A college graduate for more than four years now, my first time back in the classroom at a higher education institution was Oct. 23 when I shadowed a seminarian in his fourth and final year at St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Roland Park.
I am writing a story, slated to run in the Nov. 15 edition of the Catholic Review, about a day in the life of a seminarian, instructor and non-Catholic in the Ecumenical Institute of Theology at St. Mary’s. As a part of a day in the life of a seminarian, I was lucky enough to attend classes with him at the seminary, a 300,000-square-foot building that resembles the Palace of Versailles in France.
I attended three classes – Theology of the Eucharist, Eighth Century Prophets and Patristics – and it felt so good to be back in the classroom. The classes, each one hour and 15 minutes, flew by. The instructors captured my attention.
Attending classes weeks into a semester meant that I didn’t have a full frame of reference, but I was able to piece together enough of what the instructor said to understand what the class was about and the day’s discussion.
What I learn deepened my faith and provided me with an even better understanding of and appreciation for the Catholic Church.
I also changed classes and ate in the cafeteria, both of which I have not done since my days as a coed.
While I do not necessarily miss the homework associated with school, I do miss the instruction. My day in the classroom was a reminder that learning is a lifelong process and does not end with a degree – or two or three.
As a reporter, I learn new things daily, on topics that I may not otherwise have any particular reason to delve into. As an education reporter, I am especially lucky because assignments like this one take me back to the classroom.