Speech delivered at Loyola’s Academic Convocation, September 16, 2011, by Mr. William Bludgus.
Mr. Oroszlany, Mr. Lyness, Dr. Bolton, colleagues, parents and families, and of course students of Loyola School, good afternoon. Although I can conceive of no rationale for why it would be a good idea to have me address you all today, I am certainly honored to do so nonetheless; I am grateful for this opportunity. I’ve always found the start of school to be my favorite time of year; it offers a lot of excitement – new students and new classes, re-connecting with colleagues, a new chance to set new goals, rejuvenated from the summer break, and ready to tackle the world. An exciting time indeed – a time to learn, to grow, to challenge ourselves, to try new things! And this school year is no different. I was deeply and genuinely excited to walk into Loyola last week and get this year underway, excited about what possibilities and opportunities lay ahead. This year, I start school with some extra excitement in life, and I’ll admit also with some nervousness; in addition to the new academic year,
I also just moved into a new apartment with two new roommates. And I think my new living situation will offer me just as many opportunities for learning and personal growth as our school year at Loyola will. One of my roommates is my age; she’s also a teacher, and I learn a lot from her in life. But for this talk, I want to tell you a little bit about our other roommate. He’s a little younger than the other two of us; as a matter of fact, he will start Pre-school on Monday. When I first met Liam a couple years ago, he was 6 months old; he slept through the entire encounter, so I guess I didn’t make that significant of an impression on him. But he always seems to impress me in life. He’s almost three years old now, and I am continuously fascinated with how much a toddler can teach us about learning and growing. I think many of the lessons we can learn from watching how small children interact with the world serve as important reminders as we start this new academic year. Albert Einstein -- and let’s face it, Albert Einstein was pretty smart, so this quote is probably a good one – Albert Einstein once said, “Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.” In other words, as our Loyola School mission statement asserts “learning
is a lifelong process,” and scores of opportunities to learn and grow surround us every single day in this world. Now in the case of my roommate Liam, it is very easy to see how much one can be open to growth, open to questioning and absorbing all of God’s wonder and grandeur on a daily basis. His curiosity with the world and thirst for understanding are evident every time he asks the simple questions: “what’s this?,” “what’s that?,” and “why?” A typical conversation while passing some trees on the short walk from our home to the car goes as follows: “What’s this?” “Well, Liam, that’s tree bark; it grows on the side of the tree.” “Why?” “Um, to protect the inside of the tree.” “What’s that?” “Oh, those are the tree’s roots; they go under the ground and collect water for the tree.” “Why?” “Because the tree needs water to survive.” “Why?” I’ll stop here before I embarrass myself in front of our science department faculty with my lack of knowledge on the biology of trees, but I think you get the point. What’s funny is that Liam and I would then repeat the same conversation with every picture of a tree in whichever Bernstein Bears
book we would be reading that night. “What’s this?” What’s that?” “Why?” So I think that my challenge for all of us this year, is to perhaps act a little more like toddlers. Now, DO NOT take me the wrong way; I am not suggesting you trade your Vitamin Water bottles in for sippy-cups or throw tantrums in the hallways. Something tells me Ms. Coop would not be entertained by either of those behaviors. But maybe we could all bring a little more child-like curiosity, humility, and enthusiasm to the learning process, and to Loyola, each day this year. Maybe we can all embrace those abounding omnipresent opportunities, which call us to grow into the people we are called to be and to live life more deeply and more passionately in the spirit of the magis on a daily basis. Loyola offers all of us countless opportunities to question, opportunities to listen, to learn, to grow, to try something new, to take risks. I invite you to think about what you want to do with this year. Those of you who are returning to Loyola this year are familiar with those morning assemblies when Mr. Lyness walks to the podium and says, “A Loyola student is becoming more,” and, fill in the blank with a
Grad at Grad characteristic. He then goes on to ask the questions, “What opportunities does Loyola offer you to explore this characteristic, and how are you taking advantage of those opportunities?” Well let’s brainstorm now. We are all incredibly lucky to be here at Loyola with access to all our community has to offer. So, what opportunities will you take advantage of this year? In what ways will you ask those deeper questions which will open the doors of self-discovery and the windows of personal growth? How will you strive to reach your complete and full potential this year? How will you take a positive, healthy risk? Will you try out for a sports team or a spot in the school play? Will you sign-up for a new activity, sing in the choir, or write for a school publication? Maybe you have already decided to challenge yourself with a tough AP or honors class. Will you stop by the library to check out a book every once in while this year -- not because it is required for class but simply because you are interested in the topic? Will you dive more deeply into the Examen each week? Will you reach out to make new friends or reconcile past friendships which may have fallen out? Will you please attend a service trip?
And this challenge to reach our full potential is not only for Loyola students. As faculty members, we too are called to be life-long learners, eager and earnest with the same toddler-like curiosity and enthusiasm. I sure have asked my share of “what’s this?,” “what’s that?,” and “why?” questions to Ms. Gelfand and Mr. Richroath while trying to figure out Moodle and create course webpages. So faculty, we too, must ask ourselves similar questions: Will we incorporate new lessons plans and technology into our teaching? Will we look for new ways to be creative and innovative? Will we take the time to listen to students and to collaborate with each other? Often times taking advantage of opportunities is not easy. It typically requires hard work and taking risks. Moving in with a toddler roommate is a case and point. But perhaps like anything in life, the most challenging moments are usually also the most meaningful. And so, Loyola Community, I hope you choose to accept challenges this year, because those choices you make as to how you will learn and grow each day, will shape who you are and who you become. An old high school teacher of mine was famous for repeatedly telling students: “Life is
about making choices.� What you choose to do this year and what you choose not to do this year will all shape your Loyola experience and in some ways may even influence your path in life in general. As I was preparing this talk, I began to reflect on whether some of the decisions I made in high school, have impacted who I am today. I wonder if tutoring kids as a high school senior partially inspired me to want to become a teacher. I wonder if all those office hours I attended with my math teachers influenced my decision to major in mathematics in college. I wonder if the decisions to go on service trips and to partake in a foreign exchange made me more willing to move to Tanzania for two and a half years of missionary work. I wonder if deciding to go out for the cross-country team as a high school freshmen ignited the love of running which still pulls me out of the office and into Central Park most evenings 14 years later. I wonder if challenging myself to really explore my faith on high school retreats planted the seeds for my deeper relationship with God as an adult. I wonder. During Junior Orientation last week, Student Leader Grace Conrad charged the junior class to “not waste a minute� of this academic year. I
echo Grace’s message today. Opportunities to learn and grow will abound for each one of us this year -- inside the classroom, through extracurricular activities, in your social circles, with your families, in your relationship with God, in your commitment to service. Many of these experiences will require reflective thought, an open mind and heart, perseverance, and the courage to take risks. This year may fly by, and June may be here before we know it; look at how quickly time has gone thus far. It doesn’t seem all that long ago that the senior class and I were all starting our time at Loyola together. So I hope you take advantage of every opportunity which you encounter in the next nine months, and moreover, in life in general. I hope you never stop seeking new ways to learn and to grow in to the person you are called to be. I hope you keep your toddler-like curiosity alive as you journey through this year, and I hope you frequently find yourself asking your own versions of “what’s this?,” “what’s that?,” and “why?” along the way. I promise to do the same. Colleagues, parents, families, and students of Loyola, I wish you all the best for a challenging and meaningful academic year. Good luck and Godspeed.