WILMINGTON — It may not have been Spain, but freshmen from Salesianum School, Padua Academy and Ursuline Academy participated in their own El Camino walk on Oct. 10 at Salesianum. As they walked the halls of Salesianum, the young men and women built relationships and participated in a number of activities as they got to know one another.
Father Brian Zumbrum, an Oblate of St. Francis de Sales and the director of activities at Salesianum, said the three schools had conversations last year about “creating meaningful ways for our freshmen classes to spend time together, truly begin to get to know each other. What we recognized coming out of covid, a lot of these students, their middle school experiences had been all over the place.”
Father Zumbrum said he attended the Camino de Santiago in Spain several years ago, and that served as the genesis for the day at Salesianum. The camino, or “Way of St. James,” is a network of pilgrimages in Spain that lead to the shrine of the apostle James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain.
“That model of kind of walking to a destination, but all along the way having conversations with other pilgrims, stopping to eat and drink, entering all the sacred spaces, we just really loved that model,” he said.
Steve Adams, a theology teacher and director of mission initiatives at Salesianum, said the three schools used to have some shared scheduling at the beginning of the day, but there aren’t as many opportunities for that because of changes in academic programming. But leaders from the schools “wanted the freshmen from each of the three schools to have that opportunity to connect with each other, to realize we’re all in this mission together of Catholic education.”
Instead of stopping for food and drink, the “pilgrims” at Salesianum stopped at 10 different stations in classrooms, the gymnasium, the chapel, auditorium and library for a number of activities. Adams said the stations offered the young people the chance to reflect on their faith, academic and personal lives through actions and discussions.
In one classroom, students worked together at Jenga, the block-stacking game. In the library, the sounds of karaoke filled the air. The chapel was home to questions about community service. While there were adults from all three schools on hand, seniors guided the activities.
Ella Persoleo, an Ursuline freshman, said she was enjoying her time at El Camino.
“I’m meeting a lot of new people, and I’m making some new friends,” she said. “I’m finding some old people that I knew before and we’re reconnecting, so that’s good.”
It was nice to get a break from the traditional school day, she added, although the event was “like classes with all your friends.”
Padua freshmen Bailey Brown and Cecilia Ramos stopped in the gym for some physical activities. Brown said the two are in the same physical education class, but they had not really gotten to know each other until spending time together at El Camino.
“I never really talked to her. She was just in my gym class. She was in my group today, so I got to meet her and talk to her,” she said. “It’s definitely a way to meet people.”
Ramos, who graduated from elementary school in Spain, was grateful for the chance to meet new people in a relaxed environment.
“We’re having a lot of fun so far,” she said.
Father Zumbrum said any social interaction, especially among freshmen, has the potential for discomfort, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. After all, they will be spending a lot of time together over the next four years.
“We kind of want them to lean into that. There’s definitely that little awkward hump they have to jump over, and I think they’re doing it well,” Father Zumbrum said.
According to Adams, El Camino was the first of three joint activities between the schools. A second event is scheduled for January at a site to be determined, and the culmination will be the annual SALSThon, the dance marathon fundraiser that takes place in March.
All photos by Mike Lang.
