In the past two years, the size of the freshman student body has increased, leading to a need for more classrooms and space within the school to accommodate additional incoming students. Several changes to the school have been made to accommodate the growing student body.

Several resource centers and other areas have also been converted into classrooms. Notably, the Beigel room has transitioned from a quiet study space for students to a student resource center for Math and English. 

While this transition has made other study spaces more crowded, it has also opened up new classrooms for students.

Senior Matthew Bermeo noted that it was a good idea to make the Beigel room a resource center given its proximity to the library. “Having the resource room on the 4th floor opened up new spaces where it used to be located.” Bermeo said, “[Beigel] also stands out a lot more since the MRC used to be located between classrooms and hard to find.” 

The school has already expanded in recent years, with the Immaculate Heart of Mary Center being converted into the arts center as well as the new home of computer science classes. The Lakeside Bank building across the street on the corner of Blue Island and Roosevelt was also recently purchased last month and will be home to new spaces for athletics. The building has already been repainted and the Ignatian phrase ‘AMDG’ has already been put up on the side of the building.

To support the growing Ignatian community the challenge of space is still present, as there is not a lot of land surrounding the current campus that can be repurposed into other buildings or facilities.