Aydee Cruz Mejía, an undergraduate student at Fairfield University and an alumnus of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Milwaukee, credits the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice as a major catalyst in her justice-seeking vocation. She has attended five of them so far, presented at three of them, and deepened her leadership skills as a high schooler at the Arrupe Leaders Summit. Aydee is a fantastic example of a student who is not only open to growth but also provokes growth from the people and institutions to which she belongs.

• Read about the last Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice, at which Aydee presented a breakout session called “Building Solidarity and Justice in Predominantly White Institutions.”
• Read about the recent Arrupe Leaders Summit, a formative experience Aydee underwent as a high schooler.

Xavier High School in New York City organized a prayer service and two mile march from their school down to Federal Plaza, where federal immigration court is located. Brandon Sumba, and John Mahovlic, both current juniors at Xavier, participated in that public witness on behalf of migrants and, a few days later, attended the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice in Washington, D.C., where they got another experience of advocacy on Capitol Hill. In this episode, Brandon and John talk about what they experienced and learned over these formative experiences, providing rich examples of faith in action. During the Catholic Church’s Season of Faithful Witness, the Xavier witness is a fantastic model to follow for embodying faith-filled advocacy.

1. Read about Xavier’s participation in the One Church One Family campaign through their 2-mile march through New York City.
2. Learn about the opportunity to mobilize your community on March 24, 2026—the feast of St. Óscar Romero—to stand in solidarity with immigrants across the country.
3. Fascilitate deeper engagemetn with this episode using this free discussion guide from Education for Justice.

Ruth Morgan, an undergraduate student at Georgetown University studying healthcare management and policy, features on this podcast episode. Ruth is introduced in the first segment by one of her mentors, Kimberly Mazcyk, the Associate Director for Engagement of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University. Kim moderated a panel at the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice, where Ruth offered deeply engaging insights along with a couple racial justice veterans who are well-known in Catholic circles. That breakout session was titled: “Walking by Faith, Fighting for Racial Justice: Voices for Our Time.”

The conversation with Ruth gives a glimpse of her work and career trajectory, in which she explores social justice through the lens of racial justice and health equity, grounded in the Jesuit value of being people for others.

1. Read about the IFTJ breakout session Ruth and Kim were a part of at IFTJ.
2. Read a feature piece that Georgetown University did on Ruth.
3. Check out some of the fascinating webinar conversations the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life has organized recently.
4. Facilitate deeper engagement with this episode using this free discussion guide resource from Education for Justice.