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What students are saying!
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“IKON is one of the highlights of my week. It allows me to dive deeper into my faith and helps me to connect what we learn in class to my everyday life on campus. Without it, I would simply be taking advantage of the information taught in my classes rather than allowing my mind to wonder and make connections between my education and faith. It has been a grounding experience to be able to discuss life, knowledge, and faith with a group of fellow Catholics on my campus and I would love to continue strengthening and growing the IKON community.” - Brooke Santagato, Tulane Catholic, Class of 2020, B.S. Biomedical Engineering
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“I look forward to the IKON discussions every week
as my favorite class!
I always leave the class feeling challenged to see my other course work and faith in a new way that brings me closer to the truth!” - Laughlin Grace, Tulane Catholic, Class of 2020
"IKON is helping us and I’m excited to see how that will be
achieved, especially during these challenging times." - Neil Blanchard, FOCUS Missionary
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In their own words...
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Letters from STudents
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My Graduation Gift
May, 2020
The furthest I traveled from my house this week was down my driveway and to our mailbox. This is the same walk I’ll be taking in a few days as I receive my diploma, in my cap and gown, as my mom, dad, and brother proudly applaud from our doorstep. Who knew I would be watching my graduation ceremony on our living room couch, and who knew I would be having intellectual debates about my soul in my bedroom over a video call? Yet here we are.
I am a 22-year-old senior in college, and for the first few weeks of quarantine, I was convinced that I was being robbed of the best months of my college career. However, the weekly IKON class discussions along with the grace of God have given me a fresh perspective on the whole situation. I wasn’t robbed at all; I was gifted with time and silence to pray. To pray about everything I had learned, to finally ask God the questions I had left on the back burner, to wrestle through the words of St. John Henry Newman , and emerge stronger in my faith.Over a year ago, I walked into my first IKON class and walked out confused as ever. I didn’t know what to do with all the information I learned in that hour, so I asked Dr. Delio “What now?” He told me to go for a walk in the park. I hadn’t properly taken a good leisurely walk until a few weeks ago. Strolling up and down the familiar streets that saw me grow and change, my mind was finally clear, in the present, and I could start to ponder the readings from class and why God wanted me to read them.
The Newman Idea's IKON classes give me food for my soul. The readings and class discussions give me direction and reinforce my desire to know and love God. What makes all of this so special is how God has shown me His love and generosity through it. The Lord has gifted me with a new perspective on my faith and has brought together a classroom full of people to explore the beauty and depth of His creation. I am on the greatest adventure of my life, and oddly enough it can happen through a computer screen. The online platform for class has shown me how God can work through any challenge, and how the growth and formation of my mind and soul will go beyond my years of formal education.
Navigating these uncharted waters of quarantine and my future, I turn to Saint Therese of Lisieux, a Doctor of the Church. Her teachings are how I find my confidence in Jesus. St. Therese lived as a cloistered Carmelite, never performed great works, never founded a religious order, and never went on mission trips. She is a saint simply because she wholeheartedly loved Jesus and generously gave all of herself to Him. St. Therese’s spirituality deepens my desire to love and know God here and now. This extra time at home with family gives me more chances to bask in His love. And it is His love that encourages me to seek the Truth intellectually.The IKON professors have gifted me one of the best graduation presents so far – these classes! I cannot wait to see how God will show me more of who He is through The Newman Idea . So, I thank you for your prayers and support for this opportunity to love our Father more and more each day.With gratitude from my heart,
Chesna
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Hey Professors,
I wanted to reach out today saying how much I have enjoyed this IKON class over the semester. This class has taught me how to actually think for the first time in my life by integrating every aspect of my life together instead of keeping knowledge in separate boxes! I can only thank you two so very much for putting this class together and sharing these phenomenal readings (I love anything from Newman). Even though the class has moved online, I still look forward to it every week because I know after class ends, I have so much to consider not only for a week but for MONTHS and YEARS to come. Also to reiterate what we said yesterday if this class has taught me anything it is the importance of SILENCE and WASTING TIME TO PRACTICE WONDERFUL THOUGHT! I used to hate silence and "wasting time doing nothing. I never thought about thinking but because of this class just starting to practice this skill has been one of the greatest skills I've learned probably over all 4 years of college. Now I can make connections in what I am learning faster than before.
Again, thank you Dr. Delio and Dr. Brumfield! Bringing the Newman Idea to Tulane Catholic is INVALUABLE to helping us learn what it means to think with a Catholic mind. This class goes beyond apologetics or the traditional forms of Catholic education but gets at the heart of things! Thank you both for following God's call to create the Newman Idea to bring Catholic thought to students starving to connect their faith to their classes!
I'll leave y'all with this quote that a friend shared with me and I think perfectly encapsulates what this class brings to us:
"The trouble with modern education is you never know how ignorant people are. With anyone over fifty, you can be fairly confident what's been taught and what's been left out. But these young people have such an intelligent, knowledgeable surface, and then the crust suddenly breaks and you look down into depths of confusion you didn't know existed."- Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited
Laughlin
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Dear Professors,
My final semester at Tulane University has brought with it many ch
allenges. As an environmental earth science major, I knew my education lacked spiritual or philosophical depth, but I was passionate to go deeper. The Tulane Catholic Center has provided some short lectures, but none of them had the same intellectual challenge as the IKON Institute class, " Wonder, Knowing, and Being." Right away, I knew that I made a good choice adding it to my schedule as the class’s atmosphere allowed passion to come into the learning experience. Dr. Delio and Dr. Brumfield explored some foundational ideas of thinking and being that as an intellectual Catholic I had never had a chance to learn. In doing so they led me to more ideas of how to live my faith and explain it to others through the lens of wonder.
The Covid-19 crisis, however, cut into the semester and jarringly changed how we could learn. It was hard for me to adjust to the new lifestyle of living in quarantine. But I gained more than I lost, finding myself exercising more and being more engaged with the natural world around me. I have always had an attitude of wonderment, and as a child I enjoyed reading fictional stories of fantasy and adventure. This class reawakened my love for wonder and helped me to free my mind to ponder how all aspects of life can connect us spiritually and intellectually to God. My resilient joy during this crisis in part was supported by, IKONline where we kept the same friendly and fun conversation and commitment to growth as when meeting in person. When struggling to motivate myself to go to class, I could count on my IKON professors to teach me something I would be excited about. I want to offer my deepest thanks to The Newman Idea for helping lead college students to focus on habits that are truly foundational and important to living a good life, such as intellectually engaging with wonder, knowing ourselves, and understanding our existence. Respectfully,Sterling Stafford, Class of 2020
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