A lot happened in our first full week of the second semester. Boys basketball won a close game on a last-second shot by junior Josh Henderson. Members of the Cathedrals J-Term shared their experience of Spain’s architectural wonders with the school. Sophomore swimmer Noa Calili qualified for the sectional finals in both the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard breaststroke. Fourteen members of Black Affinity attended the Black Leadership Summit at Butler University. Our baseball team raised funds and presented players from Arsenal Tech and Purdue Poly Tech, our partner schools in the IHSAA Legacy Project, with new bats and cleats. And, 164 students participated in a self-organized walkout to express their views on immigration control and enforcement in the U.S.
All of these, and so many more moments, are examples of Trailblazers using their voices, their talents, and their skills to represent the values and ideals of our school. I am impressed daily with the myriad ways our school community asks its members to open their hearts and their minds in pursuit of excellence.
One of the most important things University’s founders did to shape our school was to draft our core values, specifically our commitment to diversity. University’s Diversity Statement establishes the foundation for a community that welcomes differences, differences in our backgrounds, in how we identify and express ourselves, and in what we believe. It challenges us to think, create, serve, perform, cooperate, and compete in an environment of mutual respect, support, and trust. And it challenges us to be exemplars of how to have civil discourse in an increasingly complex world.
I continue to be grateful to lead a community where students from all walks of life can come together, respect each other, and grow.