National CARP hosted their annual Momentum leadership retreat from July 25th to the 27th at Barrytown, New York. Momentum gathers CARP leaders across the nation to connect to the national vision and with each other in preparation for the upcoming school year.
The retreat gathered leaders from at least 24 different states, 93 participants, and 16 CARP staff and local directors. A total of 109 participants and staff joined, making it the largest gathering for Momentum yet!
The retreat began on the 25th with National CARP President Jinil Fleischman welcoming everyone and going over the purpose and schedule of the retreat. To give space for the participants to get to know one another, there was an ice breaker where they engaged with fellow CARP leaders who they didn’t know and asked intriguing questions to get to know one another. Soon after, the participants were broken off into teams, finding out who they were through a fun activity. Lastly, the morning session closed with Jinil sharing a few highlights of the semester, including that just in the past year, 10 new chapters have been established or have created a presence for CARP in their local area. He also shared the vision, mission, and education track for CARP leaders which helped them to gain clarity on what they are doing and where they are at in their growth.
In the afternoon, Jinil invited leaders from CARP’s sponsoring organization Family Federation of Heavenly USA which included Continental Director Dr. Chungsik Yong, President and Northeast Subregional Director Naokimi Ushiroda, and four other subregional leaders. During that time, three student representatives shared testimonies of their experiences ranging from having personal transformation through CARP to overcoming barriers in establishing an official chapter on their campus.
A key takeaway that many of the students gained from Dr. Yong’s talk was about becoming a champion of study, faith, and practice. After Dr. Yong’s talk, the CARP leaders split off into their respective regions in America and met with their subregional leaders. It created a sense of camaraderie and unity among the leaders knowing that they represented and were responsible for their area.
“One of the biggest takeaways was when Dr. Yong and the Regional leaders came to give us words. Just the thought of how these great leaders came into this one room to see the youth allowed me to feel so much love from them.” - Kodai Abe, junior at Cal State Fullerton, CARP LA
During the evening session, two younger local CARP directors Rosia Schmidt and Hebangja Kisile shared their testimonies of why they do what they do. It was very empowering for the CARP leaders to connect with an elder brother and sister figure. Through their testimonies, CARP leaders reflected on their own ‘why’ and what motivates them to do CARP. The day ended with giving out CARP merchandise.
The second day began with an opportunity to take a walk on a trail that was part of the beautiful retreat location. Called “Father’s Trail,” the trail passed by locations where CARP founder Father Moon spent many hours with his students in the past.
Then, they received a talk from CARP Bay Area’s local director Markus Von Euw on how they can grow through witnessing to others about the Divine Principle. Following that, National CARP Board Member Dr. Robert Beebe presented on the National CARP curriculum and the vision of how students can impact the campus and society.
“My biggest highlight was hearing Dr. Beebe’s talk about how we can shift the world view of young people in our country. I also really enjoyed hearing about each chapter’s campus impact and how they are conveying very relevant messages on campus in a very academic and strong way.” - Joseph a’Beckett, incoming freshmen at Chabot College, CARP Bay Area
Dr. Beebe’s talk segued well into hearing reports from CARP chapters about what they have been doing to impact their campus. It showed how the teachings of the Divine Principle are directly applicable in making a positive influence on society.
After lunch time, the participants were able to enjoy some sports with one another.
The afternoon session was dedicated to hearing content from CARP’s partner organization High Noon. Presentations were given by Carina Méndez and Benjy Uyama. They talked about the importance of living a life with intentionality and practicing sexual integrity. Two participants also shared their testimonies of their journey to live this lifestyle. Many of the participants were truly grateful for the experience.
“The High Noon talk was the biggest highlight because it left me feeling inspired and empowered to make changes in my life and set clear motivations for myself.” - Suzie Musembwa, incoming freshmen at Savannah College of Art and Design, CARP Georgia
“It was great having High Noon come and would love to have them again since sometimes as CARP Leaders we can be investing in helping others grow and deal with their problems when we ourselves have some unresolved issues and need to be poured into as well.” - Yujin Angolio, senior at Princeton University, CARP New Jersey
“High Noon was really good; I think it may be hard for CARP leaders to talk about problems they might be facing now or in the past that keeps them from being the best leader they can be and so I think it was liberating for most people.” - Yasuhiro Ozawa, NJIT Class of 2022, CARP New Jersey
With all the focus on their personal growth and attaining their own “North Star” goals, the participants took time in the evening to reflect on what they personally want to accomplish during this upcoming year and their life. They were able to share in their teams and then afterwards had the opportunity to share with the whole group. Many participants were so eager to speak that there was a continuous stream of people that came on stage to share.
The third and final day started with President Jinil sharing about the resources and tools that National CARP offered. After that, the students split off into their respective chapters and discussed amongst themselves strategies and plans they want to implement for the upcoming school year.
After the chapters met with each other, the whole group gathered back and had the opportunity to declare their chapter or personal goals in front of everyone. To close off the retreat, a few words were given by CARP Bay Area directors Kazuya and Yelena Morita, CARP Los Angeles Director Maiko Shimogawara, and President Jinil.
Another Momentum concluded with hearts and spirits filled! The participants took everything they could to build momentum for the upcoming school year.
More reflections:
“I feel passionate about bringing the spirit and energy from CARP Momentum to my campus. The spirit here is so lively and beautiful and I would love to develop this kind of culture on my own campus.” - Tara McMahon, senior at Montclair University, CARP New Jersey
“I appreciate momentum. I wanted to gain a stronger sense of identity as national CARP and I think I got exactly that. It’s exciting to think we’re all together investing and fighting for the same goals across the country.” - Toshio Barber, incoming freshmen, CARP DMV
Share your story to ryota@carplife.org.