The institution’s SOPHIA (SOPHomore Initiative at Assumption) program has been Integration Award by the Association of Student Affairs at Catholic Colleges and Universities (ASACCU). The SOPHIA program was the top-ranked program in its category.
The award recognizes those institutions whose programs have a positive impact on student learning, successfully address student and/or campus needs, are original and creative, possess a foundation in Catholic identity, and make practical use of research or assessment. Since it was established in 2013, 98 percent of SOPHIA Collegians have demonstrated significant growth and insight into their personal vocation journey.
“An Assumptionist education is characterized by the rich and productive community between teacher and student, built upon the conviction that truth exists; that its pursuit orients love; that tradition coupled with a fundamental openness guides; and that faith sustains,” shared Esteban Loustaunau, Ph.D., associate professor of Spanish and director of the SOPHIA program. “SOPHIA invites sophomores to recognize that vocation lasts a lifetime, but it begins in the undergraduate years with the need to respond to the world in which they find themselves.”
Now in its fifth year, the SOPHIA program fosters the culture of vocational exploration to enhance the educational mission of the Augustinians of the Assumption. The program encourages students to reflect upon their lives in terms of vocation; to ask themselves about their desired spiritual, personal, and professional goals and to understand that a harmony of such, or vocation, requires constant discernment and evaluation.
Each year, 24 students are selected as Sophia Collegians following a competitive application process.
