The Class of 2024 has missed out on a number of traditional St. Joe’s experiences because of the coronavirus pandemic, including the Philadelphia Service Immersion Program (PSIP), which did not run in 2020. A new program, SophoMORE PSIP, aims to give them another chance.
PSIP is a four-day, optional early move-in experience generally offered to first-year students. Participants spend time at service sites in the Philadelphia area and get a chance to explore various destinations in the city, connect with community members and reflect upon the experience.
“This program gives participants the true taste of what it means to be Jesuit educated and how we really pride ourselves on taking social justice issues seriously and asking the question of how society got to the way it is today and flip the switch,” said Blaise Doyle ’23, student director of SophoMORE PSIP.
Doyle said the sophomore program will align closely with the first-year program.
“The core of the program isn’t going to change for sophomores,” Doyle said. “In terms of activities, it’s not going to be too far off of what PSIP for first-year students looks like.”
PSIP was established in 2007 as a partnership between the Office of Mission Programs, the Dean’s Office of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Office of Student Leadership & Activities, according to Daniel Joyce, S.J., executive director of Missions Programs. Joyce credited Nancy Fox, Ph.D., associate professor of economics, with bringing the program to St. Joe’s after she saw a similar early move-in program at Princeton University.
St. Joe’s put a Jesuit stamp on its version of the program, Joyce wrote in response to written questions from The Hawk.
“There is a long history at St. Joe’s of doing local urban immersion experiences that involve reflection and learning from the hundreds of educational partners throughout the city,” Joyce said. “PSIP became a way to jump start the process for students to know that Philadelphia and the many communities within the city are a huge asset to a student’s learning, understanding and growth while studying at St. Joe’s.”
Joyce said that SophoMORE PSIP is a way to prevent the Class of 2024 from getting “short-changed” on their St. Joe’s experience.
“They will have the chance to engage with service partnership organizations that work closely with St. Joe’s and learn from the members of those communities,” Joyce said. “Then they will bring that back to campus and reflect on what they have learned to connect it to what they are studying and how it broadens their perspective.”
Doyle said he imagines how hard it’s been for first-year students to meet people outside of their residence halls and wants to help them grow closer with other members of the St. Joe’s community.
“Why not start a new program just to ensure that they can have the same meaningful experience that almost every other class has been able to have,” Doyle said.
Maggie Koch ’22, student director of PSIP, said the program will help sophomores build “deeper and more genuine connections” with fellow students on campus.
“I think it’s definitely a step in the right direction for sophomores to just start to feel that community that we all love at St. Joe’s,” Koch said. “I feel like they haven’t really gotten a good glimpse of that.”
Planning for the fall program is already underway, Doyle said, but with lingering uncertainties regarding the pandemic, organizers have not yet finalized details.
“Right now we are hoping that by the time August rolls around, everyone will be fully vaccinated and everything will be back to normal,” Doyle said.
Kellie Evanik ’23, a 2019 PSIP participant, said she didn’t know what to expect when she signed up for the program but ended up loving it.
“You just felt welcomed into campus and I just felt very comfortable,” Evanik said. “Even though it was my first week being there, it kind of opened my door to a love of service.”
Evanik said she hopes sophomores will experience the same welcoming introduction to service that she did.
“I definitely think it’s going to be useful for the sophomores because they haven’t had a normal year,” Evanik said. “They’ll get to meet new people and faces on campus, and they’ll also get to know the campus more and feel out different types of service.”
Applications for SophoMORE PSIP will be available in April. The program is scheduled to run Aug. 17-21.
