Psychology Chair Dr. Alice Kim and Associate Vice-Provost, Academic Dr. George Bragues organize academic retreat in Collingwood, Ont., offering unique learning experience
“It's nice to offer a different approach to learning where you strip away the tests and all the anxiety that comes with them, and you can just focus on the learning." - Dr. George Bragues
A group of University of Guelph-Humber (U of GH) students packed their bags and headed on a memorable trip north of Toronto to Collingwood, Ont., that was filled with lively debates and warm bonding.
This was the Sophia Forum – a three-day retreat where students of various programs united to discuss a variety of texts and ideas centred around the central theme of leadership. The theme changes annually.
“I like to always say everybody who goes through undergrad should have at least one transformative experience…I like to think this is one of them,” Associate Vice-Provost, Academic Dr. George Bragues said, who helped organize the Sophia Forum.
Spearheaded by Psychology Chair Dr. Alice Kim and Dr. Bragues, the six students who attended the Sophia Forum read excerpts ahead of time from the book “Leadership: Essential Selections on Power, Authority, and Influence,” which featured a collection of writings on leadership, spanning across the world over different time periods. Texts included the works of Lao Tzu, Plato, Machiavelli, Queen Elizabeth I, and more.
The Sophia Forum is aptly named because in Greek, Sophia means wisdom. This exchange of ideas rooted in Ancient Greece is also a nod to the Socratic seminar, Dr. Bragues said. The Sophia Forum follows the Socratic seminar format, with participants doing most of the talking (after a short introduction) rather than a lecturer delivering information at the front of a classroom.
“It's nice to offer a different approach to learning where you strip away the tests and all the anxiety that comes with them, and you can just focus on the learning,” he said.
Students from all years of study applied to join the retreat. To apply, students were asked to write about 250 words about why they want to partake in the discussions, as well as why they’re interested in the topic of leadership. Those shortlisted were then interviewed by Dr. Kim and Dr. Bragues. Those chosen had an enriching educational experience, and Sophia Forum attendee and second-year Business student Grace Da Silva said the retreat wasn’t like anything else she’d seen before.
“I've been able to walk away from the Forum proudly saying that I've made new friends. Not just acquaintances, but actual friends who I can look out for on campus, foster better relationships with both professionally and personally." - Justice Studies student Ashon Vaz
The students joined the retreat for a variety of reasons: it provided a unique opportunity to sharpen their leadership skills, broaden their perspectives, and expand their abilities to think critically; meet new people outside their program; expand their resume with extracurricular activities; and make lifelong memories at U of GH.
“It was just interesting to see how the courses that they've taken provided [students] with unique insight to the different leadership philosophies,” second-year Justice Studies student Ashon Vaz said, who joined the Sophia Forum. “As someone from Justice Studies, I'm focused on the idea of being collaborative and making sure that everyone has a fair playing field…It definitely helped me to open my mind about what other aspects that I wasn't once aware of, and it helped me to expand my worldview and how other people can view things.”
Fourth-year Psychology student Kersten Dayrit echoed this experience. “We were all able to challenge and stimulate each other's minds with different perspectives other than our own and in ways that we otherwise would have never thought,” she said.
Over the course of the retreat, the students got “pretty close,” Da Silva said. The group also had the chance to explore the Blue Mountain village and share meals together, including with Dr. Kim and Dr. Bragues.
Whether the group bonded over stories sharing their “lore” (their backstories and interests), listening to music from the musical “Hamilton” on the ride to Collingwood, relaxing in the pool together, creating inside jokes, or staying up until 3 a.m. playing card games while sharing their hopes and dreams for the future, the students felt that the experience brought them closer.
“I've been able to walk away from the Forum proudly saying that I've made new friends. Not just acquaintances, but actual friends who I can look out for on campus, foster better relationships with both professionally and personally,” Vaz said.
Getting to know Dr. Kim and Dr. Bragues away from an academic setting was exciting for the students, too. Third-year Kinesiology student Nathan Fernandes enjoyed seeing their playful sides outside of their leadership positions at U of GH (and he also connected with Dr. Bragues’ fondness of playing video games!).
Overall, the Sophia Forum was memorable and served as a reminder to never stop being curious.
“It's important to approach things with curiosity. When you’re curious, you can develop abilities to question things and think critically. You can have your own beliefs, but you should be able to examine your own beliefs and values critically and question basically everything,” second-year Community Social Services student Emmy Butter said of her experience on the retreat.
Dr. Kim and Dr. Bragues also facilitate the Agora Fellowships in the fall semester. To learn more, click here.
