Olá! I'm Luana from Brasília, the capital of Brazil. I hope to be an environmental engineering major, but, surprisingly, my favorite class right now is Humanities 1. You can find me studying in the Tower Room or at AQ, our Catholic Student Center. One year ago I was looking through this blog hoping to get to know Dartmouth. Now, I get to tell you why I love this place so much while I learn what it means to be a Dartmouth student. Consider this an invitation to accompany me.
Making good friendships is at the core of finding a home. That's a wordy way of saying the people make the place. Truer words have yet to be told about Dartmouth. So, coming to a new place as a Catholic, I wondered whether I would find a community that embraced or shared my religion in a way that would make Dartmouth feel like home. After only a month here, I can already state with certainty: I found community.
My first week of the term already amazed me with the Catholic community on campus. During a club fair, I found incredible Christian organizations and Aquinas: our Catholic Student Center, home to our campus ministers, a gorgeous library, a beautiful chapel that offers Masses Sunday through Thursday, Adoration, and a community dinner on Monday.
Aquinas Catholic Student Center Chapel
They are constantly planning events where people have the chance to embrace the Catholic faith and meet the community. When they offered me the opportunity to go on a retreat during my second week of the term, I jumped at it.
After a two-hour drive, blasting Taylor Swift the whole way through, I found myself at Saint Anne's Shrine in Lake Champlain accompanied by thirty-four Dartmouth students who shared in the Catholic faith or had an interest in a relationship with God. Between talks about worship with Father Timothy—our school chaplain—and bonfires where we poured our hearts out singing, we bonded in the faith.
St. Anne's Shrine.
Day 1:
We arrived to find a welcoming pizza dinner, icebreakers, and fun conversations, followed by an enlightening talk about praising God through the many forms of prayer. After that, we went to Mass and ended the day at a bonfire. It was through delicious smores, singing, and worshiping that we shared life stories. Suddenly, I noticed I was surrounded by amazing people who came from different walks of faith and backgrounds. All of us reunited to delight in our faith and love for God.
Our bonfire during the retreat.
Day 2:
Day 2 started early with some individual prayer time, where I chose to venture out through St. Anne's Shrine. I came across a statue of Our Lady, surrounded by benches in between the trees. Enchanted, I stayed there to pray and be thankful.
Golden statue of Our Lady at Saint Anne's Shrine.
Later, everyone gathered to enjoy each other's company through charade games, playing baseball, swimming in the lake, and Mass. Soon enough, the whole day had rushed by unnoticed, and we were headed home.
I have so much to be grateful for to have found such an uplifting Catholic community that truthfully reflects the welcome and warmth every first-year wishes to encounter.
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