Halftime Retreat

Boston College’s Center for Student Formation (CSF) sponsors the “Halftime” vocational discernment retreat for undergraduate students. Unlike many other retreats, each Halftime session is led by a cohort of BC faculty and staff leaders who engage in small groups and give talks on panels, sharing their vocational and discernment journeys with students.

1. Involve faculty and staff in the University’s retreat culture.
2. Provide students with examples of caring mentors.
3. Allow faculty and staff to hear student talks and learn about undergraduates’ hopes and challenges.

Most retreats at Boston College do not include professors and administrators. Halftime is distinctive and students relish the opportunity to interact with adult leaders away from campus. An enormous amount of learning also happens for faculty and staff. They experience another side of the University while simultaneously connecting with colleagues from different disciplines and offices.

While undergraduate students have many opportunities for formative experiences, the Center for Student Formation saw a hunger for faculty and staff to have their own opportunities. For almost twenty years, CSF has taken this insight and created a series of programs for faculty and staff to connect to the mission through pilgrimage, the 19th Annotation, silent retreats, and writing retreats. It has been a key assessment for CSF’swork.