It is great to be back at Bellarmine! My colleagues have built such a warm community for the students and adults on campus, and alums and students have deep love for this school. It is fun to jump back into old relationships and collaborate with the same people as I worked with from 2014-2016 when I was a Jesuit in formation who taught history.

Now that I am back, it has been fun to see both how much I have grown and how much the school has grown. I am a priest now and able to offer much more as the Adult Formation Director than I could before. As Superior, I am happy to give back to a group of Jesuits who took good care of me years ago and are such an important presence for my colleagues and Bellarmine families. 

Companions in School Leadership is a model of shared leadership within Jesuit schools that includes four people: the President (Dr. Kelly Goodsell), our Principal (Cindy Davis), the Board Chair (Gavin O’Brien), and myself as the Jesuit Superior. The Jesuits entrust the mission of the school to the Board of Directors, and the Board hires the President, who is responsible for carrying out that mission every day. The Principal supports the President and supervises the education and formation of our students. My role as the local Superior of the Jesuit community is to support the other three roles and to provide a link between the Jesuits and Bellarmine so that we align with the mission of the Jesuits worldwide. Concretely, I serve on the Board of Directors and help with the ongoing formation of Board members so they can do their job well. I also care for the men in the Jesuit community so that our group can serve the Church in Tacoma and the school as teachers, chaplains, spiritual directors, and in the Advancement Office.

Our administration takes the Catholic, Jesuit mission of the school seriously. My primary goals are to support the good work they are already doing. In 2017, the Jesuits named four “Universal Apostolic Preferences” that guide every Jesuit institution around the world, including Bellarmine. These preferences include showing the way to God through Spiritual Exercises and discernment, walking with the poor and those whose dignity has been denied in a mission of reconciliation and justice, journeying with youth toward a hopeful future, and collaborating in the care for our common home. Alongside our administration and employees, I work to animate these preferences in the life of our school.

I am the director of Adult Formation, which means that I help design and offer formation for new employees. These employees are supported by more veteran employees who act as companions for monthly meetings and yearly retreats. I participated in this program as a new employee and found that it was integral to building community. I also help plan and lead our All-Employee retreat days—of which we have two each year. Finally, I coordinate a bi-monthly program called “Prayer and Reflection,” where one of our employees speaks to their colleagues on a faith or mission-based topic in order to prompt reflection and prayer together. These programs offer respite to the faculty and staff from the busy-ness of our daily work and help us build relationships that are rooted in our Catholic faith.

For students, I help gather us around the sacraments—and especially around the Eucharist—at our Masses. I am also responsible for three retreats for seniors (including two silent, Ignatian retreats) and have also attended other retreats in support. Beyond that, I am available for employees and students alike for conversation and support, and I also offer the nine-month-long Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius retreat to employees who are interested.

Jesuit schools have an amazing network on which to depend. As new issues and changes arise, we are not alone. We get to do our work in collaboration with other schools and within a broader network of organizations who share our vision and values. We journey into the future with the Jesuits worldwide and with the Church, and we continue to learn what students need and discern how to respond.

We will continue to hone our understanding of teaching and learning. We will continue to study and incorporate new technologies into our school. We will continue to learn about our students and their context so we can better message our values to them and their families. Of course, we will continue to pray through all of this and to seek God’s presence and will, so we can be better collaborators in God’s vision for our world.

Ignatian spirituality permeates what we do here at Bellarmine. It influences the themes and dynamic of our retreat programs from freshman through senior years. As a result, we hope to put students in touch with the God of Jesus Christ, whose unconditional love cannot be earned or lost. Ignatian spirituality also informs the way we teach. We start with our students’ contexts and strive for their education to impact their choices and lifestyles. We hope they use their education to be people for and with others.

Ignatian spirituality is the reason we pray the Examen each day. It inspires this practice of reviewing the day to note the gifts God has given and to consider how we might love God and others in return. Finally, it impacts the way we care for our students, emphasizing the care and formation for the whole person, also known as cura personalis. 

The teachers at Bellarmine are the true promoters of critical thinking and social justice. Early  in the year, I was invited to help them reflect on what it means to educate for justice. We looked at Fr. Pedro Arrupe’s famous “Men for Others” speech, which was delivered 50 years ago. It was helpful to be reminded of this goal and to remember that it came from a call issued by the universal Catholic Church over 50 years ago. We all felt challenged to deeper conversion—to consider our lifestyles and the choices we make. After the conversation, it felt like we all walked away a little more committed to this important goal.

Before returning to Bellarmine, I worked at Seattle Prep, our Jesuit sister school just 45 minutes north. I taught theology to juniors and seniors and worked in campus ministry. I celebrated masses, led retreats, and helped direct a student choir. Music is one of my passions, and I was blessed to collaborate with a good friend and Jesuit, Ryan Rallanka. During that time, I also worked in vocations, supporting young men who are discerning a Jesuit vocation.

Before my time in Seattle, I studied theology for three years  in Toronto, Canada. And, for a year prior to that, I lived in Guadalajara, Mexico and studied Spanish.

I love being at Bellarmine. I think it is an incredible example of what it means to be a Catholic, Jesuit school, and I hope we can continue to build something special here for many years to come.