As a Jesuit educator, I am inspired by St. Ignatius’s directive “to influence those who will influence others,” and that rule applies to every single one of our students at Loyola School! We have the incredible privilege to send forth, upon graduation, remarkable young people who are committed to creating great accomplishments and being women and men for and with others.
Why did you choose to be in education?
My first job, after college, was at Columbia University and I really enjoyed the intellectually stimulating work with a professor there. In 1994, I got a call from Loyola School to see if I wanted to work for my alma mater. I jumped at the opportunity because of my passion for the institution and that led to my love of working at our wonderful school on 83rd and Park. Seeing our students grow into the people they can and should become is one of life’s great blessings.
What fuels or energizes your day-to-day experience at Loyola?
Working with our students, faculty, staff, administration, board, and dedicated volunteers is the honor of a lifetime. As a school, we strive to develop the diverse and unique talents of each member of the Loyola community, and encourage the use of these talents to serve others. As our school’s president, I am driven to lean on and reference the school’s mission in all the decisions made on behalf of our Loyola School community.
Why is Loyola special to you?
I walked into Loyola School for the first time in 1982, when I was a prospective student, and since then, Loyola School has been like a second home to me. I am honored to be a graduate of Loyola and I have been further shaped by our mission, these past four decades, as an employee of the school. St. Ignatius would often ask, "What have I done for God? What am I doing for God? and What more can I do for God?" Many believe that the concept of magis finds its roots from Ignatius’s inquiry of what “more” he could do for God. Magis means “the more,” and does not refer solely to quantity, but also to quality and helps promote vision and dreams within schools. Loyola School is filled with the magis.
Describe your favorite moment in Loyola’s history.
There are so many favorite moments, there really are! One moment that really struck me was when Kevin Martinez, the Assistant to the Dean of Students, announced that he was going to leave Loyola School (I am grateful that he returned a few years later). When he finished his remarks, standing at the podium in our gymnasium, the student body and our faculty and staff erupted with thunderous, and I do mean thunderous, applause. The appreciation for who Kevin is was overwhelming and I said to myself that the incredible reaction also reflected who we are as a school. We are a school that is also a home, a family, and a loving community.
What inspires your passion for Jesuit education?
My passion for Jesuit education results from my own high school experience. I attended Loyola Blakefield, the Jesuit high school in Baltimore, MD. It was my interactions with my teachers there which led me to recognize that care and concern for the whole person (“cura personalis”) is an intrinsic aspect of Jesuit education. This characteristic made Jesuit education something which I wanted to be a part of as an educator.
Why are you an educator?
I am an educator in large part because of the influence of my mother. She was my first teacher – she taught me to read and to write before I started school. So, in first grade, because I could already read, my teacher, Sr. Stephanie, put me in charge of tutoring a small group of classmates in reading – a responsibility that I loved! I continued tutoring throughout my career as a student. My own love of learning, coupled with my enjoyment of math, became something that I wanted to share with others.
What fuels or energizes your day-to-day experience at Loyola?
Quite simply, I am energized by my interactions with Loyola’s amazing students.
Why is Loyola special to you?
Loyola has been my “workplace” for close to forty years now; but it has been so much more than a “workplace.” It has been a place where I have been able to grow – as an educator, and as a person. It has been a place where I have found amazing friends – not only in colleagues, but also in former students. It is a place where I have been able to find self-fulfillment as a teacher and as an administrator.
Describe your favorite moment in Loyola’s history.
The choice to become a co-educational school was one of the most important decisions in the history of Loyola School. In 1973, the reason for opening Loyola’s doors to girls as well as to boys was more a financial one than a philosophical one. That change, however, has come to define the school and its mission to provide a Jesuit education equally for both young women and young men. When I arrived at Loyola in 1977 as a 24-year old beginner teacher, the first fully co-ed class of students had just graduated. The culture of co-education was still in formation; now, I don’t think anyone at Loyola could imagine us as a single-sex school.