SAVI, which stands for Student Augustinian Values Institute, is an annual retreat, attended by Augustinian schools all over North America.

This past October, Malvern sent six students, three sophomores and three juniors, to Tulsa, Oklahoma to take part in the conference. The goal for this meeting is to better understand their faith, by learning how each student can live the core values of Truth, Unity, and Love.

Despite many students hoping to attend, only six students were able to go. In order to be chosen for this experience, you must first be nominated, followed by a formal application and an interview. Eventually, Malvern was able to narrow the field down to their final six, who were sent on their way to Tulsa.

When they arrived on Friday, the Malvern students spent time with their counterparts from the other Augustinian schools and quickly became close.

They began to form a close bond with these students, and “after the first night, everyone was such great friends,” sophomore Patrick Rooney said.

Rooney says that while each school and each student was individual in their own right, everyone there was tied together by a certain cause.

“All the schools had something special about them, however, they were all tied together by the core values of Unitas, Veritas, and Caritas,” he said.

Despite the trip being short, sophomore Colin Campbell says that he still got a lot out of the trip.

“I have learned how to let God into every aspect of my life,” he said. “[I have learned to] be more open towards others.”

For Rooney, the best part of SAVI was meeting those like him from around the world.

“I loved it, I had a great experience. It was very cool to see kids, across the United States, and Canada, that all share the same values,” he said.