THE GOOD NEWS FROM 19 EYE STREET
GONZAGA Mark Howell Every May, the Gonzaga community comes together for its annual Charter Day Assembly, when the school honors the many accomplishments of our students, faculty, and staff. One of the highlights of the day comes at the end of the ceremony, when the community thanks faculty and staff members who have reached milestone anniversaries with the school. This year, Math teacher Mark Howell ’73 and Physical Education teacher and coach Joseph Jackson celebrated an unbelievable 40 years on Eye Street. We talked with the two Gonzaga institutions about four decades of teaching at Gonzaga.
On why he loves teaching at Gonzaga: “The best thing about teaching at Gonzaga is the people, most especially the students that are Gonzaga. Our students bring out the best in one another, and in our faculty. Gonzaga gives us the freedom to pursue our passions side by side with others who are doing the same. What a blessing to have spent my career teaching at a school where I’ve been free to be myself in the classroom!” On how Gonzaga has changed over the past 40 years: “It might seem paradoxical, but the most important difference is that today, the Jesuit identity of the school is no longer hidden from view. The Jesuits wisely opened up their traditions to lay faculty so as to ensure those traditions live on. So, today, our daily activities are rooted in Ignatian Spirituality: praying the Examen together, faculty and student retreats that consciously promote Ignatian prayer and reflection, the service programs, lay faculty members making the Spiritual Exercises, the emphasis on finding God in all things.” How it’s remained the same: “Somehow, Gonzaga has a special feel that eludes most attempts at description. We all feel like we are part of something greater than ourselves. The spirit of the place is just as palpable today as it was 40 years ago. As Father Joe Lingan, S.J. said, it is a Holy Spirit. But besides all that, Bill Wilson, Mike Howell ’70, and Joe Jackson are still at Gonzaga.” Most memorable experiences during your tenure on Eye Street: “The 1986 basketball championship and the 1996 football championship certainly come to mind when I think back over my most memorable Gonzaga experiences. But handing a diploma to my son, Ryan, at his graduation in 2013 is at the top of my long list of indelible memories.”
Marking Milestones Congratulations to the following staff members, who were also honored during Charter Day.
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Congratulations goes to the Five Years of Service following staff members, who were also during tohonored Gonzaga Charter Day.
Congratulations goes to the Ten Years of Service following staff members, who were also during tohonored Gonzaga Charter Day.
Meghan C. Cassidy Laura G. Hudson Margaret M. Metcalf Peter Baggetta Ronaldo R. Trivers David C. Smith Adrian M. Oryshkevych ’99 Byron T. Harper ’84
Paul G. Hamm ’03 Alexia Gino-Saliba Thomas K. Every II
