With the departure of Dr. Riemer, the Jesuit Dallas Community Service and Social Justice Office has employed help from former alumni James Luisi ’09.
After graduating from Jesuit Dallas, Mr. Luisi attended the Loyola University of Chicago, one of many prestigious Jesuit Universities. After finishing his undergraduate degree, Mr. Luisi moved to the District of Columbia, where he volunteered for a year, working with Catholic Sisters, NETWORK, to lobby Congress for the principles of Catholic Social Teaching. Once finished in the District of Columbia, Mr. Luisi joined Jesuit Dallas’ Alumni Service Corps. Continuing his academic endeavors, Mr. Luisi completed his Master of Divinity at Boston College, yet another prestigious Jesuit institution. Mr. Luisi first began work at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Ohio. He worked as a Campus Minister for five years before returning back to Jesuit Dallas. Mr. Luisi on “Why did he return to Jesuit after all these years”:
“Jesuit is a really special place. Jesuit embodies this through its prayer services every week, its commitment to justice through the wide array of programs, and its excellent education. Vocationally, one thing that I’ve noticed that God seems to be doing in my life is calling me to help others discover the gift of Ignatian Spirituality and how they call people to live their fullest lives for other people. I think that Jesuit is a place that lives out its Ignatian mission very well, and also, this is where I grew up, and my family lives, which brought me back to Jesuit Dallas.”
Mr. Luisi primarily works with Mr. Perry and Mrs. Moore, facilitating programs involving economic insecurity, homelessness, and educational inequity. Mr. Luisi also hopes to participate in the Kairos Retreats because of his memories as a student and his enjoyment of his participation in Kairos Retreats at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Ohio. Outside of school events, Mr. Luisi hopes to become more involved in the Ignatian Solidarity Network, which provides many student seminars on how to become advocates for change. With these hopes and interests, Mr. Luisi remains an important facilitator of our community service and social justice programs at Jesuit Dallas.