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Parents of the Pack is a monthly newsletter featuring a roundup of the most important information and updates from across the university. Invite other LOYNO supporters to subscribe here.
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Registration Resources for Your Student
Registration for Spring 2024 and J-Term courses opened on Monday, November 13. The Student Success Center's advising and coaching team has a number of resources available on our website to help your student pick the right classes and register on the right date and time! As your student prepares, please make note of these important points:
- All students have a particular date and time they should register on – listed on our website.
- All students must be cleared to register. This means that a student must contact an advisor and have that advisor review their schedule and clear them in our system before the student is able to register! First-year students should meet with an Advisor-Coach in the Student Success Center; sophomores, juniors, and seniors should meet with their faculty advisor (who can be found in LORA Self-Service). Check Step 4 of this guide for details!
- LORA Self-Service has many tools that make registration planning easy! Our Advisor-Coaches recently led a workshop on how to use these tools that is available on our YouTube channel.
Please feel free to have your student stop by the Student Success Center on the second floor of Monroe Library with any questions they may have!
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November 13
Registration begins for Spring and J-Term 2024
November 22–24
Thanksgiving Break
December 11–15
Final Examinations
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FAFSA RemindersDon't forget – the Department of Education is streamlining the FAFSA process this year by reducing the number of questions and making it easier to transfer tax information directly from the IRS. As a result, the 2024-2025 FAFSA will not be available until December. Loyola’s Office of Financial Aid is here to support you through this process. Opt in to SMS (text) messages by logging in to your StudentAid.gov account to receive up-to-date notifications and information. For individual questions, please reach our office by calling 504-865-3231, emailing us at finaid@loyno.edu, or scheduling an appointment online.
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Peer Tutoring for Your StudentFinals are coming up! Did you know that your student has access to peer tutoring in almost any subject—math, science, languages, accounting, finance, statistics, writing, and even study skills? Visit the OWLS tutoring center page to learn more.
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J-Term 2024Loyola's J-Term is an optional two-week session taking place January 2–12, 2024, before the start of the spring semester. The accelerated format is designed to help students catch up, get ahead, or study abroad. From entrepreneurship to multimedia storytelling, J-Term offers an opportunity for students to delve into a single topic for two weeks. Many courses qualify for Loyola Core credit.
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Illuminate LoyolaYour gift to the Loyola Fund helps to spark opportunities for students and illuminate Loyola. Give $50 or more to the Loyola Fund by December 1 and receive a Loyola flashlight keychain. Make your gift today »
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Save the Date: Commencement 2024
We will celebrate the Class of 2024 on May 10 and 11, 2024. Tickets are not required for entry to the Loyola Commencement ceremonies, but we do kindly ask that graduates limit their number of guests to no more than six people in order to comfortably accommodate all parties. Live streaming will also be available for family members who cannot make it to the ceremony. For more information, please visit our commencement website or email commencement@loyno.edu to speak with a member of our team.
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The LOYNO community is invited to join our annual winter celebration hosted by the University Programming Board. We will cover the lawn in front of the Loyola letters with snow! Sneaux will take place on Wednesday, December 6 from 6–8 p.m. in the Marquette Horseshoe. For any questions, concerns, or accommodations, please email getinvolved@loyno.edu.
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Wolf Pack Athletics Updates
The women’s volleyball team ended their regular season with a record of 23-5, a conference record of 13-2 (the second best in program history), and a conference winning percentage of .867 (the best since joining the SSAC). Join us in wishing the team good luck as they face off against Southern Oregon in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round on Saturday, November 18. The men’s and women’s basketball teams are also on their way to achieving some exciting milestones. The women’s basketball team is only a few games away from reaching 500 total wins in the history of Wolf Pack Athletics, and the men’s basketball team hopes to reach 1,000 total wins later this season. Cheer on the Pack and support our scholar athletes by joining the Booster Club! Booster Club members receive exclusive benefits such as Wolf Pack Athletics gear, live-streamed games, and more while advancing our athletic programs and enhancing the scholar athlete experience.
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Reflecting on Ignatian Gratitude A Message from University Chaplain Thomas Ryan, Ph.D.
Ignatian spirituality shares with the great civil holiday of Thanksgiving an emphasis on gratitude. This form of spirituality is named after the founder of the Jesuits, St. Ignatius Loyola who composed a retreat called the Spiritual Exercises.
One of its purposes is to prepare participants to be able to say, near its conclusion, a prayer called the “Suscipe,” from the Latin for “take.” ( Here’s a contemporary version set to music.) It begins with the odd request that God “take”–my liberty, memory, understanding, entire will. One wonders, why does God want to “take” all of me? Its second sentence asserts, “Everything I have or possess, you [God] have given me.” “Everything!” Think about it. “Everything” includes this breath, and the next. In fact, every breath is a gift. St. Ignatius thinks of us as awash in gift. And how else to respond to such extravagance but with gratitude. But what does this mean? Right before the “Suscipe,” the text of the retreat states that, “Love is shown more in deeds than in words.”
Gratitude for St. Ignatius means enacting love of God, neighbor, and creation with our whole selves, in all we do. St. Ignatius knows this is a near-impossible task, and so he concludes the “Suscipe” by implying that we can do this only with God’s love and grace lavished on us at every moment. Something to reflect on this Thanksgiving season.
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Jesuit Martyrs of El Salvador
On November 16, 1989, members of the Salvadoran military brutally murdered six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and her daughter at the University of Central America in El Salvador. They were assassinated because they spoke out against the government and were advocates for the poor. To honor the eight Salvadoran martyrs, Loyola established and named our Peace Quad in the middle of campus. Our annual Martyrs Mass celebrates these and all who pay the ultimate price for our faith on the Sunday closest to the anniversary, this year’s being November 19, at 9 p.m. on the Peace Quad.
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Advent Wreath DropIn the Catholic and other Christian traditions, the Advent season marks the beginning of the new liturgical year – a time of renewal and preparation for the miracle of Christmas.
Loyola “rings in the new year” with its annual Advent Wreath Drop on the Peace Quad, complete with hot chocolate, cookies, music, and a real live Advent Wreath descending over 100 feet from the top of the West Road Garage to the front of Bobet Hall.
The wreath is then displayed for the remainder of Advent as a reminder for the Loyola community to prepare for Christmas. The event starts at 8:30 p.m. and is followed by the First Sunday of Advent Mass at 9 p.m. in Ignatius Chapel on Sunday, December 3.
Advent CandlesFour 12-foot Advent “candles” made of cloth are erected on the Peace Quad at the beginning of Advent. Each candle is “lit” by a wooden “flame” on each successive Sunday of Advent.
Hanukkah Celebration Hanukkah begins December 7. An eight day Jewish festival of lights that commemorates the miracle of replenishing light in the temple, Hunukkah is observed at Loyola in part with a symbolic hanukkah display of nine “candles” on the Peace Quad, “lighting” one on each of its nine days.
Mass and PancakesOn December 10, the last 9 p.m. Sunday Mass of the semester is an Advent Mass, followed by a Christmas-themed late night breakfast and party in the Orleans Room.
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Meet Victoria Sosa, an English major who is finishing her final semester this fall. For Victoria, the choice to go to Loyola was easy. She didn’t even apply to any other schools! Victoria shares how Loyola has helped her develop her skills as a writer, and how she has deepened her spiritual practice during her time with the Wolf Pack.
“I love the city of New Orleans, and I relate to Loyola's Jesuit values, specifically its focus on justice for the poor and oppressed. I'm a writer, so the school's cultivation of an artistic campus community made it the perfect place for me to grow as an artist.”
Beyond her coursework, Victoria has enjoyed many opportunities on campus to gain new skills, including writing for The Maroon student newspaper, tutoring her peers for the Office of Writing and Learning Services (OWLS), and working in a paid position as a Dorm Desk Assistant for the last two years. “The thing I'm most grateful for is Loyola's spiritual community. My freshman year I joined an ILC because it was lonely being on campus during a pandemic. That also led me to be involved with the university's spiritual retreats, specifically Awakening. That community brought me a great sense of love and safety.”
Victoria's involvement in campus activities has pushed her to step out of her comfort zone. At the Loyola Flea Market, she took the stage for the first time, performing an original poem with a lineup of other student artists. The experience remains one of her most cherished memories.
“Loyola has a lot to offer, both on campus and off campus. My advice is to say yes to something different. Sign up for a service trip, attend a multicultural event, or join a student band. Don't say no because you've never done it or your friends don't want to do it with you. Be brave. On that note, take advantage of Loyola's study abroad resources. Studying abroad is the thing I'm most happy I did, and the thing most people tell me they regret not doing.”
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On Friday, November 10, we officially welcomed Dr. Xavier A. Cole as the 18th president of Loyola University New Orleans! Read the full story.
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Students gathered with President Cole during the "Colechella" celebration leading up to his inuguration the following the day.
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HOWL! Members of the LOYNO community gathered for Wolves on the Prowl, Loyola's annual day of service, to help clean up outside of the Good Shepherd School.
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Students enjoyed food and games during Ignatian Field Day as part of Loyola Week, a celebration of our Catholic-Jesuit identity and mission.
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Office of Marketing and Communications
Loyola University New Orleans
250 Marquette Hall
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