Left: Prep students at the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice in Washington, D.C.

This year, the Seattle Prep delegation of 10 students (see caption) and two adults (William Liu and Alex Campbell ’17) made their way to the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice in Washington, D.C. Now in its 25th year, the Teach- In has become a place for members of the Ignatian family (Jesuit institutions and larger church) to be empowered, re-energized, inspired, challenged and supported by a community that sees faith and justice integrally linked. For Seattle Prep, this was a much-anticipated return to the Teach-In after its virtual and hybrid formats the past couple of years. Student delegates were selected at the end of last school year and met regularly throughout the start of the school year in preparation for the Teach-In, working through their ideas and desired goals for social justice programming at Prep. Three sophomores (Kenny Ouedraogo, Evelyn Maher and Logan Pressnall) planned, designed and executed their very own breakout session titled: Faith Doing Justice: Moving from Service to Advocacy. The Teach-In included meeting with Washington State representatives on Capitol Hill, reflection time and social activities with partnering Jesuit West schools.

A Student Perspective

THIS PAST SPRING Kenny Ouedraogo, along with Evelyn Maher and Logan Pressnall (former student), architected their own student presentation for the Ignatian Family Teach-In in Washington, D.C. After months of work, they shared their talk with hundreds of students across the country, explaining how the Prep community does service through the Magis Christian Service Program. In their session Faith Doing Justice: Moving from Service to Advocacy, the students utilized a concept called the Faith in Action Cycle which consists of Awareness -> Analysis -> Action. “In our presentation, we emphasized that the goal of service should be to serve the community because they care, not to check off service hours,” says Kenny. We also provided students with five steps that they can use to take action on an issue. We made a pamphlet that had the Faith in Action Cycle, and other information that the audience could take with them to implement what we taught them in the presentation.” Kenny says, “The tricky part was figuring out what our presentation was going to be about because we wanted it to be something that was distinct from other schools’ breakout rooms, and something that made Seattle Prep really stand out.” The collaborative effort proved a success. “We heard that people who attended our presentation were talking about it afterwards and Mr. Liu told us about the good reviews,” Kenny shares. “The breakout room was the product of our hard work, and we made an important contribution by giving people tools to take back to their schools and institutions. The Ignatian Family Teach-In was also a chance to experience the larger Jesuit network. “Because Jesuit schools are spread out throughout the country, we don’t get to see many students from other Jesuit schools, making this trip a very valuable one,” says Kenny. “It was amazing to see Jesuit schools come together sharing their Ignatian traditions and common passion for social justice. I realized the strength of this network I am part of.”