Message from the President

Dear Dons, Families, and Friends,

“It’s hard not to get swept up in it all.”

 

That’s what my dad said, with great laughter, as I FaceTimed him and my mom on Thanksgiving after our victory in the Turkey Bowl. That day, they spent their morning in my childhood home in Upstate New York, getting ready for my sisters and their families to be there for dinner that afternoon. They had streamed the game (and the pregame show) from WMAR’s website. They were overjoyed about the victory, as they could sense how unique of an experience the Turkey Bowl is for Loyola and our local rival. My parents have had no connection to Loyola or to Baltimore until recently. And yet, there they were on Thanksgiving, with their turkey in the oven, tuned into the Dons, and following every play as though they’d been doing it all their lives 

 

My dad was right: It’s hard not to get swept up in it all.  

 

As I think back on his words, though, they’re about much more than a football game.  Loyola Blakefield is an undeniably magnetic community. Consider the streams of families who came to see our beloved school for Open House back in October. Those families are interested in joining our community for many reasons—the Turkey Bowl and beyond. They’re interested in joining our community because it’s a place where God is clearly at work. It’s a place where boys mature into young men who are committed to a more just world. It’s a place in which good teachers become great teachers. It’s a place where being a compassionate, intelligent, hard-working young male isn’t something to be shy about, but embraced and celebrated. It’s a place in which the singer, artist, scholar, and athlete not only know one another well, but might all be embodied in the very same student. That’s something I certainly want to get swept up in. 

 

It has been especially meaningful to have arrived on campus in the midst of Advent—the beginning of the Church's liturgical year and a time of preparation for the celebration of Christ's birth. The hope, peace, joy, and love of this sacred season has been palpable. I pray we can carry this spirit into 2024 together.

 

Thank you to everyone who has welcomed me so openly and warm-heartedly into this community. It really does feel like home already. I think the real reason for that, though, is not the wonderful Baltimore hospitality (although I have appreciated it immensely). I think the reason for such a feeling is that God is close here. It is God’s familiar presence I recognize. That is a presence I have known all my life. God’s presence here is welcoming and joyful. It’s akin to the welcoming presence of a close family member or friend. It’s God’s propinquity that I notice more than anything else here. And that is why I’m indescribably overjoyed to lead this holy, Catholic, Jesuit institution.

 

I’m swept up in it already. 

 

Please know of my prayers for you. I humbly ask for yours, as well.    

 

With Gratitude,