Student Programming
Our Vision for Student Programming
The life of the Sorin Fellows Program is grounded upon participation and engagement in a community of students, faculty, staff, and professionals committed to the relational character of formation. This approach facilitates the opportunity for students to consider, encounter, and explore various manifestations of integral formation inspired by or reflective of the Catholic moral and intellectual tradition.
A helpful way to organize the methodology of the Sorin Fellows Program is as follows:
Model: Provide students role models and mentors in academia, the Church, and the public square who exhibit and witness virtues of integral formation (spiritual integrity, professional excellence, intellectual vivacity, social philanthropy, community engagement, etc.).
Sorin Supper Clubs – Offered throughout the academic year, Sorin Supper Clubs welcome fellows into the homes and family lives of Notre Dame faculty and staff to underscore the distinctively relational character of integral human formation and to form lasting and enriching relationships during their college years and beyond.
Integritas Forums – Structured as interview-style conversations, these forums provide Sorin Fellows opportunities to hear from and engage with professionals from a wide range of sectors (business, medicine, architecture, law, etc.) about their experience maintaining personal and ethical integrity across their professional, familial, and faith lives. Conversations include maintaining a work-life balance, growing in faith after college, as well as ongoing discernment and professional development. Offered once a month exclusively for Sorin Fellows.
Cor ad Cor Mentorship – Inspired by Saint John Henry Newman's pedagogical model and coat of arms, "cor ad cor loquitor," (heart speaks to heart), the Sorin Fellows Program seeks to cultivate mentor-mentee relationships between (1) graduate/professional Sorin Fellows and upperclassman (junior and senior) Sorin Fellows and (2) upperclassmen and underclassman (sophomore and freshman) Sorin Fellows. Fellows are matched based on a variety of descriptors, including: academic profile, personal interests, and professional goals.
Inform: Engage students with specialized opportunities to directly consider ideas and issues of enduring and contemporary import to human dignity, authentic human freedom, and the common good as understood through the Catholic moral and intellectual tradition.
Faculty Seminars – Rooted in the scholarly ethos of the de Nicola Center, these seminars–facilitated by Notre Dame faculty–are intended to engage Sorin Fellows with enduring and contemporary topics surrounding and informed by the Catholic moral and intellectual tradition. Offered once a month exclusively for Sorin Fellows.
Book That Changed My Life Lecture – Features a prominent Notre Dame faculty member speaking on a book that changed his or her life and shaped the ways in which he or she was — and is — uniquely changed, challenged, and enriched by it. The faculty's reflection is followed by conversation and community. Fellows registered to attend the lecture receive a copy of the featured book. Offered once a semester.
Bread of Life Dinner – Designed to provide an opportunity for Notre Dame undergraduates and faculty to meet, reflect on, and discuss their attitudes toward culture of life issues. In the context of a meal, a university leader offers a reflection on the intersection of his or her work and life with building a culture of life. The reflection is followed by small group discussion and a question and answer period. Offered once a semester.
Lunch and Learn Seminars – Intended to engage Sorin Fellows with leading scholars at and visitors to the university, the Sorin Fellows Program hosts regular lunch and learn sessions on campus. Past lunch and learn facilitators have included preeminent theologians, philosophers, bioethicists, district court judges, etc.
Nourish: Sustain students with opportunities for prayer, worship, service, and pilgrimage that cultivate the interior life in dialogue with social, intellectual, and professional values.
First Friday Series – Offered on the first Friday of every month during the academic year, the First Friday Series provides fellows the opportunity to attend a Mass and social with Sorin Fellows. Students contribute as lectors, sacristans, acolytes, cantors, and musicians.
Vocation to Love – A women's formation group dedicated to fellowship and growing together through the discussion of topics pertinent to our Catholic faith and contemporary pro-life feminism, and how this affects our call to life, our discernment, and the building of community both within the Church and in a secular world. The group meets once a week in the evening and is led by Suzy Younger (MS, CFCP).
Strength in Virtue – A men’s discussion and faith-sharing group focused on strengthening our relationship with God, understanding our identity as men, and discerning God’s mission for our life. The group meets once a week and is facilitated by ND alumnus Tim Ruggaber ’03, ’06.
Seasonal Pilgrimages – The Sorin Fellows program offers seasonal pilgrimages to various holy sites significant to the Catholic tradition. These pilgrimages are led by dCEC faculty, staff, and religious and provide fellows the opportunity to encounter the rich spiritual heritage of the Catholic Church around the world.
Support: Equip students and Sorin Fellow alumni with relevant financial and human resources to excel in their professional, post-graduate pursuits as well as in efforts to self-organize in the promotion of causes toward cultural renewal.
Sorin Fellows Program Grants – Offered throughout the academic year, the Sorin Fellows Program assists its student fellows to explore their interests, cultivate their gifts and talents, and pursue integral formation in the Catholic tradition through Center-supported internships and funding opportunities. Read more about our grant program here.