Four distinguished Jesuit alumni addressed the student body at a prayer service in their honor last month in the Terry Center. The alumni, who were from four different classes and are celebrating reunions this year, were Joe Weaver ’64, Steve Neuhoff ’84, Augustin Gonzalez ’94, and John Ryan Koeijmans ’04. The men spoke about how the morals and principles they learned at Jesuit apply to their lives after they graduated.
Mrs. Gretchen Crowder, Director of Campus Ministry, explains how she “was asking some students about prayer service ideas and what would they be interested in hearing. They said every year they get to hear one distinguished alumni present, but they don’t get to hear from other alumni.” She worked with Mr. Kevin Mullan, the Director of Alumni Relations, to get more alumni to speak at this prayer service.
“Students always seem to enjoy hearing from alumni, and our alumni are also constantly asking for opportunities to get in front of you guys, to be able to see what you are doing, to be able to in some way contribute to your experience,” explained Mullan. “That’s in large part a role that our alumni association plays in helping support the education that you guys are getting.”
Joe Weaver ’64 spoke about how service is about doing the right thing and putting your heart into it no matter 
what the conditions are. When Weaver graduated in 1964, there was a draft in which men were selected to go to war. Weaver went on to explain how even though it wasn’t anyone’s choice to be selected, you still have to do the right thing and be a man for others. Weaver exemplified how being a man for others means standing up for your country, standing up for your neighborhood, and standing up for your family, even at times when it’s not your choice.
Steve Neuhoff ’84 and J.R. Koeijmans ’04 said they are blessed and grateful for being able to be associated with so many great organizations including Jesuit. Neuhoff used to work at Jesuit and was the former Alumni Director and Development Director. Koeijmans along with his dad and uncles attended Jesuit, and his little brother, Christian Koeijmans ’14, currently attends Jesuit and continues their family’s legacy. Neuhoff and Koejimans both said their families had set the bar high and they wanted to meet family expectations while at Jesuit.
Augustin Gonzalez ’94 was a baseball star while at Jesuit and Mullan explains how “he was the guy who was
gonna hit the grand slam.” Gonzalez explained how his wife was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease and was slowly becoming paralyzed as time went on until she passed away. He began to realize that it was going to be his responsibility to take care of three kids on his own. That’s what being a man for others meant to Gonzalez, being a man at home and being strong for his wife and kids as well as the rest of his family around him. Gonzalez’ legacy is carried out through his little brother, Emiliano Gonzalez ’15.
“I hope students got to see how important Jesuit is to our alumni”, continued Mullan, “so that maybe, when they’re walking through the halls, or they’re shoving somebody out of the way, rushing between classes, they take a minute, stop, and look around and realize that something special is happening during these four years. You may not see it every day, you may not feel it every day, but sometime 20, 30, 50 years after you graduate, you’ll realize it.”
Through Jesuit, students are able to live as true men for others and use these principles later in their lives. Even though some might not feel as though they are men for others currently, at some point in a Jesuit graduate’s life, he will see the importance of being a man for others and appreciate the foundation in which he was brought up in. And just as Weaver, Neuhoff, Gonzalez, and Koeijmans stated, even though times may get tough and can bring you down, being a man for others is always the right thing to do.
Photography by Joe Howard ’03
