Illustration by Logan O'Riley '26
For the first time in its 22-year history, the Summit on Human Dignity has been planned by students, and will focus on addiction, running from Feb. 23 to March 5.
Mr. Drew Rau ‘02 described the summit as “a two-week series of events that focuses on the intersection of human dignity and a particular theme of our choosing for that year.”
He also stated how the summit’s two weeks of events will include keynote speakers, small group discussions, and a workshop day.
When asked about the summit’s purpose, Mr. Rau explained that “The summit is an opportunity for us, in the midst of our education and our formation…to say ‘all of us, as a community, are going to come together to recognize we ought to pay attention to this’”
He further stated, “It’s the only thing, that as a community, we say, ‘everyone is going to learn about this’”
Grady Garbarino ‘26, a member of the Student Summit Committee class said, “This year’s summit was the first one that’s been planned by students almost exclusively, which is a big thing.”
“There was a group of five of us…and so we all got to combine our knowledge and our personal experiences to bring together a more enjoyable summit for ourselves and hopefully for the rest of the student body,” said Garbarino.
Mr. Rau also said, “I think it will be helpful for students to get the most out of this summit that they can by approaching it with the mentality that they are on retreat at Manresa. In many ways, the summit is a retreat from our normal school activities.”
He added, “It is meant to feel different, and it can be hard to have it feel like an intimate retreat when it’s an entire student body meeting in the gym. But the more that we can carry this idea in our heart…the more students will get out of it.”
Mr. Rau said the summit challenges students to move beyond slogans and understand what it means to be “men for others.” “Even if [an issue is] not relevant to the day-to-day of my life, it is worth knowing about because I am not on this earth just to care about myself,” he said.
Garbarino said, “I know a lot of students don’t like it and feel like it’s dumb, but it’s important that students actually pay attention and can somewhat engage with the topics we’re talking about, because it will eventually affect them in one way or another.”
Leo Ma ‘26, another member of the summit student committee class, said, “I would say we try to have a lot of different viewpoints, so you get to understand the people that are impacted by the issue on a more personal level.”
Ma continued, “We’ve had keynote speakers come in and talk about their own personal story about it. And that’s also why I think a summit is important, because it gives you a more in-depth view of the issue as well.”