Chicagoland

Loyola’s Arrupe College dedicated

By Michelle Martin
Sunday, October 4, 2015

Loyola’s Arrupe College dedicated

Archbishop Blase Cupich speaks at the blessing of Arrupe College of Loyola University Chicago Sept. 25 as Loyola Interim President John P. Pelissero; Jesuit Father Michael J.Garanzini, Loyola's chancellor; Arrupe student Stephanie Gonzalez; and Jesuit Father Steve Katsouros, Arrupe's dean and executive director, listen. (Photo courtesy of Loyola University Chicago)
Students from Arrupe College of Loyola University College attend the new institution's blessing Sept. 25. (Photo courtesy of Loyola University Chicago)
Archbishop Cupich speaks at the Sept. 25 blessing and dedication of Arrupe College at Maguire Hall at Loyola University Chicago. Listening are Loyola's interim president John P. Pelissero; Jesuit Father Michael J.Garanzini, the university's chancellor; Arrupe student Stephanie Gonzalez; and Arrupe's dean and executive director, Jesuit Father Steve Katsouros. Photo courtesy of Loyola University Chicago

When Arrupe College of Loyola University opened its doors in August, it welcomed 159 students, nearly 60 percent more than the 100 the school had planned to admit. That shows the demand for an affordable path to a four-year degree.

“We want our students at Arrupe College to fall in love with being college students, with being academically successful at a rigorous, Jesuit, private college environment, said Jesuit Father Stephen Katsouros, dean and executive director of the twoyear program. “We want them to fall in love with saying, ‘I can do this.’”

Katsouros spoke before Archbishop Cupich blessed the college Sept. 25. The event was also attended by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, a member of Arrupe’s board.

Arrupe College offers its students an opportunity to work with a dedicated faculty to get an associate’s degree in two years with credits that will transfer to more than 100 four-year institutions in Illinois, at a minimal cost to their families and, organizers hope, no student debt. The college organizes the students into cohorts to encourage them to support one another, and reaches out to business that might offer students part-time employment.

“We’re here because of desire,” Archbishop Cupich said, “the desire of young people to better themselves, the desire to have more education and the desire to have more opportunity in the future, and that is a noble desire that is worth honoring today. My hope would be that you would hold on strongly to that desire, because it is a real and genuine one. But there’s another desire here that’s worth celebrating, and that’s the desire of people to help you, to make this possible. It’s a desire that meets your desire halfway. That should be a source of encouragement to you as you’re beginning this program. Hopefully, that will get you through the difficult days when you’re struggling to balance your life and your job and your education all at once and you have many other strains at home with your family and you’re asking yourself if it’s all worth it.”

Emanuel praised Loyola for its involvement in Chicago’s civic life.

“There hasn’t been a thing that I have asked as mayor of the Loyola family that the answer hasn’t been yes,” Emanuel said. “You have taken the mission of education, the mission of service, the mission of bringing and picking people up into your DNA.”

Stephanie Gonzalez spoke on behalf of Arrupe College’s inaugural class. Gonzalez, who lives in the Gage Park neighborhood, is a graduate of Solario Academy High School.

“I’m the first in my family to decide that college is the next stop,” she said. In the first month, her public speaking class helped her become comfortable speaking in front of an audience, and her statistics class awakened a love of math.

“The problems are just like puzzles that I can’t get enough of until I completely solve them,” she said.

Alvarez, a graduate of Loyola University, told the students that education can level the playing field for them. “It’s the one thing that’s going to get you there. Embrace this opportunity, embrace this education, and you’re going to go far,” she said.

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