18 • Call 1.800.348.4732 “I see two main things,” he says. “First, there’s a focus on the character of the child. Marianist education is about educating the whole person, not just about getting a kid ready academically for college. Second, is following the example of Mary as someone who accepted a call. She stepped up. That can be really inspiring to kids. And when you develop a school around that notion, it can be a powerful thing.” The power of the Marianist charism Mallory, who now serves as campus minister at St. Mary’s High School in St. Louis, agrees with Jason. “Through Mary, Marianist education invites students to consider a powerful, but gentler side of faith,” she says. “I think most Catholic schools call students to a relationship with Jesus. Marianist schools take it a step further and invite young people to a relationship with Christ and with Mary. We help students understand her as a model for strong faith and building community,” Mallory says. In another feat of Marianist inter-school cooperation, Luis moved from his beloved Texas to California and to Chaminade College Prep because of a young woman he had met through a fellow Marianist educator. The couple married; they now have two young sons. As dean of students at Chaminade, Luis is the school’s main disciplinarian. Yet, like Jason and Mallory, he finds direction and inspiration in the Marianist charism. “I try to bring Mary’s love for Jesus to my role,” he says. “It’s both nurturing and insistent. Think about Mary at the wedding at Cana,” he says. “She challenged her own son to step up and do what needed to be done. We are called by the charism to do the same for our students,” he says. Family spirit, the model of Mary, the importance of educating the whole person. These are the hallmarks of Marianist education that make some educators commit their careers to Marianist schools. “It’s impossible not to be moved by this job,” says Luis. “I feel really blessed.” ■ Carol Dexter is a freelance writer from Columbia, Illinois. For a complete list of the 19 Marianist-sponsored schools, go to marianist.com/education. PHOTO: MATT DAYKA Jason Kertz, a middle-school counselor and coach at Chaminade College Prep in Los Angeles, recently switched from working at Chaminade-St. Louis.