Reasons to Be a Ranger: What Jesuit Dallas Can Offer You

When I was an 8th grader last year looking at high schools, I can remember the feeling I had when I first walked into Jesuit. I walked in and I felt as if I was home. The beautiful pieces of art seemed to almost smile at me (Jesuit is one of the only schools in the United States to also be a certified art museum). Immediately, I was impressed by the facilities and offices. However, the most important aspect that I recognized was the sense of brotherhood. One thing that also really struck me was the six profiles of a Jesuit Graduate. These tenets are Religious, Loving, Open to Growth, Intellectually Competent, Physically Fit, and Committed to Working for Justice. Today, I’m going to make the case for why you should choose Jesuit.

Religious

Jesuit seeks to form students in the Ignatian Tradition. At Jesuit, there our Campus Ministry offers many opportunities to get involved. Mass is celebrated by a Jesuit priest every morning in the chapel at 8 a.m. We have an all-school Mass once a month and prayer services once a week on Tuesdays. Confessions are offered during the seasons of Advent and Lent. Students can also get involved with the Mass. For example, students can serve as lectors, altar servers, and extraordinary ministers of holy communion (EMoHC). Additionally, there is one retreat that a Jesuit student takes every year. Additional retreats are also offered. For example, Campus Ministry is organizing a discernment retreat for those who are feeling called to the priesthood. There are also student peer groups for each grade level. These groups, such as Godly Guys, Faithful Fellas, Religious Rangers, and Rangers for Life meet during community time.

Loving

One of the greatest things about Jesuit is the brotherhood. Jesuit Dallas not only serves as a community but also as a family. Specifically, this Jesuit family is where you look out for one another and rely on your brothers. I have personally experienced this mainly through the Senior Big Brothers. In this program, the Seniors lead the Freshmen every Friday in games and challenges. This culminates on Ranger Day, where the winners of the Brotherhood Games are decided. During these sessions, the seniors all give tips on how to thrive at Jesuit. Advice ranges from available academic resources to homecoming etiquette. This brotherhood can be seen through everyday life at school. Often, I see seniors meet and stop freshmen to help fix their younger brothers’ ties and blazers. 

Intellectually Competent

Jesuit provides a wide variety, of course, selections that will challenge your ability to think critically. Jesuit education also, as summed up by Alumni Service Corps member Mr. Reid Allison ’19, teaches you, “how to think, not what to think.” Jesuit offers Advanced Placement (AP) courses that could potentially earn the student college credit. Jesuit also offers dual-credit courses through Saint Louis University. One other unique thing about Jesuit is that teachers are available and are willing to help you understand the material and they will meet with you in their office. 

Open to Growth

Being Open to Growth is willing to better yourself and to accept new challenges. Mr. Tom Garrison says “You know, a lot of that could come out of things like community service. Sometimes when we do community service, we have to go to places that we’ve never been to. Sometimes, we are called to do things that make us uncomfortable.”

“we offer classes that challange the students. we encourage them to push themselves to take the hardest classes that they can.”-Mr. Tom garrison ’92

“If you take the easy path, you’re not really growing. Every piece of the profile asks us to be open to growth because in being physically fit you have to push yourself as well. If you never increase the weight, you never get stronger.”

“Religious works as well when we do things like retreats and the groups like Godly Guys and the campus ministry grade level groups. They’re having conversations that I think a lot of teenagers don’t have When they do that, that opens their minds.”

“whenever you have a conversation that exposes you to another way of thinking you are forced to evaluate how you think.”-Mr. Tom garrison ’92

Physically Fit

With over 21 different sports, such as Water polo, Fencing, and Rugby, there are plenty of ways to become Physically Fit. However, being physically fit is more than just lifting weights and running laps. This aspect of the profile ties into the Jesuit principle of curis personalis, or taking care of the whole person.  It’s about taking care of yourself and making sure you are healthy. As recent Texas Association of Soccer Coaches (TASCO) Hall of Honor Inductee Coach Charlie DeLong puts it, “To be physically fit, you need to do the following things: get 7-9 hours of sleep on a regular basis, have a healthy balanced diet (includes hydration), design a fitness routine that fits your needs and is fun, design a lifestyle that keeps your mentally fit (mental and physical fitness go hand and hand), and surround yourself with good friends.”

To help a student accomplish this, Jesuit offers a multitude of things. For starters, we have state-of-the-art facilities like the Dell Performance Center and the recently opened David A. Segal Family Aquatic Center. On top of that, we have an excellent and friendly coaching staff who are always seeking to help you improve. In terms of nutrition, Thomas Cuisine, Jesuit’s food provider, provides well-balanced meals. 

Committed to Working for Justice

Pope Francis, a Jesuit, says that social justice entails “being a Christian entails promoting the dignity of our brothers and sisters, fighting for it, living for it.” 

Jesuit requires service hours to graduate, along with providing opportunities for immersion trips. One example is the recent trip of students to Guadalajara, Mexico. In Guadalajara, students interact with senior citizens at service partners including the Notre Dame School of Dallas and Catholic Charities of Dallas. Freshmen must complete three service projects (one winter, one spring, one either) in order to graduate. Jesuit also requires a Social Justice Public Policy (SJPP) class senior year. 

BONUS: The Principal’s Take

Recently, I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Garrison. During the interview, I asked Mr. Garrison why families should come to Jesuit. He responded with the following:

“Well, I would say you can get a good, solid education at lots of schools. But none of them besides us have the mission statement that we have.”

“We are challanged to do the things we ere just talking about. we are challenged to live up to the profile, and that profile is countercultural. it’s about reaching out and serving others. It’s not about serving ourselves.”-Mr. Tom garrison ’92

“I would say if that is something you are interested in, is being part of something that is bigger than yourself, this is a place that holds that in high regard and invites all of us to do that. We’re not invited to just look out for ourselves here. We’re invited to look out for others. We’re invited to make the world a better place for everybody, not just for ourselves. There may be people who don’t like that and are not interested. I would say don’t come here if that’s the case. I would not tell everybody they belong here.”

“I would tell the people who are open that they belong here.”-Mr. tom garrison ’92