by Michaela Raffin

Anyone who has ever interacted with the Benedict Inn knows that it is truly a very special place. My experience as an intern there allowed me to appreciate this. It was a totally unique internship for two main reasons. One is that everyone in a leadership role at the Benedict Inn is a woman. And two is that it allowed me to see another side of my Catholic faith that I had not been exposed to before this: the role of religious life in the Catholic Church. It is directly connected to a monastery of Benedictine nuns who run the Inn.

I never thought that it was odd that I worked under all women. But it kind of was. It was unusual and is something that I probably won’t ever experience again in my career. The women at the Inn became my role models. They were driven, enthusiastic, funny, and caring. They knew when and how to get the job done and when to relax and enjoy life.

I want to be just like these women. I want to have the skills and the drive in order to accomplish not only the task at hand, but also all of my goals and dreams. I want to be caring and kind to everyone that I connect with. I want to have a relationship with God. I want to stand up for what I believe in but be empathetic to others’ viewpoints. I want to be connected to people.

So I will take everything that I have learned from the women at the Inn and carry it with me as a student at Butler. I can represent these women; I can be one of these women in my classroom, in my sorority, and in my career. If there is one thing that I have learned by being around the women at the Benedict Inn is that when a group of women is gathered, there is a power, an electricity, that permeates the atmosphere of that gathering. As a student at Butler, I hope to be a contributor to that energy whenever I gather with my fellow women.