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Dr. Kelly Mullan and her Dignitas class volunteering at the Duluth Playhouse on Community Day, Oct. 1, 2025.
Dignitas is a year-long course designed to help first year students find their place at St. Scholastica. Over time, the program has evolved beyond its academic roots to focus on creating a sense of community and belonging.
The Dignitas program, which all first-year students participate in, is built around three guiding questions: Who am I? Who are we in this place? Who am I in community?
Students stay with the same peers, faculty, and mentor teaching assistant throughout the year in a structure known as the cohort model. According to Dr. Kelly Mullan, the director of the Dignitas program, this model helps students find a home base on campus and ease the transition into college life.
While the purpose of the course has remained consistent, the structure of the labs has evolved. Previously, students were required to attend labs across the five categories of dignity, diversity, Benedictine tradition and values, Catholic social teaching, and Catholic intellectual tradition.
As stated by Mullan, the faculty noticed that these requirements sometimes prevented students from engaging at the event in a meaningful way.
“And so we made the decision as a faculty, maybe like four years ago, to switch it up and just say, any three labs each semester, whatever you want, they can be connected to any of the values, but you should just go to things that are interesting to you,” said Mullan.
“So I really think that supports the idea of connecting students in a way that feels authentic to them, with things that are interesting to them in our community.”
Today, students are able to choose from a larger variety of activities, all aimed at helping them explore their place in the St. Scholastica community.
“We want to make sure that freshmen are not just living, eating, going to class, but that they're reaching out,” said Mullan.
As the program continues to evolve, its emphasis on connection remains at the heart of the St. Scholastica experience.
If you have an event that brings people together, the program would love to hear about it. You can submit your idea here: https://my.css.edu/d2l/le/content/6606/viewContent/607344/View
By: Lily McCarthy
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