8/24/26
By Scott Cason | On Mission
DE PERE, WI — Nearly 25 percent of first-year college students do not return for their sophomore year, according to data compiled by the Education Data Initiative. While cost is often cited as a primary driver of this phenomenon, a deeper dive into the data shows that students who chose not to return simply didn’t feel they had found their place on campus.
At St. Norbert College (SNC) in De Pere, the campus ministry team’s commitment to welcoming new and returning students in Christ is making a difference.
August is an exciting month to be on the SNC campus. Welcome Week events began on August 19 with move-in days, followed by daily engagement and orientation programs for new and returning students. Fall semester classes began on August 24.
For students involved in campus ministry at SNC, the fall term began a week before the official move-in days. Student catechists, those involved in peer ministry, and Bible study leaders, along with the freshmen scholarship community, traveled to Door County for a three-day retreat. Retreat programming included a deep dive into Norbertine charisms that balance active ministry and deep contemplative prayer, including actio, contemplatio, stabilitas, and communio.
During their time on retreat, the students had time to pray, grow in fellowship, and grow in their knowledge of Christ. They also read Scripture, prayed the Liturgy of the Hours, and learned more about what it means to live as a missionary disciple on campus.
Then, on Sunday night, August 23, the day before classes began, students involved in campus ministry attended SNC’s traditional Mass of the Holy Spirit, where the entire campus community, including families, started the academic year in prayer and worship together.
Fr. Mike Brennan, O.Praem., pastor of Old St. Joseph Parish and the director of campus ministry at SNC, believes his team’s passion for ministry and discipleship is an essential element in the SNC experience. “It’s a joyful time of year; it’s a humble privilege to walk alongside them, to encourage them to know they are loved, and to witness how they reflect this love throughout the year. As our students arrive on campus, more than anything I want them to know they are loved by God.”
The evening following the first day of classes marked the fifth year of an annual tradition at the college: the “Res Hall Blessing and Bonfire.”
“While we have already prayed and blessed every building on campus during the summer, we use this first night of the academic year to invite our students to pray together in their res hall, have it blessed by a Norbertine priest, and then head over to campus ministry where we have the bonfire. It’s a beautiful way for our students to meet one another or reunite with friends as they start the year,” said Jennifer Rapavi, the minister of faith formation for campus ministry at SNC.
On Tuesday, the campus ministry student staff hosted a root beer float social in the campus ministry building to help new and returning students feel at home and get to know the people and community that make campus ministry a welcoming and supportive resource for SNC students.
On Wednesday night, the first Knight Mass (SNC’s mascot is the Green Knights) was hosted in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel in Sensenbrenner Hall. Knight Mass is a weekly tradition at SNC that runs throughout the school year. Then, after the conclusion of the Mass, students made the short walk over to Phil’s Grill for food and fellowship. The priest who led that evening’s Mass usually joins in.
The campus ministry team of Fr. Mike Brennan, Jennifer Rapavi, and Assistant Director of Campus Ministry Andrew Gehring knows they are making a difference for students and families who choose to begin their higher education journey at SNC. “As a parent, I know what an incredible act of surrender it is to let your child take steps towards becoming who God has called them to be, and I respect the parents of these students so deeply as I watch them say goodbye to their son or daughter at drop-off” Rapavi said. “My hope at the beginning of every school year is that I can make that transition process easier for our students, helping them know they belong, that God loves them, and that he has great plans for them during this next chapter of life.”
Learn more about the world’s only Norbertine college, SNC.