I recently started a new position at the University of Notre Dame. My job as a rector is primarily to be a community-builder, which uses the gifts that come most naturally to me. However, as I work with students, I discover more and more that community-building does not come naturally to all, which makes the many distractions that isolate rather than bring people together even more problematic. We must teach our students not only how to build communities but also the value of community in our lives as they prepare to move on to life after college. Some of the best advice I received as a college graduate was from a mentor who told me that whenever I moved to a new community, I should make as many connections as possible and work to integrate and make the community better. For many young people, that can feel overwhelming and scary as they find their places in life, as it did to me then.
The inherent value of community is identified by Catholic Social Teaching (CST) in its Call to Family, Community, and Participation, which states most simply that “human beings grow and achieve fulfillment in community.” Humans are relational and seek social interaction by nature. As the teaching goes on to say, “we who are made in God’s image share this communal, social nature. We are called to reach out and to build relationships of love and justice.” CST teaches us that society cannot effectively operate without communities, which are also essential for protecting the poor and vulnerable.
Distracted by many things, young people crave community but don’t often know how to create healthy communities that nurture love and justice. As students leave university life, they are not often well prepared to join churches, care for their neighbors, or identify with a local community. Furthermore, neighborhood and community leaders don’t always create the space to welcome new people because they assume that each new person will simply find their way. It takes an intuitive community member to make an extra effort to welcome those who are new and find a place for each person to discover their gifts in community. This is true not only for neighborhoods but also for churches, businesses, and other institutions.
As I examine my own experience of being in a new community, I have no doubt that community-building takes time and patience and involves risk, especially at universities, where people, especially students, are constantly coming and going. In a 2017 article in the The Atlantic, Megan Garber identified community as “active rather than passive”—something that must be chosen by the individual. Young people cannot make this choice if they have not experienced the value of community or been given an opportunity to discover who they are within the communities that embrace them. Often as mentors and teachers, we are responsible for offering this experience to our students. Another mentor once told me that it takes no fewer than three years to establish community as relationships develop and a care for the community is nurtured.
Modeling community-building for young people requires our interest in their lives and their awareness of that interest—that our work with them is not simply a nine-to-five responsibility but is rather an engagement in their lives outside of the classroom, outside of the residence hall, and in moments that really matter. We might attend a performance or athletic event in which they participate, host a class or group of students for a meal or social event, or ask about their hometowns and families. We might be there for them in more difficult moments, which for me have included attending a funeral of a parent or grandparent, visiting a student in the hospital, or having a hard conversation about challenges. After students graduate, I find it both rewarding and important to check in on how they are doing and offer support for whatever path or opportunity they have chosen.
A few years ago, I was sent a note by a past student who took to heart the importance of community. He experienced college as a community that shaped his self-understanding and provided opportunities for growth. Included in the note was a card created by Syracuse Cultural Workers that still hangs on my wall today, which lists the many ways that we can both build community and teach our students how to engage with others: simple things like getting out of your house, saying hello to others, or planting flowers.
I had great mentors who taught me the value of community. I try to teach it to others as well, especially students, and that work has been encouraged by NetVUE’s emphasis on community-building as a collective. This takes a willingness to loosen the boundaries of our own lives to let students get to know us, to hear about our families, and be aware of our interests beyond our work or academic fields. The rewards are worth seeing community as a lifelong endeavor and not just as something shared with students or colleagues for a semester, a year, or four years.
For other posts about community and vocation, see Karla Jensen’s “What Are We Creating Together?,” Kerry Hasler-Brooks’s “Mentoring in Community,” and Mindy Makant’s “Of Casseroles and Community.”
Colleen Dunne is a rector at the University of Notre Dame. She previously served at Carroll College in Montana, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, Saint Martin’s University in Lacey, Washington, and Santa Clara University. For other posts by Colleen, click here.