There’s nothing like it — thousands of young college-age Catholics all together, a zealous, teeming sense of anticipation to meet everyone and go to every talk. That’s the faith-filled atmosphere at SEEK, which wrapped up on Jan. 5 in three cities. After attending SEEK 2026 in Columbus, Ohio, I was left with five takeaways.

1) It’s overwhelming — in a good way.

A 16,000-person conference proves you can’t do it all, so discipline yourself and choose your schedule wisely. SEEK’s five-day event is packed to the minute. As a third-year participant, the biggest takeaway I’ve told first-timers is to hydrate, and don’t think you can do it all. Exploring the layout of a whole conference center is one thing, and it’s another thing to make sure you get everywhere on time and also see every friend and old mission buddy you met two summers ago.

The SEEK app works really well to help you navigate, as you can add or subtract events to make your own schedule in a separate tab. Or you can plan out your time with the paper packet schedule, which has the same information. This is helpful for those who are less digitally inclined or are just tired of looking at a screen.

2) You get out of it what you put into it.

There to socialize? You’ll spend every minute in “Mission Way.” Want to learn from speaker after speaker and talk after talk? You’ll likely find yourself running from conference room to conference room. Find an even balance of social time, quiet time and prayer time to get the best out of what God wants you to glean from the experience.

Various talks and resources are available to grow through this conference, but you can’t take it with you afterward if you don’t pray on it. Let God speak to you, and you’ll feel more receptive to his words. As Pope Leo reminded attendees in a special video message, “I pray that as you leave this conference, all of you will be moved by this same missionary zeal to share with those around you the joy that you have received from a genuine encounter with the Lord.”

3) You won’t make it to every talk, and that’s okay.

Hear Father Mike Schmitz or Scott Hahn? Take your pick of speakers. Almost a dozen breakout sessions, or talks, occur in the late afternoon each full day of the conference. And with the array of topics and well-known speakers, it’s hard to pick just one. And don’t forget the keynotes. Choose wisely, and know that you’ll find a gem of wisdom in each one!

That said, Father Schmitz reminded attendees so beautifully in Columbus, “God wants you to exist.”

The Holy Spirit speaks so eloquently through the speakers, with one-liners that you can take to prayer and into the new year. Sister of Life Mary Grace delivered an amazing exhortation before Saturday-night adoration. “He [God] calls in a way and a tone that is only known to you alone … He has never ceased calling you into life, even now,” Sister Mary Grace said. Moments after, this led the whole body of participants to praise and worship the Lord, in adoration and a procession around the conference center.

At one of the last keynote talks, Pete Burak called us on to evangelize in a more active way, to “grow and go,” he said. Burak quoted Pope St. Paul VI, saying, “There is no evangelization, there is no making of disciples without the Holy Spirit.” Burak reminded listeners to let the Holy Spirit, “the principal agent of evangelization,” speak through them.

4) Going ‘to the heights’ isn’t the same for everyone

This year’s theme was the often-said quote of St. Pier Giorgio Frassati. The journey to holiness looks different for everyone, and the witness of other’s journeys with God is encouraging; to see what God can do in others, he can also do in you.

God wants us to be the saint we are called to be. Think practically about your own life, how you’ve come to know God, and how you can build up your faith life once you get off of the “retreat high” of SEEK. Remember Jesus is always present, even when the conference is all over and you’re back in the quiet of your home parish. In my experience, conferences and retreats help plant the seed, but it’s our job to keep watering it.

5) Relish in the joy that is being together with fellow believers — and keep going.

What is palpable at SEEK is hope: hope for the Church, its young people, and the witness of being all in one place and worshipping together, including the beauty of adoring Jesus as one.

That unitive feeling echoes to the communion of the Church, of being one body in Christ. Post-conference, we are still united in the Eucharist at every Mass. Plus, SEEK opens up a wide network to grow in faith. Through Bible studies, men’s and women’s groups, and the prayers of priests and religious, attendees can stay connected. As St. Paul says in Romans 1:11-12, “For I long to see you, that I may share with you some spiritual gift so that you may be strengthened, that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by one another’s faith, yours and mine.”

See you next year at SEEK?