Rock Talk
Rock Talk is the official podcast of Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Missouri — where we explore the voices, values, and vibrant life of our Jesuit, college-prep community. Hosted by the Admissions and Marketing team, each episode features conversations with students, faculty, alumni, and special guests as we share stories of academic excellence, faith formation, brotherhood, and service. Whether you're a prospective family, a proud alumnus, or simply curious about what makes Rockhurst unique — this is your inside look at life at The Rock.
Rock Talk
Anchored in Rock: How Student-Led Retreats Shape Brotherhood
What does it take to transform awkward freshmen into confident, faith-filled leaders? At Rockhurst High School, the journey begins with the Freshman Retreat—but this experience impacts far more than just the new students.
Senior co-chairs Joe Pitzl and Andrew Hayes reveal how their own freshman retreat experiences inspired them to lead the program years later. "Some of the people I met in my small group are people I still talk with daily," shares Joe, highlighting the lasting bonds formed during this pivotal experience. This year's theme, "Anchored in Rock," emphasizes finding stability in faith while discovering your unique place within the Rockhurst community.
Matt Nickson, Director of Pastoral Ministry, explains how this retreat represents just the beginning of a thoughtfully designed four-year formation journey. The freshman year focuses on community, sophomore year on personal reflection, junior year introduces the transformative Kairos retreat, and senior year offers specialized experiences including leadership formation. What makes this approach uniquely Ignatian is how seamlessly faith integrates throughout every aspect of school life—not compartmentalized, but woven into academics, athletics, and activities.
Perhaps most remarkable is how this model creates natural opportunities for student leadership. With approximately 150 upperclassmen serving as retreat leaders, the program simultaneously forms freshmen while developing leadership skills in juniors and seniors. As Nickson reflects on witnessing this transformation both as a faculty member and as a parent of two Rockhurst students: "The ways they have already matured and taken accountability in their own lives... I feel as though Rockhurst High School is 100% in line with that desire that there is goodness happening here."
In a world hungry for good men of character and faith, Rockhurst's comprehensive formation process creates an environment where young men discover their gifts and learn to use them in service to others. Listen now to understand how this powerful approach to student formation shapes not just four years of high school, but a lifetime of purpose.
Welcome to Rock Talk. Today we have Joe Pitzel, Andrew Hayes and Mr Matt Nixon on the podcast to talk a little bit about our freshman retreat program here at Rockers. Andrew and Joe, you guys are our elected chairs this year of the program. I know you guys go through kind of an extensive process to get that title. It's not just one that is bestowed upon you. I know you guys have to do some lead up work as far as being part of our grounds crew and some other areas and then apply for that To kind of kick us off. Can you talk a little bit about what that process looks like, as far as what brought you to this point of leading this retreat, and then we'll get a little bit more into what the retreat is all about.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So second semester of my junior year, mr Nixon reached out to me about being a freshman retreat co-chair and I said yes. And the reason I wanted to be a co-chair in the first place was because my freshman year I had such a great experience on my freshman retreat and a lot of the things I learned have really stuck to me and I've remembered. So that's why I wanted to be a coach here and that's what it was like for me Similar for me.
Speaker 3:I was asked by Mr Nixon last semester last year and I really enjoyed the freshman retreat and then I also led a group last year and I really enjoyed that. So I was excited for the opportunity.
Speaker 1:Great so for our people at home. Can you both introduce yourselves?
Speaker 2:Tell us a little bit more about what you're involved in at Rockhurst. So I'm Andrew Hayes. I'm heavily involved in speech and debate and Model United Nations at Rockhurst. I'm team captain in both activities. Then I've been involved in the freshman retreat for the last three years.
Speaker 3:I'm Joe Pitzel. I've played football all four years and then planning to play baseball, and also I've been on SGA.
Speaker 4:Cool and coach me up real quick, Andrew, because I am getting back acclimated to the community and I love talking to different staff and different students so I can close the gap on what I wasn't paying attention to when I was here and get up to speed. So, Model UN, what is that? Can you explain that?
Speaker 2:to me, so it's Model United Nations and it's essentially where each person represents a country.
Speaker 4:Okay.
Speaker 2:And it's literally like a mock United Nations where you're in a group of like 100 plus students and you debate different current events. Oh, my.
Speaker 4:I need to get invited to one of those just so I can see what that looks like. That's interesting. Cool, cool, cool cool. So you guys are involved in the freshman retreat. Mr Nixon, you are the overseer of the entire operation when I was here. I'm assuming the freshman retreat was probably different. How do you guys go about running that now? Is it off campus? Is it on campus? Give me some nuts and bolts of the freshman retreat.
Speaker 5:Yeah, so the retreat has had evolution, just like any program here at Rockhurst. I've actually been a part of it for over 10 years and we've had it in the winter and now we have it in the fall.
Speaker 5:Most of the retreat takes place on campus with, obviously, all of the freshmen here, but we do have an aspect of the retreat which tends to be a great highlight for the freshmen to participate in, which is off campus. I don't know how much I want to share about some of those details right now want to share about some of those details right now but, as I said, it tends to be a good highlight for our freshmen to participate in the off-campus aspect and to get to know their group leaders and members of the community a little deeper in that regard, cool cool cool, cool.
Speaker 1:And that's one of the cool things, steve, that you'll get to learn as you go through your second freshman retreat. But your first- one as a faculty staff is that, like all of our retreats here at Rockhurst, there's a little bit of secrecy in the best way possible right To make it authentic and new experience for every kid experiencing that retreat. So some of the things you know, kind of one of those things we can't talk about it you know, but in the best way possible.
Speaker 1:You know it's kind of one of those things we can't talk about it, you know, but in the best way possible. So, although, Mr Nixon, you are the director of pastoral ministry, so you oversee our four-year retreat program, which to me is one of my favorite things as a faculty and staff member to participate in. You have a lot of student leadership in that area, so can you talk a little bit about, I mean, I know, for example, the freshman retreat itself has about what 150 upperclassmen that help in different capacities. What are some of the opportunities you have for leadership in the pastoral department?
Speaker 5:Yeah, thanks for bringing that up. I think the freshman retreat is probably the largest opportunity that we have for students to offer back and give back to the community. You're right. We have about 100 juniors and seniors who will be leading our freshmen over that day, over that experience. I think that is the strength of the program, is that it's that peer-to-peer ministry. Strength of the program is that it's that peer-to-peer ministry. It's not just hearing from a teacher what they think the students should hear, but hearing it firsthand, as Andrew and Joe just mentioned about how important the retreat was for them. So our upperclassmen leaders selling it to the freshmen is a great thing, a great source for the freshmen to hear, great thing, a great source for the freshmen to hear.
Speaker 5:But you asked about leadership in the office. Myself, mr Ryan McEnany and now Mr Jason Brish work really hard to get our students involved and allow them to use their talents and gifts to share within our community. That's really the essence of the freshman retreat, quite honestly, is to have the freshmen start to tap into what it is they might contribute to the community. You know, steve, you asked about Andrew and learning something new about Model UN. You know Joe talking about football and baseball and you know there's something here at Rockhurst for everybody and I think we want the freshmen to understand that. We, certainly in the pastoral office, want our students to recognize that whatever their gifts are, that they have gifts to contribute. So we try to do our best to use any gift, any good gift from the Lord that our students possess with our community. So that again a lot of that is retreat leadership, but it's also in leading prayer opportunities, ministering or participating in liturgies, leading Kairos retreats and other opportunities that serve the good of our student body.
Speaker 1:Okay, our theme for this next four episodes of Rock Talk is around faith and formation. So you guys are kind of the ideal kickoff to that because in a lot of ways, you are the kickoff for our student formation program. It does, like I say, go over four years. It's not something that they go on freshman retreat and then they're done forever, right guys. So it's kind of their first interaction with faith on campus, not just from their own faith experience, but hearing about others' faith experience, whether that's teacher, whether that's student, whether that's an alumni, which is another component to the freshman retreat. That I really like is that you incorporate our alumni community in that. So, boys, tell us a little bit more. In particular, what is the mission of the retreat? What is your theme this year? What are some exciting things that freshmen have to look forward to?
Speaker 2:So our theme for this year's freshman retreat is Anchored in Rock, and essentially what that means in the context of this retreat is that God is a source of stability in our lives. You can always count on him, and it's also teaching the freshmen that they can anchor themselves at Rockhurst in pretty much anything they do Because, as Mr Nixon said earlier, rockhurst is a place where you can find what you want to do, and that's what we're trying to teach the freshmen through this.
Speaker 4:That's cool.
Speaker 3:And then the mission statement is through the 2025 freshman retreat, the class of 2029 should build strong bonds with their peers, deepen their relationship with God and fully embrace the Rockhurst spirit spirit of community.
Speaker 1:That's great. So for you guys, you know, looking back to your freshman year, how do you think that freshman retreat experience kind of shaped your next four years? So did you meet people? Did you interact maybe with an upperclassman in a positive way? What kind of impacted you about that experience?
Speaker 2:Well, for me, some of the people that I met on the freshman retreat that were in my small group are some of the people that I still talk with on a daily basis, and I really got to know people that I'd never really had classes with, so that's how it's impacted me.
Speaker 3:Same for me. Going into freshman year I really only knew. I knew some people and then a lot of people just who played football. So the freshman retreat gave me a great opportunity to meet multiple kids who I wouldn't have known anyway otherwise.
Speaker 1:Great, awesome. So to just talk a little bit more about student formation on campus, mr Nixon, you know we offered the freshman retreat, which is a great opportunity. Can you tell the folks at home a little bit about that four-year retreat process, the other retreats that are kind of encompassed in that? I mean I'm sure at a later date we'll get into a little bit more information on those retreats, but just kind of from a mile-above look. Can you tell us a little bit more about the retreat program here at Rockhurst?
Speaker 5:Yeah, our retreat program is everything builds off of the previous experience. So our freshman retreat is obviously about community and, as I mentioned earlier, the students recognizing how they're going to receive gifts from the community, to open themselves up to those gifts from the community and then to contribute to the community community to open themselves up to those gifts from the community and then to contribute to the community. Our sophomore year builds off of that but starts to look really at the personhood of each individual who Christ has called them to be. That's through our sophomore reflection program. And all of these I should have mentioned are grounded in our Ignatian and Catholic identity, are grounded in our Ignatian and Catholic identity, our Ignatian spirituality, which is so rich here. But our sophomore year we have a prayer that we pray every day, called the Examine, the great gift that St Ignatius gave to us and to our faith. And so we ground the sophomore experience in that examined prayer, which is a moment or an opportunity to look at where God has been active in our lives, in our communities. And so the students actually prepare a reflection presentation that they give in front of some adults at Rockhurst and also to their parents. It's a great reflective opportunity for the students.
Speaker 5:Again, freshman year, kind of community Sophomore year. The individual and junior year is our Kairos retreat, which I mentioned earlier. The Kairos retreat looks at how God has been actively working through the love of their classmates, through the love of their classmates, through the love of their parents, how God is calling them to continue this journey they've been on as disciples. That is a three-day, two-overnight experience. That's again peer-led. Our senior year we have a couple different electives for the students to participate in. We have a leadership formation retreat that, ms Van Dyke, I know you are aware of. We also have an outdoor retreat called the Cardinare Retreat. We have silent retreats that we offer and I'd like to just also say that, and because of all of our retreats, or so many of our retreats being student-led, those in and of themselves become retreats and formative experiences for our upperclassmen.
Speaker 5:So you might look at the freshman retreat and say, oh, this is a great gift for our freshman class. But, as we already mentioned, there's 150 upperclassmen among sophomores, juniors and seniors. Not only that, we have maybe 100 alumni, 50 faculty and staff who are also participating and exercising their discipleship as well, or their ability to minister through that process. So I would say that the greatest formation we do here yes, we have great retreats, we have great daily prayer and a great spirit here on campus, but allowing the students to actually exercise that and lead is the best thing that we offer here, and so I'm very proud of that.
Speaker 4:I am usually not this quiet, but I am quiet because I'm amazed at again coming back into the community as an almost 40-year-old man and seeing how well designed this environment is for young men to grow in their relationship and their faith. I had a brief stint in ministry and now, like I'm literally right now, sitting in a moment where I understand a little bit more Ignatius's is that how you say that?
Speaker 1:Is that the best way to say that?
Speaker 4:His approach to getting in education for the viewers Like so I would do high school and you know, ministry, young adult ministry and the struggle we would have to get this deep with our young people because we see them on a Sunday or maybe they show up to a barbecue or something like that and we're trying to connect with them and the fact that out of the gate, you have a building four year process, that is, yes, is directly impacting the freshmen freshman, but it's also discipleship for the leaders and it just builds on itself to a point where you leave here living out the grad at grad and you leave here with a stronger relationship with Christ is awesome, and I don't even know what words to say to get that to hit the listeners hard enough to understand how important that is in a young person's faith journey.
Speaker 4:You're in a community of people who are it's not just you, but they're, as you just mentioned, like selling it, but like you're looking at upperclassmen that are telling you, hey, this is important, this is a big deal Like this is serious, you know, and man, that's impactful.
Speaker 5:Well, I think, steve, what you're picking up on is again that Ignatian character of who we are, where Ignatius, in his first principle and foundation, says that everything on this earth is a gift from God and there are always moments for us or God is always pouring himself out to us, and I think you experience that on the day-to-day basis here at Rockhurst where it's not just okay, now we're going to go. It's not compartmentalized work, now we're going to go and do some prayer things. It's integrated into our whole life of the school, where that math lesson, that English lesson, the Camino project, whatever it is God is actively trying to save us, inviting us to participate in that. So that is who we are as a school is that every moment is an opportunity for us to experience God's love, an opportunity where God is accompanying us. And again, like I said, it's not going to be separated. And okay, now we're going to do our prayer and focus on God.
Speaker 5:Okay, put that away, let's get our textbook out. God's a part of all of that with us, and I think that's you're just. You're picking up on something that is 100% authentic to Ignatian spirituality. Wow, cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so one of the evolutions I've really seen in my time here in my last seven years, is that senior experience right In the retreats. So seeing the development of the fourth day retreat, which, as someone who participated in Kairos as a teenager, I think the idea that we get to carry that on through another retreat experience into senior year and really kind of elongate, that is great. The other one you mentioned was the Ignatian Formation Program, right, the leadership program. So, joe, I know that you've participated in some of our meetings and our retreat. I know Andrew has too.
Speaker 1:Andrew had to step away for a brief moment but he'll be right back because we do film on campus during school and these guys are students, believe it or not, and have some things to do. But so, joe, in your experience that's a little bit different of a retreat, right. So we talk a lot about goal setting, we talk about reflection, the importance of reflection, evaluation, which are Ignatian spiritual cornerstones, if you will. So how do you think that's kind of helped you? That being part of the leadership program has kind of helped you, not only as a leader in this retreat in particular, but maybe on the football field or in the classroom. How have you seen that?
Speaker 3:retreat in particular, but maybe on the football field or in the classroom. How have you seen that? Well, I remember last year, I think, the first meeting we all wrote down goals and then expectations and I still, I think, have that in my backpack and that kind of helps, just looking back at that, to realize, like what I need to do really just help my classmates and then even just with this freshman retreat.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and Andrew, you came back in perfect timing. Here we're talking about the Ignatian Leadership Formation Program and kind of the bones of that, where it was really kind of something that I think both Matt and I have discussed at length. We have all these great opportunities for students to step up in leadership positions, but in a lot of ways we put a lot on you guys to have that figured out so that that program was really designed to help give you some tools. And so Joe was talking a little bit about goal setting and that we do in that program. Do you feel like that's helped you in some of your student organizations and things like that?
Speaker 2:It's definitely helped me. It's really taught me like not like. It's taught me how to lead and how to be a good leader. So that was definitely a very useful program.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So we're getting ready to actually create another evolution of that program and expanding it a little bit, because one of the things that we've reflected on as adult leaders in that program is the need to maybe even encounter students at an earlier age. So freshman sophomore year. So, looking back to your freshman sophomore year, do you think that would have been beneficial to maybe have some of that training earlier on, as opposed to junior and senior year? Absolutely, yeah, great.
Speaker 4:I've got a question for you guys and you guys have kind of touched on it, but I want to get a little deeper. So you've been involved with the retreats for four years. Did I understand that?
Speaker 2:correctly the last three years.
Speaker 4:And then, how long have you been doing it? Two years, so, as busy upperclassmen, you have committed yourself to helping in this. What is, why does it mean so much to you to be involved in helping these retreats go well, to be involved in this aspect of the student experience.
Speaker 3:I feel like these retreats are almost gradual. I guess you could say If they're not done right, you can just find yourself at school for a whole day just going through the motions, filling out these, these questions, but not really getting anything from it. So it's important that us, as co-chairs, really make it engaging and a formative experience for the freshmen yeah, I kind of agree with joe on that one.
Speaker 2:We want it to be an experience that the freshmen look back on and enjoy and not just like as a day of boring reflection.
Speaker 4:We we want them to really have a good time, Okay, and then you guys' work in this. Is there anything, if one thing jumps out at you that you see the freshmen really take away like? Is there or something that you maybe hope that they get year to year?
Speaker 3:as you're putting this together, Well, it's kind of like something from my freshman year, but it was on the Braveheart game, our freshman retreat, so like the whole day you're spending with your whole freshman class and then in your small groups and really just I had a really fun time actually and then go back to the home time and then, as all the freshmen start to come back, then it's the Braveheart game, which is really just a strong sense of brotherhood at Rockhurst, and it was just a great time something that kind of like stood out to me during my freshman retreat slash like what I want them to take out is probably the brotherhood that Joe talked about, because, like, you really get to know your small group throughout the retreat and you really get to connect with them.
Speaker 2:So I hope during the freshman retreat they can, like they can take out that there's always a small group.
Speaker 4:Gotcha love it.
Speaker 1:So one of the things in the leadership formation program that we talk about a lot is finding someone on campus, an adult on campus, that you can go to for feedback, as you're reflecting on your own skills right. So one of the things you guys have to do is set a meeting with a moderator or coach to kind of go through your goals and things like that. Who are some people, some adults on campus that you guys have gone to to seek advice, to seek that formation experience with, and what have you learned from them?
Speaker 3:I would say Mr Nixon, and also not only adults but upperclassmen. Like we're in contact with the coaches from last year, brady Batts and uh jack bracket, and they kind of help us form this retreat okay I.
Speaker 2:I would say upperclassmen are a main source of formation at rockers because they're just, they're there to help you and they really want you to do well in anything you do. So so I would say the upperclassmen.
Speaker 1:Great, great, great. It's always good to hear when you're hearing it from other students to students, which is great. So Brady's a great example. I like to call out some of our alums here on this podcast. Last week I called out one too, but Mr Nixon Brady was one that we tapped in as we were evolving the leadership retreat to kind of take on as a senior leadership role on that retreat, kind of not really a formed leadership role, but just kind of asked him hey, will you come, will you talk about your leadership experience, will you lead these young men in prayer and reflection? And he really knocked it out of the park. So I think he's one of those examples of students that have really taken this formation process and run with it. In your experience, when you see students develop in that way, what do you get out of it? What is your favorite part about seeing that formation process come to fruition?
Speaker 5:I guess about kind of seeing that formation process come to fruition, I guess. Yeah, I think it's probably the most rewarding thing that we do on the adult side of things and I'm sure parents can agree with that is that, you know, in less than a month, on October 3rd, we're going to have 260 round freshmen and they're all going to be excited and participating. But they look like you know freshmen goofy as I did, you know kind of unsure of things, and I don't think any one of us could at that moment kind of pinpoint and say that's our next Brady bats, that's our next Andrew Hayes and Joe Pitzel, but to see each one of them, and in fact if somebody said, hey, we have to entrust a school to these guys in four short years, we'd probably, all you know, almost our heart would stop. But to see, and especially you talk about Brady Bats. He was a student who really see, and especially you talk about Brady Bats. He was a student who really, it wasn't until his junior year this is my recollection it wasn't really until his junior year that all of a sudden this young man started to emerge as a voice and as a model, and I would say. And then he made another leap between junior and senior year where all of a sudden, it wasn't just a guy who was raising his hand and saying I'm ready to, I can volunteer for this, but then it was the guy who was setting the example, doing the things that there's no recognition for. It's not a resume builder, it's just okay.
Speaker 5:I'm going to go to that food pantry that night. I'm going to invite other people to go and do it with me. I'm going to go on this conference in DC to talk about Catholic social teaching. I'm going to go and invite my friends to be a part of this. And Brady embodies and our alums embody that, that spirit of, and this is what we're trying to awaken in them.
Speaker 5:Freshman year is like you have things to contribute and it's just so neat to see that come alive, become animated. And again I have two co-chairs right next to me who are totally different in interests, totally different in skill sets, 100% complimentary. And that's what this world needs is differences that complement each other, that use those gifts that God has given to each one of them, and so it's the most rewarding thing that we do on campus is to awaken those gifts that God has given to each one of them, and so it's the most rewarding thing that we do on campus is to awaken those gifts within our students and to see them. You know, andrew and Joe just said it they looked at the upperclassmen for leadership.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that quiet leadership, I think, is something that I I don't think, even as an adult, I had really had much thought about until I was here, and I see that a lot there. It's not grandstanding. These guys are not the co-chairs of the freshman retreat because they want to put it on their college resume. Does that look great? Yeah, it does, which is so good for you guys on that. But that's not why they're doing it. They're doing it because they have a desire to help form young men, which I think is great.
Speaker 1:And I look at kind of what Father Kramer talked about in our last podcast, which you guys haven't heard yet, but he talked about this idea of not just strong men but good men, and that's what I see.
Speaker 1:I mean Jack McShane. That was on a couple weeks ago and the first time I really got to spend time with Jack was at Cherith Brooks Charity House and we were serving dinner to the people there and that's a volunteer thing, it's not a requirement, it's not a service requirement. You volunteer on a Thursday night to go and serve dinner and he did it with a tremendous amount of joy. He really enjoyed sitting and talking with people and hearing their stories and to me that's an example of that quiet leadership, that not doing it to check off a box but doing it because it's what we do here and I think that's a really great thing. That this whole pastoral formation program does is give every student an opportunity to lead in a way that is most comfortable for them but also pushes them. Like you said, brady wasn't going to be the one that maybe was a yell leader as a freshman or was down on the court for a pep rally, but he grew into what leadership looked like for him and really capitalized on that.
Speaker 4:And I would just say I mean, don't lose that heart, don't lose that spirit. Man, like I said, we can talk off air about experiences I've had. I keep saying, like you step outside of these walls and you're kind of in the wilderness because this is a very special place, but these young men need it now more than ever, and that means the world needs it. We need good men. We need good hearted men out there, and I love the fact that you guys are picking up on that and the work that you do here, because it matters a lot and in more ways. So y'all stay tight as you go on up and through life, because you're going to need each other.
Speaker 1:Our favorite question to ask. It's always our last question in this podcast, so you guys are almost done. You're doing great, and I'm going to ask you guys first, and then I'm going to ask Mr Nixon from a different perspective, because Mr Nixon, although he is our pastoral director, he teaches in our theology department. He's also a proud parent of two hawklets currently, and so our favorite question to ask people is if you're talking to a prospective parent, what would be the number one reason you guys think a family should send their son to Rockhurst?
Speaker 2:I would say the number one reason is that every day at Rockhurst good things happen immediately after three o'clock because there's always something going on and you're able to find your place here because there's always an activity going on that you will enjoy. So I would definitely say the activities have been a very big reason on why I fell in love with rock a very big reason on why I fell for it.
Speaker 3:Great and I would say, besides the great academics, athletics and clubs just how rooted in faith it is. Just going into freshman year I just thought it would be like mass every so often. I was just going to a Jesuit school and I was surprised at how much the faith means here to the faculty and how much they, I guess, impressed that on the students Like I never thought I'd be a Eucharistic minister, but now that's something I'm doing. I didn't think I'd be leading retreats, but now that's something.
Speaker 4:That's great.
Speaker 1:Okay, mr Nixon, as a parent and faculty member, and once a prospective parent, what would you say?
Speaker 5:Yeah, so I just finished my 20th year here and so I started here unmarried. No kids. That's changed Just slightly. And you know my oldest son you mentioned. He's a junior now he's 17.
Speaker 5:And I think back to in the blink of an eye how it felt like yesterday that I was first holding him, and I think about that thought that crosses probably every new parent's mind is that when you're first holding that, your newborn, you are so committed to doing anything you can for their potential, for their development, that you'd sacrifice anything.
Speaker 5:And since my kids, my sons, have been here at Rockhurst, I truly feel as though this decision and sending them here is it's in that spirit of doing anything for their potential and to see my sons again. I've been here a lot longer than my kids have been here and I think I didn't really. I thought I got it but I didn't get it because they the ways that they have already matured and already taken accountability in their own lives. Again, it just takes me back to that first moment where I was like I want nothing but goodness for you, and I feel as though Rockhurst High School is 100% in line with that desire that there is goodness happening here for my son because of how they're being formed here. So, yeah, we all want what's best for our kids and I think Rockhurst High School in partnership with the parents, you know does that.
Speaker 1:That's great. I mean, I don't even know how you follow that one up. I you know. I think that's every parent's desire and thank you for sharing that reflection. So next week, guys, we have Mr Alan Raderman coming on the podcast so you can warn him about it, right? So he's going to be talking about service, right? The Ignatian Service Program here at Rockers, which is also a four-year extensive program, which is also a four-year extensive program, as I talked in our podcast two weeks ago about Camino, that the very first thing you do as freshmen is go out and serve others, which I think is a really powerful statement from the start. So in your service experience, as a little preview, what was your favorite rocker service experience so far?
Speaker 3:I would say that first day, the first service day, a bunch of freshmen and no one really knows each other that well, so everyone's talking to everyone.
Speaker 1:Great.
Speaker 2:That is a really good question. I actually have had a lot of good service experiences here. I would probably say my best service experience was it was probably my first day of freshman days of service, like Joe, because because it was like it's like your second day here at Rockhurst you still don't know many people but you're able to talk with people not in a school setting but like an informal setting, and that really helped me meet new people. So I would say, yeah, that was probably my favorite.
Speaker 1:Okay, great, mr Nixon, we'll. We'll ask you the same question. I'm sure you've volunteered at various service opportunities, so what is your favorite one so far?
Speaker 5:I've enjoyed that it's our students serving dinner, but not just serving dinner to individuals, as Christ would want, and I think that really humanizes and just shows like this is a person I'm helping. It's not a category, it's an individual, and I think that's the best gift of our service program.
Speaker 1:Great. Well, thank you guys so much for taking time out of your very busy schedule, especially leading up to the freshman retreat. We wish you guys nothing but success and look forward to sharing some of the retreat and all the fun activities when it comes up. So thank you so much for being here today.
Speaker 4:We appreciate you guys.