BC High and Boston
Who is my Neighbor?
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Students participating in the Local Service Immersion pause to reflect in Loyola Chapel.
ervice to the City of Boston is built into the very foundation of the BC High experience. Though charitable clubs had been popular since the time of the school’s founding, a formalized program did not come into being until the spring of 1972 as the Field Education Program under the direction of Jesuit scholastics. That year, eighty students worked at least 25 hours a week during the fourth quarter of their senior year in hospitals, elementary schools, government offices, and political campaigns. As the decade wore on, Rev. Richard Gross, SJ, would shift the program’s philosophy toward strictly service organizations – seeking personal development of the student and not possible career development. Fr. Gross would eventually propose that this voluntary program be made a requirement, transforming into the Community Service Program of the past several decades.
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Today, BC High’s Office of Service and Justice Initiatives, led by Amanda Adamczyk P’21 and Rev. Ron Perry, SJ, offers a guided and transformative program of community service over a student’s four or six years on Morrissey Boulevard. Rather than simply tracking hours, these experiences emphasize authentic and reflective solidarity with those on the margins. Beginning in the Arrupe Division, students experience service days with their advisory groups. Grade 7 travels to local parks, beaches and non-profit organizations to learn stewardship of the Earth while Grade 8 visits nearby assisted living facilities, nursing homes and rehabilitation hospitals to engage with the residents and patients performing the ministry of presence. Freshman service focuses on student engagement within the school community, forming the bonds that will serve as the foundation
