Leadership

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

As someone who began his time at Loyola in the summer of 2024, I have to say that the opening of the new building is a source of great enthusiasm for me. This expansion bridges the 1900 and 1954 buildings and propels Loyola solidly into the 21st century with dedicated spaces for STEM, the arts and other learning and gathering places.

Loyola School is special to me because this community brings together the best of Catholic, independent and co-education traditions in one place. This will serve the school and its students well as we face the opportunities and challenges of schools in the 21st century.

My passion for Jesuit education began in my student days, when my teachers introduced me to the life and work of St. Ignatius.  To be challenged as a teenager to seek for God in all things was really transformative for me across all areas of my life, starting with education.  Indeed, I began to see learning–and later on, teaching–as a way of recognizing God’s work in the world and in my own life.

I have chosen to dedicate my life’s work to education because of the profound impact good teaching can have on a young person’s life. As an Ignatian educator, I have the opportunity to bring together intellectual curiosity and personal commitment to faith that is the foundation of my optimism and hope for the future.

The opportunity to work with such a dedicated group of colleagues at Loyola who share a passion for the mission of this great school energizes me every single day.  This passion emanates outward throughout the community and animates everything our students do both inside and outside of the classroom.