Saint Ignatius takes another step forward in living out their mission to educate young men and women for lives of faith, love, service, and leadership with the first launch of class-wide Capstone Project for seniors.
The Senior Service Capstone Project is an opportunity for students to put faith into action and dedicate themselves to service in the community.
Directly after winter break, the senior class will participate in a 3-week long service project away from school at various partnering sites. The seniors will simultaneously grow in relationship with God, others, and themselves through using the skills they have learned with an extended focus without the worry of school.
Four Jesuit schools have previously offered a similar faith and service program for over 40 years. These schools include Loyola High School (Los Angeles), St. Louis University High (Saint Louis), Marquette High School (Milwaukee), and Rockhurst High School (Kansas City).
“As we began this, we were hoping to build a new program that could allow a culminating experience for our students to put faith into action in real ways with real communities and form meaningful connections,” said Mr. Peter Corrigan, Director of Student Formation at Saint Ignatius.
A pilot Capstone program took place in January of 2025 academic school year with only 30 students participating. The whole class of 2025 was invited to participate and 30 students took the opportunity towards growing their relationship with service.
All 12 of the pilot program partnering sites are returning for the upcoming 2026 Capstone Project and each returned positive feedback to the school. Ninety percent of those students rated the experience as highly rewarding in terms of its overall impact on their growth and development.
”Mutuality as a mindset of site and student both found it to be very enriching, and that it was a win-win for everybody,” Corrigan said.
Freshman at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Nora Clancy participated in the pilot program last year. She missed 3 weeks of school, had to learn each lesson, and complete the make-up work for each class.
“I tried to do a little bit [of make-up work] every day and write down things I didn’t understand for when I met with my teachers. I also asked my other classmates about work.”, Clancy said.
To avoid the load of missed work and lessons all together, a full class-wide project was the solution.
“It would be better if everyone could be out at the same time, so the classes could largely pause. Students wouldn’t have to worry about the overloading, mountain of avalanche of makeup work, and could have that time protected, could have it built into their day so they’re not missing activities,” Corrigan said.
Saint Ignatius teachers have been working for over a year adjusting their course curricula to plan for the 3-week “hiatus” for Capstone.
Capstone is the final step to integrating the mission of Saint Ignatius and what students have learned over the course of their four years and their relationship and journey with service.
“Senior year capstone experience it’s a capstone because it integrates all that you’ve learned and all of who you’re called to become in a real life applicable situation,” Corrigan said.
Students alike have each had their own worries and excitement about the new Capstone implementation.
Senior Izzy Radecki, placed at Care For Real in Lincoln Park, said “I’m excited to meet new people, like my classmates, and the people in need and learn about their stories.”
“I’m nervous that I’m gonna mess up, and that they’re not gonna like me,” Radecki also said.
Senior Alex Schmidt, placed at Saint Ailbe School said “I think I’m nervous for the first week, because I think it’s gonna be a very different experience than, like, when I’m volunteering because of meeting so many kids at one time.”
“I’m excited because I get to meet a lot of new people and, like, see how the school I’m going to work,” said Schmidt.
A recent Capstone training for the whole senior class grouped each senior at a table with their fellow classmates at their specific site. With this training, alongside the integration of Capstone meetings within senior monthly schedules, students prepare for each interaction that they will face.
“Well, it was a massive undertaking to want to make [seniors] have background, training, preparation, readiness to serve, and to be ready to serve. Many of the sites last year said that they were so pleasantly surprised by how well prepared our students were to serve,” Corrigan said
“Students from Saint Ignatius come to our school and are immediately a great help for teachers and students. Throughout the day, senior students work as teacher assistants in classrooms and also serve as role models and mentors for the St. Procopius students,” said Ms. Sheila Doyle, principal at St. Procopius School, a returning Saint Ignatius Capstone partner.
Saint Ignatius students at elementary school Capstone sites benefit the young children by making new connections and learning from the older students. This mentorship opportunity’s impact provides a strong example for the contribution to the mission statement of the school.
Corrigan said, “We want it to be a walking embodiment of what women and men for and with others looks like, and that is what others are going to do over these 3 weeks; an embodiment of our mission in action.”
