says Professor of Economics Sucharita Mukherjee. “Our research is focused on understanding the factors that are associated with and explain the low life expectancy at birth in the U.S., relative to peer nations.”
A paid summer research position will give Luchi the chance to dig in, focus and explore both the process and the outcome. Professor
Mukherjee points out that this is high-impact experiential learning for students:
“Research can be frustrating and tedious while editing one’s own writing or when results of analysis do not match hypotheses, but it can also be rewarding and provide confidence and a sense of accomplishment. Getting a chance to engage in that process in one’s undergraduate experience helps develop these tangible and intangible skills which guide students to their career goals and also provide an opportunity to signal their skills to potential employers.”
Luchi’s looking forward to a summer exploring possibilities for the future. She’s excited about hard work. And she’s excited about a summer spent on a beautiful, quiet campus. “My sister just had a baby. So I’m excited not to wake up in the middle of
Christina Luchi ‘28 is preparing to do amazing things with her opportunity.
she admits. “But my parents are really excited! My mom says this is a wonderful opportunity – a lot of people apply for summer research and not many people get it. So she tells me to do whatever I have to do. Take this opportunity and do amazing things with it.”
“I have two minors – strategic communication studies and entrepreneurship – along with my global business leadership major,” says Saint Ben’s junior Brooke Verkinnes. “With those three, I feel like I can do anything.
“I guess I’m really drawn to the global factor of global business. I really want to do something out there. And I never really thought about doing anything like that until I took the Italy trip. So Saint Ben’s kind of put me on that path.”
The Italy trip Verkinnes refers to was a short-term embedded class in creative writing that she took after her first year at Saint Ben’s. The
class included five-and-a-half weeks in Italy. Embedded courses at CSB and SJU are credit-bearing courses students take as a regular part of their semester offerings – but each course includes an international field component during or after the semester.
That first experience had enough of an impact that she’s enrolled in another embedded course this
spring. As part of her marketing and sport sponsorship class, Verkinnes will spend three weeks in Munich, Germany, after the semester ends.
In the course, students explore the topic of sport marketing and sport sponsorship from the perspectives of sport organizations as well as sponsoring businesses. While
on campus, students learned from Minnesota-based sport organizations and sponsors to develop an initial understanding of sport sponsorship. Then, when in Munich, students are exploring and interacting with industry executives from a wide range of businesses, sport organizations and academic institutions.
“Sport sponsorship is an ideal business topic that allows for the exploration of cultural, social and commercial differences throughout the world,” says Clint Warren, Ph.D., the course’s instructor.
“Exploring sport sponsorship on campus, followed by three weeks learning about prominent
business partnerships in Germany, allows us to compare, contrast and experience sport business in Europe’s largest economy and in the United States.”
be staying in Europe all summer.”
Officer Chad Marolf
Warren is a strong advocate for the impact of studying abroad. “When students push themselves to truly experience another culture and are diligent in their reflection on that experience, it can shape the way they view the world and how they seek to be a force for good in it.”
For her part, Verkinnes recognizes that impact. After her Italy trip, “I kind of got the travel bug,” she says. “So I’m doing the Germany trip and then I also have an internship planned in London this summer. I’ll
Traveling during the semester would be tough for Verkinnes. “In the fall I run cross country. In the winter I have indoor track, and spring is outdoor track. I love running. So I really wouldn’t want to miss a season. Especially now, since I’ll be a captain. You can’t skip that.”
While our flagship semester-length programs continue to be the center of studying abroad at CSB and SJU, embedded programs like this open doors for more students like Verkinnes.
D.C.
SUMMER STUDY
“I had heard of the (CSB+SJU Washington, D.C., Summer Study) program before,” says Saint Ben’s junior Lara Morais Jatobá Cosato. “But I used to think it was only for political science majors.
“But I got interested because I saw it as another opportunity to grow – professionally, by getting an internship, but also through visiting new places and networking with new people.”
Cosato came to Saint Ben’s from
her home in Brazil. “I came to the U.S. for the first time when I came to college,” she laughs, “so I came straight to Minnesota and I have only been to Minnesota and Wisconsin. I’m looking forward to the cultural immersion of experiencing the nation’s capital.”
“The Washington, D.C., Summer Study Program is one of the few programs from small liberal arts colleges that creates a learning community (all of the students living together) and that has faculty come out and visit throughout the summer,” says Christi Siver,
professor of political science and director of this year’s program.
“Because of that, students learn both from their own internship and from all the other students’ internships.”
Cosato, a communication major, will serve this summer as a member services intern at the Air-Conditioning, Heating and
Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). “I’ll be creating visuals for them and making sure the website is up to date,” she says. “I’ll also be doing some data analysis and some editing if they need me to edit any videos.”
“Lara is an exceptional student,” says Siver.
me, hone my professional skills and become a better version of myself,” she says. “I am going to be more prepared to make a transformative impact on the world.”
“I am going to be more prepared to make a transformative impact on the world.”
“She has been extremely proactive in seeking out opportunities and is eager to learn. Participating in the Washington, D.C., Summer Study program will give her the opportunity to develop her skills and learn more about a different part of the United States.”
The experiences and connections make this a summer filled with exciting possibilities for Cosato.
“The Washington Summer Study program will be an outstanding chance to make connections, learn from people who’ve come before
Siver confirms the importance of the CSB and SJU alum community in the specific impact of the D.C. Summer Study program.
“The D.C. Alum Chapter is one of the most active,” she says. “They play a role in supporting students throughout the application process and during their internships. Students get the opportunity to meet with alums during seminars and are encouraged to connect via informational interviews. CSB and SJU are truly unique in the ways that alums support our students.”
“I’ve never worked with kids and families going through medical emergencies,” admits Ana Dailey ’26.
“So, as a psychology (and Hispanic studies double) major – I think I’d like to go into therapy – being able to accompany people through hard times in their lives will be very valuable. It’s a chance to grow my empathy and also learn how to set some emotional boundaries. I see a lot of transferable skills coming this summer. And I hope to have a good time, too.”
Dailey will spend this summer interning at Ronald McDonald House in Minneapolis, thanks to a Summer Leadership Fellowship (SLF). The CSB+SJU program provides opportunities for students to engage in 10-week summer internships in nonprofit and government organizations while receiving a $7,000 stipend. Dailey’s experience is funded through CSB’s
Fleischhacker Center for Ethical Leadership in Action.
That stipend aspect of the program makes it possible for students to pursue valuable experiential learning through what would otherwise be unpaid internships.
“One of my friends was a Summer Leadership Fellow last summer and it opened a lot of doors for
her,” explains Dailey. “She found the perfect internship for her, but she wouldn’t have been able to do it without the SLF giving her funding. She was able to take this unpaid internship, had a wonderful experience, loved it and got a lot of relevant skills for her field.
“A lot of nonprofits either can only afford to have part-time interns or all their interns are unpaid just because paying interns isn’t the best use of their limited resources.”
Claire Lentsch ’16, associate director of the Experience & Professional
Development office at CSB and SJU, sees that dynamic play out every year. “We know Bennies and Johnnies have a passion for creating positive change in their respective industries. But many are forced to make decisions about opportunities based on financial incentives. This program opens doors for students by letting them dream big, step outside comfort zones and make a difference with their skills and education.”
This will be my first official internship and I’m looking forward to it a lot.”
And she has the Summer Leadership Fellows program to thank for the chance. “I am so incredibly grateful that this opportunity exists,” she affirms.
“It’s a chance to grow my empathy and also learn how to set some emotional boundaries.”
Through Dailey’s student work as a peer manager in the CSB+SJU
Experience Hub, she is well aware of the impact and advantages of an internship experience. “I had a lot of community-engaged learning experiences when I studied abroad in Argentina,” she says. “But nothing at this level of commitment and involvement with an organization.
“For myself and most of my colleagues in this program, we would probably be working at an ice cream shop or a pizza place or some retail job that wouldn’t give us necessarily the skills that will be marketable for our future careers.”