Students engage in social justice issues, domestic and international, through a team formation process of prayer, reflection, and direct service.
These service-immersion experiences, offered during each Fall Break, Spring Break, and in May, are designed to provide meaningful experiences for students who want to immerse themselves in different cultures and serve those in need. They include travel to under-served communities in places like Appalachia, New Mexico, and Guatemala.
Led by the university's student Alternative Break (AB) Board and accompanied by faculty and staff advisors, the goal for these experiences is to open the eyes of students to global needs and challenges, empowering them to become transformational leaders for social change.
Students who participate in the Marian University AB program describe it as "life altering" and definitely move along the continuum of awareness, from volunteerism to more engaged citizenship committed to social activism.
Applications for student leadership positions are available in April and participants are can apply in the fall semester preceding Spring Break.
The Indy Urban Plunge is a 36 hour immersion experience in Indianapolis. Students will explore the cycle of poverty as experienced in the city of Indianapolis to include the misperceptions of poverty and the challenges faced by those who are at most risk.
By engaging in direct service at various agencies which walk with and advocate for those who live in poverty, students will evaluate these services in the light of the Corporal Works of Mercy, Catholic Social Teaching and political advocacy.
The Urban plunge exposed me to social issues of which I was previously unaware, such as the levels of homelessness and especially hunger, right in our own city."
The Knights for Life seek to uphold the dignity of all people, from conception to natural death.
Students in the peace and justice living learning community community with one another, around the common goal of promoting social justice in the world.
This student led retreat creatively explores Catholic social teaching through simulations, group sharing, and encounters with the Indianapolis community.
Students witness talks, prayer, reflection, small group discussion while participating in a hunger banquet and social justice stations of the cross throughout downtown Indianapolis.
Students Taking Active Reflective Roles (STARR) meets every Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. to engage students in reflective service throughout the greater Indianapolis community. No long-term commitment is required.
From homeless shelters, food pantries, inner-city after-school programs, community-housing construction to mentally challenged adult programs, more than 100 Marian University students put in 1,500 hours in a typical academic year in STARR.
Directed under a student-articulated vision, STARR was created to be the most comprehensive, effective program in providing all Marian University students opportunities for hands-on service, for personal and spiritual growth, and for building relationships, both among Marian University students and also within the greater Indianapolis community.
We offer these opportunities hoping to awaken our students to the necessity of serving others as our mission to prepare students who are and who will continue to transform the world."
© 2024 Marian University
Notice of Nondiscrimination
Marian University does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin, age or disabilities in the selection of administrative personnel, faculty and staff, and students.
*Placement rates are gathered from data collected from graduates within six months of graduation.
Students may make a complaint to the Indiana Commission of Higher Education.
Marian University is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Francis, Oldenburg, Indiana.
Submit a Marketing Request
Website built with
Visit myMU