Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola is an all-male, Catholic, Jesuit, college-preparatory school founded by the Society of Jesus in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1952. It has educated some of the most influential figures in Puerto Rico such as Ruben Berrios and Raúl Juliá. It is considered a college prep school since all of its graduates go on to colleges, outside Puerto Rico in half the cases, mainly in the continental United States, often at top-ranked colleges and universities such as Boston College, Duke University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Columbia University, Cornell University, Georgetown University, Princeton University, Harvard College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University.
Location
The school was originally located in Santurce but the Jesuits moved it to its current location in Rio Piedras in 1956. Colegio San Ignacio resembles a small university campus as it has several buildings: two identical buildings consisting of classrooms, named San Luis Gonzaga (formerly "Building A") and San Francisco Javier (formerly "Building B); one building with a resource center on the first floor and a library on the second floor; the Padre Pedro Arrupe Building which houses classrooms and offices; the cafeteria building; "Building C" which houses the science classrooms and laboratories and a science and math resource center; the Complejo Cultural, a state-of-the-art humanities building completed in the year 2004 which houses English, Spanish, music, drama, and oratory classrooms and an auditorium; the administration building which houses most of the administrative staff.
Academics
Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola seeks to offer a superior, Catholic education in the Jesuit tradition to all young men who show aptitude, motivation, and their families' support, and so to serve society and announce the Kingdom of God.
The school has programs in waste reduction, agroecology, water conservation, and reduction of plastic bottling and consistently receives Eco-School certification from The Organization for Sustainable Environment.
San Ignacio participates in the Jesuit Virtual Learning program. It also has a special program for gifted students, with administrative and teaching staff trained at the University of Connecticut. Nine advanced placement courses are offered.
Pastoral program
All students participate in a retreat experience each year, culminating in a 4-day Kairos retreat offered to those in 12th grade. The students and entire school community celebrate the Eucharist each morning before classes. A Family Formation Program offers talks, workshops, and Ignatian spirituality experiences to assist parents in raising adolescents in today's world. Service opportunities include tutoring at public schools, assisting at a center for special education, a home for abused children, and a home for the elderly, and work on environmentalism. For service opportunities some join the Friends of Jesus and Peer Ministers groups.
School anthem
Translated from Spanish: Lion of my shield, martial and rampant, raise your eyes and light the path that gives life. With your warrior chest advance each step, forward to triumph. Already you strained your body, hard as granite. On steady foot raised from the ground, rhythmically beating, you advance with a roaring scream, the march of war. Undaunted in battle who can frighten you? You will see at your advance on all sides the fierce enemy will fall before the radiance of your regal banner.
Athletics and activities
San Ignacio participates in the Puerto Rico High School Athletic Alliance in football, basketball, baseball, bowling, cross country, golf, indoor soccer, swimming, track and field, tennis, and volleyball.
Students organizations include Student Council, Chorus, National Honor Society, Peer Ministers, and Cultural Tours. Clubs are sponsored in areas such as school band, debate, United Nations, chess, art, science, medicine, theater, cinema, mathematics, technology, ECO-Ignatian, business, investors, robotics, photography, French, history, and engineering.
Notable alumni
Academia
- Fernando Picó, S.J., class of 1958, historian and Jesuit, specialist on the history of Puerto Rico
Arts, education, & publicity
- Raúl Juliá, actor, class of 1957
- Eduardo Lalo, writer, photographer and filmmaker, class of 1977
- Armando Riesco, actor, class of 1995
- Alfredo De Quesada, actor, class of 1994
- Jorge Rodriguez Beruff, historian, author and dean: UPR General Studies Faculty
- Héctor Feliciano, journalist, author, professor, class of 1970
- Rafael Luis Bras, Provost of the Georgia Institute of Technology
- Felix V. Matos Rodriguez, historian, professor, academic administrator, former Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Family Affairs
Politics
- Ruben Berrios Martinez, Class of 1957; President of the Puerto Rican Independence Party, former Senator and gubernatorial candidate
- Rafael Cox Alomar, 2012 candidate for Resident Commissioner for the Popular Democratic Party.
- Fernando MartÃn GarcÃa, Executive President of the Puerto Rican Independence Party, former Senator
- José Ramón Oyola, class of 1968, President of the Puerto Rico Government Development Bank (1985â€"1986)
- Luis G. Rivera MarÃn, Class of 1978; Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Consumer Affairs (2009â€"2012), Executive Director, Puerto Rico Tourism Company (2012â€"present)
- Rafael Bernabe Riefkohl, Class of 1977; 2012 gubernatorial candidate for the Puerto Rican Workers' Party
Science & medicine
- Reinaldo Rampolla-Selles, class of 1992, medical co-director and transplant pulmonologist for Oschner Medical Center, Transplant Services in New Orleans, Louisiana
References
External links
- Official Website Colegio San Ignacio