Courtesy of Peg Hodapp

A highlight of the field trip experience was meeting Fr. Greg Boyle in person.

On January 30th, nine Benilde-St. Margaret’s students accompanied by three theology teachers attended a speaker event from Fr. Greg Boyle at Totino Grace High School. Boyle is a Jesuit priest who founded Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, California, which supports and transforms the lives of the formerly incarcerated or gang-involved people.

At the event, students got to hear a speech from Boyle, as well as Angel and Manny, a mother and son from Homeboy. Manny explained that he never anticipated the situations he ended up in. “He showed how it’s not all intentional. We’re all living for the first time and we’re all just people, so we should support each other,” junior Kate Meyer said.

Afterward, a multitude of students from the five attending Lasallian schools gathered to reflect on the experience. In small groups, they talked about significant takeaways and made connections to their own schools, thinking about how they could improve their communities to focus more on kinship, participation, inclusion, and following Boyle’s example. “It was really fun because we got to connect with other students from different schools and have conversations with them,” senior Dante Aloi said.

Boyle has written seven books, incorporating stories and experiences from Homeboy Industries, Catholicism, forgiveness, kinship, and God’s unconditional love. At BSM, students taking theology teacher Katrina Garcia Eveloff’s Discipleship class got the chance to read the first chapter of Boyle’s book, The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness. “I remember reading about Father Greg Boyle and his creation of Homeboy Industries in my discipleship class junior year, and that really caught my eye and encouraged me to sign up [for the event],” senior Sebastian Cerda said.

Boyle was even awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2024. Despite this being the highest civilian award in the United States, Boyle doesn’t let his achievements distract from his service. “He’s so humble. He’s done unbelievable work at the biggest [gang rehabilitation and re-entry program] in the world that has helped people who are getting out of really tough situations. (…) He’s not trying to get any grandiose glory from it, he’s just doing what he knows is right and inviting people into that. So I think that’s amazing,” theology teacher Peg Hodapp said.

In reflecting on the experience overall, everyone was pleased to hear from Boyle, Angel, and Manny, and thought it was a lovely way to connect with other students. “I thought it was a fantastic opportunity to build community among a group of people here at BSM who were all interested in Fr. Greg Boyle and also to build community with other students and educators,” Garcia said.