ASC VI (2014-15)

Community — Pete Hudson ‘09
For ASC VI, the underlying basis of community begins with the communal living of all the members of this year’s group. Our residency at the “ASC House” is not only a place that meets our basic living needs, it is also where we can share our thoughts, ideas, concerns, and aspirations. Stepping outside of the ASC House provides opportunities to engage and become a part of the Jesuit Community and those surrounding it. The program’s openness and flexibility has not only given me the opportunity to participate in ASC VI, it has also allowed me to reconnect and foster both old and new relationships within the Jesuit Community. For example, returning to Jesuit as a faculty member is familiar, yet, a completely different world of its own. Specifically, ASC has provided several opportunities to become involved in many different areas of the school including: community service, facilitating retreats, teaching, and extracurricular activities (e.g. Theater Tech). Although this is a brief sample of the differing areas each ASC member may take on, the potential to become more immersed and present throughout the Jesuit Community is as simple as taking the first step out of the door.

Service — Myles Kelley ‘10
For me, the Alumni Service Corps Program has privileged me with the experience of the true gift of service. It is sincerely a once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to free myself from the distractions of life’s many pressures so that I may be fully present and serve the community that has forever shaped my path. Through this experience, I have begun to see service as much more than something I did on Wednesdays as a senior at Jesuit, but rather, it is a way of life. One of the greatest gifts I have been blessed with through this type of service comes from the relationships I have formed with students, faculty, and my ASC brothers. There is a shared experience between students at Jesuit and the opportunity to accompany others on their own journeys has been an incredible gift. It is through these conversation partners that I have learned more about myself than I could have ever imagined. For this I am so grateful, as I have discovered my true vocation, which in all things, is to serve others.

Spirituality — James Luisi ‘09
When one thinks of Jesuit Dallas, it’s easy to get caught up in the school’s reputation for excellence, both in the classroom and on the field. But one aspect of the institution that sets it apart from the many other excellent college preparatory schools across the nation is its commitment to the spiritual formation of men for others. In that same vein, Alumni Service Corps offers me more than a simple opportunity of volunteer service. I am spiritually nourished by the many opportunities the program affords me. Not only have I had the opportunity to be a retreatant in an 18th Annotation retreat of St. Ignatius’s Spiritual Exercises, but I have also been able to mentor students as they begin to take responsibility for their own faith lives. This has been especially rewarding when students on Kairos retreats or in peer ministry meetings talk about the many diverse ways they encounter God in their own lives. It serves as a healthy reminder that whether student or teacher, we’re all working to grow in closer relationship with the God who loves us.

Simplicity — Pete O’Brien ‘10
It is a rare gift to be able to live simply, even more so right out of college when there is so much pressure to construct your life around raising your income and improving your career prospects. It becomes incredibly difficult to decipher your true passions and ambitions with so much materialistic noise. ASC allows an individual to step back, and place himself in an environment that cultivates the most important skills and the most useful habits such as reflection, leadership, communication, and service. Simplicity in ASC is less of a limiting of material concerns, but more of an expansion of personal growth - spiritually, professionally, morally, and intellectually.