Attending the opening session of the Cathedral Catholic Business Institute was a deeply moving and inspiring experience that united the vigor of youth with the wisdom of distinguished leaders, all grounded in the enduring power of Christian values in business.
Forty high-achieving Cathedral Catholic students chose to invest their after-school hours into this optional curriculum of the Dons Business Institute—an opportunity made possible largely through the vision and grit of a single junior student Pierce Millar who orchestrated the program’s creation for his peers.
Yet, such an initiative is never the work of one person alone. Cathedral Catholic President Kevin Calkins has been a passionate enabler of the Institute, providing the support and encouragement needed for new ideas to truly blossom on campus. With his steady leadership, Cathedral Catholic has become a place where innovative, values-driven programs like the Business Institute can get roots.
The Business Institute’s Teacher Mrs. Harrington and the Institutes board member Kristin Millar have worked tirelessly behind the scenes—mentoring, organizing, and assuring everything runs smoothly. Their dedication ensures that students feel empowered, challenged, and cared for as they step into new roles as learners and leaders.
The first session’s anchor speaker was Dr. Tietje, the esteemed dean of the University of San Diego’s Knauss Business School. His presentation emphasized an element rarely spotlighted in business education: the vital role of Christian values as the moral compass for business leadership. His decades of experience offered grounding wisdom for these ambitious students and of course myself a continuing struggling student of business. Hearing such truths as the Catholic Christian Values in a business environment articulated with clarity and bold conviction was refreshing and affirming for me and I believe everyone involved.
What set this evening apart from traditional business events was its undeniable focus on the heart—an atmosphere charged by faith, generosity, and purposeful ambition. The Institute was a much needed example of how faith-based values can transform a business education model into something genuinely transformative and lasting.
My take was the Institute’s debut proved that when a visionary youth leader like Pierce Millar a Junior at Cathedral Catholic are supported by dedicated administrators, passionate teachers, and seasoned mentors, magic happens.
My heart sings when I feel this magic because my generation has left this planet a mess for future generations. This program and the interactions I saw with the 40 students and the leadership of the individuals responsible lead me to this conclusion.
The Cathedral Catholic Business Institute’s opening session was much more than an introduction to business fundamentals—it was a celebration of vision, faith, and the power of community leadership. Forty dynamic students, many committed to sports and other rigorous activities, chose to spend their afternoon and evening diving into this new optional business program. These students energy and engagement displayed through 8 groups presenting their results of interactive exercises inspired all who watched and left me with a very big smile.
The refreshingly heartfelt environment of the Institute reflected not only the values of its founders but also the steady hands guiding it—This unique collaboration of a Junior High School Student who rallied 170 students to sign up for 40 seats, a Business School Dean who believes in Catholic, Christian Values, a High School President with an open mind a dedicated Teacher and a couple of alumni proved to me that this kind of values-led movement can spark true transformation, not only ensuring business training at Cathedral Catholic but sparking a future business movement anchored in conscience, integrity, purpose and Catholic Christian Value’s
This is more than an academic experiment. The Cathedral Catholic Business Institute will set a new standard for the intersection of faith and business enterprises —making it a model to watch for any community hoping to shape young leaders marked not just by skill but by heart.
