On April 17th, the Class of 2028 embarked on a retreat to Villanova for a day full of self- reflection, bonding and learning. Many had great things to say about the day. For me personally, it was a great way to take a reset and reflect on what I had done well and what areas I could improve on. 

The day started off with the 8th Grade listening to the song “What are we waiting for?” The grade took a few minutes to reflect on the song and then were sent off to listen to different speakers. One station was Mr. Algeo speaking. Many students resonated with Mr. Algeo saying “You never step in the same river twice.” Mr Algeo helped many students view how to be an Augustinian in a different way. Another station was with Hayden Fischer and Carter Marks. They explained their experiences with God and how they came to be Augustinian. It was great to see how people relatively the same age as us were able to find God. They inspired many of us to start searching for God. The final station was with Malvern graduate and current Villanova student Jack Kelly. He spoke about how God played a role in his everyday life.

Although we may not remember everything the speakers said, we learned that God would let us walk away with what the Spirit wanted us to know.

After we went through the stations, Father Hagan spoke to us. He covered a wide variety of topics ranging from the theme of the retreat:“What does it mean to be Augustinian throughout our life?” all the way to talking about the bright, breathtaking stained glass windows in the chapel. 

After we heard Fr. Hagan speak, we headed over to lunch. While on the way over it started raining. “We got a little wet which can be a reminder of cleansing,” said Mrs. Escobar, who herself and all the other 8th grade teachers, along with Mr. Goyer, put a lot of work into planning this experience for our grade.

Then we went to Mass. Even though there was no music, in my opinion this was my favorite Mass so far at Malvern. Closely packed together with our Friar brothers, I was able to reflect and embrace the meanings of each word Fr. Hagan was saying. This wasn’t only true for me; many other students enjoyed the Mass, also. Even though we were drenched in water, we sat there reflecting on ways we could become more Augustinian. 

Once we got back to Malvern, we headed to our Lady of Good Counsel Chapel. Here we closed out the retreat and received bracelets. These bracelets reminded us of the retreat and what it meant to be Augustinian. Overall, our class was very surprised at how much we got out of the retreat.