A group of St. Thomas students and graduates have decided to bring their Catholic education back to their hometown by starting a faith-based leadership group called the Catholic Young Leaders Institute in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The students all graduated from O’Gorman Catholic High School in Sioux Falls and now attend St. Thomas. Joe Rutten and Phillip Eisenberg proposed the idea for the Catholic Young Leaders Institute to current St. Thomas students.
Rutten, who is the director of faith formation at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Sioux Falls, said he wanted to start this group because of his own experiences as a Catholic Studies major at St. Thomas.
“The idea of the Catholic Young Leaders Institute in many ways is a tweak of the Habiger Institute for Catholic Leadership at the Center for Catholic Studies (at St. Thomas),” Rutten said. “We can use the formation those students receive and have them come back to Sioux Falls and give back to our community.”
The group will meet during winter and summer breaks at the Cathedral in Sioux Falls to socialize and hold faith-based discussions. Rutten wants the gatherings to be heavily social but also lead to deeper discussions about faith in the community.
“Hopefully we can build a conduit where our kids learn to embrace and grow in their faith, find the Church as a source of leadership formation and finally create an opportunity for our kids to stay connected to the city of SIoux Falls,” Rutten said.
Freshman seminarian Bailey Lauret wanted to get involved after he heard that 75 percent of college freshman fall away from their faith after the first semester. He is looking forward to the fellowship that can result from connecting with other college-age students in the Diocese.
“I thought joining would be a great opportunity to not only grow in my own faith as a college student but help others grow as well,” Lauret said.
Senior Dylan Bakken said his previous role on the Catholic Men’s floor RA piqued interest in the leadership institute. He is excited to bring the community together to engage in faith-based dialogues.
“I am most looking forward to seeing everyone and seeing what we can do to impact our communities,” Bakken said. “As with any high school, O’Gorman graduates have spread out over the years, and this is an opportunity to get them together.”
The leadership institute’s main goal is to create a culture of servant leaders among Catholic college students. Rutten hopes they can inspire people to live out Catholic teachings in their community.
“The key to the leadership institute is that they learn to lead based on principles of Catholic social teaching,” Rutten said. “From this vision of faith-filled leadership, flourishing communities are created.”
Senior Jessie Cink feels blessed to have received her Catholic education and is looking forward to helping others grow in their faith.
“These people from my home show me that this truth is a human person that exists in my life both at school and at home: Jesus Christ,” Cink said. “These people truly show me the face of Christ, and this Leaders Institute is one way for us to stay connected.”
Claire Noack can be reached at noac8702@stthomas.edu.