• highlights the important decisions made during high school and how these help shape one’s future strength of character: e.g., choice of friends, the priorities one establishes, relationship with God, attitude toward women, etc.;
• teaches students to study proactively: posing and answering questions, and not merely absorbing information;
• uses historical figures to show that a successful life has its roots in one’s adolescent years;
• reviews in detail a current college application and points out what is being asked of students during the next four years;
• discusses current societal trends that could affect students’ future world;
• offers assistance in finding interesting summer job experiences, volunteer opportunities, research projects, etc.;
• stresses the importance of communication skills through frequent activities involving public speaking and debate.

• presents men of integrity from over a dozen different professional fields; students hear what their work is like, what challenges it presents, and how they handle these challenges;
• mentors students in leadership skills through actual leadership challenges;
• stresses the importance of communication skills through public speaking and writing classes;
• provides contacts with students at universities across the country who can discuss their college experience with seminar participants;
• offers assistance in finding interesting summer job experiences, volunteer opportunities, research projects, etc.

• introduces students to basic intellectual concepts they will need in life and should be deepening during their college years (e.g., truth, certainty, moral goodness, freedom, rights, the soul, faith and science);
• provides a conceptual framework for evaluating the new ideas students encounter in college;
• teaches students to identify and critique the ideologies that currently underlie the academics at most American universities (e.g., relativism, secular humanism, materialism, etc.).

Each student is assigned a mentor who will meet individually with him between the monthly sessions.  The mentor guides the student in applying the principles taught in class and helps him set goals that are important and practical.  Mentoring sessions last 45 minutes and will take place at Sauganash Study Center.

Not at all. The seminar is not meant to create stress about getting into the “best” college or having the “best” job. But high school students should be looking ahead to where they are going in life so that they begin now to develop the skills and attitudes needed for the great tasks of their lives: forming a family, serving society through their work, and developing friendships with colleagues, neighbors, and God. Between the ages 14 and 19, habits are formed, friends are made, ideas and ideals are internalized. Young men need to see their high school years in the light of their entire life.

Yes, but we strongly encourage attendance to every session. Hence, we do not pro-rate the fee.

Sauganash’s activities are based on a Christian view of life that recognizes the dignity of the human person, the inherent goodness of the created world, the value of human work, and the God-given moral law. In both the professional activities such as The Launch and spiritual activities like retreats, recollections, and doctrine classes, Opus Dei ensures that a true Christian spirit is present. Opus Dei is an institution of the Catholic Church whose mission is to help people find God in and through the circumstances of their ordinary life.

Yes. We encourage students to inform friends about The Launch. When friends attend the program together, they establish a means of reinforcement extending well beyond the classroom. If students, parents and friends would like a brief presentation of the program, please call Justin Reckart to make arrangements.