Moreno also ate his fill of gelato, played basketball and dined with Jesuits on a regular basis and visited the Colosseum, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Trevi Fountain and other not-to-miss sites during his first-ever trip to Europe.
Social Justice Opportunities
Interning at the Curia isn’t the only option for students interested in the work of the Society of Jesus, an international religious community founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola in the 16th century. Georgetown is the oldest Catholic and Jesuit university in the country, and draws on a long legacy of Jesuit education.
Other students have interned and worked for Jesuit Worldwide Learning, the Jesuit Refugee Service, the Jesuit Provinces and other Jesuit organizations, says Andria Wisler, executive director of Georgetown’s Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching and Service.
Moreno took an online course with the center while in Rome called “Intersections of Social Justice.”
Georgetown Guidance
A government major with a minor in Education, Inquiry, and Justice, Moreno says he came to Georgetown because of its Community Scholars Program (CSP) and Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP) and the fact that the university is in the nation’s capital.
“CSP really shaped how successful my first year was at Georgetown, and GSP provided a welcoming space on campus, a mentor and even a ticket home so I could surprise my parents for Thanksgiving,” says Moreno, who comes from a family of Mexican immigrants.
He’s now looking forward to finding an internship in the city and is thrilled that being in Washington, DC allows him to attend national conferences and conventions such as the League of United Latin American Citizens, the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents and Jobs for America’s Graduates.
At Georgetown, he founded with other Hoyas a collegiate council of the league called GU LULAC and currently serves as the chair in the executive board.
Celebrity Meditation
Moreno has tutored local youth with Georgetown’s After School Kids (ASK) Program and says he enjoys leveraging every opportunity on campus, including GU Politics events at the McCourt School of Public Policy and attending a 2018 talk by actor Bradley Cooper (C’97).
The Georgetown sophomore even got to ask Cooper a question about his daily habits, which the actor says includes meditation.
Moreno was especially pleased to hear that, as he frequently attends sessions at the university’s John Main Center for Meditation and Interreligious Dialogue and will serve as the student program coordinator for the center this coming academic year.
“I found attending guided meditations gives me a direct way to reach common ground and reconnect with the present,” he says.
