To a higher degree: What drives remarkable student outcomes?

At the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University, we take our responsibilities as educators seriously. We also embrace the important work of shaping Bennies and Johnnies with a sense of joy, hope and awe. It is sacred work –that of providing unique opportunities and experiences for students to develop the habits and practices that will change and shape their lives.

And it is work squarely centered in our distinct-but-supporting missions. The work calls us to instill the values and aspiration to lead lives of significance and principled achievement. It compels us to foster integrated learning, exceptional leadership for change and wisdom for a lifetime.

In so many cases our graduates become living examples of those missions in action. They are leading, succeeding and discovering the impact they can have on their families, their communities and our world.

They are manifestations of our institutional learning goals: thinking deeply, embracing difference, engaging globally, serving graciously and living courageously. Each, in their own way and across their own sphere of influence, adopts a stance of curiosity, seeking to courageously live a life of purpose.

Students leaving St. Ben’s and St. John’s go on to not just achieve, but to live deliberate, thoughtful lives dedicated to helping solve our world’s most urgent and complex problems. A few recent examples come to mind.

• Jervon Sands, a 2023 graduate, is the first Rhodes Scholar from Saint John’s in more than 50 years. By October, he’ll be studying at Oxford University on his way toward two Master of Science degrees: in environmental change and management, and in sustainability, enterprise and the environment. His impressive academic success is noteworthy, but so is his service-minded, spiritually rich vision to work creatively on global climate justice in his home country of The Bahamas.

• Maya Chuppe, from the St. Ben’s class of 2020, is about to earn her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in May from Creighton University. Last summer though, she put her skills to work in the Dominican Republic alongside her mentor, Creighton Associate Professor and Interim Assistant Dean for Student Progression (and 1997 St. Ben’s graduate) Jenn Hasslen. Maya has also volunteered at a clinic back home in North Dakota that specializes in serving lower-income patients. “Seeing how transformative dentistry is in the lives of people was really impactful,” she said. “It’s a combination of artistry and science that leads to reconstructing smiles.”

• And if you haven’t already seen them in the CSB and SJU episode of the Amazon Prime TV show The College Tour (available on Prime in May, but on our website now at csbsju.edu), you will enjoy meeting seniors Ashley Tarrolly and Kaidan Popp. Kaidan was drawn to Saint John’s from Redmond, Washington. His extensive work with Saint John’s Sustainability Office and in theatre represents a contagious enthusiasm to “observe life from multiple perspectives … [to] take part in the world.” Ashley came to St. Ben’s from right here in St. Cloud, and quickly embraced the access and mentorship she can get from faculty in a close-knit liberal arts community like this. She’s used that leg up to kick open doors and secure her post-graduation position as an investment banking analyst already.

These are a few examples of outstanding Bennies and Johnnies who are living lives of courage and grace, making both their president and our entire community immensely proud and profoundly humbled. They’re living the impact of a St. Ben’s and St. John’s education – precisely who we are and what we strive to be as the greatest Benedictine, liberal arts institutions in the world.

Go Bennies! Go Johnnies!

— This is the opinion of College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University President Brian Bruess. To A Higher Degree is published the fourth Sunday of the month and rotates among the three presidents of the largest Central Minnesota higher education institutions.

This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: To a higher degree: What drives remarkable student outcomes?