"Let no one ever again say we dreamed too small."
It was part of his inaugural address at Notre Dame and when I speak to students about having dreams and sharing them with others I use this quote.
Well this week I was invited to a special event at Notre Dame, at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, for local community leaders. It was a prayer service followed by a reception and I was just honored to be invited. Interestingly I knew a lot of the people there, and more to my surprise many of the community leaders that I haven't met knew me and my role with La Casa. Word travels fast I guess and I am impressed at how well the name of La Casa de Amistad is received by our local leaders.
As I was leaving the Basilica and heading to the reception I happened to hold the door for none other than Father Jenkins. So him and I walked together to the reception. He also had high regards for La Casa, and I thanked him for the work the college does in enrolling Latino students. His reply, "But we can do more." They currently rank in the top 25 Colleges for Latino students... about 10% Latino enrollment is very impressive. He asked about the work we are doing and praised our impact in the community. We then talked about the big celebration they planned for their Latino students for Lady of Guadalupe and his love of the passion and energy the Latino students bring to the faith and campus.
I have been blessed lately with so many opportunities, and that was another great one. In a job where I am constantly reminded of the great need and of all the work in front of us, it was nice to be reminded, by one of the great pillars of our community, of the tremendous support we have behind our work.
Thank you to the University of Notre Dame, and especially to Father Jenkins. I hope in the future to have more time with you about ideas of how together we, Can Do More.