A Ton of Fun at Douglaston

I used to wonder if it would be better to enter seminary right after high school or wait a year so I would be able to get the 'normal' college experience. I was worried about missing out on activities like sports teams, music ensembles, or even the chance of getting extra sleep in the morning. Nevertheless, I still decided to enter the seminary right after graduating from Honesdale High School. However, I never would have guessed that apart from getting extra sleep in the morning, I wouldn’t be missing a thing. Although the seminary may have more on the schedule for someone than the average college student, there is still plenty of time for fun.


One of the best days of the year is when Douglaston (college seminary) plays Dunwoodie (major seminary) in soccer and softball in the fall and basketball in the winter. Many days go into training for these games so the winners can take home the coveted “Holy Wars” trophy. These sports days are such a great and fun way of building fraternity. Everyone comes together as a team in hopes of winning the game. Fortunately, through dedication and prayer, Douglaston won all three games this fall- soccer and the two softball games. Practice for basketball will begin for the winter. Hopefully this year can be a clean-sweep for Douglaston.

Douglaston verses Dunwoodie in soccer & softball

There are also other fun events that take place in house. This year we are having some tournaments including ping-pong, Fifa, billiards, and more. Some of these tournaments can be especially fun, like when you have to pick a theme song to walk into the room for ping pong. Pretty much anything you can think of you can make into a tournament for the house.

with some friends 

We also have time for other recreational activities. There is an indoor pool at the seminary which is open a few times a week for swimming. There is a common room on the first floor with a ping pong table, pool table, and foosball table. In that common room, there are also two televisions. One of those televisions has multiple gaming systems, controllers, and most importantly, a copious amount of games.  


One of my passions in life is music and I love to sing. I am so happy that I am able to continue with this passion. At the seminary, I am a cantor and a member of the choir. The seminary choir practices Monday nights with a local choir director, and we have two concerts. For these concerts, the director brings her parish choir with her to sing with us. Because of this, we are able to have four voice parts- soprano, alto, tenor, and bass compared to just tenor and bass if it was only guys from the seminary. We sing once at Christmastime, in early December for Lessons and Carols, and once in Lent on Laetare Sunday.

Lessons and Carols December 2015
Now, before I finish, since New York City is such a diverse place, I probably should mention the fun that has to do with the prime location. There is always something to do at any time of day. If we want to hop on the train into Manhattan, we are just a few minutes away from the train station. If we want to go to St. John’s University for a campus event, we are only five miles away from campus. If we want to go to a baseball game, we can just hop in the car and drive to Citi Field. If we are hungry for any type of food, all we have to do is hop in the car or walk and we can have whatever we desire within minutes. If we want to see a movie on a Friday night at midnight, we can because there are movie theaters that are still having showings at that time. Trust me, you can do anything at any time because those examples were all true. The list of things to do goes on and on!

Citi Field 

There are many fun things we are able to do in the seminary. If you think God may be calling you to enter the seminary, but you’re worried you will miss out on having fun, don’t let that be the reason you don’t enter. There is plenty of fun at the seminary, and a wide variety of things to do on a daily basis. The seminary is a lot of fun, and I’m glad I entered right out of high school because I don’t feel like I am missing a thing.
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Nicholas Jennings, a seminarian for the Diocese of Scranton, just started his second year at Cathedral Seminary House of Formation, Douglaston, New York. He is from Honesdale and is a member of Saint John the Evangelist Parish. He loves to sing and spend time with his family and friends.

Picture: Seminarians Nicholas (left) and Rob Dogal at a Christmas Sweater Party.