Where Students Find Belonging & Community: The Hehir Center
By Maya Mohosin (C’27)
Marco Perez (F’24, G‘26), standing in front of the Janet Scanlon Hehir (N’75) Center for Catholic Life. Photo by Maya Mohosin (C’27)
Walking through the glass doors of the new Janet Scanlon Hehir (N’75) Center for Catholic Life, you quickly realize you’re stepping into more than just a room on the ground floor of Healy Hall. For Marco Perez (F’24, G‘26), who has been involved in Catholic Ministry throughout his time at Georgetown, the space has quickly become a place of unexpected community and comfort for him.
“It’s such an open and welcoming environment,” Marco said. “You never know who you’ll run into.”
He recalled one afternoon when he came down just to study and happened to run into Fr. Greg Schenden, S.J. “We ended up talking for an hour,” he said.
That sense of unexpected belonging is exactly what keeps new and returning students coming to the space. For Marco, it’s become more than just a study spot where he can get his work done. Whether it was running into Dr. Jim Wickman, Ada Gonzalez, or Fr. Mark Bosco, S.J., Marco felt that the Hehir Center offered a space to casually chat with chaplains and staff outside the structure of Dahlgren Chapel.
In the future, Marco imagines the space as a “social studying gathering space,” somewhere between a lounge and a library. “It’s not super silent, so people can chat and build relationships. It makes the mundane task of studying so much more collaborative,” he said. He’s excited to see how students continue to use the space, whether it’s by curling up on couches while studying or chatting with chaplains and peers.
Mikenzie Hapworth-Eldridge (C’28), reading a Catholic Ministry fall retreats booklet in the Hehir Center. Photo by Maya Mohosin (C’27)
That feeling of support and connection is also what drew Mikenzie Hapworth-Eldridge (C’28) in. For her, the Hehir Center’s perfect location alongside the Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP) space on the Healy ground floor represented her multiple identities. “It’s this fun mix of campus organizations—student-centered and focused on community,” she said. “I love that I can be on the GSP board, but also involved in Catholic Women at Georgetown, and find both of those identities crossing over here.”
Like Marco, Mikenzie emphasized how the space makes chaplains more accessible. “Being able to go in and chat with chaplains outside of mass or structured meetings is so fruitful,” she said. “It’s a peaceful space to sit, reflect, and do homework.” She smiled as she recalled one afternoon when there was incense burning in the lounge. “It felt so comfortable and relaxing. It’s a space where people of all faiths can come together.”
For her, the Hehir Center represents Georgetown’s spirit. It created a space that prioritizes student wellness and spiritual growth in ways that feel natural. “It’s super comforting to know the university is prioritizing spaces like this, and that they’ll continue to flourish in new and innovative ways,” she said.
Both Marco and Mikenzie imagine the Hehir Center as a connector for a wide variety of people. That vision reflects what already draws students to the Hehir Center: a place where community grows naturally and unexpected connections form.
Fr. Mark Bosco, S.J., is the vice president for Mission & Ministry
Fr. Greg Schenden, S.J., is the director of Campus Ministry
Dr. Jim Wickman is the director for Catholic Life
Ada Gonzalez is the assistant director for Catholic Engagement
Maya Mohosin (C’27) is studying Government and Justice in Peace Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences.