LC Business Education

Sometimes, the best way to move forward is to pause.

From July 11 to 13, 2025, our fourth-year BSBA students did just that—they pressed pause on deadlines, job applications, and thesis worries, and journeyed to Betania Retreat House in Malasag, Cagayan de Oro City for a much-needed recollection. For three days, they traded city noise and classroom pressure for mountain air, stillness, and honest reflection.

Betania sits quietly on a hill, far from the rush of city life. There, time slows down. The wind whispers through the trees, and even the silence seems to speak. It was the perfect space to step back and ask ourselves the questions we rarely make time for: How am I, really? What have I become in the last four years? What do I still carry and what do I need to let go of before I leave this place?

It was a time to reflect. A time to breathe, to think, to pray, and to be still at the moment. Some students spent time journaling by the garden. Others sat quietly in the chapel. There were deep conversations, shared laughter, unexpected tears, and moments of healing that can’t always be explained but are deeply felt.

We forget, sometimes, how heavy life can be for students nearing graduation. Behind their strong faces are stories of struggle, uncertainty, and quiet battles. Betania gave them the space to lay some of those burdens down, even if just for a while.

What made it more special was how the recollection brought the students closer. People who rarely spoke became companions in silence. Bonds deepened. Memories were created that had nothing to do with grades or schoolwork. Just life, as it is, and the people we become when we’re honest with ourselves.

As they packed up and left the hills behind, there was a different energy in the group. Lighter. Clearer. Quieter, in the best way. The kind of quiet that says, I know myself a little better now. I’m ready for what’s next.

And maybe that’s what recollections are really for. Not to fix everything, but to remind us that we’re never alone on the journey and that there’s strength in stopping, breathing, and living.

Because before they become graduates, professionals, or entrepreneurs, they are people with stories, wounds, hopes, and hearts that need tending, too. And at Betania, for a brief and beautiful weekend, they had the space to do just that.