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CSU Summer Fun: Wakulla, 4th of July, & More!
School may have been out for summer, but Catholic Noles sure weren’t.
Although fewer students were roaming the halls of the Co-Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Tallahassee, the few Catholic Noles who were here made sure they had a great time this summer.
A staggering 50% of incoming freshmen at Florida State this year attended summer classes. Because of this, CSU rolled out events so these new students could begin building friendships in the Catholic community at Florida State.
Though the numbers were definitely down in comparison to events during the school year, the students who were in Tallahassee this summer would tell you that the energy and enthusiasm were there all the same.
A few current CSU students and a few recent graduates spearheaded most of the summer programming.
Senior MC Rogero was among the students who pitched in to help run some of the activities over the summer. To MC, it provided a way to nurture the kinds of friendships with Freshmen that aren’t always possible during the standard academic year.
“I feel like I was really able to connect with the freshmen in a way that just isn't usually possible during the fall and spring semesters because there were fewer of them, so we were able to dedicate more time to forming a friendship.”
The summer activities consisted of a trip to St. George Island, a movie night, Nole Night, a trip to Wakulla Springs, and a Fourth of July celebration.
MC pointed out a moment at Wakulla Springs that stood out especially to her as a formative moment where she experienced God’s love during the summer:
“A group of us were sitting on one of the docks, and a kid came up to us and came and talked to us. He was just a six-year-old kid, and we ended up starting a kind of raft where everybody was pushing everybody off of the platform. This kid was just laughing so much and having such a good time. The mom came up to us afterward and thanked us for playing with him, and that meant a lot.”
Another one of the students who helped out over the summer was recent CSU graduate Jude Bogusz.
For Jude, the most meaningful experiences he had over the summer were seeing the ways in which friendships and fellowship were being built in the same way he’d seen it during his time at CSU.
Jude looks back on playing sports on Landis this summer as a moment that he thought was meaningful:
“Seeing the freshmen come to the first event, get captivated by the people that they met, and then watching them form their freshman friend group was awesome. And then seeing them as the rest of the summer unfolded, whether it was the 4th of July, going to Wakulla Springs, or going to St. George Island. Just seeing them all form those friendships and make that community within the first week of their summer at college was beautiful.”
Jude finds moments like this to be a very easy way to see the movements of God in everyday life as college students:
“I think it's beautiful to see God working in that way, bringing them closer to their faith through just a simple thing like playing Sports on Landis. And it happens like every year, so just watching it always happen is a nice thing to see.”
All in all, this summer was a success for the Catholic Student Union. Despite not having nearly as many students around, the current students and alumni were able to get together not only to grow their own friendships and continue the fellowship they had experienced through CSU, but also to help the many new faces find a home here at the Co-Cathedral.
