Often, the best moments and experiences have the most unlikely of beginnings; the yearly retreats run by Mitty’s Campus Ministry are no exception. From their earliest years as a prison program, to becoming a beloved high school tradition, the history of Mitty’s retreats is a winding road. Awakenings, Agape, Quest, and Kairos have all been part of a longstanding tradition, and even though they’ve been added to and altered over time, their core purpose has stayed the same. 

The first retreats implemented at Mitty were the Kairos trips; however, Kairos didn’t begin as a Mitty tradition. The program evolved from a program called Cursillo, which originated as a Christian ministry retreat program in the 1960s. Created for prisons in the Midwest, the program sought to reform inmates through a 3-day journey centered around biblical teachings. Over the years, the program grew in popularity and was adapted for high schoolers and parishes across the United States. 

While the Kairos target demographic has changed since the ‘60s, the central goal of the program remains; the original Kairos document describes the program as “a deepening experience in one’s Christian life… [giving each participant] a greater awareness of himself, others, and God.”

While this goal has largely been retained over the years, it hasn’t exactly been a straight path getting there. Several years passed before those fledgling retreats became recognizable as the programs as we know today.

The first Mitty students to go on retreats were junior Tom Miller, Bobby Delgado, Adrian Waters, and Brother Mike Cunningham in the spring of 1982. They went with a group of students from Chamimade, a Marianist School from Southern California, and returned with the intention of sharing their experiences with the rest of the school. Mr. Steve Scott, director of Campus Ministry writes, “Their mission afterwards was clear: Bring this transformative experience back to AMHS. However, the timing did not align properly.” 

For about three years, the group’s goal to have a retreat for AMHS students was not possible. Then-Campus Minister Nina Schwab encouraged the idea of organizing the first Kairos with the help of many parents and alumni, including Tom Miller, one of the original students to go on a retreat. Unfortunately, when Schwab left Campus Ministry, the program paused, having no one else to continue her mission. Thankfully, Gary Braia stepped in and took the challenge of keeping the retreats going till the present day. According to Mr. Scott, “The current chapter of Kairos at AMHS was derived from Gary Braia’s revival of the program, establishing what would become an unbroken tradition. Under his leadership, the retreat gained momentum and grew in popularity.”

One element unique to Mitty retreats is their student-led aspect. Mr. Bill Kroenung, Mitty’s retreat coordinator, recounts: “We used to be run by an order of priests and brothers called the Marianists. They had a retreat called the Life Retreat Living in Faith Experience, which included around ten Mitty students, and they would combine with other high schools [to] have a summer retreat.” He explained that it was this program that eventually evolved into the summertime leadership retreats that LIFE Corps members went on in order to lead retreats themselves.

The work to include all grades in the retreat experience started in 1994-1995, and over time, the idea of expanding retreats for each grade was made possible. Every retreat is unique and centered around different gospel passages that help students understand the true meaning of seeing each other built for greatness. The values taught on the retreats are rooted directly in Mitty’s charism, and that has remained unchanging.

Many students see these retreats as transformative experiences, and Kairos’s longevity shows the strong faith of the AMHS community. Their success is also a representation of how much work goes into planning these experiences. Mr. Kroenung perfectly captures this sentiment: “For over 40 years, Kairos, the heart of the activities, the heart of what it’s all about, has been really consistent, which is really amazing if you think about it.”