The Journey Project is designed to instill within students and all members of the St. Bonaventure University community a sense of vocation. We understand vocation as a personal call to integrate faith, academic studies, career choices, and a commitment to serve others. For students, the Journey Project draws upon a Franciscan form of integrative learning that permits students to act, listen and reflect. Students may participate in a variety of programs, such as the service internship program, the parish internship program, service immersion experiences, or Mountain on the Road ministries. We hope Journey Project programs will enrich the lives of our students by helping them to appreciate their own gifts and the ways in which they can share their talents in service to others and to God. We also offer professional development opportunities for faculty, staff and administrators to learn about concept of vocation, to understand their own work as vocation, and to explore St. Bonaventure University’s institutional vocation.

The Journey Project is funded through a five-year, $2,000,000 grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc. under Programs in the Theological Exploration of Vocation. We gratefully acknowledge the Endowment’s support.

Summary of First Year Report
Our first-year report to the Lilly Endowment highlighted some of the Journey Project’s early successes, including our service-internship program, our parish internship program, our sub grant program, “Mountain on the Road” Ministries, and faculty and staff development events.

• Our service internship program places students in schools, government organizations and non-profit organizations to perform work related to the students’ major or professional interest. Interns participate in reflection groups with a mentor twice a month.
• Parish interns assist under-resourced local parishes with social ministries.
• Our sub-grant program has permitted faculty, staff and students to propose projects designed to help teach the community about the concept of vocation. We have helped to sponsor service immersion trips, research projects, and mentoring programs.
• "Mountain on the Road" permits groups of students and ministry staff to travel and meet with groups of alumni for weekend long faith-renewal workshops.
• Our faculty staff workshop, entitled the Call to Create, permitted a group of 25 faculty and staff to explore their creative sides and discuss how creativity is connected to spirituality and vocation.

In the coming years, the Journey Project will strive to encourage faculty to explore vocation in the classroom and to integrate service learning into more courses.

Click here for the complete First Year Report.

Click here for the complete Second Year Report

Click here for the complete Proposal to the Lilly Endowment Inc.

Click here for the complete Proposal Summary Worksheet.