Encounter

Encounter Co-curricular Lab | Encounter Interview

“There are no ordinary people... It is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit... Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.”

 - C. S. Lewis, “The Weight of Glory” (1942)

The Moreau First-Year Seminar is inspired by a sacramental vision of God working through persons. Because of this, we choose to embrace a pedagogy of encounter in which we engage perennial questions in community. This co-curricular lab is a shared interview - an opportunity to begin to practice encountering one of your Moreau FYS classmates (or roommate) and allowing yourself to be encountered. This is a small step, but it can, as Fr. Pete McCormick offers, “cultivate [a moment] of encounter, which hopefully serves as the springboard for defining, discerning, and developing a vision of a life well-lived alongside not just classmates, but friends.”

Click here for a PDF version of the Encounter Interview co-curricular lab.

Guidelines

1. Invite either a) one classmate from your Moreau First-Year Seminar section or b) your Notre Dame roommate to join you in completing this co-curricular lab.
2. You may use the following question list to interview your partner. If you are joined by your roommate, you may also consult the supplemental question list. You may ask extemporaneous follow-up questions not on the list, but do not draw comparisons to your own life. As an interviewer, your goal is to pay careful attention to the other, rather than talking about yourself. Conclude your interview when all questions have been answered or 30 minutes have passed— whichever comes first. Then, switch roles so that the interviewer becomes the interviewee for 30 minutes.
3. In your commonplace book, beginning on page 232, summarize your experience, connect it to the text from the encounter session, and apply it to your practice of living well.

Interview questions

• Tell me a little bit about your childhood. Where did you grow up? What were you like as a child?
• Tell me about a teacher or other adult who had a big impact on your life while you were growing up.
• What was one time in your life when things were not going your way?
• How were you able to persevere? Did things get better?
• What have you accomplished so far that makes you proudest? Why? (Think of something that you would never put on your resume.)
• What role has religion/spirituality played in your life?
• What do you think God is like—if you believe that God exists?
• Tell me about some of the most important lessons you’ve learned in life.
• How would you like to be remembered?