Practical conclusions: Accompanying students and the Jesuit purpose

At the beginning of this series of articles, we established that university faculty and staff hold a privileged position in addressing the concerns and worries of students during their academic journey. We have approached this support with the premise that every challenging situation is an opportunity to assist students in discovering, articulating, and renewing their life purpose — and engaging them in the cultivation of the “ultimate life skill.”  

After defining life purpose and the ultimate life skill through a process of inquiry structured around five verbs (liberate, remember, integrate, commit, and listen) we can outline some practical approaches to mentoring in three key areas: university as a mentoring community; mentoring as an element of organizational culture; and courses explicitly focused on the ultimate life skill. 

University as a mentoring community

Each university educator — whether faculty or non-teaching staff — is encouraged to embark on their own inquiry into their life purpose using the outlined framework. By doing so, they will be well prepared to guide students on their journeys of self-discovery. This is an approach that offers deeper and more enduring support than merely addressing immediate academic concerns. 

University personnel should aim to establish themselves as a mentoring community. This community does not undermine or replace individual roles — faculty continue teaching their courses, departments maintain their objectives, and services fulfill their responsibilities — but every effort is carried out with the purpose of supporting each student’s inquiry into their life purpose. Each unit is coordinated with the others to establish the ultimate goal of supporting students and practicing the inquiry cycle. We emphasize that it is not about telling ourselves (or dictating to students) what we should do, but about helping and inspiring each other so that each individual can discover, express, and project their life purpose. 

Mentoring organizational culture

This mutual support and inspiration should permeate university life in informal interactions between members of the community, whether between faculty, between students, or between students and administrators. Ideally, such a mentoring mindset would become a defining characteristic of the university’s organizational culture.  

Simple and informal practices could reinforce this cultural shift. For example, imagine two students sharing an anecdote with a residence hall receptionist about a party they attended over the weekend. The receptionist, rather than simply listening passively, could guide them toward reflective learning by asking three simple questions: “How was the party?”; “What did you learn from the party?” and “What do you think you should do in the future when it comes to parties?” The receptionist might humbly share a personal experience — if he or she believes it could offer inspiration. These three questions follow the remember-and-express sequence that aligns with the process of inquiry and helps students reflect more profoundly on their actions. 

To ensure such informal conversations become embedded within university culture, dedicated spaces should be created for remember-and-express reflection. Ideally, staff members from various departments would meet periodically to share life experiences that express their life purpose within the framework of their professional commitments.  

Specifically designed courses

This organizational culture should also become evident in activities where the inquiry cycle is explicitly included as a goal. These activities can be both curricular and co-curricular. In both types, whether students are acquiring knowledge or developing skills, a reflection on life purpose should be emphasized. These reflections should be made as professionals, citizens, family members, and social activists. In this way, students will gradually integrate a sense of life purpose. 

If we focus on curricular activities, any course could include reflection on life purpose within a teaching framework — at least in relation to professional purpose. For example, an assessment exercise could require students to briefly answer the following questions: 

1. What new information did you learn on this course? Was it new due to the content or because of the perspective from which it was taught?
2. How has this knowledge changed your understanding of your profession? How has it enriched your professional experience?
3. When you begin working as a professional, what obstacles do you expect when applying this knowledge to your role? 

Additional teaching resources related to life purpose and the inquiry cycle could also be developed for the specific characteristics of each course and subject. 

Finally, throughout their academic journey, students must have access to courses explicitly focused on the inquiry into both their professional and personal life purpose. Several key considerations apply: 

• Faculty or non-teaching staff can serve as mentors. Their primary qualification is not mastery of technical subject matter but their ability to embody and practice the ultimate life skill. Mentors must engage actively in their own process of inquiry and openly demonstrate this practice.
• These courses should appear frequently throughout the academic program for two key reasons:
  • To enable students to explore their life purpose at different stages in their journey, reflecting on questions relevant to their circumstances – upon entering university (How do I adapt to this new educational environment? Was my decision to study here, correct?); during their studies (which specialization courses, elective courses, extracurricular activities, and professional internships to select); and upon graduation (career orientation and initial job decisions).
  • So that students can frequently practice the inquiry cycle and develop the ultimate life skill that will support them throughout their lives (Janan Ganesh).
• These courses should encourage the development of a clear connection between life purpose and academic content. The professional dimension of life purpose is crucial for personal aspirations and for professional reasons. Jesuit teaching tradition encourages an integrated approach through the "Four Cs" model: forming individuals who are competent, conscious, compassionate, and committed. As such, life purpose cannot be considered external to professional development. In Ganesh’s terms, the ultimate life skill must be engaged in dialogue with professional skills.

Life purpose, Jesuits, and Esade

Jesuits embrace life purpose through the richness of meaning found in the five verbs we previously outlined. However, their primary framework for understanding such purpose is centered on vocation.  

In recent months, Spanish Jesuits — specifically the Jesuit universities within UNIJES — have initiated efforts to reflect on vocation and implement activities that make this reflection available to everyone. The guiding principles behind these initiatives include: 

1. Everyone is invited to inquire into their life purpose or vocation, regardless of their personal beliefs or life choices.
2. Supporting students in this process of inquiry is a key mission for Jesuit universities.
3. All university faculty and administrative staff are encouraged to guide students in this inquiry — within their specific roles and regardless of personal beliefs.
4. Regarding organizational culture, UNIJES documents refer to “vocational culture.” The goal is to create “an ecosystem, a culture, and a fertile ground where vocational questions can emerge and grow. This is much more than an activity to design, a workshop to implement, or an isolated curricular addition. It is about involving every sphere and every individual within our organizations, communities, and projects.”
5. To encourage this vocational and organizational culture, organizations must develop specific initiatives that include community-building activities, co-curricular experiences, and curricular programs aligned with this discussion.
6. At Esade, a vocational culture committee has been formed that integrates faculty and staff across multiple areas. This committee formulates proposals related to this central aspect of the university’s mission.