Dear La Lumiere Community,

In a circle of chairs outside Decio House here on campus, a group of La Lumiere students sat together last month to discuss their first responsibility as senior prefects: What theme should guide our school community this year? As prefects, these senior leaders oversee councils that represent a wide range of student ownership and involvement, and each summer, they gather to determine a theme for the coming school year.

At the end of their discussion, the prefects had converged on a theme: Live the Light.

As usual, they hit it out of the park. I believe that our prefects have met the moment with exactly the right invitation for the 2022-2023 academic year. When our Head Prefect, Dana Mulco, spoke with me about this theme, she explained that the prefects chose this phrase because “the light” represents what is best in each of us—the light that shines when we are thriving as the most complete versions of ourselves—but also because each of us has our own distinct light to share. The neutral, white light that we see contains every color in the spectrum; it is a union of all colors. That means for us to “live the light” as a community, we are each challenged not only to live out our common values but also to be our own genuine, authentic selves within our community.

In my view, that is a powerful distillation of what we are about at La Lumiere: We strive to meet high expectations at the same time that we aspire to be true to our deepest selves.

Personally, I find this year’s theme compelling because living the light requires more from us than just words or intentions. It invites daily action. Whether you are a teacher, a parent, an alumnus, or a student: How are you being called this year to live out the light? How will you embody the values of our community and provide light for others? It is exciting to imagine the fireworks show that will be on display this year, and I have no doubt that we will shine.

We are officially one month into the school year, and we are off to a phenomenal start. Our students are already finding their rhythms and flourishing through genuine encounters in the classroom, in their co-curricular activities, and across campus, and I am tremendously excited to see all of the ways that our students will “live out the light” in the year ahead.

I am honored to serve as Interim Head of School this year, and I am delighted also to highlight two members of our faculty who are also beginning new posts: Stacy Glidden Bobillo, who is beginning a new position as Chief of Staff, and Jamie Denten, who is now our Associate Dean of Academics. We also have several new faculty members this year whom we are thrilled to welcome (and welcome back!) to the La Lumiere community:

Zachary Gillis ‘09 joins the Creative Arts Department as our choir director. After graduating from La Lumiere, Zach moved onto Bethel University (formerly Bethel College), where he completed his B.A. in Liberal Studies, and then he served in Bethel’s Offices of Student Development and Diversity & Inclusion while garnering his M.A. in Intercultural Leadership from Goshen College. He currently serves on the pastoral staff at South Bend City Church and has over 25 years of experience in the realm of music and music education.

James McDaniels joins our Math Department this year, teaching Geometry and Statistics, and Fabienne McDaniels, who is a practicing nurse, joins us as the dorm parent in Newman and we are very excited to have her working with our students in residential life. James earned a bachelor’s degree in Integrative Biology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and is a Teach for America alumnus, where he earned his teaching certification in tandem with a graduate program at Calumet College of St. Joseph. James has a passion for inspiring students toward building a conceptual understanding of math, and applying math in their daily lives.

Alex Kellenberg ‘10 returns to La Lumiere as the teacher of the Senior Ethics Seminar after having completed two Master’s degrees in the Western Great Books and the Eastern Classics at St. John’s College in Sante Fe, New Mexico. Before graduate school, Alex completed his undergraduate studies at The Evergreen State College, where he studied moral and political philosophy. Alex is an avid hiker who has hiked ~10,000 backcountry miles, and has worked as a backpacking guide at a wilderness therapy program.

Ellen Ramsden-Belotti joins the La Lumiere community with a background in social work and special education and will be working in a new role as our Learning Specialist. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Family Studies from St. Xavier University, a Master of Social Work from University of Illinois at Chicago, Jane Addams College of Social Work and a Master of Educational Administration from Governors State University. Ellen’s path to joining La Lumiere includes positions as a substance abuse counselor, medical social worker, EAP coordinator, school social worker and a district administrator of special education programs. She has already begun collaborating with students and families as she works alongside our teaching faculty to create systems of support in and around the classroom.

Dylan Engquist-Bajo joins our Creative Arts Department working with our jazz band and choir. Dylan was born in Madrid, Spain, where he studied piano, composition and chamber music at the Joaquin Turina Conservatory of Music from ages 8 to 18, from which he graduated with honors. After having started his degree of piano performance at Madrid’s Universidad Alfonso X, he transferred to Indiana University South Bend, where he has just finished completing his undergraduate music studies in the spring of 2021 (also with honors). At IUSB he was the undergraduate recipient of the 2019-2020 Arts Excellence Award in Music. He also performs regularly in solo piano recitals, chamber music, and orchestral concerts, and as accompanist for different soloists and ensembles.

Jack McNabola is working in the Advancement Office and is an assistant coach on La Lumiere’s Basketball & Cross Country teams. Jack graduated from the University of Notre Dame last spring with a Business Analytics degree, and is hoping to pursue a law degree in the near future. At the University of Notre Dame, Jack competed on the Track & Cross Country Team, where he specialized in events ranging from the 1 mile to the 5K. He also played inner-hall & bookstore basketball at Notre Dame.

Finally, I am excited to see many of you very soon at our Parent and Alumni Weekend on September 30th-October 1st. The weekend includes our 28th annual golf outing, alumni reunions, athletic and arts events on campus, activities for the entire family on Saturday, and culminates on Saturday evening with our senior bonfire. You can read more about the events here. It will be a phenomenal weekend on campus, and I hope to see you there!

In the meantime, we wish you every good thing from here on campus. May we all follow our students’ example and find ways to “live the light” as members of the La Lumiere family this year. Looking forward to seeing many of you soon.

Gratefully,

Dr. Andrew Hoyt

Interim Head of School

“Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness” - John Keats, To Autumn

Photo Credit: Brett Balhoff (Science Department Chair)

"Live the Light" – An Update from La Lumiere