In 2012-2013, the St. Francis Scholars program was created by former communications director, Victoria Terheyden, who, according to Danny Curtin ’08, “designed the program to provide access and opportunity to high academic-achieving students.”
But, the program had almost disappeared in recent years, seemingly forgotten amongst the ocean of other programs offered at Riordan. Yet, the new Director of the St. Francis Scholars program, David Lin ’99, hopes to change the program’s identity, building it up on pillars of service and leadership. So, who is Lin and what can he bring to the St. Francis Scholars program?
At Riordan, Lin wears many hats. He’s a college counselor, boarding program director, coach for the baseball and basketball teams, an RSP aide, a moderator for the Yknot Mentality Club, as well as a moderator for the Life Team. Suffice to say, Lin is pretty involved with the Riordan community, but it was actually something else that landed him the job.
According to Lin, “I got the job after completing the Remick Leadership Program at Notre Dame University.”
In addition to completing this rather prestigious program, Curtin said that Lin was “service driven and had the right personality skill set.”
This choice is seemingly paying off already, as some members of the St. Francis Scholars program have already begun collaborating with various organizations to feed the less fortunate. Some of these leaders include Ellie Umberg ’28 and Nora Lee ’27.
Umberg said, “[I] thought there was a lack of service in the program even though there was lots of potential to help the many less fortunate in San Francisco”
Similarly, Lee said, “I started leading these trips because I really care about serving people who are less fortunate.”
In addition to the service aspect of the St. Francis Scholars Program, a less known part of it, called the Lyceum, is also offered to students. Led by Michael O’Brien, students learn about different philosophers to, in O’Brien’s words, “Think in different ways, philosophically, analytically, and critically.”
From learning about philosophy to unique service opportunities, members see this as an exciting time to be a part of the St. Francis Scholars Program.
