Kairos is Greek for “the right time,” and every year Mount Carmel invites the senior class to join. Typically Mr. Matt Petrich, MC Campus Minister, organizes the retreat, and as part of this process, he reaches out to experienced seniors who are interested in becoming Kairos leaders. Leaders are expected to be able to manage their classmates as the former transforms from peers to authority figures on the retreats. Even though it’s hard work, many current Kairos leaders value what the retreat teaches them about leadership.

“I loved it,” says Andrew Stanislawski, who was a leader in the January Kairos. “Obviously I don’t want to say too much for readers that have yet to experience it, but you’re really able to connect with the people that are there.”

One of the most important criteria that a Kairos leader has to meet is a desire to commit to lead.

“It’s a lot of extra effort,” Mr. Petrich says. “It’s a commitment that they have to make outside of school, sports, whatever. I will often have students drop out towards the end, I think realizing that they didn’t do the work. I think what they ultimately realize is that they didn’t want it enough.”

Jairo Acuña wanted to lead because his retreat was therapeutic, so he became a leader for the October Kairos. Acuña understood that he would have to let his desire to lead drive his work ethic after he was chosen as a rector, a position that involves handling organizing duties. 

“I was put on a bunch more tasks,” he says. “I was up there telling people what we had to do, and I already don’t do well in front of a crowd. Yeah, it was a lot of work, but I feel like it was worth it.”

Matt Malloy, another leader from the January Kairos, feels that the more personal work leaders have to put in during the retreat is what makes it so rewarding.

“Kairos is a vulnerable experience, especially as a leader,” he says. “One of the things that comes with being a leader is not only that you are one of the first people to be open and honest, you’re open and honest the entire time. The reward I see from that is on the last day everybody’s dabbing each other up, and giving fist bumps and hugs and everything and they’re saying, ‘Hey, man, I had a great week, you were an awesome leader. Thank you for making it this week.’”

Through vulnerability, leaders learn why connectivity amongst peers is important in a leadership position.

“That connectivity builds the brotherhood that Mount Carmel talks about,” Acuña says. “It’s kind of a once in a lifetime experience. I think the connected people come together and have each other’s back. You can see the change in people.” 

Mr. John Stimler, MC’s Director of Mission and Ministry and a former organizer of the retreats, believes that another important criteria leaders must meet is to be a team player.

“You can’t do it all,” he says. “You’re not running the retreat by yourself. These are your peers, and you really need to form a support group. I’ve had experiences of people running the retreat who’ve been a little more dictatorial. It doesn’t play well with their peers, and it doesn’t play well with other people on the [leadership] team either.”

Stanislawski learned that a leader can be a team player through leading by example in his group.

“You have to set a very good example,” Stanislawski says. “If you’re the leader and you’re showing signs to others you’re bought into what you’re doing, others are gonna think, ‘okay, well, he’s bought in, I should buy in.’”

Through his experience, Malloy understood the fine line between forcing people on their best behavior and leading by example.

“As a leader you’re not better than anyone else,” Malloy says. “It definitely taught me, looking back on my experience, I knew that if I did kind of have this power trip and just used my power to my advantage and was very commanding and strict, those guys wouldn’t have had a great experience.”

Ultimately Kairos is an incredibly rewarding experience for the leader’s involved because of what they can learn, and their importance in establishing the retreat is just as incredible.

“For those that haven’t gone on Kairos, please go into it with an open mind, and understand that even before you step foot into the retreat center, [Kairos leaders] already put in a crazy amount of work,” Malloy says. “If you have gone on Kairos, though, and you’re reading this, I hope you can kind of agree with me that being a Kairos leader is a very intimate position, and it’s also a very important position for that week.”