Experience, Reflection, Action (ERA)

Explore, Grow, Design for Impact

This first-year program focuses on formative education, including cura personalis—care for the whole person—and cura apostolica, or care of the community, while helping students adjust to life at Boston College.

ERA introduces students to elements foundational to their time at 51 and over the rest of their lives—how to be complete people, cultivate community, design solutions to help solve complex issues, and discover purpose in their vocations and beyond.

Meeting weekly, the program features internationally renowned speakers, presentations, activities, projects, and discussions that facilitate students’ personal and formative development, discernment of who they are and who they want to be in the world, acquisition of design-thinking tools and new knowledge, and ability to make a positive impact.

Students emerge as authentic leaders who use sound ethical reasoning to improve society and are primed to both lead and support lives of meaning.

ERA

Spend Spring Break Serving in Iceland

Students serving in Iceland

This March, the Lynch School of Education and Human Development is partnering with to offer undergraduate students an unforgettable journey to Iceland.

For this service learning trip, students will do whatever is needed. Whether it's sorting clothing donations, running a children’s camp, serving meals, or providing free workshops in arts and sports—Compass is in constant communication with our Icelandic counterparts.

Compass is more than just a service trip—it’s an opportunity to explore, serve, and contribute to creating a more just and sustainable world. This cross-cultural service-learning trip is designed to help students examine themselves and the world, grow talents, skills, and imagination, and act for justice in community with others.

On Compass, I felt like I could truly bring my entire self. It reminded me that there is something so much bigger bringing us all together. I’ve never connected with a group so quickly and deeply in such a short amount of time. I don’t feel the same as I did at the beginning of the trip; my spirit feels renewed by laughter, service, and love.
Mia, Former Participant
ERA
ERA
Freshman year was definitely the most formative experience I've had here at 51. I learned so much not only in the classroom, but also through out-of-classroom experiences. Being away from my parents for the first time I learned how to become independent, the importance of time management, and prioritizing activities that were most important. Thanks to the course Experience, Reflection, and Action offered by Lynch for freshmen, I learned the value of self-care.
Anthony Docanto ’19


Experience, Reflection, Action (ERA)

This seminar addresses academic decisions, social relationships, spiritual growth, issues of autonomy, vocational choices, mental and physical health, and general fulfillment of each first-year student in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development.

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