By Brad Stolz, Assistant Youth Minister, Don Bosco Technical Institute

Junior Retreat

(Rosemead, California) – On Monday, February 10, 2025, the sounds of yelling, laughing, and very excited teenage boys could be heard on the mini mall and football field at Don Bosco Technical Institute. The sounds definitely were not the usual classroom-type noises! The sounds came from the Junior Class on their annual retreat (and not the sounds one would expect from a typical retreat either). As it turns out, these sounds came from the juniors doing icebreakers at the start of their retreat.

The retreat continued in the school chapel where an introduction was given by Mr. Rudy Herrera (Mr. H), the Director of Youth Ministry, and his team, who were all Youth Ministry seniors. Four adult chaperones were also a part of the team. The class and leadership team then walked next door to St. Joseph’s Retreat Center.

The retreat aimed to prepare the juniors for their leadership role at the Tech, which they will inherit in less than four months, and also prepare them for college and adulthood. To this end, they attended the talks of Brother Reegan, SDB (relationship with God), Ms. Gambill (finding yourself), and Mr. H (relationship with life). An outdoor lunch of Magda’s hamburgers and some basketball, football, and volleyball made for an enjoyable break.

Mass in the school chapel presided by Fr. Thein Nguyen, SDB, our Salesian Director, followed the talks. This was a great way to end an enjoyable and highly enlightening day for the Class of 2026.

Sophomore Retreat

(Rosemead, California) – Monday, February 3, 2025, was a very special and exciting day for our Sophomore Class. It was the day of their yearly retreat, and there were to be no books or classes. The retreat was conducted by Mr. Rudy Herrera (Mr. H), Director of Youth Ministry, 20 members of the Youth Ministry team, and four adult chaperones.

The first half of the day was in Rosemead at Bosco Tech and then at St. Joseph’s Retreat Center, next door. It started in the Tech chapel, where sophomores were given an introduction and divided into groups. This was followed by ice breakers on the mini mall and the football field. After having the opportunity to get to know each other better by some fun together, the serious part of the retreat began at St. Joseph’s through a rotation of three talks: two by seniors (Josh Camarillo on family and Evan Cheung on friends) and the third by Mr. H on repentance. 

The highlight of the spiritual part of the retreat took place back in the Tech chapel with a Mass and sermon by Fr. Thien Nguyen, SDB, Salesian Director. After a delicious hamburger lunch, two buses took everyone to the Sky Zone in Alhambra. The sophomores bonded with God during the morning, and now, in the afternoon, they got to bond with each other as individuals and as a class. Their bonding was done by bounding, which they did with great joy and enthusiasm for about two and a half hours. The end of the day found them tired and sweating but happy with their new special relationship with God and each other!