As a retreat center, a focus of Dunrovin has always been nurturing and empowering youth. The center was purchased and founded to serve Lasallian schools in the Twin Cities. Groups of students have come for years to reflect and grow. A teacher at Cretin-Derham Hall, Mark Syman, has been bringing groups of students to Dunrovin since 1984 and bringing his senior class since 1991. Since then, he has attended over 60 retreats. With his retirement this year, January marked Syman’s final retreat with the school.
Bringing his senior class, Syman had two main goals. First, the teacher wanted the youth to have time away from the stress of school, after-school activities, homework, and applying for colleges. They needed “time to slow down and step back,” and “Dunrovin is the perfect place to do that because of its beauty.” Secondly, this retreat gave them quality time with other students. Syman stated that “a Lasallian value is community.” One of his favorite parts of the retreats was the affirmation circle, the last activity on the retreat. Here the students say what they appreciate about each other. To him, “one of the most delightful things…was to step back and see two people who never spoke laughing and engaged with each other.” It is moments like this that touched Syman; it is “one of the things that kept me doing it over the years.” After this, the teacher encouraged the youth to extend this to others, saying to his class “what you did for each other here, do for the rest of the world.” Happily, he said that the students “go on to do great things.”
Like Cretin-Derham Hall and other schools, Dunrovin is rooted in Lasallian tradition and values. According to Syman, Lasallian tradition focuses on action; it is “more about doing what needs to be done than theology.” He believes that the core of Lasallian identity and tradition is service to the poor and a sense of community. It is not just about reaching economically poor but all who are marginalized in society. “Culture likes to draw lines between them and us,” Syman stated. Instead of letting faith become “stress and fear to try to keep things the way they are,” he encourages students to “open windows and doors…to see people where they are.” His students “are not interested in going back” but instead want to “take action and spring forward.”
Many things have changed during Syman’s years of teaching. However, he said that “the retreat has changed least of anything…the spirit is .” The students have been impacted and touched by the retreat. One of the most common questions Syman received from previous students was “Are you still doing retreats?” after which they said, “I still have my notes.” With his upcoming retirement, the teacher looked back at teaching and stated that it is an “amazing opportunity to have a job that feels like living out your vocation.” However, “vocation doesn’t go away when you retire,” and so he will continue to follow God’s call.
An important message Syman has for everyone is the importance of retreats. “We are all like [his students], so busy and invested in our lives” that we forget to take time away. Going on retreat is counter cultural but important for our well-being, according to Syman. Thus, he is thankful to Dunrovin and said that “Dunrovin is a beautiful place. I’m hoping to drop in.”
Thank Mark Syman for touching the lives of so many people!