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August 20, 2019 | The Valley Catholic
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
Santa Clara County and Santa Clara University - Thriving Together
By Nina Mota
Santa Clara University’s Ignatian
Center for Jesuit Education recently re-
ceived a $21,000 grant from the County
of Santa Clara to support its five-year-
old Thriving Neighbors program. That
program helps support education for
children in the Greater Washington
neighborhood of San José, including
Washington Elementary School, while
promoting pathways to prosperity for
families facing economic challenges.
The grant is the first government
grant ever received by the Ignatian
Center, according to Executive Direc-
tor Father Dorian Llywelyn, S.J., and is
a testament to the program’s growing
value to the community.
“We are particularly excited by this
development. It’s a vote of confidence
in the impact of our work in adult
and child education together with the
inhabitants of the Greater Washington
neighborhood,” says Llywelyn. “All our
community work is done in a whole
network of collaborations, and we are
delighted to add Santa Clara County
as a partner.”
The grant was proposed by San-
ta Clara County Supervisor Cindy
Chavez, who felt Thriving Neighbors
was well-aligned with the county’s core
mission of serving high-need commu-
nities and neighborhoods.
“Our county programs and Thriv-
ing Neighbors complement each other,”
said Supervisor Chavez. That synergy,
along with Thriving Neighbors’ “track
record of success, make this a sound
investment,” she added.
The $21,000 grant from Santa Clara
County, matched by the Ignatian Cen-
ter, will allow Thriving Neighbors to
expand its after-school enrichment
initiatives across the neighborhood,
increase participation in the My Own
Business Institute entrepreneurship
course, further its work with the public
school-based Bronco Urban Garden
initiative, and more.
“This grant will allow us to offer
more residents in the Greater Wash-
ington Community a chance to explore
new entrepreneurial opportunities,”
says Irene Cermeño, program director
for Thriving Neighbors.
Santa Clara University’s Ignatian
Center has a history of wide and
deep community impact. As one of
three “Centers of Distinction” at the
university, the center exemplifies and
activates the Jesuit, Catholic charac-
ter of SCU, and through its Thriving
Neighbors program, that character is
put into action in the community of
Greater Washington.
SCU faculty, staff and students have
Monarchs ‘Change the World’
By Danielle Judilla ’20
Everyone has gone through a “fa-
vorite song” phase at least once in
their life. At first, it’s a couple of head
bops or foot taps, but soon enough,
it becomes a tune on constant repeat
that you can’t get out of your head.
At Archbishop Mitty High School,
we pick a liturgical theme song each
school year and sing it as an entire
school at every liturgy, Mass, and as-
sembly. As a member of Exodus, the
school’s liturgical rock band, I’ll sing
it at least 54 times in 10 months. Be-
ing in this band has given me many
incredible opportunities, but the most
meaningful moment to me is being
able to carry on our liturgical theme
song tradition. For my senior year,
the school’s liturgical theme song is
“Change the World” by Derek Minor
and it encourages students to stand
up and use God’s gifts to make the
world better.
When I first listened to this song, I
knew it would perfectly capture our
Archbishop Mitty family. Derek Mi-
nor’s lyrics include the line: “Beautiful
people, don’t you know you’re made in
his image / The image of greatness.”
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Archbishop Mitty students spread the Word
of God through song.
This is something that all Archbishop
Mitty students find in all that they do,
including in their interactions with
friends and teachers. Because this is
part of our mission statement, students
can also see it in big bold letters when
they walk into our Sobrato Student
Life Center. Not only are these words
meaningful for the Archbishop Mitty
community, but they have special
meaning for me. I learned many dif-
worked side-by-side with local resident
leaders, schools, and agencies to devel-
op and sustain a variety of community-
based, public service programs. These
initiatives include entrepreneurship
classes for adults after-school enrich-
ment courses,community gardening
projects, environmental improve-
ments, health and wellness-centered
activities, and more.
“Thriving Neighbors projects have
accumulated over 15,000 hours of
university-community engagement
time and service this past year alone
and have made a real impact as mea-
sured by children’s achievement and
parent satisfaction,” said Jen Merritt,
director of community-based learning
programs at the Ignatian Center.
“In the midst of this collaborative
work, what we find most rewarding
is the way in which community resi-
dents from Greater Washington have
become co-educators with our SCU
faculty,” says Merritt. “When they
form strong bonds with SCU students,
welcoming them into their homes and
encouraging them to serve as men-
tors for their children on the path to
college readiness, they are teaching
these college students that, together,
we can make a positive difference in
our communities.”
ferent teachings about God when I
was growing up, but the first one I
can recall is that “Jesus is in everyone
we see.” That’s why when I volunteer
at my church, I do my absolute best to
make sure no child is excluded and
that they all feel welcomed.
My active faith and passion for
singing are two very extraordinary
parts of my life. Exodus gave me the
chance to combine these passions and
become a messenger of God while do-
ing something I love. Singing this song
to the school is a phenomenal feeling
because I get to be one of the people
telling everyone that it’s their moment
and it’s time to “let your light shine.”
Knowing that I’m encouraging our
Archbishop Mitty community to take
action and change the world makes
me feel so blessed. Every liturgical
theme song has its message, but this
one really inspires me and the rest
of our student body to stand up and
advocate for what is right.
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