The class of 2025 participated in the annual sophomore retreat on October 27 and 28. Every year, the sophomore retreat is centered around the IHM charism of charity and love. 

“We choose to focus on the virtue of love for the sophomores because we feel that at this point they have now grown accustomed to Lourdes and may have started to compare themselves to others,” said campus minister Ms. Alexandra Diaz.

The campus ministry team along with the peer ministers work for weeks in advance to try and have the retreat planned for when the girls are in need of it the most. 

“I feel like the retreat happened at a good time not only with school but everything outside with friends and daily life because it helped me be more positive and not be so hard on myself,” sophomore Madison Palomino said. 

In the first half of the day, the sophomores, led by peer ministers, learn about how to love like God. They participate in various activities ranging from listening to testimonies to putting what they just learned into action with a service project. This year, the girls were able to make goodie bags with books and bookmarks for the children in the Miami Learning Experience. 

“I feel like after talking so much about loving others like God does, actually being able to do something about it and help people we don’t even know was perfect,” sophomore Samantha Barretto said. 

The second half of the day was dedicated to helping the sophomores love themselves. 

“This is my favorite part of the retreat because I feel like so many people struggle with insecurities and let that get in the way of loving themselves as God does,” Palomino said. 

Many of the activities from this part of the retreat have been used in past years because of their effectiveness in assisting the girls in finding love for themselves.

“This was my second year leading sophomore retreat, and I also went on it as a sophomore,” senior peer minister Natalie Lopez said. “Every year, the coffee filter activity is my favorite because it symbolizes washing away the insecurities and lies we tell ourselves in water.”

In this activity the girls and peer ministers are given coffee filters in which they write down all the insecurities and thoughts holding them back from accepting God’s love. Then, when they are done they have the opportunity to place their filter in a bucket of water and watch the ink dissolve away. This is meant to symbolize their insecurities dissolving in the water.

“My favorite part was writing my insecurities on a coffee filter and then washing it away because it forced me to realize that they weren’t as big a deal as I made them out to be,” sophomore Samantha Barreto said. 

The ultimate goal of the retreat is for the sophomores to face what is holding them back from fully accepting God’s love for them and be able to express their love for others, as well as for themselves. 

“If there is one thing I want the girls to walk away with, it is that God loves each of us so much, from the depths of His hearts and all He wants is for us to know that,” Ms. Diaz said.