Above: Xavier's delegation to the Summit–Mr. Stelzer, John Giouvalakis '18,
Sean Gurl '18, Alex Stuhr '19, Jonathan Logan '18, and Ms. DeWitt.

Students Attend Leadership Summit

Four Xavier students recently traveled to the Ignatian Solidarity Network’s Arrupe Leaders Summit in Los Gatos, California, where they met and collaborated with fellow student leaders from Jesuit high schools and parishes across the nation.

Xavier students have participated in the Summit since its inception six years ago. This year, the three-day program once again invited student leaders to deepen their understanding of a “faith that does justice,” share ideas and resources for social justice programming, and become empowered to effect positive social change. Led by Director of Campus Ministry Kaija DeWitt and Assistant Campus Minister Greg Stelzer ’11, Xavier’s student delegation did just that.

“The Arrupe Leaders Summit offered an opportunity to learn new skills and interact with other students from Jesuit high schools across the country. Many of the skills focused on effectively communicating and promoting ideas in order to make them tangible projects and initiatives within the school community,” said John Giouvalakis ’18, one of the attendees. “Learning how to inspire a shared vision was the most significant lesson.”

“The most important thing I learned was cooperating with people from different backgrounds and different origins,” added Sean Gurl ’18, another attendee. “For example, hearing what somebody who lives in Southern California thinks about immigration is much different from somebody in New York simply because of geography. Their personal experience and drive for justice in that area in some cases transcends ours. In the same way, somebody from St. Louis may not understand social issues prevalent in New York in as personal a way as us. Different points of view taught us to tackle issues at home armed with greater understanding.”

Members of Xavier’s student delegation said the trip served as a reminder of the shared mission and values of Jesuit schools, which they witnessed clearly during a visit to Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose.

“The Summit was an eye-opening and invigorating experience,” said Alexander Stuhr ’19. “It continued to fuel my desire to want to fight for justice. I plan on taking the new ideas from the Summit and letting love lead all the decisions I make and sharing that love with others in my community to help improve upon it.”