Student Development Message: 'Connection Through Imagination'

Dear SLU companions,

Now that remote courses are underway and you’re beginning to settle into a new routine, I want to touch base and make sure you know we are still here for you.

We are adjusting to remote work, just as you’re adjusting to remote coursework. We are adjusting to not seeing you in person everyday, just as you’re adjusting to not seeing one another in person everyday. We are making our way through the challenges of being cooped up, of encountering technological issues, of family members and housemates interrupting us – just as many of you are. And we are continuing to work through our grief at the loss of this in-person time together, just as you are.

But walking on campus this morning, I saw forsythia blooming audaciously near DuBourg, and warm sunlight glinting off Grand Hall’s windows, and I thought of how full these sidewalks usually are at this time of year. Even though you are not here crowding these walkways, you are here in my mind’s eye. Your presence – whether physical or virtual – is as real to me as ever. This is true for all the staff and faculty and administrators who have been called to serve and support you, to live and learn alongside you.

As I imagined you going about a normal spring day on campus, I was reminded of St. Ignatius’s insistence on imagination as a gift of the spirit. He calls on us to imagine ourselves into scenes from scripture, to imagine ourselves in conversation with figures across the distances of time and place. For Ignatius, imagination offers us a way to get outside the constraints of our own present lives, to “taste” the experiences of others, in order to learn more deeply about ourselves and our relationships with others and with the God of our understandings. Imagination is an essential act of Ignatian spirituality. (You can learn more here.) For me, it is also an essential act of connection as we are separated from one another.

As you get back into your coursework, stay connected to each other and to us. There are links below with some ideas. But also remember to reach out to each other. Imagine yourselves in a room together, laughing, sharing a meal, playing a video game. Imagine yourself walking down the mall, passing the clocktower, and running into someone you haven’t seen in a while. Whose face did you “see” just now? Send that person a text. Make sure they know you’re still here for them, even if “here” is not where it used to be.

You are the reason we do what we do, no matter where you are located on the planet at this moment. We are “here” for you – everyday, all day – and we want to know you’re well and settling into a new rhythm.

Imagining you here,

Debie Lohe
Interim Vice President for Student Development

Staying Connected

Here are just a few ways to stay connected:

Check out the daily virtual offerings and resources from Campus Ministry.
Check in with your UCC counselor or connect with the UCC on Facebook.
Don’t have a UCC counselor yet? Connect with them for an online appointment by calling 314-977-8255 (leave a message for an appointment) or emailing steve.byrnes@health.slu.edu or jennifer.scott@health.slu.edu.
Connect with the Dean of Students Office.
Look for virtual programming from Simon Recreation Center.
Connect with the Student Involvement Center via social media (Instagram here and Facebook here) for virtual engagement opportunities, from free concerts to trivia and more!
Connect with your academic advisor -- registration period is upon us.
Continue to serve -- the Center for Service and Community Engagement has some advice here.
Stream the 10:30 a.m. Sunday Mass at College Church.
Connect with tutors, writing consultants, SI leaders, and student success coaching by connecting with academic support resources.
Want to see what spring in St. Louis looks like? MO Botanical Garden recently posted this video of a virtual tour of the garden starting to bloom.
Were/are you a residential student? Connect with your RA or RHC. Just because you may have moved off campus doesn’t mean they don’t want to hear from you and connect!