Tag: Chicago Jesuit Academy

Loyola 4 Chicago

Loyola 4 Chicago

This semester I have been lucky enough to volunteer as a tutor each week at a Jesuit school in Chicago! The organization that has made this possible is Loyola 4 Chicago.

Loyola 4 Chicago is a program in Loyola’s Center for Community Service and Action, that provides opportunities for students to work with nearby communities in Chicago. They have many different volunteer sites and do work that ranges from helping the homeless to tutoring students.

I am part of a group that goes to the Chicago Jesuit Academy (CJA) each Tuesday and tutors students. CJA is a full-scholarship, Jesuit, male, middle school for children of “modest” economic backgrounds. The school day is extended as well as the length of the school year with their goal being to prepare their students for college. I have had the opportunity to see first hand the amazing and life changing things that this school is doing for their young men.

Being a future teacher myself, I really cherish my experience tutoring at this school. I have been able to see how the teachers at CJA handle rowdy students and the different techniques they implement in order to keep order in general. One rule is that all of the young men call us tutors Miss. or Mr. [last name] and we call them Mr. [last name]. This establishes a mutual respect and makes working with the students more personal.

Loyola provides my group with a van that fits all nine of us so that we do not have to take public transportation. The hour long car ride gives us a chance to bond as a group and reflect on our experiences tutoring. I am very grateful for this opportunity that Loyola has provided me and I can not wait till next Tuesday!