Seniors Rebekah Balick, Harry Scherer and Lexi Zambito are three of 15 students nationwide to be accepted as Röpke-Wojtyła Fellows for 2021-22. The immersive fellowship program, hosted by The Catholic University of America (CUA), educates Catholic intellectuals and future business leaders in the study of Catholic social thought as it pertains to subjects of more secular scholarship, including history, philosophy, sociology, economy and politics.
The year-long program consists of four colloquia held incrementally; the first is in Washington, D.C. in October of this year, two will be held virtually in February and June 2022, and the fourth takes place at CUA’s Rome campus in May 2022. Fellows receive a $2,500 stipend and enjoy the benefits of complimentary meals, lodging and travel while exploring meaningful questions of social philosophy.
Through interaction with inspiring scholars, Fellowship students delve into curious philosophical topics including the makings of a good society, the civilizing aspect of commerce and the tensions between markets and communities. Named for the late economist, Wilhelm Rӧpke, in conjunction with Karol Józef Wojtyła, widely known as Pope John Paul II, the program ultimately strives to encourage the next generation of bright, young Catholic minds to critically engage with intellectual traditions and authors that may not otherwise be included in their university’s curriculum. The program further enriches the experience by accepting students majoring in a variety of disciplines, allowing for varying viewpoints and a vast range of knowledge among the fellows.
Balick, Scherer and Zambito were inspired to apply for the Röpke-Wojtyła Fellowship based on a glowing recommendation of the program from their close friend and Zambito’s high school classmate, Rachel Lyter, C’21, who was a member of the 2020-21 cohort, which took place entirely online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Majors: International Studies and History
Minor: Spanish
A member of the Honors Program and a Mount Fellow, Balick anticipates the opportunity to discuss the content of the program with students from other universities to be especially worthwhile. She is involved with campus ministry as a women’s fellowship leader, is a member of the AEI Executive Council with Scherer and an editor of Moorings alongside Zambito.
What topics are you most interested in exploring throughout the four colloquia?
I am very interested in learning about Catholic Social teaching, particularly concepts like subsidiarity, since I have not done extensive reading in those topics and I would like to do more. I'm also interested in reading more about economics since it has been a few semesters since I have taken an economics class and I am interested to see how my perspective and understanding of economics has changed as I have learned more in other areas.
How do you expect this experience to augment your senior year/future career?
I anticipate that the reading we will do will only support my learning in other areas! I also look forward to meeting professors and students from other universities during the program in order to build my network and knowledge base as I approach graduation.
What are you looking forward to most about this experience?
I am excited for the two in-person colloquia, in DC and in Rome. I really miss in-person conferences and I am so excited to travel with other intellectuals while speaking with them in-person!
Majors: Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) and History
Minors: Theology and Latin
Through his work as a resident assistant, Scherer advises freshmen male Honors students in one of the integrated living and learning communities on campus. He is a member of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) Executive Council as well as the Extraordinary Form Council, which brought Traditional Latin Mass to campus twice per week. An Honors and Fellows student, Scherer is the managing editor of the Emmitsburg News-Journal and the co-editor-in-chief of Tolle Loge: Journal of Theology and Philosophy, an annual campus publication. He is also a volunteer co-coordinator for the Mount 2000 high school retreat hosted on campus each year. Scherer was particularly attracted to the program by the “breadth and depth of the program’s reading list in line with the Catholic intellectual tradition and the Western tradition more broadly.”
What topics are you most interested in exploring throughout the four colloquia?
My senior honors project will attempt to identify Catholic social teaching properly understood as cultural risk management. In the colloquia, then, I’m most looking forward to reconciling a robust evaluation of the Church’s social teaching with more secular-minded social science and cultural commentary. I’m also excited to examine the debates that the clergy and faithful have undertaken in good faith since the publication of Rerum Novarum with regard to economic matters that deal with the application of prudential judgement in specific cases in addition to broader principles.
How do you expect this experience to augment your senior year/future career?
In addition to the seminar courses I will be taking in Emmitsburg, I’m certain that this fellowship will serve as a helpful review of key philosophical principles defended by the Church, rooted in a solid spirituality and anthropology.
What are you looking forward to most about this experience?
I’m most excited for what I expect to be a friendly and collegial environment among the fellows, grounded in a certain trust that we all value the holistic development of our peers far above the fleeting pleasure of rhetorical competition.
Majors: Philosophy and Theology
Minor: Latin
Intrigued by the works read and discussed at last year’s colloquia, Zambito’s interest in the program quickly turned into action. She is an editor of Moorings Humanities Journal published on campus, as well as co-editor-in-chief of Tolle Lege alongside Scherer, whom she also works with as the student volunteer coordinator for Mount2000. Her involvement in campus ministry and service as a peer tutor makes Zambito an apt candidate for the fellowship. She also is an Honors student.
What topics are you most interested in exploring throughout the four colloquia?
While I am not sure exactly what we will be reading, I know that I will be able to read and discuss philosophical works I have encountered before in class, but in a new light, especially their bearings on politics, economics and the common good. I have a particular interest in the practical implications of different waves of philosophical thought and I'm excited to discuss that specifically in how different philosophies have impacted our society,
How do you expect this experience to augment your senior year/future career?
I anticipate that this experience will undergird my senior year with readings and discussions that will often be different than those I have encountered in my classes at the Mount. It will augment my perspective and enhance my ability to understand society in a more holistic way. My ultimate goal (for now) is to attend the Catholic University of America for their joint program in canon law and civil law in order to be a canon lawyer. I hope that the fellowship will allow me to encounter faculty and students at Catholic University, as well as become more aware of particular issues facing our nation and our Church. I believe that this experience will greatly help me prepare for graduate work, as well as my career serving the institutional Church.
What are you looking forward to most about this experience?
I am most looking forward to meeting other students from across the country who share a commitment to the pursuit of Veritas and who are also striving to serve their communities and their Church in their own unique ways. Iron sharpens iron, and I am looking forward to being challenged in the ways I think and discussing and debating topics that have no clear answers but that we can approach with a spirit of openness.