Our Partnership With St. Iakovos

In the first semester of Shepherds College® classes, all students take a six-week introductory class to each of the three majors. At the end of the first semester, the students and their families receive a FIT report, a document telling families if their student is a good fit for a particular major and their job prospects if they choose that major. Over the first Christmas break, all students will select their major. When they return for the Spring semester, they officially start their major-specific classes for four hours a week. In their second year, they are in specialty major classes 14 hours a week, and in their final year, they are working in what we call “Occupational Experiences” (OEs). These are like internships for local companies that give the students real-world experience either off-campus or on-campus.

One of these off-campus sites we’ve partnered with since the Fall of 2022 is St. Iakovos Retreat Center in Kansasville. The children from Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and parts of northern Missouri use the retreat center (just minutes from our campus) for their summer camps, and the adults use it year-round for various events and retreats. In 2023, they served around 2,800 people for the year.

Director Arun Modayil, the direct supervisor for our Technology OE students, runs the retreat center. We also have a Horticulture OE at St. Iakovos, supervised by the Property and Grounds Manager, Tara Jones. They have been involved with the retreat center for more than 15 years, which gives our students the stability they need in their OE positions. They are kind, patient, and caring. Both love our students and give them so much grace. They also offer them great work experience.

Tara has managed three Horticulture OE students over the last couple of years who have worked on maintaining the grounds and the three miles of trails on the St. Iakovos property.

Arun has supervised four Technology students, and next year, Amelia and Kaleigh from the Class of 2025 will be working in the office. Our Technology students have done a lot of work for St. Iakovos, including tasks such as data entry or digitization. The digitization project includes scanning years of documents and records that the retreat center needs to keep on file. Our students have been able to help them convert the center’s documents from paper to digital files. Not only does this save physical space, but it also allows Arun to quickly search the files when necessary.

Tara mentioned how much she appreciated the students she supervised in Horticulture. Even when some of our students initially had communication issues or took exploratory trips around the grounds without first seeking permission, she was able to problem-solve with them and allow them walking breaks to explore.

Arun shared, “From my perspective, I love the partnership with Shepherds College. It’s very rare that our OE students don’t stay busy the entire time they are here. They are very cordial and friendly. I enjoy each student’s personality and how their personalities relate to their work. I like the challenge. Honestly, I was initially worried about participating in the OE program because our days got busy, and I didn’t know if I would have time to supervise the students. But it hasn’t been like I expected. I’ve enjoyed it.”

Thank you, Arun and Tara, for being OE supervisors for our third-year students. Thank you for loving them and giving them the work experience they need. We hope our partnership lasts for many years.

Read more about the St. Iakovos Retreat Center on their website: gosirc.org