Lewis University Navigator Blogs

Being in NYC for the holdiays, the next holiday event to look like a tourist was the lighting of the Rockefeller Christmas Tree!! I met up with Stephanie right after work, and we headed downtown to try and get as close to the tree as possible! Arriving at 4:15, and knowing that we would have to wait until 7 for the night to start, we thought we had pretty good spots standing about a block away! Once the program started, a very nice NYPD allowed us to get even closer, thus putting us about 500 feet away from the tree! It was an awesome experience, plus all of the performers, and seeing that tree never gets old to me, it is so beautiful!

Cee-Lo Green

Neil Diamond (this one’s for you mom!)

The Biebs

Michael Buble

Radio City Music Hall Rockettes!!

THE TREE!!

That weekend, I participated in one of the most exciting weekends I’ve had since moving out to New York; Kairos 6 with the Loughlin community of students. Kairos is a spiritual retreat that helps students further find their relationship with God, themselves, and classmates. The weekend was filled with laughter, tears, moments of happiness, and moments of sadness, but all focusing around the same theme of “Discovering who you were, who you are, and who you want to be!” Though a giant lack of sleep, I can honestly say the students went into the retreat with an open-mind and came out with so much more!

This past week, I had Thursday off because of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and man was it needed. I was able to sleep-in until almost noon, and then was able to get the day “started” by going down to the Upper East Side, and walking down 5th Avenue, looking at all of the beautiful Christmas windows on display outside the big name stores (Tiffany & Co., Armani Exchange, Chanel, Burberry, etc.). Stephanie and I walked all the way down until we made it to 34th Street and went inside the ever so famous Macy’s department store and experienced our own “Miracle on 34th Street”. While inside, we browsed for a bit, then went on an excursion to find Santa. After reaching Santaland, we waited patiently with all the children to get our picture taken and then headed back downstairs to drop off our letters to Santa in his special “Macy’s Believe” mailbox!! Reliving the younger years was definitely an added excitement to the beginning of this holiday season!

This past weekend brought lots more holiday activities, including picking out our Christmas tree and hanging up other decorations! I look forward to being home in just a mere 10 days and spending time with my family and friends!

The stockings all hung at Bedford Park Community with care…

Just some of the seniors from the Class of 2012 on Spirit Day; we display our Loughlin “L” quite proudly!!

Happy Thanksgiving

My favorite balloon of the whole parade!

SANTA!!

The parade was awesom…this was truly a Thanksgiving to remember!

Live Jesus in our hearts.  FOREVER!

Alright…I know its been forever and a day since I have updated this blog, but after reading all that has been happening, you will understand where I have had no time to update. With the days getting longer and longer (because of sunlight, or lack there of…), I have been getting more and more tired when the work day is complete. It was told to me when I arrived that you are not a true New Yorker until you are able to fall asleep on the subway, and wake-up either before or just as the train is pulling into your stop. Thankfully, it has taken me many train rides and countless times sleeping through my stops to finally be able to call myself a true New Yorker, and wake myself up the stop before I have to get off the train!! In my book, that is a huge accomplishment!! .

Now, onto all the exciting things that have held me back from updating (please bear with the short novel you are about to enjoy):

When we last left off, I had just completed running a half-marathon! It is still hard for me to believe some days that I actually still completed it, and sometimes wonder if I just dreamt it, but then see my medal and race number, and realize I didn’t. With the fun had that weekend, I wasn’t sure how it could get any better, but the following weekend proved it would! I made a surprise return trip to good ol’ Romeoville, IL to visit some friends and share in some wonderful experiences shared by others. . I was so excited to be able to pull off such a huge surprise, and I am pretty sure I can vouch for my friends that it was just as exciting. I never imagined how much I would miss people until I moved away and was able to return! Though the weekend was extremely short, I loved and soaked in every minute of it!

It was then back to New York to begin another week at work but one that proved to be nothing less than exciting. I received a text on Monday morning from my boss alerting me she would be staying home with her daughter who was sick. I immediately became nervous and anxious for work that day because I would be in the office by myself hoping nothing would go wrong. One day turned to two and then three. I can honestly say I learned that I am an extreme people person from this experience; I began to turn on music in the office, look at pictures of friends on facebook, just to remember what it was like to be around people! It’s sad to admit, but honestly, there’s no surprise in knowing I need to be around people and their high energy!

Though it was different being in the office by myself, I was also able to learn a lot about my responsibility and ability to create tasks for myself when someone is not present. I also got the experience of running one of our freshman retreats all by myself (with the teacher and 2 guidance counselors in the room…). Needless to say, that retreat will forever live in my mind, as a good (and bad) experience!

The week was short, having Friday off for Veteran’s Day, yet I went into work late morning for our Lasallian Youth day retreat! This retreat was planned by our Exec. Board Senior students on Lasallian Youth for the rest of the LY students. This year’s theme focused around the idea of cyber-bullying. As all participants learned, cyber-bulling is an up-and-coming force that is destroying the lives of so many young middle and high school students. I believe the students did a fantastic job planning and executing the retreat, and for once, it was nice to be a participant vs. leader.

As the days were growing closer and closer to Thanksgiving, Bishop Loughlin’s Canned Food Drive was getting closer and closer to ending. As you well know by now, the house system at Loughlin is central to all activities/competitions we partake in throughout the school day. I believe the canned food drive is one of the two largest competitions (aside from the Penny Drive). This year, we set a goal, hoping to beat last year’s total of 4,000-ish non-perishable food items. Now, if you are asking yourself why it’s called a CANNED food drive, yet other food was donated, that’s a good question. After last year’s drive, the food pantry we donated to got an infestation of pantry moths and had to close down. All of the food found in boxes/bags had to be thrown away, and thus causing the pantry to no longer accept ANY food donations. The thought of not providing meals to needy families during the holidays was heart-breaking, and the pantry began to accept donations again from us under one condition; ONLY CANNED ITEMS WOULD BE ACCEPTED! This put a lot of pressure onto the school for breaking last year’s record, but the students rose to the challenge.

The total number of cans brought in this year was 3,126. Though knowing this is less than last year’s, we took into consideration the fact that almost 25% of last year’s donated items were Ramon and packages of boxed noodle meals. For my first year running a canned food drive, and I was very please with the students full participation!   As a part of the food display above, we had a giant revealing to the school at our Thanksgiving Assembly.

…and even in NYC, it is beautiful!!

Being in the city and passing through busy areas, I never imagined the fall colors would be as beautiful as they are! When I get off the train every day in Brooklyn and begin my walk to school, I pass a park on my right, along with trees down my particular sidewalk, and thank God for the beauty around!! It definitely makes me feel at home with all the trees surrounding. .

The past few weeks have definitely been exciting, to say the least. Since last writing, I have planned a special mass for the bishop of Brooklyn to attend, a prayer service for our seniors, led 2 seniors retreats, volunteered with the students at our first service project, and attended a teacher conference!!

To begin, bishop’s mass: at the beginning of the school year, my boss and I found out the bishop was coming to school. Needless to say, it was a big deal, and the first month of school was dedicated to creating the special mass. All in all, it went very well, and the students’ behavior far exceeded my expectation. We also had a special assembly for the juniors/seniors, and then another special group of 30 young men who met with the bishop to talk about vocations. Completing that mass and assembly lifted a huge weight off the shoulders of our office and allowed us to continue planning for the year.

Next on the list was a prayer service: every year, it is a tradition for the seniors to receive a special “Senior Pin.” With this pin comes a short assembly and prayer service, and you guessed it, Campus Ministry helped to plan it. Being in the same week as the Bishop’s Mass, it came down to crunch time for planning this prayer service, but we heard nothing but positive feedback from all the faculty/staff/administration, plus students how nice the service was; definitely a spirit booster!! As a faculty member, I also received a pin from the seniors saying “thank you for being here!” (or something along those lines).

After the prayer service comes Senior Retreats: as part of Campus Ministry, like I’ve mentioned before, we are responsible for planning the numerous day retreats for all our grade levels. We are beginning the year with our Senior class (Class of 2012). The theme revolves around looking towards the future and all that comes with it. It is definitely emotional, but the students have been receptive to the activities, without causing too many problems. My favorite part of the retreat is at the end of the day when we watch a movie; not because I enjoy not having to talk with students, but because the movie is awesome. We watch Pay It Forward. Though I have now seen the movie probably about 7-8 times, I still get choked up and shed a tear at the end. The theme, the characters, the whole movie is awesome, and definitely a recommendation towards anyone who has not seen it.

Second to last, service projects are very important to Loughlinites. For our first service project, we volunteered across the street at Queen of All Saints Health Fair. Our students helped set-up the health fair booths and then got to spend the day walking around, scrounging up all the free stuff they could find. A quick math break; 12 high school students + a bunch of free stuff = lots of empty tables once the high school kids pass through!  At the end of the day, the students were awesome, the church staff was appreciative, and I went home to relax and nap!

Lastly, I got to attend my first teacher conference; Brother Luke Salm, FSC Religious Education Workshop. The 2 day workshop brought together campus ministers and theology teachers from mainly the East Coast district but also some others from across the country. A time to begin networking, as well as learn some valuable information for the coming service year, as well as years down the road for when I become a real “big boy” with my job! .

It has definitely been busy with school and such, but I seriously would not ask for anything else. I love it!!

I wish I had an update for you on the girl who I helped with her homework, and the result of her quiz in class; she has not come back to find me yet and report, so I now begin the outreach towards her, to let her know that I do really care about how she is doing.

Also, an update on my fundraising…I REACHED MY GOAL AND AM STILL GOING!! There are just under three weeks left until I run in my half-marathon, so definitely time to still donate towards the awesome cause!! Any bit counts towards the larger goal of $52,000!! Thanks to all who helped support so far!!

The past three weeks have been such a blur!

Week 1: This week was basically focused around Orientation for the new students at Bishop Loughlin, and me too! My theater degree definitely came in handy when telling the students about where to go in school, and saying it with confidence. Its not to say that I lied to the students, but more, if I was unsure, it sounded better if I said it with confidence, and then told them who to ask next if I was wrong! . Also during this week, I was introduced to my family, inside my particular house.Our school is set-up like Hogwarts from Harry Potter. We have 8 separate houses that represent 8 important people in the history of the high school or Lasallian world. My particular house is Cordero, named after San Miguel Cordero, the saint whom the San Miguel schools are named after! I have a group of 24 students who I meet with every Wednesday morning for a half-hour, doing different activities that revolve around of theme for the year – building a community of leaders! At the end of the weekend, it was Sept. 11, it was a very different (in a way) feeling being in NYC for the 10th Anniversary. As part of the community, we watched the beautifully done name reading and dedication of the memorial and then went about our day. To think I am living so close to where the attacks happened truly put it into perspective and made me do a little extra reflecting that day.

Week 2: FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL!! As any student is on their first day of classes, I got the same feeling. I awoke with plenty of time to shower, pick out the shirt and tie I would look spiffy in, and then headed downstairs for morning prayer, breakfast with the roomies, and packing of lunches before having to be out the door by 6:20-25 am. The students and faculty were so warm and inviting that I couldn’t help but love going into work every day and doing the ministry that I do! As if the first week wasn’t exhausting enough, I spent the weekend on retreat with a group of 15 student leaders from our Campus Ministry/Lasallian Youth Group, planning out the different events they wanted to do for the year! Though definitely exhausting, it was a great opportunity to get to know my students, and they got to know me. I felt much more confident going into school the next week, knowing many more students names, and saying “hi” to them in the hallway.

Week 3: As was the anticipation for the first day/week of school, it quickly wore off, and I slipped into waking up with just enough time to shower and get dressed before rushing downstairs in time for prayer, rushing the lunch, and grabbing breakfast for the walk to the train! Its amazing how much can change in just a week! This morning-rush aside, it was yet another successful week at school, building and developing relationships with the students! No matter how tired I may be from the train ride or not enough sleep the night before, I find energy from the group of students who are waiting outside my office every morning. To already have a group of students who are “regulars” is awesome! Lunch time is definitely my favorite time of the day (and its not just because I get to eat my awesome lunch), but like myself in high school, the students come into our office, and eat and gossip all period long! Its amazing how much you can learn about the latest happenings of BLMHS during the short lunch period with a group of Juniors of Seniors.

One particular story that stuck out to me this week, happened after school, when a group of students were working on their homework in our office and the motivation and energy was flowing, I didn’t want to kill it, though I was ready to go home! For these students to not have to bring home homework is the best thing ever! One girl asked me if I liked math, telling her it depended on the subject, and she informed me it was geometry.  My response was, “To be honest, I hate it, but I would love to sit down with you, and we can try to work on it together!” Her face lit up, like no one had ever said something like that to her before. So we began to work on the homework, and it was more basic algebra than geometry, and that I was good at. The first few problems I was speaking out most of the steps, and she would just write them down, but she slowly became comfortable with the procedure and wanted to work them out on her own. Following the examples I had written, she began to understand, and I could see her face begin to lighten up! After completing the assignment, and getting all of the answers right (from what I could tell), she informed me she had a quiz the next day, and with that I made her do a few more problems to make sure she really understood it. Getting those equations right as well, she proceeded to give me a huge hug, and tell me she thinks she might actually pass her first math test or quiz since being in high school. I encouraged her she would get more than just the 65% she was expecting, and land among the 90-100% range. To see the excitement in her face was indescribable! I wait in anticipation to see the grade she got on her quiz!!

Hey! My name is Christopher Hueg, and I am a recent graduate of Lewis University (Class of 2011). I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology, focusing in Pastoral Ministry, and a minor Theater. While attending Lewis, I was involved with several different activities; Navigators, Philip Lynch Theatre, Peer Ministry, several volunteer outreach projects and mission trips, retreats, etc. After graduating, I joined a program known as the Lasallian Volunteers (LV). The LV Program is a post-graduate volunteer program that works with the DeLaSalle Christian Brothers at over 30 different service sites. These sites vary from elementary, middle, and secondary teachers, to campus ministers, guidance counselors, and case workers. Each volunteer lives in community with the Brothers, as well as with other volunteers. I am currently serving at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn, NY, and I live in community with 4 brothers, and 3 other volunteers in “da Bronx”. My blog follows the adventures I experience in and out of the classroom during my year of service. Enjoy!