Diversity:  when people think of this word it tends to be associated with nationality and race, but after attending the Jesuit High School National Diversity Conference, I believe all the participants found that this one word meant so much more.

Our journey began on Thursday, Nov. 10. Most of us woke up at 2 a.m. in order to be ready and arrive at the airport by 4:15 a.m. to catch our 6:15 flight. Representing Bellarmine were junior s Hannelore Brown, Taylor Yi & I, sophomores  Kelsey McElroy, Lauren Fielder, Jasmyne Holmes, and Mina Starks,  as well as our two Diversity Office leaders Gwen White and Barbara Henderson-Davis. We went on this trip not knowing what to expect, only knowing of our busy daily schedule and that we were headed to Denver, Colorado. Little did we know that in the end we would have bonded with so many Jesuit high school students from across the country and formed friendships that we didn’t want to end.

Upon arriving in Denver we gathered our bags and were greeted by students from different high schools as we waited in the airport for more schools to arrive. The attendees included Brebeuf [Indianapolis, IN], Jesuit Portland [Portland, OR], Jesuit Sacramento [Sacramento, CA], Marquette [Milwaukee, WI], St. Ignatius Chicago [Chicago, IL], St. Ignatius San Francisco [San Francisco, CA], St. Joe’s Prep [Philadelphia, PA], and St. Xavier [Cincinnati, Ohio] high schools. From the start everyone was friendly and open as we all introduced ourselves to one another. As more schools arrived, we saw the makeup of the people grow more and more diverse. We talked about each of our schools, some came from an all-boys school, and some with strict uniform dress code, but most of us were happy to be able to connect over the fact that we all knew what JUG was and that all our schools had it. 

After all the schools had gathered, we then headed out to our bus which would take us to Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, Colorado ,where we would get a tour from students who would then join our conference. At first look, all of us were shocked to see Regis’ campus, with 64-acres of land, a Boys Division and a Girls Division; it was an understatement to say the school was huge. With a quick introduction of what our plan was for the day, we all filed into their Student Activities Center where the smell of pizza filled the air and our tour guides awaited us. After a few minutes to enjoy our pizza, we then split into 10 small groups which would be our groups for the rest of the weekend, each with about 5 people, all from different schools. We headed out for a full tour of their school and got to hear about the history of Regis Jesuit High School and then drove to Regis University for a campus tour. After getting to know more about the campus as well as admiring their beautiful chapel and view, many students said that they now considered applying to Regis University.

We then set out to the place we would be spending the rest of our weekend, and the place many of us would share things about ourselves that we never shared with anyone. This place was the La Foret Conference & Retreat Center in Colorado Springs, CO. Surrounded by forest and an amazing view of the mountains, we each had cabins which had an assortment of people from different high schools which allowed us to even further bond with students of other schools. Everyday there was a meeting where we would all come together and discuss topics that we believed were important yet sensitive to talk about as well as had presentations about other schools’ diversity programs. We shared with each other our personal experiences as well as gave input as to how we could improve our own schools’ diversity programs and how to take back everything we learned. We found that diversity not only meant racial, but sexual orientation, culture, and different upbringings. We stressed the importance of being a leader and being willing to take the next step and sometimes be the first to make a change and do something out of your comfort zone.

We were honored in having Fr. Jeff Harrison, S.J. speak to us about the Grad at Grad and the importance of being open to growth, intellectually competent, religious, loving, and committed to justice. Being open to growth means looking at our own biases and prejudices, addressing the ones we still have, and figuring out a way to change or accept them. Intellectually competent is being someone who constantly questions and examines everything, especially commonly held beliefs. When dealing with religion, we should be religiously grounded but not boxed in. We should strive to be the best we can spiritually and take the things we learn and integrate them into our daily lives. It was also mentioned how love is one of the most used words within the bible. Fr. Harrison made a powerful quote when he said, “Jesus called us to love each other, not just tolerate each other.” We have to be able to show compassion for others whether they are different from us or not. We need to be open in finding friendships in places we may have never thought to look. Committed to justice means that if I were to ask you the question of if you wanted to trade places with someone less fortunate or disenfranchised, you would agree. If the answer to that question is no, then you know that there is still work to be done in the world. Fr. Harrison believed that we as young people are ambassadors because we are the ones inheriting the world and have the ability to make a difference and make a change.

As we got to know each other more and more on personal levels we saw how we all grew together, and with our group being less than 80 people, we truly got to know everyone.  On the final night we had a bonfire where we sang songs, roasted marshmallows and even performed in a talent show.. We ended the night with music and dancing and exchanging contact information so that we could all continue to keep in touch.  

I believe we all took something back from this conference. Whether it was friends, inspiration, support, confidence, or just the experience of spending 3 and ½ days and 3 nights away from home, there was something that we each took back. We each have our own memories from this trip, whether it was our first time flying or our first time in Denver, we all bonded together. Upon leaving La Foret early Sunday morning, there were many hugs, number exchanges, plans to see each other again, and of course Facebook friend requests. We still continue to talk with one another as we work towards establishing strong diversity programs and activities within our schools. I am now proud to say that I have friends all across the country and that we’re all working towards a common goal of being leaders within our schools.  In our schools we were seen as different, diverse, but when we all came together for the 2011 National Jesuit Diversity Conference we saw that how in the end, we were all the same.