When I was a senior in high school, desperately attempting to figure out where I wanted go to school, I almost always would immediately discount any school with a religious affiliation. Not because I thought of them as ābad,ā per se, but I definitely labeled them as ānot for me.ā You see, I was raised in a strictly agnostic / not affiliated / atheistic family (it depends on who you ask), and religion was never something I felt that I was apart of. My Dad did a great job instilling morals and ethics in his kids, it was just completely divorced from a religious setting. He was also really insistent that I had to respect otherās faiths, even though I donāt prescribe to them personally, which is something I am forever grateful for. As I grew into my own person I became more secure in my own personal atheism, which was not forced upon me at all. It fit in with my immediate familyās values, but it wouldnāt have been totally out of place if I found myself drawn to a faith.
The result of being raised in this climate was that, as a high school senior, in spite of the respect that I held for the various religious communities that I had found myself coming into contact with, I never even considered applying to a religious college.
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The only reason that I even began to consider Saint Mikeās was because of how close it was to me geographically. An Edmundite, Catholic college was never something that I thought would be on my shortlist. But, I wanted a smaller school than UVM that was close to me during the college application processā¦ you know, just in case. I never thought I would actually go here. But then I started scratching colleges off my list one by one, and the list shrank until I was in a panic. I had less than a month until I had to decide, and I felt like I was out of options. So, on a whim that was filled with desperation, I scheduled a tour of Saint Mikeās. And I loved it.
My tour guide was amazing, and she very open about the fact that she also had been raised in a not extremely religious family, but that St Mikeās had been the best option for her. She even had decided to major in Religious Studies, which I couldnāt (at the time) begin to fathom. The emphasis on Social Justice was something that really struck me, and was one of the deciding factors for me. I should also mention that I had this preconceived notion that only Catholics went to Catholic colleges, and that turned out to be SO not true. There is a lot more diversity on the campus than I had thought probable at the time when I was applying. I mean, donāt get me wrong, itās still a small, private school in the middle of Vermont, but it is way better than I had imagined.
The most religious experience that I have had at SMC was during Orientation Weekend, when we had five minutes of silence for reflection and calm before our semester got busy and stressful. There were several prayers spoken at this gathering of incoming Freshmen, only one of them Catholic in nature. There was a very dedicated vibe of inclusivity, which eased a lot of the worries I had that were left over about going to college at a religious institution as an atheist.
Also, all of the scary, strict, intimidating priests I had previously imagined? All of the priests that I have met have been super niceā¦ and way more funny than expected (shoutout to Father Mike).
The only other reservation that remained for me was the required religion class(es), specifically Christian / Catholic religion classes. I was worried that I would be forced into this completely inapplicable course that would serve only to waste my time and attempt to convert me. This was swiftly debunked when we spent our entire first week speaking about how this was a religious studies course, not a theology course, and what the difference was. We also spoke about the benefits and drawbacks to both insider and outsider perspectives, which helped to relax me when I realized that not everyone who was in the classroom with me had gone to Catholic school for twelve years.
In the end, choosing to go to Saint Mikeās has been one of the best decisions of my life. The type of people that this place breeds is amazing. The sense of community is strong, and ready to catch you when you (inevitably) fall. The positive, social justice driven climate correlates strongly with many modern Catholic values, but it also just correlates with regular good ethics for all people, regardless of your religion.
Oh, and guess what? Iām minoring in Religious Studies.