Aspectus: The Origin Story

When I sat down with Isaac Krom on a bright, sunny late-winter’s day in the May Gallery of Mullen Library, I was not sure what to expect. I have been honored to know Isaac throughout my entire time as a student at Catholic University, having met him at our freshmen orientation. One aspect of his life that I had not gotten to know too well, however, was his involvement with Inventio. During my own time as a member of the Student Editorial Board, I have come to learn just how deeply Isaac cares about Inventio, particularly through his own work of founding the journal’s new online magazine, Aspectus. 

Increasingly, across humanities classes at Catholic University, research papers are not being written as frequently as perhaps they were a few years ago. Coupled with this, students are continuing to write short-form response or analysis papers that often go unnoticed by the larger academic community. In talking with Isaac, I learned that he had a true passion for tapping into these papers, finding that half-forgotten work that is begging for publication. While he was still an Assistant Editor for Inventio during his junior year, Issac began to plan Aspectus as his own project. He found abundant help in both the academic faculty that works with Inventio and the Student Editorial Board, who freely volunteered to take on the additional responsibilities involved in founding Aspectus in addition to the upkeep of the main journal. 

The enthusiasm for Aspectus has only continued into the present, and that continued excitement is felt among both Isaac, now Editor-in-Chief, and the rest of the Student Editorial Board. With Aspectus publishing its first issue only earlier this semester, there is plenty to explore and publish going forward. Even with Aspectus’ short-form format, the discussion is never closed in five pages. Both Aspectus and Inventio will continue to unite the undergraduate community at Catholic University for years to come. Anyone, from the Architecture student working late nights in Crough, to the Philosophy student vigorously turning over in their minds whether Beauty exists above or within the beautiful, can contribute to the larger conversation taking place in both Aspectus and Inventio. 

“Inventio is a record and a celebration,” said Isaac during our interview, and, having now served on the Student Editorial Board and coming to the close of my time as an undergraduate a Catholic, I could not agree more. Catholic University is a community on multiple levels, founded principally to be an academic one. Through the work of Inventio and Aspectus, the work of today’s undergraduates can be remembered and celebrated for generations of students to come. 

Anyone looking to contribute to the community of Catholic University should consider submitting their papers to Inventio and Aspectus. Perhaps your work too, dear reader, could continue to be celebrated for generations to come. For those on the fence, I will leave you with one question from Isaac himself, “What’s holding your back?”