The May 2023 Science and Spirituality Retreat cohort led by ECE Professor John Cressler.
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Speech is silver, silence is golden. It’s a saying that’s been around for centuries.
Few people may have a better understanding of this than Professor John Cressler.
“Silence is an opportunity to not just rest, but to reflect on who you are and what you are and how you relate to the world and other people,” he said. “It’s how you become a better person.”
Cressler, a Regents Professor in the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), has embraced the practice of silence for over 25 years through silent retreats, experiencing the many mental health benefits firsthand.
These retreats involve spending time in peaceful, secluded environments to focus on deep reflection and mindfulness, often incorporating activities like meditation and yoga.
A Spark of an Idea
One silent retreat in 2013 was particularly impactful for him. It spawned an idea. He thought the experience of purposefully seeking silence could help his students like it helped him.
“During this particular retreat, I had the inspiration to create a science and religion class that could utilize the benefits of silent retreats,” he said. “That was a very important spiritual event to me.”
Having worked at Georgia Tech for over a decade, Cressler understood that rigorous technical institutions like Georgia Tech can spark profound curiosity in students about the relationship between science and faith.
He partnered with the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts to launch a new course: Science, Engineering, and Religion: An Interfaith Dialogue (IAC 2002).
Through the class, students participate in a silent retreat at the Ignatius House Jesuit Retreat Center, a Catholic non-profit in Sandy Springs that welcomes all faith and secular traditions.
Beyond exploring the intersection of spirituality and science, he unsurprisingly found the silent retreats were helping students find peace during the rigorous Georgia Tech school year.
The Ignatius House Jesuit Retreat Center.
Silent Retreats for All
Then in Spring 2023, after participating in a retreat and experiencing it for himself, Bill Todd, a Georgia Tech graduate and supporter, asked a big question of his own: How can we get more Georgia Tech students on these silent retreats?
So, Todd, along with Ken Byers, Dave and Laura Huffman, and other Tech alums, started a seed fund to give students outside of IAC 2002 the opportunity to take a silent retreat free of charge.
After a small rollout, Cressler had 150 students inquire about attending a retreat in the program’s first year. Ultimately, over 90 students took the trek into silence in the program’s first year.
Embracing Life Offline
The Ignatius Center offers multiple unique silent retreat experiences. Students can choose from different types of retreats that align with their interests and goals for growth. Silent retreat themes span a variety of topics, including a faith and science retreat led by Cressler himself, as well as nature, yoga, mindfulness, and more.
No matter the theme, the retreats provide a time for students to simply disconnect from the world of social media, peer pressure, and academic rigor they experience every day. Attendees are encouraged to give up their phones and the internet.
“It was a good detox,” said Jenna Prokash, a third-year chemical and biomolecular engineering student who went on the faith and science retreat, said. “It was nice to disconnect from the world. It was a lot easier to focus because phone notifications were not popping up all the time.”
“It's so liberating for them to put their phone away for a weekend and see that there's a different world,” Cressler added. “It's a lot easier to do than most people imagine.”
One of the many spots along the trails of the 20-acre property for quiet reflection.
The disconnect from the outside world helps students to focus on a series of seminars they attend throughout the stay. The goal is to provide students with tools, techniques, and ways of thinking they may not have previously been exposed to, according to Cressler.
The moments in between seminars are filled with lots of quiet reflection. The 20-acre space has plenty of hiking trails, scenic walks, and private spaces, providing the ideal backdrop for mental reset and growth.
Students Benefiting from Silence
The experiences and lessons from the retreats are more important than ever as stress among college-age students continues to rise. A 2023 American College Health Association's National College Health Assessment found that 79 percent of students reported having moderate to high stress levels.
“It’s amazing what you can do when you are not always anxious and experience what it means to be present and mindful,” said aerospace engineering student Braulio Vera Garcia, who went on a mindfulness retreat.
Vera credits his silent retreat experience with providing him with new tools to overcome anxiety.
Remaining grounded in this hyper-connected and demanding world is easier said than done, but Cressler is encouraged by how students like Prokash and Vera have responded to the retreats.
He knows all students can benefit from the profound power of silence and hopes more will seek out the experience as he looks to best expand and fund the program.
“I’ve already benefited from my silent retreat experience this semester,” Prokash said. “For five minutes I can practice to just be still and stop worrying. It is very refreshing, and you can come back and continue doing your work being more productive than before.”
If you are interested in applying for a retreat scholarship, please reach out to Professor Cressler at cressler@ece.gatech.edu for more information.
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