Around Campus

Senior Jake Norvell was named the 2020 Dallas Student of the Year for his efforts in raising funds and awareness for the mission of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, which ultimately seeks to find a cure for all forms of blood cancer. Leading Team for Others, a student group comprised of Jesuit, Ursuline, and Hockaday seniors, Norvell was awarded a college scholarship for his leadership at the LLS Grand Finale Gala in the spring.

“I am so proud of Jake and the entire Team for Others for surpassing their fundraising goal of $50,000 in support of our mission,” exclaimed Alyssa Steinmann, Campaign Manager of the Students of the Year program. “It was an honor to work with these students, and I have no doubt that they will all go on to achieve amazing things after high school. A childhood leukemia survivor himself, Jake has a special connection to our mission and was an exemplary candidate throughout the campaign.”

The Students of the Year program is a national seven-week philanthropic leadership initiative. By surpassing a 50K fundraising benchmark, Team for Others was also recognized as a Hero Award recipient. As part of this honor, LLS will connect Norvell with a current research portfolio of projects that focuses on a specific area within the mission that is meaningful to him. In addition to Norvell’s recognition as Student of the Year, fellow Jesuit senior Chris Martin was awarded the title of Dallas Team Member of the Year for his exemplary individual fundraising efforts.

Beginning this fall, Jesuit Dallas is excited to announce a partnership with St. Louis University that introduces a new dual-credit program to our students and families. Available to all students regardless of placement or level, the program will provide our young men with the potential, depending on their interests and course selections, to earn upwards of 30 college credit hoursfor progressing through our college-preparatory curriculum, and potentially more through the completion of honors and advanced placement courses.

Jesuit Dallas has offered opportunities for college credit through local community colleges in the past, but in moving to SLU’s prestigious 1818 Dual-Credit Program, Jesuit is partnering with a highly-regarded national university with a shared mission to Catholic education.

“We are excited, as this program is really going to make a difference in the college options for our students and the overall schooling expense for families,” said Dr. Ben Kirby ’00, Assistant Principal of Curriculum and Academic Support. “In conversations with college admissions representatives at many of our top feeder institutions, they are as excited as we are about the change because of SLU’s global prestige. Partnering with a premier Jesuit university is special on so many levels. We are also enthusiastic about the way SLU is working with Jesuit Dallas to structure its program, which will allow our faculty to continue being responsive to the individual needs of our students without any textbook or major curricular restrictions.”