• Wayfinders at St. Mary's University logo features St. Louis Hall with a compass behind it.

Wayfinders at St. Mary’s University

If you are drawn to big questions about life and how to live it, or want to explore those ideas with others while serving, learning and spending time with peers, then Wayfinders is for you.

Hosted by the St. Mary’s Center for Catholic Studies, high school students and college freshmen are invited to join us for a four-day experience that blends intellectual inquiry, community life and hands-on service. Through philosophy, meditation, community and service work, Wayfinders draws on the depth of the Catholic and Marianist traditions to help you think about where your life is headed and why it matters.

  • 2026 Program Information

    Date

    June 25 to 28, 2026

    Cost

    $150

    Location

    St. Mary’s University

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Discover Yourself and Your Calling

From Thursday, June 25, through Sunday, June 28, 2026. Over these four days, each theme invites you to think more deeply about your life and your place in the world.

    • Day 1 — What are your gifts?
    • Day 2 — What are your responsibilities?
    • Day 3 — Where are you being called?
    • Day 4 — What are you taking with you?
Students sitting at a table together reflecting on what they have learned.

Throughout the program, you will engage the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, participate in meaningful service and visit significant local sites. All of this is designed to help you think with clarity and curiosity about who you are and who you want to become.

Students in the Wayfinders program at St. Mary's University gather together surrounded by nature.

Program Eligibility

Open to rising high school sophomores (10th grade), juniors (11th grade) and seniors (12th grade), as well as students preparing to begin their first semester of college.

Students in the Wayfinders Program take a group photo together after helping out at the food pantry.

Cost

The cost for the Wayfinders program is $150. This cost covers housing, food, transportation, reading material, Wayfinders t-shirt and access to available scholarships.

A Journey in Faith and Self-Reflection

Students in the Wayfinders Program at St. Mary's University go on a pilgrimage and walk around the San Antonio missions.

Alongside students from San Antonio-area high schools, you will examine what it means to be “on the way,” how we search for meaning, how we make sense of our responsibilities and how we listen for God’s call. Through guided readings, purposeful discussion, service work and visits to places in the community where people confront real needs, you will engage ideas that connect directly to lived experience.

Participants stay in a St. Mary’s residence hall for three nights. During the days, you will learn with St. Mary’s students and professors, reflect on questions of purpose and vocation and take part in service and visits around San Antonio.

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