Franciscan Servant Scholars
Living the Franciscan tradition through service, community, academics and faith
Community Building
- Participation in monthly peer reflection meetings and large group gatherings.
- Participation in regular check-ins with program staff and faculty.
- Building a community is the foundation that allows us to do the rest of the work of the Franciscan Servant Scholars. Having a group of peers who are asking similar questions allows us to have companions for this challenging journey during the Stritch experience. Together we ask one another to ask difficult questions to uncover who we are called to be.
Service
- Franciscan Servant Scholars are asked to perform six hours of approved service or ministry a month (minimum of 24 hours of service a semester).
- We do service as a community because we believe in the two feet of Catholic Social Teaching. We establish intentional partnerships so we can grow in authentic relationship with communities outside Cardinal Stritch University.
- We use this experience of doing service together as point of reflection. What communities are we serving? How do we lift up those communities through both service and advocacy? How do we help leverage the stories of those we serve alongside to break the cycle of poverty?
Faith
- Attend the Franciscan Servant Scholar Orientation Program.
- Attend the Fall Franciscan Retreat.
- We put our reflections and monthly conversations in the context of a faith tradition to provide a foundation for our commitment to service. We help one another think critically about what it is that we value and why. How does your exploration of faith relate to the service you are called to do and the career you are entering into? These are the kind of questions we can explore in a welcoming, community focused environment.
Academics
- Maintain full-time undergraduate student status and keep a minimum GPA of 2.5.
- Franciscan Servant Scholars may choose from any of the traditional undergraduate academic majors.
- Students in this program must also complete one of the Advanced Core Certificates. Included in these certificates are interdisciplinary concentrations of courses and experiential learning opportunities that form students for authentic service to the community and world.
Entry Criteria
- Full-time traditional undergraduate program student or applicant with a minimum GPA of 2.5.
- Express a statement of faith or spirituality with an openness and personal desire to discern one’s professional calling in the context of a living faith.
- Capacity for effective interpersonal communication, as well as intercultural and interreligious dialogue.
- Demonstrated involvement in volunteer activities and service that may be, for example, based in church, school, or a religiously‐sponsored organization.
Franciscan Servant Scholar Requirements
- Attend the Franciscan Servant Scholar Orientation Program.
- Perform six hours of approved service or ministry a month (minimum of 24 hours of service a semester).
- Participation in monthly peer reflection meetings and large group gatherings.
- Participation in regular check-ins with program staff and faculty.
- Attend the Fall Franciscan Retreat.
- Junior and Senior students must complete a service or ministry related internship.
- Complete monthly service report and journals and yearly self-evaluation.