By Amy White
The Texas Catholic
As Ursuline Academy of Dallas senior Lexi Obi participated in the Ursuline Education Network Student Retreat earlier this year, she learned something surprising: Despite hailing from different grades, different schools, and even different states, the student attendees each had something fundamental in common — a sense of “serviam,” or sense of service, rooted deeply in their common Ursuline formation.
“In my head, I thought they would be different, because we’re coming from different schools, even though it’s under the same Ursuline foundation,” Obi said, “but seeing them made me realize how we’re all the same, really.”
Sponsored every other year by the Ursuline Education Network, the retreat invited select high school students from Ursuline schools across the United States to converge for a dedicated time of spiritual enrichment and community. This year, the retreat took place Jan. 15-18 in Dallas, welcoming 34 students and 18 faculty chaperones from eight Ursuline schools across the country. Obi was one of four students from Ursuline Academy of Dallas chosen to participate.
“It’s always amazing to see them when they get together,” said Angie Jakubik, mission integration coordinator and theology department chair at Ursuline Academy of Dallas, “to see them have that moment of recognition: ‘Oh my goodness, even though your school may be in the Bronx, N.Y., or Louisville, Ky., our Ursuline schools are so similar.”
The retreat, Obi said, was a welcome pause from the normal busyness of student life. As a student ambassador, a member of the school’s service organization “Toys for Paws,” and a member of the African-Black Student Union, the senior said life on campus can be very full — and very busy. The retreat offered a recess from the hustle and bustle.
“I feel like time really moves fast; but on the retreat, it was a time for us to take a step back and really reflect,” the senior said. “I really wanted to dive deeper into my faith and my relationship with God.”
Entitled “God will be in your midst,” a reference to the writings of the foundress of the Ursulines, St. Angela Merici, the retreat invited students to share in “the sisterhood of Merician spirituality,” Jakubik shared.
“St. Angela herself went on multiple pilgrimages to the Holy Land, to Rome, to Varallo, Italy,” she said. “This is how the retreat was structured as well, making friends and companions as we continue our own life’s journey, growing deeper in relationship with Jesus and one another.”
Through presentations, prayer, and group discussions, the Ursuline students reflected on the spirituality of the Italian saint — her leadership, her faith, her service — and were invited to emulate those strengths in their own lives.
“I took away the importance of resilience,” Obi said. “In St. Angela’s life, she really encountered a lot of obstacles, and throughout the entire time … she stayed resilient.”
Following the retreat’s conclusion, as the senior returned to her regular, bustling schedule — to her classes, her clubs, and her college preparations — she said she took that example of personal grit and trust in God with her.
“I feel like there’s a lot of challenges sometimes that come up in life. Just having a reminder that you staying resilient — you having trust in God — can really lead you to do remarkable things in this life really impacted me,” she said. “If there’s something we really want to happen, we can make it happen.”
Cutline for featured image: Participants of the Jan. 15-18 Ursuline Education Network Student Retreat pose for a photo at the National Shrine Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe. During the retreat, titled “God will be in your midst,” participants were invited to reflect on the spirituality of the foundress of the Ursulines, St. Angela Merici. (Ursuline Academy of Dallas photo)
