This year’s Living in Experience (LIFE) team consists of seniors Jacqueline Medrano, Noelle Yee, Dominique Dold, Seyeranne Lat, Erica Cadiz, Gabrielle Del Rosario, Nadia Busekrus, Nicole Corpuz, Kara Takahashi, Caitlin McCarthy, Tiare Sadarananda and Giselle Redila. Moderators Mary Ellen Miller and Toni Normand accompanied the team to CYO Camp and Retreat Center in Occidental, Calif, from June 15-21.

The LIFE program is a national faith formation program, rooted in Catholic and Marianist practices for high school students and moderators to further build and model their faith. Students gather to pray and develop leadership skills while learning more about social justice issues.

Through the program, students and moderators are encouraged to reflect the Marianist skills of active listening, self-acceptance, self-disclosure, affirmation, trust, reconciliation, growing in Christian communities, discipleship and commitment to Christ.

“For me, the LIFE retreat was a time of a lot of growth. I felt like I learned a lot from the Lord about how being a leader means having a good attitude, no matter what the circumstance – especially when you are taken out of your comfort zone. I am trying to improve my attitude and to be more selfless and loving in reaching out to and serving all the people around me,” said Busekrus.

The program is based on the vision of Blessed William Joseph Chaminade who worked with Venerable Adele de Batz de Trenquelleon and Venerable Marie Therese de Lamourous during the French Revolution to form communities that could change the world.

In 1970, Marianist LIFE was started in San Antonio, Texas, and spread throughout the Southwest from Texas to California and to Hawaii and north to Dayton, Ohio.

In 1982, Sacred Hearts Academy was invited to join Marianist Pacific as the sister school of St. Louis and to create a LIFE team.

The responsibilities of the LIFE team at the Academy are to organize retreats for the high school and junior high, to head Liturgical Corps, which plans monthly school masses, and Lancer Christian Communities (LCC), monthly gatherings for religious activities and building friendships.

The Academy’s LIFE team was one of five from Hawaii. Other participating schools were Maryknoll, St. Louis, St. Anthony’s School and St. Anthony’s Parish. Hawaii students joined teams from Archbishop Riordan High School, Mercy High School and Chaminade College Preparatory, all located in California.

“The LIFE retreat was an incredible experience and not only because I created a new group of friends but because it allowed me to become a leader, to take charge and to also find myself getting closer to God,” said Cadiz.