Each grade level at DePaul Prep has the opportunity to participate in retreats, whether it is on campus or off. One of the many retreats that students, specifically juniors and seniors, get to experience is Kairos, organized by DePaul Prep’s department of Mission and Ministry. Kairos retreats have been a school tradition at DePaul Prep for years while partnering with Loyola University Retreat and Ecology Campus (LUREC).
Kairos is a time “about coming to know yourself, coming to know your classmates, and coming to know God in a different way,” said Emelia Gleber, Campus Minister at DePaul Prep organizes senior retreats and Kairos. This is a time when students can not only focus on self reflection, but also reflecting on relationships with others.
In addition, these three days allow students and faculty to step back away from technology, their busy routines, and their everyday lives to gain a new perspective by having conversations with others that don’t necessarily happen in a classroom setting.
Kairos retreats have been happening since the 1960s, yet one of the things that have remained the same are the bonds and connections that form. Seniors Christina Galiano and Erik Musial both attended Kairos and agreed.
“I got to meet a lot of new people that I never really connected with. I got to learn about their personal lives, which allowed me to build stronger connections with those people,” said Musial, who attended Kairos as a senior in September.
“I had the opportunity to talk to people I would never normally talk to, and I got time to take a pause during a super stressful time in my life to think for myself and what’s best for me, rather than what I need to be doing for others,” said Galiano, who attended Kairos as a junior.
Gleber has seen no change in the outcome of Kairos from the time she attended as a student, to now. “I think even with how many I’ve gone on, each one is really unique, because of all the people that are on it. It’s a different experience every single time. And I think that really speaks to just how much all the groups always end up coming together by the end,” said Gleber.
Of the retreats that Gleber has been on, many have returned saying how they’ve talked to somebody that they have never spoken to before, even if it’s someone they see regularly.
If students attend Kairos as juniors, they have the opportunity to become senior leaders and help lead their own group of retreatants. Student leaders spend about five to six weeks preparing for the retreat in order to be prepared for those three days.
The student leaders work with Kairos organizers, such as Gleber weeks in advance, so they can have a successful retreat. “Even before we get to the retreat center, there’s a lot of recruiting, ordering materials, getting all the students’ grades up to date, and making sure that people are signing up when they’re not in sports seasons. All these things are essential leading up to Kairos,” said Gleber.
After attending Kairos as a junior, Galiano was a student leader for the group of seniors attending Kairos in September. She wanted to take what she had learned from her time on Kairos and share it with her peers. Her goal was to create an environment where students were able to feel open and vulnerable, as well as get something out of Kairos.
“I feel like most people don’t spend a lot of time self reflecting, especially as a teenager and in high school. I wanted to be able to help people self reflect more than they probably ever have in their lives and create a welcoming space for people to form relationships with others, like I did,” said Galiano.
By attending Kairos with an open mind, students are able to see their peers and faculty in a different light. Students may see other students as simply their classmates and lose sight over how deep students actually are. “It’s a great way to build up the DePaul Prep community when you’ve got students and teachers participating on it all together,” said Gleber.
Students, such as Musial, had no idea what to expect when going on Kairos but still found it very impactful.
“I was not prepared for what I experienced on Kairos. I feel that being able to go is such a privilege because of all the fun and engaging activities that you get to do with others,” said Musial.
There may be students who are afraid to attend Kairos, but it is a way to get to know others without getting distracted from everyday life. “If you are scared, that means you need it,” said Galiano. “It means you’re very afraid of being vulnerable and open with people. That is something that is only going to limit you in life.”
