Alumni Blog

We conclude this year’s Catholic Heritage Lectures with Greg Boyle, S.J., on Thursday, May 9 at 7 p.m. Fr. Greg is the founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, California, the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation, and re-entry program in the world. He comes to Seattle U to share riveting stories of what three decades of working with gang members in Los Angeles has taught him about faith, compassion and the enduring power of kinship.

In the face of unfavorable law enforcement tactics and criminal justice policies that encouraged suppression and mass incarceration, Fr. Greg sought a different approach to ending gang violence. He, alongside parish and community members, adopted what was a radical approach at the time: treating gang members as human beings.

In 1988, they started what would eventually become Homeboy Industries, an organization that employs and trains former gang members in a range of social enterprises to assist them in the transition back to a life without gang violence. At Homeboy Industries, thousands of young men and women seeking a better life walk through the door every year and are provided with critical services, resources and most importantly, hope.

Father Greg is the author of the 2010 New York Times-bestseller Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion. His 2017 book is the Los Angeles Times-bestseller Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship.

Fr. Greg has received the California Peace Prize and has been inducted into the California Hall of Fame. In 2014, the White House named Father Boyle a Champion of Change. He received the University of Notre Dame’s 2017 Laetare Medal, the oldest honor given to American Catholics.

Tickets are going quickly for Fr. Boyle’s visit. Register now to save your seat.

Catholic Heritage Lectures
Spiritual Practice and Working on the Margins

Thursday, May 9 | 7 p.m.
Pigott Auditorium, Seattle University
Registration is required.

Fr. Boyle is also speaking at Our Lady of Guadalupe parish on Wednesday, May 8 at 7 p.m. Tickets are available here.

Introduce your high school student to Seattle U and give them a taste of life as a college student. Seattle University’s Summer Programs is inviting competitive high school juniors and seniors with an interest in computer science and technology to apply for Transformative Technologies: Using AI for Social Good. This pre-college immersion is an opportunity to learn about machine learning, data analytics and artificial intelligence and how technology can be used ethically to promote human well-being. Outside of the classroom, students will have the experience of applying what they learn during visits led by their faculty to local technology industry leaders. The program earns students three college credits and provides a unique chance to preview Seattle U life, including living in Seattle University’s campus dorms in the heart of Capitol Hill.

Additionally, students will participate in a Leadership Boot Camp where they will work with a certified education planner on activities designed to promote self-awareness and skills that will support them in the college application/admission process, including personal essay design for the Common App and college interviewing.

And of course, the program would not be complete without the fun, cultural experience of summertime in Seattle!  We will explore Pike Place Market, Capitol Hill, the Space Needle and Seattle Center, the Museum of Pop Culture and more!

For more information and to register, email Eva Lasprogata Sedgwick, Director of Summer Programs.