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54: How students connect faith and technology in high school · Beyond The Beacon

• 0:07
  SPEAKER_05: Welcome to Beyond the Beacon with Bishop Kevin Sweeney, a podcast of the Diocese of Patterson, New Jersey.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_05: Join us for weekly conversations about our Catholic faith, and together let's strive to live a life of faith, hope, and love.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_05: I'm Jay Agnish, Communications Director for the Diocese.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_05: With me is Bishop Kevin Sweeney.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_05: Bishop Kevin, how are you this morning?
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: Oh good, Jay.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: How are you doing?
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_05: Doing well, thanks.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_05: What's new?
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it's a wonderful time of year.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: The weather's not cooperating very much, but uh a lot of rain out there later.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: Very happy to have our uh students and faculty from uh Pope John with us today, and maybe just as we're beginning, uh uh was anybody at the cathedral?
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um we had a mass at the cathedral, Father John was there with our Catholic schools, all of our Catholic schools uh uh for uh a mass for May Crowning on this past Tuesday, the Feast of St.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: Matthias.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: But um as we'll talk about the Pope John podcast, uh the Lions, is it?
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: Uh yes, the Lions Den.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: The Lions Den?
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Lion's Den, yes.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: So I listened to a couple of episodes, and one was on immigration, and uh recently we had two wonderful events with our immigrant community, our Spanish speaking community this past Monday, yeah, Saturday evening, a vigil um in the novena for Pentac uh for Pentecost uh at the armory in Morristown.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: We had over a thousand people for uh the charismatic uh Spanish.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I saw the photos, a ton of people came out, very moving.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: And then last night, um if any, I don't know if our students will be familiar with Passaic or Hablar in Espanol, but uh uh in Passaic there's a large Mexican community, particularly from the state of Puebla.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I had gotten to know the community from Puebla in my parish in Brooklyn, and long story, but I met I had a chance to visit, and a priest from Puebla was recently named an auxiliary bishop, and he came to visit uh um New York and and here in New Jersey, and he said mass at Holy Trinity Parish in Pasaiic last night at um the must the church was filled.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um he said at one point, how many here are from Puebla?
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: and eighty percent of people in the so from that one part of Mexico.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: That it's uh they call it Little Puebla in in Pasaiic, but a beautiful um experience.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um so uh um the richness of our diocese, diversity, right?
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_01: So good.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_05: So yeah, so today we're trying to pull off an episode with nine people.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_05: I think this might be might be a first we've we've gotten close.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_05: So yeah, we're we have um a uh student advisor and faculty advisor and chair of the business department of Pope John, uh Brian Carlson who's with us, and Anthony, I'm sorry, Schn Schnabel.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_05: Schnabel, who is uh a student at Pope John.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_05: Are you a uh junior?
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_05: I'm a junior right now.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_05: And you're part of the podcast that uh that the bishop mentioned.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_05: And then we're gonna we're gonna rotate in a few others.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_05: Uh so we want to talk about um technology, communications, the podcasts, and then we want to get into how faith um plays a part of the daily Bible study too.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_05: Pope Johnson.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_05: Bible study, yeah.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: We started Bible study this year, yep.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: Faculty and and student Bible study.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: That's been very powerful.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: This morning we had our Bible study, right?
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: The faculty, it was a good one.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Father John leads us.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: We're all inspired to get to the classroom after that, right?
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_01: Put the word into action, right?
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um so maybe we'll begin with a prayer.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: Amen.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: In this week leading up to the great feast of Pentecost, we give thanks to God for the gift of our faith, and we pray that the fullness of the gifts of the Holy Spirit can be inflamed in our hearts and in our lives, and we ask the help of the Holy Spirit as we pray.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful, and kindle in them the fire of your love.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: Send forth your spirit, and we shall be recreated, and thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: O God, who has taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant us in that same spirit to be truly wise and always rejoice in your consolation through Christ our Lord.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: Amen.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: Our Lady's seed of wisdom, Mother of the Church, pray for us.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_01: Saint Pope John the twenty third, pray for us.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_01: All holy men and women, pray for us.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: Name of the Father, Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_05: All right.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_05: So um Brian, why don't you why don't you kick us off?
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_05: So tell us um what your role is at the at the school, a little bit about the uh the podcast club and uh well uh so I'm the business department chair, I've been there 13 years.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I was actually the football coach there for 10 years.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_05: Oh okay.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so uh I no longer do that for the last three years.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um I've been teaching, but we're really the goal was to expand the the business department.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: So uh you know we have AP economics, honors economics, we started an entrepreneurship class uh three years ago, and we have a marketing fashioning, uh fashion marketing, we have uh sports marketing.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: So uh, you know, we have a really good broad spectrum of uh business offerings.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and this podcast really came out of, you know, I listen to a lot of podcasts, both from business, and one of my favorite in the morning is Catholic Inspiration by Father Richie out of Wisconsin.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um Catholic Inspiration.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's a great podcast.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Father Richie does a great job.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: So I listen to that every morning on my way to work.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, obviously with technology and all the opportunities the students have, I just felt that it would be a good opportunity for to start teaching the kids the podcast from uh this side.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: And we had a nice benefactor who who jumped in and helped donate uh the whole technology part of it.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the studio.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: You sent me the photos really impressive.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: So the kids do a great job.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: They pick the topics and uh we try to make them, you know, tied into like we talked about immigration, you know, not the political side, but really the economic side of it and the pluses and the minus.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: And then we had a great one on housing and you know, kind of relating it to the students.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, another one, college debt.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yep, yep.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: AI was another great one.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: So they've done a great job really taking the lead on it.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: So Anthony Jack, yeah.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: Oh Anthony, Anthony.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_11: So Anthony, tell us um your role with with the podcast and uh maybe how you how you plan it out or pick the topics or so um for picking topics, usually it's like we'll have a conversation like once a week, you know, like what are some things like we found in like the news or whatever, and like something that interests us.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_11: And then like out of our topics, we think we pick the one in terms of like relevancy that would make like the best episode.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_11: So college that we kind of did for like end of year, you know, people are applying to colleges.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_11: Yeah.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_11: And um AI because like a lot of things are with school now and cheating.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_11: And then also we can have factors in the workforce that can change things.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_11: Yeah.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_11: So really it's based off relevancy, um, and also just like our common interests.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_11: Like we were thinking about doing like a VR episode just because like it's something for teenagers.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, virtual reality, right?
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, okay.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I'll be looking forward to listening to that one.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and um something you've been interested in during your high school years, business, technology, um, yeah.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_11: So it's really that.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_11: I've been taking Dr.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_11: Carlson's classes since my freshman year when I started at Pope John.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_11: So I took his honors economics class last year, and then this year I took his entrepreneurship, and that's really um doing well.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_11: Do a lot of good business.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: And uh I guess and it must be a good experience uh I as I've learned um a little bit from this experience with Jay and Cecile, who works with us, uh uh listening to a podcast like Jesuitical or Bishop Barron's Word on Fire, or I I was mentioning Malcolm Gladwell's uh revisionist history.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um the the preparation that goes and the teamwork that's necessary, right?
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's just that you just don't show up and sit behind a microphone and uh but uh the inter pre-interviews of the guests uh and Dr.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: Carlson or uh Anthony, you have some experience of that as well?
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean we put together, like I said, a team, right?
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: So uh, you know, obviously it was volunteer.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: We started it, and you know, we're looking for people on the production side, we're looking for people that are gonna do research.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we have people that do writing, you know, do the scripts, and then we have you know the people that are in front of the microphone.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: So uh it's collaborative, you know, and uh I think it's a great way to for them to learn what it's gonna be like in the workplace, you know.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: So and then the podcast is a great way to reach people, you know.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's a good link.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: And a little side note, Dr.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: Carlson.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have a PhD, it's like inside joke, you know.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: So I just want to clarify that.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: So this I know I'm so they used to call me coach, and then like they call up sometimes, and I felt like it was an operating room, like from the main office, and they got to say, oh, Dr.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: Carlson is me in a joke with the administrator down there, and then the kids here, you know, and then little by little.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like it's a funny insight.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: How important is it to keep a sense of humor?
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: And not take ourselves to serial as well.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_05: What are what's a maybe a surprise or fun moment that you had on a recent podcast?
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_11: I mean, I would say our recent one was TikTok, which we're still waiting to be published.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_11: It was with um Shalom, who's in the back, me, Chris, and uh um one other person who's at Pope John right now.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_11: But um the conversation got really heated really quickly.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_11: Oh okay.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_11: And so we kept having to stop it just to go over and be like, all right, we need to still be calm, we still need to.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_11: Why was it getting so heated?
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_11: Well, because um so it's it was basically around the ban of TikTok in the US.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_11: And so me and Chris were had the argument that it would be security reasons with um phones and data and whatever.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_11: And so um, we were thinking about taking it down, and Shulum actually had a really good perspective on it of if we take this away, there's so many businesses that go through podcasts for advertising or selling things that so for us it was really like we had an argument about like the sa is the safety more important than like the money that comes out of it.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_05: Awesome.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: Great, thank you very much.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you uh rotate, right?
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_01: For the sake of time, yeah.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: Uh nice having you on.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for being with us.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: Dr.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: Carlson, thank you.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: It was the easiest PhD ever.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_05: Okay, and we're back with two of our other guests for today, Pope John students.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_05: Why don't you introduce yourselves over here, Chris?
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_10: Yeah, I'm Chris.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_10: I'm a senior going to Stonehill College next year for international business.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_09: And my name is Shalom.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_09: I'm also a senior at Pope John, and I am majoring in finance.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: And Shalom, we were just talking before that um is your mom that chose names of uh you're one of six.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_09: Yes, I am one of six, I'm a middle child.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: Does each sibling have a name uh indicating peace?
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_09: Yeah, basically my oldest brother's name is Gift, and then my older brother's name is Peacemaker, and then obviously my name Shalom means peace, and I have a younger brother named Pacifique, that also means peace as well.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_09: And then I have two younger sisters, Gloria and Claire.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: And uh the country your parents are from?
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_09: Uh my parents are from Rwanda.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: Rwanda.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: Oh wow.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um you can tell why they would want to be working for it for peace.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: It was uh unfortunate incident over there for sure.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um and uh did you did you grow up in the No.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_09: So I'm the first person in my family born in the United States.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_09: Um my two older brothers were born in refugee camps.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_01: Oh wow, wow.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and you found a home in Sussex, is it?
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yeah.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_09: So they first came in, if I'm not mistaken, to Trenton, and then they went to Stanhope, and then we uh for a long time lived in Newton and I recently moved up to Mount Olive.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_09: And so I've been in the Sussex County uh area for all my life, basically.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_01: And the Catholic Academy of Sussex, right?
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: We mentioned Pope John High School, but it's important to mention that it's part of the Catholic Academy of Sussex, which is Reverend Brown, is that the middle school?
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_09: No, it's the elementary.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_01: So um uh what sparked your interest in the podcast or business or uh well looking at it with most of the majors, I kind of tried to find out my way and which one looked for me.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_09: I realized early in as a freshman physics was not it.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_09: So that took any engineering or being a physicist out the table, but I've always had an interest on how things work and how to make things elevate to a better level, and business kind of shows how that's done in factors of on a financial aspect, just a marketing aspect, and just connection.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_09: And I've always had um a way of speaking and communicating with people, and just those connections is what elevates business to a whole nother level.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_09: So I've always said that if that's what it takes, I would most definitely go into the business.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: And you said you're heading to Curry College in Massachusetts.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, Melton, Massachusetts.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: Uh gonna play soccer and you're gonna study Finance.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna be a finance major.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: And first name again?
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_01: Chris.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_01: Chris.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you're heading to Stonehill College.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_01: Stonehill.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um and uh hoping to study, planning to study.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_10: International business.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: Great, great.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_10: And your interest in the uh podcast or so I was mainly interested in the business podcast, mainly because like all the adults nowadays have their own podcasts talking about these subjects, but people our age didn't really have an outlet, especially in our school, to talk about this type of stuff.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_10: And I felt that we could like provide like a unique insight into it.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_01: How how what's the feedback been like from uh family members or or peers?
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, do you are the other students uh listening to the episodes?
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: Do you hear much?
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: Or uh do you I'm sure family are happy to hear?
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_09: Yeah, my uh brother kind of makes his own podcast himself, so I kind of took some insight to him.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_09: Yeah, I listened to his and he listens to some of ours.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_09: So he says it's a really good insight.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_09: And from the people I've actually sent the link to or showed the actual video, they said it's nice and they didn't know some of these things that you wouldn't necessarily be taught at school financially, or things are just about money, and it's almost a full.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: You do both audio and video, is that right?
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, sir.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: Like ourselves.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_01: When we started this, uh I was more familiar with the listening.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_01: I listened in the car and I've been listening to podcasts for a few years, but um uh I think I'm still getting used to the video part, right?
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_01: But uh so uh uh and and yourself feedback from um friends or family?
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_10: So we've actually gotten a lot of feedback from our faculty, and like our faculty is like honestly really impressed by how in-depth we go with our research, and like we're teaching them things that they didn't know, and they're like teaching them to the classes, our own peers.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_01: And were you guys part of the heated TikTok discussion?
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, we were part of the team.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_01: Same side or different side.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh different side.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: Peace, right?
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: We got to do that.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, of course.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_09: Nothing, nothing uh against it.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_09: It was just two ideas clashing, and that's what makes what makes solutions and having different perspectives about it.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_01: And I I presume you're hearing um seems like we need to work on we can disagree and still be respectful of one another, right?
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_01: We don't have to make it personal.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_09: No, never.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_05: Never um so what about the AI episode?
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_05: Uh you know one of the things I noticed they're very short, the episode is short and sweet and kind of get right to the point, which is which is great.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_05: Um the when it came to the AI episode, anything you could reflect on with that with that one?
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_09: Well, with AI, it's uh fascinating how it's grown so fast.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_09: Obviously, technology is advancing at a at a crazy rate, and so there's always a new new gadget or a new gimmick that comes on that we see on commercials or social media.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_09: So when it's AI comes around, they're thinking that it's gonna be replacing humans more of a sense.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_09: So it's gonna be taking away people at cashiers that you see at QuickCheck or any gas station, so you could just self-check and they'll tell you your change.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_09: Or it can go into something as more complex, like making algorithms for businesses or apps, and that takes away jobs from people who do more of a coding sense or computer science.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_10: Yeah, one of our main concerns was that like AI was gonna take over the roles of accountants and stuff, since it's just computing.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_10: And did you come up with any uh positive sides or uh I think we both came up with we needed some regulations to help protect against that type of stuff.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_09: No, yeah.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_09: Um obviously with it, we don't want it being the main thing that's taking away from us humans, making a living itself.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_09: Yeah.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_09: But what makes everything better is you gotta have to have a skill, and as AI comes in, maybe you just need to polish on that or find ways to just coexist with AI and work with it instead of it just working solely upon itself and being autonomous.
• 17:03
  unknown: Yeah.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, it's really becoming more and more a part of our daily lives in in in new ways.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_05: And there was even the uh the moment where AI almost replaced a priest, a Catholic Christian.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_05: Oh, that's right.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_05: No, I did not.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_05: Father Justin.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_05: Yes, yeah.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Catholic Answers, I think, is an apologetics group.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: It's basically, you know, people what questions you would ask your parish priest, and maybe they were hesitant to go and uh connect, and so they made this AI priest, right?
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like uh chatbot or something, yeah.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: And it was a disaster apparently, because it wasn't supposed to like be able to uh enter into what would be a confession, and if you manipulated it in a certain way, you would uh be able to be in confession.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_01: So they've changed it to a a lay theologian, I think.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_01: Within two days, yeah.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_09: Yeah, um see, like that's why we should have some of these restrictions because obviously on a lot a logical side, AI is most definitely an advancement, but it doesn't have the sentiment of just the emotions that's the human heart.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_09: Yeah, so especially in the priesthood, uh what makes a priest so relatable and someone to go close to is also them giving experiences of how they've come to be and just sharing that upon others.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_09: So it's almost like I'm giving you a piece of myself, yeah, as well as you're spreading the word out to others.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_09: So AI can't really do that.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_09: Yeah, very well said.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_10: Going to confession or talking with Father Calibro, like you can't get that type of experience from a computer.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_05: No, no, and I'm so glad you mentioned Father John because we're gonna uh have him on next.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_05: And thank you both for for being on.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: First name of the case.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: Of course, Chris, Chris, thank you.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_01: And Shalom.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: Peace.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, guys.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_05: All right, so we're back with Father John Calavro and Leah Gerhard.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_05: Welcome.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_05: Thank you for for joining us.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_05: Thank you.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_05: So um, Father John, you are the uh chaplain at Pope John and also a teacher.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_05: What what subjects do you do you teach?
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_04: Well, not surprisingly, theology.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_04: Perfect.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_04: Uh but yeah, it's been a pleasure there, uh being a teacher.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_04: So this is my fourth year at Pope John, mainly, yeah.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_01: And you were ordained in 2019.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_01: And after having studied at the North American College in Rome, right?
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_01: So after ordination went back for a year to finish your degree in church history.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_01: And then uh Bishop Saratelli, I guess, assigned you, right?
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_01: Uh uh during the pandemic, I guess.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so actually we were uh kind of forced to leave our house in Rome and while I was in quarantine after having just come back to the United States, Bishop Saratelli gave me the call uh assigning me to the Catholic Academy of Sussex County.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_05: So you work at all the schools?
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_04: I do.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_04: I'm mainly in the high school because I also teach there.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_04: So I'm just by uh by nature of that position, I'm in the high school the most, but I try to be president at all all three schools.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_01: And uh Leah, right?
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah um uh you're involved in is it campus ministry?
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_01: Would uh I uh would uh and recently there was a search retreat, is it right?
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_08: Why don't you tell us a little bit about how that um we just had a retreat, um it was a religious retreat for the weekend, and juniors and seniors were um they were invited to come, anyone, it was voluntary.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_08: And I think we had 40, 40 um students come and say the weekend and deepen their faith with God.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_08: And um it turned out really successful.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_01: We talked about uh this class of seniors would have been starting uh in September of 20, right?
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_01: Uh uh reopening and still in the midst of the pandemic and ups and downs, the at least the first two years, right?
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: And eighth grade graduation somebody said was an email instead of uh a ceremony.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_01: But please God, uh I'm looking forward to being there for graduation at the beginning of June, I think.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: But um I think one of the things that was impacted um uh by the pandemic, uh youth ministry and campus ministry, it's all about getting together, right?
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: And uh so uh I know this the school had a a long history of search retreats and trying to restart um was a bit of a challenge, I think.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_01: Is that right?
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um maybe you could each say, Leah, what uh do what do you remember search retreat your freshman year?
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_01: Probably not, right?
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: It was uh some version maybe or uh Yeah.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_08: Um last year they tried to have a retreat, but it like fell through and it they couldn't get people to come.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_08: And then this year we got a a really good group of leaders to help get people to join and market the experience that you'll get from this.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_08: And I um when we were freshmen, I don't think it would happen because of COVID.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_08: You couldn't go on like a weekend trip with your classmates.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_01: But um, you could do a zoom rosary.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_08: But um I think it will be continuous from the years on.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_08: I think it will keep going on.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_08: Absolutely.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_01: Picked up the tradition.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_04: Um since search didn't happen before them, right, they weren't they didn't hear about it from friends, uh they weren't getting that uh the experience shared with them, right?
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_04: They weren't having a witness.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_04: So as Leah said, we got a great team of seniors to lead it this year um who were able to convince enough of their friends that this is something worthwhile because um of their experience planning for it, right, as opposed to actually actually having gone on uh it before.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_04: So hopefully next year, god willing, next year, right, some of our uh team members will be uh from the retreat and pool this year, right?
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_04: So they're able to they'll be able to share their experience.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_04: Uh start building a new foundation.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_04: So it's really it I really credit Um all those who came on it this year because right?
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_04: They didn't ha there were no guarantees, right?
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_04: There was no uh group of retreatants who came back earlier in the year or last year sharing, you know, how wonderful the experience was.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_08: And a lot of people were skeptical.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_08: They were like, I don't know how this is gonna be.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_08: I'm kind of scared.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_08: And they came back and they were like, I'm so happy I went.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_01: Has your faith always been important?
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_08: Has it been strengthened in your Yeah, my faith has always been important like growing up?
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_08: You know, I always went to church with my family.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_08: But going to a Catholic school allows me to really express my faith.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_08: You know, in a public school you wouldn't be able to pray before or after eating, we have to pray, and you know, like you wouldn't get that experience.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_08: And I also think, you know, campus ministry, you know, going to Bible study with my friends, like that really deepens our friendships, you know, having a good idea.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_01: I hear there's an active Bible study, huh?
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_01: That's great.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_08: Like during um Lent, right?
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we did a student Bible study during Lent.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_08: During Lent.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_01: And you said you're gonna be going to Rutgers.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_08: Yep.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_01: Have you heard of, do you know, about campus ministry there?
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_01: I don't, but you'll be finding out getting involved.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_01: We need good young people of faith on our college campuses, maybe especially uh at our high schools as well.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_01: But uh so uh hopefully you'll be uh involved at Rutgers and uh Yeah, I definitely will.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_01: Great, great.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_01: Father John, um uh it becomes your parish, right?
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it does.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: Monsignor McHugh was the president when you first arrived, and now Father Walter Jenkins.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um and Father uh Emerson, uh a local uh uh uh young priest recently ordained, has been helping out in recent years.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_01: Uh what's it like um with the the school, I guess, as your parish, right?
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_01: Is the the students as your parishioners?
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's always crazy, right?
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_04: It's always busy, which which is a wonderful thing, right?
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_04: The uh we notice, you know, as as staff who are there year-round how different the building just is, right, without students and how how wonderful it is when it's alive and full of life and just but it is you know, as any school is a very busy place, right?
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_04: A lot of things going on, which is wonderful to see the students um right, really engaging some things to the fullest, right?
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_04: So whether it's sports, uh Bible study, right, preparing for the search retreat, uh you see them really choosing well and that's really so edifying.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, right.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_04: It's just wonderful to see students um coming alive, so finding things that they're excited about, uh engaging in them, uh but also it's like I guess is they have the energy, right?
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_04: So many things.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_05: Um awesome, well said.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_05: Okay, so uh thank you both for for being on.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_05: We're I think we'll why don't we keep Father John on and then we're gonna bring another student on.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_05: Thank thank you, Leah, for your time.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Leah.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_01: God bless you.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_05: Okay, so we're back and we are gonna welcome a senior from Pope John, Olivia Berrigan.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_05: Welcome, thank you for joining us.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_05: How's it going?
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_05: Welcome, Olivia.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_05: So what what are we talking about now?
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_06: Um I think we're still on search.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_06: Search retreat.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_06: Yes, because I was another leader that went on the retreat.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_05: And what was that like?
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_06: Um it was a great experience.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_06: One thing that really like stuck out to me is like it was very emotional.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_06: I feel like everybody was just like because we were w without our phones for the weekend, and I feel like we don't do that all the time.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_01: It wasn't a you you survived, right?
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: It wasn't.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_01: And it was even maybe a good thing.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: No, it wasn't.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_01: Were you having withdrawal or what maybe a little bit?
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, but it was very emotional because like we were just like together, we had no distractions, and obviously we were in nature, we had a we were at a beautiful campsite, and it was just very it wasn't overwhelming, but it was it was just like I don't know how else to say it, but it was just nice.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_01: You could understand, um sorry to interrupt, but uh Jesus said to his apostles at times, come away to a quiet place, right?
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_01: You could yeah, do you have a sense of that?
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, it was it was like um it makes me speechless because of how like of such like it was such a good experience to be like around my friends and people that I don't really know.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_06: So if we had a great group of people that like went from like all different like parts of the school, like sports, theater, arts, and everybody just came together as one.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_06: And I know our saying's like one Pope John, so it really like stood out to me that that's how our retreat made it.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_06: And it was it was honestly a great experience, and I wish I could do it again, and I wish that it would have been something that I could have done my junior year and been like as a candidate instead of a leader to experience both sides.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_06: But I'm really glad that I was able to experience this and that we were able to pull off the retreat because while we were on it, like I heard some of the candidates saying to to their friends, they're like, Oh, like I can't wait to be a leader next year.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_03: Right, right.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_06: So it really made like me and it made the other team leaders feel great that we could have pulled that off since so much preparation went into um like putting together the retreat.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_01: And you said you're going to Sacred Heart, um so you find a faith community there, right?
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_06: Yes, I actually I went up there for um student oriented like uh admitted students day and I met the uh faculty who run the um Canvas ministry, so I am planning on being a part of that.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: Father John, uh what's the experience like working with uh some of the leaders in the school to prepare for the retreat, especially as you said, um these are kind of trailblazers because they're re-invigorating or restarting uh the search retreat.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_04: Uh one of the more important aspects of preparing for the retreat, at least on our side uh with the students, is giving them an opportunity to practice their talks because this kind of retreat, student-led, student-run, all the talks that are given, reflections that are given, are all by the students themselves.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_04: So giving them uh first uh a very practical time and practice uh in front of their peers is important.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_04: Uh and then to actually receive feedback from their fellow team uh team leaders is really important.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_04: For me, what was so impressive though during those times, so these were students who are giving their talks, right, if you will, for the first time in front of a group of people.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_04: Um so it was raw in in some ways.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_04: This was before the actual retreat.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_04: Uh how impressed I was though, even then.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_04: Like so these, you know, so Olivia, Leah, the other all the all the other leaders who were giving their talks, um, how deep and insightful they were, right?
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_04: Without um, you know, knowing that this, you know, for for them it was still a work in progress, but like already you could see how um not not polished it was, but really how deep and insightful.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_01: And uh some risk as well, right?
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_01: Because you're I presume you're sharing your personal experience.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_01: Did you give one of the talks?
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_06: I did give a talk.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_06: My talk was a response to Christ.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_06: And so I basically connected it with like because I wanted to be relatable, and I feel like everybody's talk was relatable with like how our lives are and like being a teenager in today's age.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_06: So I basically was like compared our relationship with Christ to a relationship of teenagers and their parents.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_06: And so I was saying, like, yeah, teenagers like fight with their parents a lot because they're stubborn and they don't understand like what's best for them and all that.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_06: We won't say who's stubborn and um so I basically re at the end of the day I related it to like your relationship with your parents is better when you love them back instead of fighting with them and not showing them love.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_06: And I kind of related it to like the how when you're younger you like ask for things more than giving back.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_06: So I it's like I related that with God, and if you don't love him back, then your relationship won't be as good as I as you wanted it to.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_01: And those are two responses to Christ, right?
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_01: One Yes, loving God.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_01: Right, yes, and and that kind of pause sometimes that necessary when the communication isn't great, right?
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_01: But that okay, I'm gonna try to see it from their side, or I'm gonna try to um not instead of fighting, right, find a way that uh what can I give to this and and then and certainly he asked us to be generous um uh and giving, not only thinking about what I need or what I want, but yeah but what can I give, right?
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_01: Uh is what Jesus asks of us.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_01: That's great.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_05: So you're a member of the uh volleyball team, the smile club, what is that?
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_06: The Operation Smile Club.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_06: So that's a national um organization that raises money for cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries for um children in third world countries who can't afford it.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_01: Oh wow wonderful group that's been around for a long time.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_06: So I'm the president, and that is the vice president over there.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_01: Vice president is Leah.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_01: Leah, Leah.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_01: It was just that.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_01: Great.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_05: Great.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_05: All right, well, great.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_05: Thank you both for being on, and we're gonna cycle over to our last two guests.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_05: Thank you, Olivia.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_06: Thank you so much for hosting us.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Bishop.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Brother John.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_05: All right, so we're back and we're gonna welcome our final two student guests.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_05: I wonder if you could please introduce yourselves.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_02: I'm Jack Jaroswicz, a junior at Pope John.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_07: I'm Mackenzie Kaiser, a senior at Pope John, and I will be attending Penn State University next year.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_01: Jack, you said?
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Junior.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_05: Yep.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_05: Right.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_05: So what's this, Jack?
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_05: You about you play you play golf?
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I play hockey and golf at Pope John.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_02: Nice.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_02: Uh kind of got cut short this year because of an injury to my finger, but the last two years I've been playing hockey and golf.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_05: You know, the Bishop's a big golf fan.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_02: Is the golf is the finger affecting your golf?
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_02: It was for a little bit.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I've had to take a couple months off here, but I'm kind of coming to the end of the day.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_02: This week actually I started.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_01: You haven't missed too much because the weather hasn't been cooperative.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, the weather hasn't been great all year.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_01: One of these days it's going to turn and we're going to have great.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I guess that's kind of the advantage to it.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh do you play in is the school have a team?
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they do.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, great.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_02: Newton Country Club.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_02: Newton Country Club.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_02: And we have two athletes.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_07: Yes, so I play soccer and run track, and similar to him with his injury, um, obviously I'm not in track season right now.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_07: I uh about like a month and a half ago I had knee surgery.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_07: Oh boy.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_07: So it was a little cut short, but I'm grateful because it allowed me to like find my uh passion in academics for college instead of running track.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_01: So And you're going from the Pulp John Lions to the Knitley Lions.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_07: I am same colors, same as a right.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_01: Uh anything that in particular drew you to Penn State?
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_07: Um I've always been a big Penn State fan.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_07: Um Is it Happy Valley?
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_01: Is that yes.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_07: I'm a big uh football fan.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_07: So as most people know, like you know, they get a it's a it's a big football uh I'm I'm a Cowboys fan.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_05: Oh boy.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I know, I know the reactions that you get when I say that.
• 33:55
  SPEAKER_05: Uh yeah, Giants fan and the Jets fan, so yeah.
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_07: But um I don't know, it's just um the environment there is really lovely, uh the spirit that it has, and I really loved like a big school.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_01: So Altoona Johnstown, I think, is the diocese.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_01: And the bishop of that diocese is a bishop, I think it's Mark Barchuk, but he's he's very involved, and I think they have a good campus ministry.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_01: So keep an eye on that.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_07: I'll definitely look into that.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I think are you both involved both in Bible study and in the podcast?
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_01: Pick a topic.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_07: Um so I guess we've spoken a lot about the podcast.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_07: So um recently this year we started the Bible study.
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_07: Um, like Dr.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_07: Carlson said, he started it with his faculty um these past couple years, and you know, we really got to talking and thinking, you know, maybe it's um a better decision for students to run their own Bible study.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_07: So we started it.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_07: Um we put it out there, not a lot of people are interested because you know it's a new thing and not all teenagers really like want to express their religion.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_07: Um, but we did have about 10 to 15 people.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_01: And how many did Jesus start with?
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_01: Twelve, right?
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so right there.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_07: Um and so we met, we did uh mostly for Lent season.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_07: So we met uh like once or twice a week for six weeks.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_07: And it was really awesome just because I got two things from it.
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_07: Um I was able to really express my religion just because um from going to public school to a uh private school, like um Leah said, you know, you really get to express your religion.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_07: And so I was able to like put my views on certain readings that we would do, but I also gain a lot from other people's perspectives.
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_07: So when we would talk in our Bible study, I'd really get to gain like, oh, that's another view that I didn't see in a specific reading than I did before.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_01: Have you or any of the students heard about Bible in a year?
• 35:51
  SPEAKER_01: Oh man, Father Mike Schmidt's check it out.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_01: It's a great way to start.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Father Mike, yes, yes.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Jack, right?
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Bible study?
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think the big thing was like kind of getting it off the ground.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_02: Like Dr.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_02: Carlson said, they had a great run with the staff, but they kind of wanted to get the students involved.
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_02: And I think the thing was a lot of the leaders were kind of similar to leaders in the podcast, so we kind of knew how to kind of get it off the ground in the beginning.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_02: And then it was a good response from like certainly my friends that I didn't think would be involved that kind of came to a couple and were like, wow, this is great, and kind of kept showing up.
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_01: Anything that surprised you about spending some time with God's word with the Bible or that you learned or that's the one.
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think just people's like views on it and like friends like that you talk to every day and you see every day that you don't necessarily think feel a certain way that do, and were able to express themselves through the Bible study every week for six weeks.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_12: Great, great.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_01: And uh maybe a few words about podcasts.
• 36:44
  SPEAKER_07: Yeah, um, so we like we said, we started the podcast this year.
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_07: Um I'm really um a medicine like medical girl, so I wasn't really into the business aspect of it, but I got to learn it through Dr.
• 36:55
  SPEAKER_07: Carlson taking his honors economics class.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_07: It was really awesome and just like they said, like talking about like um very topical, like um, you know, topics just about today's world is just really awesome.
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_07: And you get insight for yourself, but you also get to teach others.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_07: And I had a a lot of teachers actually walk up to me in school and just tell me how great the podcasts were, and it's just like a really great feeling that you can put your word out there.
• 37:21
  SPEAKER_01: Great.
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_01: And are you hoping to study medicine?
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_07: Yes.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_07: So um I started with biology, but I'm going in undecided science because I'm going into anesthesia, so I can really get uh any science major, but I'm just exploring right now.
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think the podcast is great, and like the biggest thing I took out of it is like how it's gonna affect our generation specifically.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_02: I think like so much of the news and everything that you listen to talks about how it's affecting us today.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_02: But I think kind of looking into this generation, like I'm a junior, a lot of people here are going to college next year, like how like we did one on college debt and how that's gonna affect us, the housing market, like kind of looking down the road and kind of foreshadowing what we could possibly see when we get to that point in our lives.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_01: And you learn as as you through uh through doing sometimes, right?
• 38:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, right.
• 38:03
  SPEAKER_01: And kind of seeing, you know.
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_01: I forgot to ask the students.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I think there's some sports fans.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um I don't know if sports talk is as popular as it used to be uh on the radio.
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_01: I think podcasts might be replacing the radio in some ways, but uh um the um anybody heard of Mike Francesi?
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, of course.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_01: All right, Mike and the Mad Dog.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_01: He has a podcast now, and uh I don't know if there's any Knicks fans here, but uh uh to hear him uh uh especially after Knicks win, it's always nice to hear the recap.
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um so uh um you're a sports fan?
• 38:37
  SPEAKER_02: Any uh uh Yeah, I am big Knicks and Rangers fan, so it's kind of been crazy the next month or so.
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um I'm a a huge Cowboys fan.
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_07: Huge Cowboys fan.
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_07: Um I'm a Devils fan too, so I'm sure.
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_01: What's your thoughts on Dak Prescott?
• 38:53
  SPEAKER_01: He's still there, right?
• 38:54
  SPEAKER_07: Ah so it's it's it's a hate love relationship with that guy.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_07: Um he's still there for another year, but um we did just get our old uh running back back, Zego Elliott for a year.
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_07: So we'll see how it goes.
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_07: Hopefully we get past the first round of playoffs.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_07: But Jason's a hockey fan.
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_05: I'm a devil's fan as well.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_07: Awesome.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_05: We had an unfortunate season, but I think things are looking up for next year for Stay Healthy.
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_01: I was an Islanders fan uh a long, long time ago, even longer ago than the Knicks were good.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_01: The Islanders used to be good.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_01: Well, they've been okay, but not like they were they won like fortunately cut four.
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, in a row, yeah.
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_05: They got it they keep making the playoffs lately, so they're and you're a Jets fan or a Giants fan?
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_07: Giants.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_07: Giants, okay.
• 39:37
  SPEAKER_07: Jets are a little better than the Giants.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_07: Giants.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_07: Whoa.
• 39:41
  SPEAKER_07: All right.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_01: Uh the uh sorry to bring it up, but uh I don't know how if you would how long ago was it now?
• 39:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um uh the last, I think, Super Bowl the Giants won.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_01: They won on the road, I think, in Green Bay and in Dallas, right?
• 39:55
  SPEAKER_01: There was uh uh what's his name?
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_01: The coolest quarterback in the uh was it Tony Romo, I think, um missed a pass.
• 40:01
  SPEAKER_01: And uh uh I was always a Jet fan, but I love I came to love uh Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin that group they and beating the Patriots was good.
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_01: So um but uh some good years there.
• 40:13
  SPEAKER_01: You're a faithful Cowboys fan.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_01: You're hanging in.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_01: Very faithful cowboys.
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_07: It's it's it's hard.
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_07: You have to be faithful if you want to be.
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_07: Yes, yes.
• 40:21
  SPEAKER_07: My dad and my brother are huge cowboy fans.
• 40:22
  SPEAKER_01: And the the colors uh I'm all I'm a Navy girl, yeah.
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_07: All the teams.
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_05: Well fun, thank you.
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, this is when's graduation?
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_01: June third.
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_01: June third.
• 40:32
  SPEAKER_01: So looking forward to being with you.
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_01: I remember when uh um my first uh graduation ceremony, maybe my first two at at Pope John, it would have been in uh 21.
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_01: And um we were outside in the in the uh football stadium, I think, uh just because it was spacing and COVID.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_01: And but uh the last couple have been in the gym and a great experience.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_05: And you you'll be at the the next one or looking forward to it.
• 40:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yep, June 3rd, you said, right?
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, right.
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 40:58
  SPEAKER_05: So Bishop, before we um thank thank you both again for for being on.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_05: Don't go anywhere, we're gonna wind down the episode um as we look to to end the episode.
• 41:07
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, any reflections on uh Catholic education and anything that any of the students mentioned you wanna Yeah, we're just we're just blessed um to have the schools that we have in our diocese, our elementary schools and um our three diocen high schools now.
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um we have to get uh DePaul and Morris Catholic uh uh uh Pope John was the first of our diocesan high schools.
• 41:30
  SPEAKER_01: We had Villa Walsh and um and Mary Help of Christians were uh students were on the podcast previously, and then um Del Barton uh so exciting when Anthony Volpe was uh debuting last year, and it's great to see him doing well.
• 41:45
  SPEAKER_01: So um, but Del Barton Wonderful School and Um St.
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_01: Elizabeth's Academy.
• 41:50
  SPEAKER_01: And uh so we have seven Catholic high schools in our diocese, and and we're really, really blessed.
• 41:54
  SPEAKER_01: And um, I'm sure you know in some way or you will uh that it's a big sacrifice for parents to pay those tuitions, and uh, and uh, but um it's because they care about and want the best for their children that they give them that opportunity to have a Catholic education.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_01: And um I'm so great, Father John and Father Walter, and uh Dr.
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_01: Carlson and uh and all the faculty uh who did such a wonderful job at Pope John and the Catholic Academy of Sussex.
• 42:21
  SPEAKER_01: So so thanks so much for being with us.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_05: Yes, thank you, and th thank thank you to everyone who was on.
• 42:27
  SPEAKER_05: What a fun episode.
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_05: All right, so that'll that's it.
• 42:31
  SPEAKER_05: So, all right, thank you for joining us.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_05: Please subscribe, comment, and leave a positive rating.
• 42:36
  SPEAKER_05: Get to know us better by following Beyond the Beacon on Facebook or Instagram.
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_05: Email questions and podcast topic ideas to beyond at patternsondiocese.org.
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_05: Discover our other podcasts, Coffee with Kupke and the Paul Street Journal.
• 42:51
  SPEAKER_05: See you next time.
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, everybody.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_01: God bless you.
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_01: Happy Feast of Pentecost, happy birthday to the church.