First SII Night 2010

Tonight we kicked off the first SII Night of the school year, and we had a fabulous turnout. For those of you who are new to the Institute or who may not be familiar with what SII Nights are, we get together every Tuesday night for Mass at 6pm and a group activity afterward. Everyone is welcome to SII Night and everyone is encouraged to attend Mass, no matter what religious beliefs you hold. It's just a wonderful time to sit in quiet, purposeful prayer and meditation as a group. The activities that follow Mass range from Dante lectures and study abroad informational sessions to monster movie fests and murder mystery nights. The great thing about these SII Nights is that students are the ones organizing these events. Therefore, everyone can get the chance to choose an activity that is exciting and meaningful for them.

Tonight's pizza party

Our first SII Night started a bit earlier tonight, with a special visit and presentation from Fr. Richard Finn, Regent of Blackfriars in Oxford. SII has a long partnership with the Blackfriars program and has sent several USF students to study in Oxford. Mary and I were lucky enough to be part of that program last year and it was a real treat to see Fr. Richard again.

Mary, Fr. Richard Finn, and Me.

After a well-attended Mass led by Fr. Sean, we all mixed and mingled with a pizza party. It was nice seeing new faces and meeting up with old friends. I even got a chance to see many SII friends from my year. We all lived together and went to class together since freshman year, and this informal reunion was long overdue.

Senior Class: (L to R) Kailey, Ali, Mary, Justin, Rebecca, Teresa, Ravi