A Sense of City U Students who complete KAIROS as juniors volunteer to lead the retreat their senior year. Lobue says that it warms him to see the seniors practice talks, help each other as they struggle to pull together their messages, and organize many retreat details. “The primary responsibility is to have juniors trust us as leaders and trust their peers,” says John King ’09, rector for the February retreat. “Without trust, the retreat doesn’t take full shape.” Tommy Hallal ’09, also a student leader at that retreat, was intent on sharing what he learned at KAIROS “. . . so that others may gain a new perspective on living and understanding their lives by helping them grow and become more insightful.” Although the students must make up the work they missed during the retreat, they come away with a feeling that it was a most worthwhile experience, says Brian Horgan, director of the Upper School. He believes that KAIROS fosters a greater peer network. “I know for a fact that the older students who lead the younger ones through the KAIROS experience become confidants for them,” he says. Madison Mawby ’09 saw her KAIROS experience as an opportunity to relax and contemplate what is important to her and how she could improve her life. “My relationship with God was strengthened to a level I didn’t know was possible,” the graduated senior says. According to Lobue, the faculty who assist with KAIROS also attest to the power and mystique of the retreat. For one Gilmour teacher, who was part of the first KAIROS retreat as a student, the memory remains vivid. “I will always remember KAIROS as one of my most defining experiences and one that truly molded my heart,” says Coreen Gorbett Schaefer ’02, now an instructor in English and creative writing at the Academy. “I left the retreat feeling closer to God, my classmates, and my teachers,” she recalls. “It is amazing to me that after almost 10 years, the students still feel that same energy.”
rban Plunge sounds like a dive into frigid waters to usher in the new year. At Gilmour, though, it refers to an immersion experience for juniors who delve into the possibilities and plight of Cleveland’s inner city. Urban Plunge is part of the junior-level religion curriculum that focuses on social justice. Some participants spend a portion of the day on a walking tour of historic Ohio City, one of Cleveland’s oldest and most ethnically-diverse neighborhoods, led by a resident of the Catholic Worker house, which is affiliated with the social reform movement. “The goal is to get students out into our own city to see for themselves some of the issues inner-city residents face,” says Sal Caruso, a Gilmour religious studies instructor. Poverty, hunger, homelessness, and gentrification are some of the issues the students confront during the Urban Plunge experience. Caruso notes that Ohio City, on Cleveland’s Near West Side, has a “densely populated set of social service agencies.” Gilmour Trevor Landgraff ’10 students visit several of the agencies to find out how they assist the neighborhood and to explore volunteer possibilities. They also examine how the neighborhood is changing and its impact on some of the poorest citizens who are being displaced. Another group of the Urban Plunge students spend time at Gilmour’s partner school, St. Adalbert, tutoring elementary school students, working with them on study skills, and assisting with music and gym classes. “The intention,” Caruso says, “is to broaden our students’ horizons and perspectives about Church involvement in promoting social justice in the city.”
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