As stated in the Profile of the Graduate at Graduation, a Jesuit Senior has been formed into a man for others with his Commitment to Working for Social Justice, one of the six qualities of a Jesuit Dallas graduate. At the start of the 2015 Spring Semester, a group of selected seniors chaperoned by Asst. Service Director Mr. Mattachoine, continued to deepen their social justice experience by attending the New Orleans mission to assist the program Youth Rebuilding New Orleans (YBNO).
After departing from Jesuit on Wednesday, January 14th, eight Seniors embarked on a five day immersion experience to New Orleans, Louisiana, in the hope of provided necessary service on behalf of the Jesuit New Orleans community. The eight seniors included Thomas Carrier, Cesar Coronado, Austin Hatton, Fletcher Kerr, Patrick Miramontes, Riley Slusher, Christian Taylor and Sam Wyand. Consisting of 9Am-3PM work days, the trip required that students work each day with YBNO, an organization that refurbishes blighted homes, most notably from hurricanes, and sells back the properties at 20% under market value, ultimately “to give teachers a better opportunity” notes Mr. Mattachione. The first day primarily consisted of supplying vapor barriers to the exterior of the blighted homes, in order to improve the insulation throughout the home.
On Friday, the service crew departed for the Harry Thompson Center, a food pantry named after New Orleans priest Father Harry Thompson, which was desperately in need of renovation. According to Mr. Mattachione, the boys truly teamed together, improving the structural frame of the Thompson Center, described as “removing old foundation” to “enable new bricks and support to be place.” The third and final day of service occurred at Second Harvest Food Bank in Belle Chase. The seniors effectively completed their culminating task on this third day of service; in fact, “our guys alone packed 60 cases and ran out of boxes” claimed Christian Taylor, enthusiastic about the true camaraderie developed by the boys. YBNO continues to fund efforts to improve the conditions of the New Orleans Community, most notably the 30,000 homes still abandoned or blighted from Hurricane Katrina 10 years ago.
Throughout the trip, Mrs. Progar assisted in leading nightly prayer services as a reflection from the days work. Looking back on the trip, Mattachoine warmly adds that the
victims of Katrina felt that “nothing is as valuable as coming back to the community in need.” Within this tightly knit community, Mattachione claims that “everyone is affected by everything; good or bad”. The service experience concluded with Mass at the Holy Name of Jesus Church, where collective parishioners added “thank you Jesuit students for not forgetting about us.” After arriving from their flight back to Love Field, Mattachione and Progar encouraged the seniors to reflect on the experiences they shared as an immersion group and the weekly Wednesday service that will continue throughout their Spring semester.
With the aid of Mr. Mattachione and Mr. Perry, who are both advocating “to enlarge Jesuit’s domestic service immersion programs,” Jesuit students of all grade levels are called to be a Men for Others through direct service opportunities. Moreover, Jesuit is offering 6 Summer Immersion Excursions in Alaska, Ecuador, Peru and Nicaragua to provide a wide range of real world service opportunities. Through these experiences, students will come to recognize the needs of others, commit themselves to Social Justice, and strive to promote the Jesuit Ideal throughout the world.
