High School
Summer Program
High School students (including graduating 8th and 12th graders) are invited every year to register for this 4-day program taking place in June, Monday thru Thursday, from 9am to 1pm (lunch included). The program consists of lectures, discussions and socratic seminars in a formal but friendly environment. Short readings are provided before discussion and there are opportunities for interaction and getting to know other students. Dress code is business casual, and students receive a certificate upon program completion.
2026 Program: Why Friendship Matters Today
Program Leader: Dr. Jamie Boulding, Witherspoon Institute
June 29 - July 2
Salerno Center for American Enterprise at SJFU
Aristotle described a friend as "another self." In our culture of isolation and constant distraction, many people struggle to connect with others. At the same time, we tend to overlook key philosophical questions related to the meaning and purpose of friendship. What does it mean to be a good friend? How can we build true friendships as we focus on study, work, and family life? In an age of AI and technological change, what is the value of authentic friendship? To explore these questions, we will discuss ancient and modern thinkers, including Plato, Cicero, Montaigne, Nietzsche, CS Lewis and Rievaulx.
2026 Speakers
Dr. Michael Pakaluk (CUA), author of The Company we Keep: True Friendship and Why it Matters
Dr. Matthew Kuhner, St. Bernard's STM
Dr. Heather Rabenberg , SUNY Brockport
Dr. Jamie Boulding (leader) Witherspoon Institute, Princeton
2025
2026
"The lectures were great. I found Aristotle and CS Lewis the most interesting"
2026 Summer Program student
"The program is great! There is a reason I am back!"
2024 Summer Program student
2025
2024
2023
2022
Past Leaders and Speakers
Jamie Boulding, PhD | Witherspoon & Aquinas Institutes, Princeton.
Matthew Kuhner, PhD | St. Bernard's School of Theology
Machessa Samz, PhD | Nazareth University
Alexander Montes, PhD | University of Rochester
Esa Rantanen, PhD | Rochester Institute of Technology
Guillermo Montes, PhD | St. John Fisher University
Victor Saenz, PhD | Houston Institute, Rice.
Matthew Petrusek, PhD | Word on Fire
Michael Pakaluk, PhD | Catholic University of America
Dr. Heather Rabenberg | SUNY Brockport
Past Program Themes
Seeking Truth & Virtue in Higher Education Today
Human Work, Meaning and the Good Life
Truth, Happiness & Meaning
Why be Excellent?
Why Friendship Matters Today
Who we read
Aristotle, Plato, Augustine, Plotinus, CS Lewis, Younan, Kreeft, Aquinas, Arendt, Pieper, Wojtyla, Newman, Lincoln, Havard, Nietzsche, Rievaulx, George and others.