September 8, 2025 • 40 mins
Have you ever wondered what truly sets exceptional students apart in today's competitive world? It's not just grades or test scores—it's the ability to articulate who they are and what they stand for.
In this eye-opening episode of Rock Talk, we dive deep into Rockhurst High School's revolutionary Camino Ignaciano Project with Director of Experiential Learning Tyler Baker. This innovative program helps students create professional e-portfolios that showcase their growth through the five pillars of Jesuit education: being committed to doing justice, religious, open to growth, intellectually competent, and loving.
The results speak for themselves. We share the story of Davis Long, whose digital portfolio caught Columbia University's attention among 60,000 applicants, leading to a personal phone call from admissions. But the Camino Project offers more than just college application advantages—it teaches students digital citizenship, professional branding, and the language to articulate their personal development.
"You can get an excellent education anywhere," notes Beth Van Dyke from the admissions team, "but you can't get the formation experience our boys get at other places." This formation includes the confidence to try new things in an all-male environment where vulnerability is encouraged, not criticized. From the unexpected popularity of choir to the growing e-sports program that's already yielded scholarship offers, Rockhurst nurtures well-rounded young men ready to make their mark.
Whether you're a parent exploring educational options, an educator interested in innovative teaching methods, or simply curious about how Jesuit education is evolving for the digital age, this conversation will transform how you think about preparing students for future success. Subscribe now and join our community of listeners discovering what makes Rockhurst unique!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to Rock Talk, the official podcast of
Rockhurst High School in KansasCity, missouri, where we explore
the voices, values and vibrantlife of our Jesuit college prep
community, hosted by theadmissions and marketing team.
Each episode featuresconversations with students,
faculty alumni and specialguests, as we share stories of
(00:23):
academic excellence, faithformation, brotherhood and
service.
Whether we share stories ofacademic excellence, faith
formation, brotherhood andservice, whether you're a
prospective family, a proudalumnus or simply curious about
what makes Rockhurst unique,this is your inside look at life
at the Rock.
And this is Steve Redmond.
I'm going to be your host todayand this is going to be a
special episode.
(00:43):
My co-host is here, beth, butshe's on the other side of the
table and she's giving me fullcontrol to run this thing, which
is risky, we'll see but this isSteve.
Today we have Tyler Baker withus, who I'll let him introduce
himself in a second, and then wehave Beth here as well.
And Beth, how are you feelingtoday?
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Feeling great, just coming off a great Camino
Ignaciano class with our secondround of freshmen.
We're excited.
We're even more excited to talkCamino today with you, steve.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Yeah, and Tyler, go ahead and introduce yourself to
the listeners we have and tellthem about yourself.
Sounds good.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Well, first and foremost, thanks for having me.
This is a cool experience.
I don't think I've ever been ona podcast before, so this is
fun.
My name is Tyler Baker.
I'm the director ofexperiential learning here at
Rockhurst, and what that meansis I get to work with all of our
boys to get them out into thecommunity and teach them how to
be professional.
And I guess today we're talkingabout in the context of a
(01:47):
project that we started a coupleyears ago called Camino Camino
Ignisiano, which means thepathway forward in the Ignatian
light.
So Camino means path or roadway, and so all of the boys get to
design an e-portfolio by theirjunior year to be able to send
to colleges and jobs people outin the community Cool cool, cool
(02:10):
, and I wanted to jump right inon this because I told Beth I
got to sit in on you all'spresentation, which I didn't.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
I don't think I told you that it was outstanding.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Oh, thank you, Thank you and.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
I mean, really I was fired up and envious because
when I was here we didn't have aproject like this.
But I think it's super cool andI think you guys did a great
job.
And what happened for this tobecome a part of the freshman
(02:43):
experience?
Well, at least in the contextthat I experienced, right, we
were talking to the freshmen.
Well, you said you came up withthis a couple years ago, like
where did the idea or thethought come from?
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Well, so initially, when I started Father Giacobazzi
, which was our principal lastyear, he came up to me and he
said how are you going to tieSTEAM or STEM across all of the
curriculum here?
And I had to stop for a secondand think about.
You know what are the needs ofthe students and you know we
(03:13):
have so many classes here and somany different pathways and
avenues for students to go downthat it was almost impossible
for me to create kind of likeyou know, one, you know,
singular vision for all of ourstudents.
And so I came back to fatherand I said there's, there's
really nothing that we can dobecause we don't have everyone
on the same page.
And he's like, well, there isone thing that all of us do, and
(03:36):
if you don't know it yet,you're about to find out but we
teach all of our students, butthe grad on graduation is the
poor, the profile of a graduate,right, which are those five
pillars?
And I was like I was just blownaway Cause I, you know, now we
have a singular voice, you know,that can allow students to
accomplish everything we'veasked them to accomplish.
(03:56):
And I was like that's great,but it's not, you know,
measurable.
You can't.
I'm a, I'm a very smart goal,orientedoriented guy.
Outcomes, outcomes, and so I waslike you can't quantify loving,
you can't put a number onreligious, but you can if you do
(04:17):
an authentic assessment.
So you can.
If a student could come up toyou and say, this is how I am
loving, this is how I amreligious, and how powerful
would that be if we put it on adigital platform?
And now, all of a sudden, youhave, you know, these
opportunities for students tocreate these resumes and these
digital portfolios thatexemplify those five pillars.
(04:38):
And so that's kind of where theidea came from.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
I love it and I was.
I can't tell you guys, as a asa grad, how excited I was to see
the structure that you've comeup with to help so early in the
process.
Oh sure, like I told beth, I'mlike I, I.
How do I sign up for theproject?
Because this could help meright now when did you?
Speaker 2 (05:02):
when did you graduate ?
Speaker 1 (05:03):
2004, okay all right.
Yeah, so you know just I'm bigon language.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
True.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
So like how well you all put together for these young
men.
This is what this is going todo for you.
This is why it's important, andthe fact that you know I'm an
outcomes guy too.
What was the gentleman's name?
Was it Davis Long?
Is that the guy?
Was it Niles the gentleman?
(05:30):
The one in 60,000.
Oh, yeah, yeah, oh gosh.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Yeah, I'm like completely blanking on the name.
Well, like that's real.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Yeah, yeah, that was Davis Long.
Oh, that was.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Davis Long.
Yeah, that was Davis Long.
Like this is real, you know,and it's crazy.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
To give context to that.
What Steve's talking about isone of the examples we use in
the Camino Project of theimportance of this, because with
a bunch of 14-year-old boys atyou know 8 o'clock in the
morning, getting that across iskind of important to them and
making it important to them.
And so Davis is one of ourgraduating seniors this year.
(06:07):
Last year as a junior he cameto Tyler and said hey, I've been
hearing from my fellowclassmates about this project
you're doing, and Davis came ina little bit before this project
was really rolling, and so hissenior class is kind of our
first class that we've beenreally able to bring through the
system Probably not flawlessly,as all things start out Part of
(06:27):
entrepreneurship.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Exactly.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
But Davis came to Tyler and said hey, I'm getting
ready to apply to college and Iwant to stand out.
And I saw what you did withBrendan Orpals, who was on our
podcast two weeks ago, and Iwould like to do something
similar.
And so he and Tyler sat downand worked on a e-portfolio that
he could share with colleges,and Columbia happened to be do
something similar.
And so he and Tyler sat downand worked on a e-portfolio that
he could share with colleges,and Columbia happened to be one
of them.
And, with a 4% acceptance rate,you really need to stand out.
(06:53):
And so the cool end to thatstory is that Davis actually got
a phone call from Columbiaafter seeing his digital
portfolio to talk more about it.
And what's even better is Daviscould actually talk with
Columbia about what that meant,and not just, hey, I did this
because it's an admissionsrequirement, and that's kind of
funny because that's kind of howI circle into this whole story,
(07:14):
but it's more than that.
It's who I am as a person andas a graduate of this
institution, rockhurst HighSchool.
This is what you can expectfrom me, and I think they were
really impressed by that.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
And that's a really important point is that, you
know, not only are we helpingkids build these, you know
shareable platforms, but we'realso, like, teach them how to
articulate those things that arereally hard to talk about.
Like, how do you talk about,you know, in the context of
being loving?
Speaker 3 (07:41):
you know, to a college like.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
What does that mean?
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Yeah, and why is it important?
or particular to your academicjourney.
And so the funny thing is, asTyler was having that
conversation with FatherGiacobazzi, I was having a side
conversation with FatherGiacobazzi about, as Steve knows
, I'm a research queen.
I like to look at what otherschools are doing to kind of set
themselves apart.
And one thing I noticed therewere two areas that I didn't see
(08:05):
a lot of movement at Jesuitschools with.
That I thought were both kindof areas that as a school we
could improve on, and one ofthem was leadership and
leadership formalized leadershiptraining with young men.
So that was kind of the startof the Ignatian Leadership
Program that I'm very lucky tobe taking part in and I'm hoping
that I can recruit Stevenbecause he's got great ideas
(08:27):
there.
And then the other component tothat was I had seen a few
examples of not Jesuit schoolsbut other like schools doing
these digital e-portfolios and Isaid why don't we do anything
like this?
Because we're doing all thesegreat cool things with these
kids, but they have no way toarticulate that and my
admissions brain always goes totheir first step is here, but
(08:48):
how do we get them ready forthat next admission step?
How do we make them stand outagainst 60,000 other equally
capable applicants.
That's the thing.
It's not like you're going upagainst someone that doesn't
have the same GPA or the sameACT score.
What makes you unique, whatmakes you different.
And that's kind of where wecame to, and Tyler and I talk
all about trial and errorbecause that has been our
(09:11):
experience, but it's been agreat learning experience and
when we share with the students,because we even say like we've
tried some different platforms,we've tried some different
delivery methods and we haven'talways gotten it right.
So this year's freshmen arebenefiting from not only do we
have a great platform and Canva,but we have a really cemented
plan for all four years, whichis great and, yeah, we've seen
(09:34):
just today, the freshmen todaywere quiet.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
It was weird Monday morning, you know, and like wide
eyed, like literally likelistening to what we're saying
and and really taking it onthemselves, which is awesome, I
think you know and I want to saythis because it's I sit in a
very interesting seat andsomebody had mentioned this.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
I don't remember if it was laughlin or if it was
bosco, but they talked about how.
You know, rockhurst hassomething of this effect like
always changing but staying thesame.
I think this is a great way ofdemonstrating how, when you have
(10:12):
a culture like ours, innovationis at the forefront of like,
how are we being the best we canbe for our young men and
helping them be the best inwhatever the climate is that
they're dealing with?
You know, we didn't have STEMor steam when I was know.
We didn't have STEM or STEAM.
When I was here, we didn't haveemails or laptops, so, like,
just being able to adapt.
I think you guys are doing somephenomenal work, which leads me
(10:35):
to this question and avariation of this question.
So you mentioned the grad tograd.
We've talked about the grad tograd.
What is so important aboutthose pillars?
That these young men have tohear it and grow in it and live
it out, for it to stick Like.
What do you guys think is soimportant about those in a young
(10:56):
man's life?
Speaker 3 (10:56):
I think you kind of hit on it a little bit in what
you were just saying.
It's like what you just said.
You're like we didn't haveSTEAM when I was here.
Well, you did, actually.
You had science, you had math,you had the arts, but we didn't
talk about STEAM in the way wedo now.
So your whole idea of this ideaof we aren't necessarily
changing, we're evolving, iscompletely rooted in tradition,
(11:16):
right?
So grad at grad, which isstandard against all Jesuit
schools, so it doesn't matterwhere you go, but if you're at a
Jesuit school, that profilelooks the same.
It may not look the same incontext of how they live it out,
but it's the same qualities,right.
And so I think having a programthat's based in something that
is so fundamental, that is souniversal, that has been part of
(11:37):
the school for an extendedperiod of time not since the
beginning, but a very extendedperiod of time it says, okay,
this is something that we feelimportant, that not only our
students are focused on that.
And I think it comes down towhat the discussion we've had,
that like we are not just aboutbuilding intellectual young men,
we're about building whole men.
(11:58):
So like what does that look likethat looks like someone who is
well-versed, that's, in varioustypes of activities, that is
spiritual, and so thosequalities all come out in the
Gratitgrad, which I don't evenknow if we've actually said what
those are, so I'll go realquick.
This is what we use with theboys and this dates back to my
brother's time I believe it wasJoe that told me, but they used
(12:19):
to use the acronym CROIL toremember it because they used to
get quizzed on it.
So if you could remember CROIL,then you could remember which
one you were missing.
So it's committed to doingjustice, which we see that in
our service programs.
We see it in a lot of the workwe do on campus and with the
Jesuit ideals in place Religiouswe clearly see that on a
(12:40):
regular basis, right?
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
Between our four-year retreat program, our daily mass
, various different waysstudents can engage with their
religion or their spirituality.
O is open to growth.
That's what we're working withright now, right, tyler?
They're fresh, fresh, newfreshmen.
So they're being open to growthjust simply by walking into
this building and making achoice for themselves to expand
(13:03):
the horizon.
So being open to growth, I isintellectually competent.
We saved that one for lastfreshman year because I think
that is the hardest one for themto really quantify, because
they see intellectuallycompetent as doing well on a
test, yeah.
And we talk a lot about howsometimes failure is where you
find that intellectualcompetence.
Maybe it's that you forgot toturn in something and you
(13:26):
learned a lesson from that, ormaybe it's that you didn't study
as much as you should have andyou didn't do well on the test,
and so you learn from that andthat growth is so important to
that intellectually competent,because anyone can get A's.
But what does an A mean?
What does that effort actuallylook like and why is it
important?
And then the L is loving, whichI laugh because I feel like
(13:47):
that's literally what we've beentalking about for three weeks
right, Steve this idea ofbrotherhood, this idea of
community.
So what does it look like in thecontext of Rockhurst High
School to be loving?
Is it being a good teammate?
Is it being a good classmate?
Is it being a good leader?
Is it being a good follower orlistener?
So there's just a lot of greatopportunities for our boys that
are already engaged in thesethings.
(14:08):
It's just helping them identifythat and then curate it, which
Tyler does a great job ofexplaining that.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
I think that's why Beth and I are such good
partners with this, because I'mnot from a Catholic background,
I didn't go to a Catholic school, and so in my context it's all
about education, like looking atthe whole child.
Whether it's Maria Montessorior if it's traditional education
, you look at a rounded childand and that doesn't mean that
they're just getting straightA's and that's, that's all.
(14:35):
It's that they are all five ofthose things.
We go above and beyond.
It's not just about beingintellectually competent or
loving, which is traditionaleducation, but it's also asking
them to look at themselves, bereflective.
We do the exam every day.
It's really about these boysunderstanding their internal
(14:56):
growth.
A big part of being an educatoris also being a mentor and
being able to work with kids tomake sure they're growing in a
whole rounded way not just smart, not just a great athlete, not
just making sure you're atschool on time, but it's being
loving and being religious andbeing open to growth and
(15:18):
actually committing yourself tobeing just, which is different.
What a Do you all have afavorite?
Committed to doing justice ismy number one.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
I would say I think anyone working at a Jesuit
school is going to agree withthat in a lot of ways, I think,
because for me, that is how weliterally put our money where
our mouth is right.
We show that we are loving, weshow that we're religious, we
show that we're open to growthAll those other qualities
through the work we're doing outin the community.
(15:48):
I think you could probably talkto other people that would say
different ones, but for bothTyler and I, I think that's just
kind of rooted in who we are aspeople, and I love the fact
that that is the type of youngmen we're sending out in the
world.
One of the things we talk abouta lot in Camino is the idea of
being a good digital citizen,because these kids are growing
up in a world that we did notgrow up in, where their lives
(16:10):
are public, very public, and Ithink anytime we can take
technology whether it's socialmedia, whether it's AI, whatever
it might be that is problematicin society, and we can help
kids make better decisions, touse it in a wiser way, is a good
thing, and so one of the thingswe talk a lot in Camino about
(16:31):
is okay, you're doing all thiswork to present this great
professional image.
What does the rest of your lifelook like?
You know and I think we've alllearned this kind of in our own
professional life like make surethat everything is, you know,
on brand, if you will, and Ithink that's a skill that our
students are learning.
I think that's skills thatadults are still learning every
(16:51):
day is how do we interact withthis world of social media and
professional life, and so Ithink a really great tool that
we use is okay.
What does your Twitter looklike?
And I always use athletics.
I mean, I think both you and Iare guilty of this, but because
I have that in my mindset and Iknow it connects to some of our
population not all of ourpopulation, but I think it does,
especially with things likemock trial debate, robotics, now
(17:15):
being Misha, sponsored events.
I think it ties to all thosethings, and one of the things I
say is now being an athlete is ajob in college.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
So you're applying for a job, essentially when
you're talking to a coach, andso how do you want to look?
So I look at our boys' Twitter,sometimes because they're
connected to our Rockers one,and you can see a real change
between freshman and sophomoreyear of what their Twitter,
their social media, looks like.
Or Instagram, because they arestarting to now brand themselves
(17:44):
between those two years of I'ma silly kid that's sharing memes
and laughing at my friends tooh wait, I'm this.
I think of one of our graduatesfrom last year, jeb Ketting, who
I use as an example a lot, butyou could really see a
difference in his social mediabetween his freshman and
sophomore year of.
This is my job now and I, I, Iget it.
(18:07):
I get.
The kids need to be kids, butwhat this does is it allows them
to be creative.
It allows them to use socialmedia in a way that's really
productive.
Yeah, show, show your coolhighlight reels.
I mean Nick Johnson does somegreat work with you know our
sports programs and the video hedoes show you those highlight
reels, show your mock trialdebate Film.
(18:27):
That I heard and, tyler, maybeyou can talk to this more but,
like, our eSports team is goingto start having Twitch accounts
where they stream theircompetitions.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
We've got three boys with scholarships like offers
from colleges already.
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
So this is like not just a sports thing, this is a
life thing.
How are you leveraging the workthat you're doing to better
your future and how do youarticulate that?
Speaker 1 (18:49):
And, I think, the language.
Well, I'm big on leadership.
You know I have benefited fromgreat leadership.
I have suffered at the hands ofinappropriate leadership, so
leadership is one of my hotbuttons and where I've dealt
with it most was in I don't knowif you know this I mentor
(19:12):
athletes, so, like me and Bethtalk about this all the time.
It's just like you know,teaching kids the bigger picture
outside of.
Oh, I put the jersey on and Igo on the court and do stuff.
That's awesome.
So does everybody.
How are you separating yourself?
How are you taking thisopportunity and maximizing an
opportunity?
(19:33):
When you put your four or fiveyears in, what is the yield on
that?
You know, sadly, I've seenpeople go play college ball and
they leave with no degree.
That's yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
I wish I had a sound effect for that.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
Right.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
But it's just like being able to whether we're
talking about athletics, wherewe're talking about education,
we're talking about life gettingI coined it as take your life
seriously, because you are soexposed and wide open that one
little hiccup might cost youmore than you can imagine.
At the same time, you have somuch opportunity.
(20:14):
The e-sports is it the CaminoProject?
Is it, you know, whatever?
To advance your life and reallyput yourself in a position to
glorify God.
You have to hear it and youhave to be guided down that path
to be able to do that.
So I love it.
I wanted to ask this questionbecause you guys both I know you
(20:37):
, I know Beth a lot better thanI know you, but you seem like a
great guy.
What is something in yourexperience and maybe it was your
freshman year, or maybe it'sjust life experience that has
you so passionate about doingwhat you're doing for these
young men at Rockhurst HighSchool?
That's a great question.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
You know no one thing .
I don't think.
There was a time I worked atOperation Breakthrough for eight
and a half years and duringthat time we would partner with
Rockhurst High School every oncein a while to do these
challenges, where they wouldcome over and they would create
a small business or they wouldget a design thinking challenge
and we would, you know, givethem the space to do it and we
would pair them with some of ourstudents.
(21:16):
And I saw a difference in theboys at Rockhurst, not that they
were, you know like, wearingyou know suit coats, because
they were, and that threw me offtoo, because I've never seen
high school kids dressed nicelylike that but they would put on
this Rockhurst persona when theywere in public and it kind of
(21:41):
like I don't know.
It floored me in a way, but atthe same time it made me want to
understand why they could dowhat they do and if it, was real
or not, and so I worked withGreg Owsley he was my
predecessor before.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
Yeah, great guy, great guy.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
And you know his kindness and the way that he
taught and the way that heconnected with the boys also
showed me like there are leadersout there, like Greg leaders at
Rockhurst, that inspire theseboys and I never really had that
kind of mentor.
I mean, save for my dad, I wasan Eagle Scout.
So I have those boys in my lifethat I grew up with but I
(22:19):
really never had that highschool experience where it was
just different and otherworldlywhere it was just different and
otherworldly.
And so when Greg decided totransition out, he gave me a
call and he's like hey, youshould think about maybe taking
your skills that you've gleanedfrom working with the
underserved and see if you canpick those up and put them in
(22:40):
place at Rockers and really showthe boys how to be men for
others.
In the context of committed todoing justice, which you
mentioned earlier, like, what isyour favorite pillar?
Just that idea, the way thatthey say it.
It's not you're just, it'ssaying you're committed to doing
justice, like for all people.
So that commitment is reallywhat that whole key is about.
(23:00):
That whole pillar is about, andI wanted to be a part of it and
it just so happened,serendipitously, that when that
door opened I walked through andsince then it's just been like,
you know, just go, go, go.
And it's been a blast.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
I love it, Beth.
What about you?
Speaker 3 (23:15):
I think and we talked about this too like my high
school experience was not astraight narrow path, if you
will.
I struggled a lot academically.
You know executive functioning,which we see a lot with our
incoming freshmen, getting stuffturned in, holding myself
accountable.
So for me, what I like not justabout this project but those
(23:38):
pillars is that within them,half of it is a redemption arc.
Right, we don't expect them tobe able to do these things as
freshmen.
We don't expect them to be walkin and not make a mistake.
That's being open to growth.
It's okay.
I made this mistake.
I didn't do my first posterproject for Mr Baker and Ms Van
Dyke, so now I'm stuck with thembefore school working on that
(24:00):
because I didn't get it turnedin.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
I cannot believe that you were unlawful in high
school.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
Well, just ask my mother.
She'll vouch, but I will saythat for me, this opportunity
for failure and then to be ableto do that in a system that
supports you through it, isreally important.
And so what I see with our boysis a community and an
environment that allows them totake risks, allows them to make
mistakes and to learn from themin a very caring way.
(24:29):
It's not a you screwed up andnow you're going to be a screw
up for the rest of your life.
It is you made this choice.
Let's look at why you made itand let's fix that and let's
work together to make betterchoices at a different date and
I think that that is what isreally powerful so that they do
get to the point where Tylersees them as juniors and seniors
(24:50):
and they're out in thecommunity and they've
experienced those follies, right.
They've experienced thosesetbacks and they have learned
from them.
So they know when they go outand represent Rockerstown,
they're not going to act likeidiots, right.
They're not going to becausethey not only that, it stands
for them too, it's theircommunity, Whereas I think
sometimes, when you're younger,you don't think about that Like,
(25:12):
if I act like this, you knowI'm representing myself, but
also my community.
And so there's this, this senseof brotherhood and obligation
to represent it well, and Ithink you see that, even from
your time with your friends, youknow this.
This commitment to being arockers man does not stop when
you graduate.
It goes well beyond that, right.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
And I think, cause I got two more questions for you,
but I wanted to say this firstlike I love the fact that we're
giving them the permission tocare about things that actually
matter.
Yeah, like it's okay to besmart, it's okay to want to be
successful.
It's okay to be caring, it'sokay to yeah.
(25:54):
Just because you see somepeople acting like clowns,
you're held to a differentstandard and you should be, and
that's okay.
You know versus.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
And you owe that to yourself and I think that's what
I saw out in the community Likewhen.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
I saw Rockers boys.
You could tell the differencebetween a kid that's coming from
Rockers and a kid who's comingfrom you know wherever.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
I'm a big fan of expectation, like even when you
and I went down to Powell likeyeah, they were digging in the
garden and had bugs on them andthis and that, but they did it
in a way the way.
There were some that were alittle more rambunctious than
others, but not disrespectful,they're just more lively but
(26:33):
they handled themselves in a waythat represented themselves and
Rockhurst High School well.
Speaker 3 (26:35):
And that may have been that conversation we had on
the bus down.
It's a good reminder, though,because you know and that
freshman day for others, so it'stheir very first day on campus
and they're going.
We are saying that we trust youyour very first day on campus
and we are saying that we trustyou your very first day on
campus to go out and representus in the community, because not
only do we trust you to makegood decisions, but we want you
(26:58):
to know how important givingback to the community is.
That's our very first day, oursecond day, and we go to Mass
that day, their second day.
We start with Mass and thenthey get into the academics,
right.
So it's setting theseexpectations from day one, and
so one of the things I said onthe bus is you're wearing all of
you are wearing a shirt thatsays Rockers High School right
now.
So, whether or not you think it,you are representing Rockers,
(27:22):
and we've had a great seven-yearrelationship with the pal in
Casey K and officer Tomasek andall of his people over there,
who are awesome.
I'm not going to let you actlike a fool, because officer
Tomasek and the people at thepal do such important work for
our community and they don'tneed that.
And but, like you said, wedidn't even have to do that.
(27:45):
Once they were there, they wereinvested in the work.
It was not glamorous work, butthey felt a sense of
accomplishment, they understoodwhy they were doing it and it
wasn't time where we had to dealwith behavior issues, because
they were in it and they wereall in it and they didn't know
each other.
You know, and so they weregetting.
This first experience ofbrotherhood was working together
towards a common goal withouthaving anything else keeping
(28:08):
them in common other than theirrocker chocolates, which I think
is great.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
All right, here we go .
What is one thing?
Speaker 2 (28:20):
And I always feel bad when I say one thing because
that's challenging.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
no-transcript well.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
So the camino project is one of the spinning plates
that I have right, but there aremultiple plates up in the sky,
so one of them that I'm reallyexcited about is kicking off
this the esports in a differentway this year.
The captain came to me twoyears ago.
I was like, hey, mr baker, I'mreally good at this video game.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
Can we get what game Overwatch?
Okay, yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
Overwatch two, sorry yeah.
And he's like I'm really goodat this game.
Do we have an e-sports team?
I'm like no, but let's startone.
Man Like that's it checks allthe boxes.
A kid wants to do this thing,but he's not being supported.
It's his niche and he's not asports guy.
He's not an academic, althoughhe is a pretty good academic.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
He's going to be a doctor one day.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
But this boy was really wanting to do this and I
could see the fire, and so westarted this really quiet
esports team.
We would take monitors from myoffice and walk them downstairs,
plug them in commitment.
Speaker 3 (29:32):
Yeah, they would bring their own technology.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
They would bring their own you know, gaming
systems and they would sit thereand they would play for two
hours and we'd have to pickeverything up and take it all
back upstairs and put it back inmy office and we did that every
like three times a week, youknow, for the entire year and
these kids were five of themwere talking to each other and
cheering each other on andthey're playing online.
They're playing at home, like,no matter what snow day, it
(29:55):
didn't matter, we're stillplaying Like you know it's.
And it was that, thatcamaraderie, that that
brotherhood, that love.
You know that that I was seeingin this.
So this year we doubled down.
We expanded our, our computerscience program.
We got a new hire, gabby'sfantastic.
You guys should have her on.
If you can, we'll find her.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
She took over the esports.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
That's her wheelhouse Now.
The kids are super excitedabout joining this new platform.
We have funding for it now, soit's official.
I'm looking forward to it justskyrocket Again.
I mentioned earlier we havethree kids who got scholarships
offers from differentuniversities.
These are the kids that usuallyI mean sometimes they fall
(30:34):
through the cracks.
I mean esports and onlinegaming.
You know, you kind of like ageout a bit, a little bit, unless
you really double down and youwant to be a professional goal
right.
And these kids are serious Imean serious players love it.
Yeah, we have an e-chess teamnow that I I mean, they were
ranked top 10 in the nation lastyear.
I saw the little plaque there.
Yeah, first year hit the groundrunning and these I mean we've
(30:57):
got potential and so I'm reallyexcited to see what that
potential is and what they cando this year.
Speaker 3 (31:02):
They also have a great space down on our first
floor, so if you're on campusfor a tour, be sure you check
that out, and it's really, Ithink it's funny.
Since I've been here, I've seentwo spaces really transformed
by students.
One was our weight room and acommitment from our students to
want to have a betterenvironment to work out, and, as
(31:23):
Steve and I always compliment,I mean, it's always everything's
put back where it belongs everysingle time because they take
pride in it.
And the same thing with youresports room.
I see these kids treat thefurniture, treat the environment
with such respect, because it'ssomething that they have wanted
and they've earned, and I thinkthat makes it so much more
important To answer yourquestion, though, steve, the
(31:44):
thing that I am most lookingforward to, which I always look
forward to, is getting to seethe growth of these freshmen,
because I always joke, I spend alot of my time in K through
eight education, and my firstjobs were teaching
kindergartners through eighthgraders and I always say
kindergartners, for about almostthe full year, are really like
(32:05):
second semester preschoolers.
There's a lot of like basicthings we're going over waiting
your turn, you know, raisingyour hand, being patient, you
know and it's kind of the sameway with freshmen right I spent
a lot of my time in middleschool and I will tell you
everything I see about our boysand where they struggle and
where they thrive is still thatdevelopmental stage of what
(32:28):
they're.
What you're seeing in eighthgrade I'm kind of at the top of
my game, but I'm also veryinsecure at the top of my game.
And so watching that growth andwe always talk about it is, by
the end of the Camino project weprobably, on average, have
around seven boys that haven'tfully committed to it, right,
haven't completed it to ourlevel of expectation Seven out
(32:52):
of last year, 200.
That's saying that a largemajority of them are buying in.
But what that also tells us isanother really important thing
in the sense that, okay, theseseven boys didn't commit, and
that then becomes a biggerquestion why didn't they commit?
Are they not feeling likethey're going to make it through
to graduation, cause this istied to their graduation
requirement?
(33:12):
Does that mean that they're notfeeling the sense of support
that they need to complete it?
So it's become like anotherintervention point for our
counseling department, for ouracademics department or sorry
department and even our studentlife, to say, okay, is this kid
not involved and that's why hedidn't do his Open to Growth?
(33:36):
Because he's not doing anything,he's just showing up on campus
and going through the day.
So it allows us this greatopportunity to check in with our
freshmen throughout the schoolyear and to see where they're at
and then to make those changesand those interventions to make
them feel a part of thiscommunity or, if they're not
feeling a part of this community, address what that is.
And I think that that is one ofthe things I always look
forward to and tyler will say Iprobably don't look forward to
it in may, when I'm chasing themdown during finals to come see
(33:58):
me.
But I, in a way, I do, becauseI think that's where my, my
freshman experience relates tothem.
I wish I had had someonechasing me down and saying, hey,
if you continue down this it'sgoing to be a huge thing for you
to dig out of, and that's whatwe don't allow them to do here.
Is we really stop that trainfrom exiting the station?
(34:19):
So yeah, that's what I lookforward to is the growth of our
freshmen from day one to, youknow, day 365.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
Got it All right?
Last question, and a veryimportant one If you could tell
a prospective family the numberone reason they should send
their son to Rockhurst, whatwould it be?
Speaker 3 (34:39):
This is probably unfair because this is 98
percent of my job, but I willsay, you know, being the sister
of two former Hocklets and thedaughter of one and the
granddaughter of one, there havebeen times I've loved rockers
and there have been times thatI'm like didn't love it, and I
think what I learned the most bycoming here as an adult and
working here is all the thingsthat I would get frustrated with
(35:03):
my brothers about when theywere at rockers was really not
anything to do with rockers andactually it's some of the
qualities now that I think makethem stand out.
You know I said young men.
They like that.
Stand out, young men.
We'll call them young men stuff.
Is that confidence which Iequated to cockiness right?
Speaker 1 (35:21):
When.
Speaker 3 (35:21):
I was in high school like, oh, my brother's so full
of himself.
It was a confidence that wasembedded in them and probably in
the same way I saw that ascockiness, they saw my
confidence that I was gettingfrom St Teresa's at the time as
a bossiness or a pushiness.
So it's funny because onceyou're in that environment, my
brothers haven't had theopportunity Well, I guess my
(35:47):
older brother's kind of gettingthe opportunity to experience St
Teresa's as a father now.
But having the uniqueexperience now of being part of
that community and seeing whatthat actually what's happening,
that formation is so awesome.
And so I always say you can getan education anywhere, right,
you can get an excellenteducation anywhere in the city.
I don't think you can get theformation experience that the
boys here get at other places.
(36:08):
And why I say that is theall-male environment allows for
a vulnerability that you cannotget in another environment.
They are not afraid to takerisks.
They're not afraid to trythings that may not seem like
typical male things to do likechoir.
Choir is our biggestco-curricular on campus.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
And.
Speaker 3 (36:28):
I think that vulnerability and that ability
to try things out of yourcomfort zone is what sets them
apart.
So that's what I always say.
The formation is what I wouldtell a parent.
Speaker 2 (36:39):
Number one, to kind of go off that too the network,
Like just the network of all theamazing graduates from rockers
that are out there in the worldand it's everywhere.
I mean I didn't really realizethat my first couple of years,
but now that I've had, you know,four classes, you know graduate
and and these kids are outthere, I have kids that email me
(37:02):
all the time you know, saying,hey, mr Baker, I'm at KU or
wherever right now and I'mlooking at, I'm working on
trying to find my first job,what do you recommend?
Whatever, and then I connectthem with other people in the
network outside and when Ireached out to Burns and
McDonald just the other day,found an alumni and he was like
I have 10 people, 10 people hereon campus that want to work
(37:22):
with you guys, however you wantto, in whatever context you want
.
They're alumni, they'regraduates from, from Rockers,
and they're waiting for you totalk to them and that's
everywhere.
I mean that's not.
I mean you, right, you're analumni.
Yeah, so how that network hasimpacted you in your personal
life.
All the boys that graduated 260freshmen this year, like 200
graduated last year all thosekids are out there right now.
(37:42):
Right, I mean like seeds in thewind and it's just, it's an
amazing network.
So that's I mean, number onereason that my son will come to
Rockhurst High School is becauseof that network, that
experience, that formation.
I love it.
Speaker 1 (37:55):
I love it and I can't say it enough.
You know whether we're talkingabout the network, whether we're
talking about that confidence,that funny.
I had that convo with somebodyyears ago and you know, working
with athletes, working withyoung people and big on having
people be successful, there wasthis, there is this, whatever
(38:16):
you want, to call it?
let's call it animosity towards,towards rockers, hawklets and
all of this.
And I just said to it was acouple I said why wouldn't we
want these young men to beconfident?
Right, and it's not fakeconfidence because they've put
the work in, they've done thework, they've been challenged to
do the work and then they reapthe benefits of the work.
(38:37):
And what you miss is how theyhad to overcome whatever
failures and setbacks along theway for that final product.
And then we want them to bewhat Cheapish, right.
Speaker 2 (38:51):
And for others it doesn't make any sense.
Speaker 1 (38:52):
They go out in the world hearts on fire to do
something.
Speaker 2 (38:57):
Yeah, as Beth said, the first thing freshmen do is
get out there.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
Yeah, you know and go get it.
So I appreciate you guys.
This is a, this is fun and andI I want to sign up for the
program.
Let me figure it out.
We'll get you a job.
Speaker 3 (39:11):
We'll have Steve's portfolio available on our
website by the end of the yearso you guys can come back and
check it out.
But yeah, thanks for having us,Steve, and thanks, Tyler, for
not just joining us today butfor being my partner on this
journey.
Yeah, I've really enjoyedworking with Tyler.
Speaker 2 (39:28):
It's been a great collaboration.
Speaker 3 (39:29):
I'm back at you.
Yeah, so next week we have thenew man on campus, Father Kramer
, joining us.
Oh yeah, If you have not metFather Kramer yet, you are going
to be so excited for thispodcast.
He brings a fire and energylike no other.
Speaker 1 (39:42):
Yeah, looking forward to it, guys, and this has been
another episode of Rock Talk.
This is Steve Beth and Tylerand
Welcome to Rock Talk, the official podcast of
Rockhurst High School in KansasCity, missouri, where we explore
the voices, values and vibrantlife of our Jesuit college prep
community, hosted by theadmissions and marketing team.
Each episode featuresconversations with students,
faculty alumni and specialguests, as we share stories of
(00:23):
academic excellence, faithformation, brotherhood and
service.
Whether we share stories ofacademic excellence, faith
formation, brotherhood andservice, whether you're a
prospective family, a proudalumnus or simply curious about
what makes Rockhurst unique,this is your inside look at life
at the Rock.
And this is Steve Redmond.
I'm going to be your host todayand this is going to be a
special episode.
(00:43):
My co-host is here, beth, butshe's on the other side of the
table and she's giving me fullcontrol to run this thing, which
is risky, we'll see but this isSteve.
Today we have Tyler Baker withus, who I'll let him introduce
himself in a second, and then wehave Beth here as well.
And Beth, how are you feelingtoday?
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Feeling great, just coming off a great Camino
Ignaciano class with our secondround of freshmen.
We're excited.
We're even more excited to talkCamino today with you, steve.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Yeah, and Tyler, go ahead and introduce yourself to
the listeners we have and tellthem about yourself.
Sounds good.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Well, first and foremost, thanks for having me.
This is a cool experience.
I don't think I've ever been ona podcast before, so this is
fun.
My name is Tyler Baker.
I'm the director ofexperiential learning here at
Rockhurst, and what that meansis I get to work with all of our
boys to get them out into thecommunity and teach them how to
be professional.
And I guess today we're talkingabout in the context of a
(01:47):
project that we started a coupleyears ago called Camino Camino
Ignisiano, which means thepathway forward in the Ignatian
light.
So Camino means path or roadway, and so all of the boys get to
design an e-portfolio by theirjunior year to be able to send
to colleges and jobs people outin the community Cool cool, cool
(02:10):
, and I wanted to jump right inon this because I told Beth I
got to sit in on you all'spresentation, which I didn't.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
I don't think I told you that it was outstanding.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Oh, thank you, Thank you and.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
I mean, really I was fired up and envious because
when I was here we didn't have aproject like this.
But I think it's super cool andI think you guys did a great
job.
And what happened for this tobecome a part of the freshman
(02:43):
experience?
Well, at least in the contextthat I experienced, right, we
were talking to the freshmen.
Well, you said you came up withthis a couple years ago, like
where did the idea or thethought come from?
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Well, so initially, when I started Father Giacobazzi
, which was our principal lastyear, he came up to me and he
said how are you going to tieSTEAM or STEM across all of the
curriculum here?
And I had to stop for a secondand think about.
You know what are the needs ofthe students and you know we
(03:13):
have so many classes here and somany different pathways and
avenues for students to go downthat it was almost impossible
for me to create kind of likeyou know, one, you know,
singular vision for all of ourstudents.
And so I came back to fatherand I said there's, there's
really nothing that we can dobecause we don't have everyone
on the same page.
And he's like, well, there isone thing that all of us do, and
(03:36):
if you don't know it yet,you're about to find out but we
teach all of our students, butthe grad on graduation is the
poor, the profile of a graduate,right, which are those five
pillars?
And I was like I was just blownaway Cause I, you know, now we
have a singular voice, you know,that can allow students to
accomplish everything we'veasked them to accomplish.
(03:56):
And I was like that's great,but it's not, you know,
measurable.
You can't.
I'm a, I'm a very smart goal,orientedoriented guy.
Outcomes, outcomes, and so I waslike you can't quantify loving,
you can't put a number onreligious, but you can if you do
(04:17):
an authentic assessment.
So you can.
If a student could come up toyou and say, this is how I am
loving, this is how I amreligious, and how powerful
would that be if we put it on adigital platform?
And now, all of a sudden, youhave, you know, these
opportunities for students tocreate these resumes and these
digital portfolios thatexemplify those five pillars.
(04:38):
And so that's kind of where theidea came from.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
I love it and I was.
I can't tell you guys, as a asa grad, how excited I was to see
the structure that you've comeup with to help so early in the
process.
Oh sure, like I told beth, I'mlike I, I.
How do I sign up for theproject?
Because this could help meright now when did you?
Speaker 2 (05:02):
when did you graduate ?
Speaker 1 (05:03):
2004, okay all right.
Yeah, so you know just I'm bigon language.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
True.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
So like how well you all put together for these young
men.
This is what this is going todo for you.
This is why it's important, andthe fact that you know I'm an
outcomes guy too.
What was the gentleman's name?
Was it Davis Long?
Is that the guy?
Was it Niles the gentleman?
(05:30):
The one in 60,000.
Oh, yeah, yeah, oh gosh.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Yeah, I'm like completely blanking on the name.
Well, like that's real.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Yeah, yeah, that was Davis Long.
Oh, that was.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Davis Long.
Yeah, that was Davis Long.
Like this is real, you know,and it's crazy.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
To give context to that.
What Steve's talking about isone of the examples we use in
the Camino Project of theimportance of this, because with
a bunch of 14-year-old boys atyou know 8 o'clock in the
morning, getting that across iskind of important to them and
making it important to them.
And so Davis is one of ourgraduating seniors this year.
(06:07):
Last year as a junior he cameto Tyler and said hey, I've been
hearing from my fellowclassmates about this project
you're doing, and Davis came ina little bit before this project
was really rolling, and so hissenior class is kind of our
first class that we've beenreally able to bring through the
system Probably not flawlessly,as all things start out Part of
(06:27):
entrepreneurship.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Exactly.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
But Davis came to Tyler and said hey, I'm getting
ready to apply to college and Iwant to stand out.
And I saw what you did withBrendan Orpals, who was on our
podcast two weeks ago, and Iwould like to do something
similar.
And so he and Tyler sat downand worked on a e-portfolio that
he could share with colleges,and Columbia happened to be do
something similar.
And so he and Tyler sat downand worked on a e-portfolio that
he could share with colleges,and Columbia happened to be one
of them.
And, with a 4% acceptance rate,you really need to stand out.
(06:53):
And so the cool end to thatstory is that Davis actually got
a phone call from Columbiaafter seeing his digital
portfolio to talk more about it.
And what's even better is Daviscould actually talk with
Columbia about what that meant,and not just, hey, I did this
because it's an admissionsrequirement, and that's kind of
funny because that's kind of howI circle into this whole story,
(07:14):
but it's more than that.
It's who I am as a person andas a graduate of this
institution, rockhurst HighSchool.
This is what you can expectfrom me, and I think they were
really impressed by that.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
And that's a really important point is that, you
know, not only are we helpingkids build these, you know
shareable platforms, but we'realso, like, teach them how to
articulate those things that arereally hard to talk about.
Like, how do you talk about,you know, in the context of
being loving?
Speaker 3 (07:41):
you know, to a college like.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
What does that mean?
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Yeah, and why is it important?
or particular to your academicjourney.
And so the funny thing is, asTyler was having that
conversation with FatherGiacobazzi, I was having a side
conversation with FatherGiacobazzi about, as Steve knows
, I'm a research queen.
I like to look at what otherschools are doing to kind of set
themselves apart.
And one thing I noticed therewere two areas that I didn't see
(08:05):
a lot of movement at Jesuitschools with.
That I thought were both kindof areas that as a school we
could improve on, and one ofthem was leadership and
leadership formalized leadershiptraining with young men.
So that was kind of the startof the Ignatian Leadership
Program that I'm very lucky tobe taking part in and I'm hoping
that I can recruit Stevenbecause he's got great ideas
(08:27):
there.
And then the other component tothat was I had seen a few
examples of not Jesuit schoolsbut other like schools doing
these digital e-portfolios and Isaid why don't we do anything
like this?
Because we're doing all thesegreat cool things with these
kids, but they have no way toarticulate that and my
admissions brain always goes totheir first step is here, but
(08:48):
how do we get them ready forthat next admission step?
How do we make them stand outagainst 60,000 other equally
capable applicants.
That's the thing.
It's not like you're going upagainst someone that doesn't
have the same GPA or the sameACT score.
What makes you unique, whatmakes you different.
And that's kind of where wecame to, and Tyler and I talk
all about trial and errorbecause that has been our
(09:11):
experience, but it's been agreat learning experience and
when we share with the students,because we even say like we've
tried some different platforms,we've tried some different
delivery methods and we haven'talways gotten it right.
So this year's freshmen arebenefiting from not only do we
have a great platform and Canva,but we have a really cemented
plan for all four years, whichis great and, yeah, we've seen
(09:34):
just today, the freshmen todaywere quiet.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
It was weird Monday morning, you know, and like wide
eyed, like literally likelistening to what we're saying
and and really taking it onthemselves, which is awesome, I
think you know and I want to saythis because it's I sit in a
very interesting seat andsomebody had mentioned this.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
I don't remember if it was laughlin or if it was
bosco, but they talked about how.
You know, rockhurst hassomething of this effect like
always changing but staying thesame.
I think this is a great way ofdemonstrating how, when you have
(10:12):
a culture like ours, innovationis at the forefront of like,
how are we being the best we canbe for our young men and
helping them be the best inwhatever the climate is that
they're dealing with?
You know, we didn't have STEMor steam when I was know.
We didn't have STEM or STEAM.
When I was here, we didn't haveemails or laptops, so, like,
just being able to adapt.
I think you guys are doing somephenomenal work, which leads me
(10:35):
to this question and avariation of this question.
So you mentioned the grad tograd.
We've talked about the grad tograd.
What is so important aboutthose pillars?
That these young men have tohear it and grow in it and live
it out, for it to stick Like.
What do you guys think is soimportant about those in a young
(10:56):
man's life?
Speaker 3 (10:56):
I think you kind of hit on it a little bit in what
you were just saying.
It's like what you just said.
You're like we didn't haveSTEAM when I was here.
Well, you did, actually.
You had science, you had math,you had the arts, but we didn't
talk about STEAM in the way wedo now.
So your whole idea of this ideaof we aren't necessarily
changing, we're evolving, iscompletely rooted in tradition,
(11:16):
right?
So grad at grad, which isstandard against all Jesuit
schools, so it doesn't matterwhere you go, but if you're at a
Jesuit school, that profilelooks the same.
It may not look the same incontext of how they live it out,
but it's the same qualities,right.
And so I think having a programthat's based in something that
is so fundamental, that is souniversal, that has been part of
(11:37):
the school for an extendedperiod of time not since the
beginning, but a very extendedperiod of time it says, okay,
this is something that we feelimportant, that not only our
students are focused on that.
And I think it comes down towhat the discussion we've had,
that like we are not just aboutbuilding intellectual young men,
we're about building whole men.
(11:58):
So like what does that look likethat looks like someone who is
well-versed, that's, in varioustypes of activities, that is
spiritual, and so thosequalities all come out in the
Gratitgrad, which I don't evenknow if we've actually said what
those are, so I'll go realquick.
This is what we use with theboys and this dates back to my
brother's time I believe it wasJoe that told me, but they used
(12:19):
to use the acronym CROIL toremember it because they used to
get quizzed on it.
So if you could remember CROIL,then you could remember which
one you were missing.
So it's committed to doingjustice, which we see that in
our service programs.
We see it in a lot of the workwe do on campus and with the
Jesuit ideals in place Religiouswe clearly see that on a
(12:40):
regular basis, right?
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
Between our four-year retreat program, our daily mass
, various different waysstudents can engage with their
religion or their spirituality.
O is open to growth.
That's what we're working withright now, right, tyler?
They're fresh, fresh, newfreshmen.
So they're being open to growthjust simply by walking into
this building and making achoice for themselves to expand
(13:03):
the horizon.
So being open to growth, I isintellectually competent.
We saved that one for lastfreshman year because I think
that is the hardest one for themto really quantify, because
they see intellectuallycompetent as doing well on a
test, yeah.
And we talk a lot about howsometimes failure is where you
find that intellectualcompetence.
Maybe it's that you forgot toturn in something and you
(13:26):
learned a lesson from that, ormaybe it's that you didn't study
as much as you should have andyou didn't do well on the test,
and so you learn from that andthat growth is so important to
that intellectually competent,because anyone can get A's.
But what does an A mean?
What does that effort actuallylook like and why is it
important?
And then the L is loving, whichI laugh because I feel like
(13:47):
that's literally what we've beentalking about for three weeks
right, Steve this idea ofbrotherhood, this idea of
community.
So what does it look like in thecontext of Rockhurst High
School to be loving?
Is it being a good teammate?
Is it being a good classmate?
Is it being a good leader?
Is it being a good follower orlistener?
So there's just a lot of greatopportunities for our boys that
are already engaged in thesethings.
(14:08):
It's just helping them identifythat and then curate it, which
Tyler does a great job ofexplaining that.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
I think that's why Beth and I are such good
partners with this, because I'mnot from a Catholic background,
I didn't go to a Catholic school, and so in my context it's all
about education, like looking atthe whole child.
Whether it's Maria Montessorior if it's traditional education
, you look at a rounded childand and that doesn't mean that
they're just getting straightA's and that's, that's all.
(14:35):
It's that they are all five ofthose things.
We go above and beyond.
It's not just about beingintellectually competent or
loving, which is traditionaleducation, but it's also asking
them to look at themselves, bereflective.
We do the exam every day.
It's really about these boysunderstanding their internal
(14:56):
growth.
A big part of being an educatoris also being a mentor and
being able to work with kids tomake sure they're growing in a
whole rounded way not just smart, not just a great athlete, not
just making sure you're atschool on time, but it's being
loving and being religious andbeing open to growth and
(15:18):
actually committing yourself tobeing just, which is different.
What a Do you all have afavorite?
Committed to doing justice ismy number one.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
I would say I think anyone working at a Jesuit
school is going to agree withthat in a lot of ways, I think,
because for me, that is how weliterally put our money where
our mouth is right.
We show that we are loving, weshow that we're religious, we
show that we're open to growthAll those other qualities
through the work we're doing outin the community.
(15:48):
I think you could probably talkto other people that would say
different ones, but for bothTyler and I, I think that's just
kind of rooted in who we are aspeople, and I love the fact
that that is the type of youngmen we're sending out in the
world.
One of the things we talk abouta lot in Camino is the idea of
being a good digital citizen,because these kids are growing
up in a world that we did notgrow up in, where their lives
(16:10):
are public, very public, and Ithink anytime we can take
technology whether it's socialmedia, whether it's AI, whatever
it might be that is problematicin society, and we can help
kids make better decisions, touse it in a wiser way, is a good
thing, and so one of the thingswe talk a lot in Camino about
(16:31):
is okay, you're doing all thiswork to present this great
professional image.
What does the rest of your lifelook like?
You know and I think we've alllearned this kind of in our own
professional life like make surethat everything is, you know,
on brand, if you will, and Ithink that's a skill that our
students are learning.
I think that's skills thatadults are still learning every
(16:51):
day is how do we interact withthis world of social media and
professional life, and so Ithink a really great tool that
we use is okay.
What does your Twitter looklike?
And I always use athletics.
I mean, I think both you and Iare guilty of this, but because
I have that in my mindset and Iknow it connects to some of our
population not all of ourpopulation, but I think it does,
especially with things likemock trial debate, robotics, now
(17:15):
being Misha, sponsored events.
I think it ties to all thosethings, and one of the things I
say is now being an athlete is ajob in college.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
So you're applying for a job, essentially when
you're talking to a coach, andso how do you want to look?
So I look at our boys' Twitter,sometimes because they're
connected to our Rockers one,and you can see a real change
between freshman and sophomoreyear of what their Twitter,
their social media, looks like.
Or Instagram, because they arestarting to now brand themselves
(17:44):
between those two years of I'ma silly kid that's sharing memes
and laughing at my friends tooh wait, I'm this.
I think of one of our graduatesfrom last year, jeb Ketting, who
I use as an example a lot, butyou could really see a
difference in his social mediabetween his freshman and
sophomore year of.
This is my job now and I, I, Iget it.
(18:07):
I get.
The kids need to be kids, butwhat this does is it allows them
to be creative.
It allows them to use socialmedia in a way that's really
productive.
Yeah, show, show your coolhighlight reels.
I mean Nick Johnson does somegreat work with you know our
sports programs and the video hedoes show you those highlight
reels, show your mock trialdebate Film.
(18:27):
That I heard and, tyler, maybeyou can talk to this more but,
like, our eSports team is goingto start having Twitch accounts
where they stream theircompetitions.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
We've got three boys with scholarships like offers
from colleges already.
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
So this is like not just a sports thing, this is a
life thing.
How are you leveraging the workthat you're doing to better
your future and how do youarticulate that?
Speaker 1 (18:49):
And, I think, the language.
Well, I'm big on leadership.
You know I have benefited fromgreat leadership.
I have suffered at the hands ofinappropriate leadership, so
leadership is one of my hotbuttons and where I've dealt
with it most was in I don't knowif you know this I mentor
(19:12):
athletes, so, like me and Bethtalk about this all the time.
It's just like you know,teaching kids the bigger picture
outside of.
Oh, I put the jersey on and Igo on the court and do stuff.
That's awesome.
So does everybody.
How are you separating yourself?
How are you taking thisopportunity and maximizing an
opportunity?
(19:33):
When you put your four or fiveyears in, what is the yield on
that?
You know, sadly, I've seenpeople go play college ball and
they leave with no degree.
That's yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
I wish I had a sound effect for that.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
Right.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
But it's just like being able to whether we're
talking about athletics, wherewe're talking about education,
we're talking about life gettingI coined it as take your life
seriously, because you are soexposed and wide open that one
little hiccup might cost youmore than you can imagine.
At the same time, you have somuch opportunity.
(20:14):
The e-sports is it the CaminoProject?
Is it, you know, whatever?
To advance your life and reallyput yourself in a position to
glorify God.
You have to hear it and youhave to be guided down that path
to be able to do that.
So I love it.
I wanted to ask this questionbecause you guys both I know you
(20:37):
, I know Beth a lot better thanI know you, but you seem like a
great guy.
What is something in yourexperience and maybe it was your
freshman year, or maybe it'sjust life experience that has
you so passionate about doingwhat you're doing for these
young men at Rockhurst HighSchool?
That's a great question.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
You know no one thing .
I don't think.
There was a time I worked atOperation Breakthrough for eight
and a half years and duringthat time we would partner with
Rockhurst High School every oncein a while to do these
challenges, where they wouldcome over and they would create
a small business or they wouldget a design thinking challenge
and we would, you know, givethem the space to do it and we
would pair them with some of ourstudents.
(21:16):
And I saw a difference in theboys at Rockhurst, not that they
were, you know like, wearingyou know suit coats, because
they were, and that threw me offtoo, because I've never seen
high school kids dressed nicelylike that but they would put on
this Rockhurst persona when theywere in public and it kind of
(21:41):
like I don't know.
It floored me in a way, but atthe same time it made me want to
understand why they could dowhat they do and if it, was real
or not, and so I worked withGreg Owsley he was my
predecessor before.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
Yeah, great guy, great guy.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
And you know his kindness and the way that he
taught and the way that heconnected with the boys also
showed me like there are leadersout there, like Greg leaders at
Rockhurst, that inspire theseboys and I never really had that
kind of mentor.
I mean, save for my dad, I wasan Eagle Scout.
So I have those boys in my lifethat I grew up with but I
(22:19):
really never had that highschool experience where it was
just different and otherworldlywhere it was just different and
otherworldly.
And so when Greg decided totransition out, he gave me a
call and he's like hey, youshould think about maybe taking
your skills that you've gleanedfrom working with the
underserved and see if you canpick those up and put them in
(22:40):
place at Rockers and really showthe boys how to be men for
others.
In the context of committed todoing justice, which you
mentioned earlier, like, what isyour favorite pillar?
Just that idea, the way thatthey say it.
It's not you're just, it'ssaying you're committed to doing
justice, like for all people.
So that commitment is reallywhat that whole key is about.
(23:00):
That whole pillar is about, andI wanted to be a part of it and
it just so happened,serendipitously, that when that
door opened I walked through andsince then it's just been like,
you know, just go, go, go.
And it's been a blast.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
I love it, Beth.
What about you?
Speaker 3 (23:15):
I think and we talked about this too like my high
school experience was not astraight narrow path, if you
will.
I struggled a lot academically.
You know executive functioning,which we see a lot with our
incoming freshmen, getting stuffturned in, holding myself
accountable.
So for me, what I like not justabout this project but those
(23:38):
pillars is that within them,half of it is a redemption arc.
Right, we don't expect them tobe able to do these things as
freshmen.
We don't expect them to be walkin and not make a mistake.
That's being open to growth.
It's okay.
I made this mistake.
I didn't do my first posterproject for Mr Baker and Ms Van
Dyke, so now I'm stuck with thembefore school working on that
(24:00):
because I didn't get it turnedin.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
I cannot believe that you were unlawful in high
school.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
Well, just ask my mother.
She'll vouch, but I will saythat for me, this opportunity
for failure and then to be ableto do that in a system that
supports you through it, isreally important.
And so what I see with our boysis a community and an
environment that allows them totake risks, allows them to make
mistakes and to learn from themin a very caring way.
(24:29):
It's not a you screwed up andnow you're going to be a screw
up for the rest of your life.
It is you made this choice.
Let's look at why you made itand let's fix that and let's
work together to make betterchoices at a different date and
I think that that is what isreally powerful so that they do
get to the point where Tylersees them as juniors and seniors
(24:50):
and they're out in thecommunity and they've
experienced those follies, right.
They've experienced thosesetbacks and they have learned
from them.
So they know when they go outand represent Rockerstown,
they're not going to act likeidiots, right.
They're not going to becausethey not only that, it stands
for them too, it's theircommunity, Whereas I think
sometimes, when you're younger,you don't think about that Like,
(25:12):
if I act like this, you knowI'm representing myself, but
also my community.
And so there's this, this senseof brotherhood and obligation
to represent it well, and Ithink you see that, even from
your time with your friends, youknow this.
This commitment to being arockers man does not stop when
you graduate.
It goes well beyond that, right.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
And I think, cause I got two more questions for you,
but I wanted to say this firstlike I love the fact that we're
giving them the permission tocare about things that actually
matter.
Yeah, like it's okay to besmart, it's okay to want to be
successful.
It's okay to be caring, it'sokay to yeah.
(25:54):
Just because you see somepeople acting like clowns,
you're held to a differentstandard and you should be, and
that's okay.
You know versus.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
And you owe that to yourself and I think that's what
I saw out in the community Likewhen.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
I saw Rockers boys.
You could tell the differencebetween a kid that's coming from
Rockers and a kid who's comingfrom you know wherever.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
I'm a big fan of expectation, like even when you
and I went down to Powell likeyeah, they were digging in the
garden and had bugs on them andthis and that, but they did it
in a way the way.
There were some that were alittle more rambunctious than
others, but not disrespectful,they're just more lively but
(26:33):
they handled themselves in a waythat represented themselves and
Rockhurst High School well.
Speaker 3 (26:35):
And that may have been that conversation we had on
the bus down.
It's a good reminder, though,because you know and that
freshman day for others, so it'stheir very first day on campus
and they're going.
We are saying that we trust youyour very first day on campus
and we are saying that we trustyou your very first day on
campus to go out and representus in the community, because not
only do we trust you to makegood decisions, but we want you
(26:58):
to know how important givingback to the community is.
That's our very first day, oursecond day, and we go to Mass
that day, their second day.
We start with Mass and thenthey get into the academics,
right.
So it's setting theseexpectations from day one, and
so one of the things I said onthe bus is you're wearing all of
you are wearing a shirt thatsays Rockers High School right
now.
So, whether or not you think it,you are representing Rockers,
(27:22):
and we've had a great seven-yearrelationship with the pal in
Casey K and officer Tomasek andall of his people over there,
who are awesome.
I'm not going to let you actlike a fool, because officer
Tomasek and the people at thepal do such important work for
our community and they don'tneed that.
And but, like you said, wedidn't even have to do that.
(27:45):
Once they were there, they wereinvested in the work.
It was not glamorous work, butthey felt a sense of
accomplishment, they understoodwhy they were doing it and it
wasn't time where we had to dealwith behavior issues, because
they were in it and they wereall in it and they didn't know
each other.
You know, and so they weregetting.
This first experience ofbrotherhood was working together
towards a common goal withouthaving anything else keeping
(28:08):
them in common other than theirrocker chocolates, which I think
is great.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
All right, here we go .
What is one thing?
Speaker 2 (28:20):
And I always feel bad when I say one thing because
that's challenging.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
no-transcript well.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
So the camino project is one of the spinning plates
that I have right, but there aremultiple plates up in the sky,
so one of them that I'm reallyexcited about is kicking off
this the esports in a differentway this year.
The captain came to me twoyears ago.
I was like, hey, mr baker, I'mreally good at this video game.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
Can we get what game Overwatch?
Okay, yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
Overwatch two, sorry yeah.
And he's like I'm really goodat this game.
Do we have an e-sports team?
I'm like no, but let's startone.
Man Like that's it checks allthe boxes.
A kid wants to do this thing,but he's not being supported.
It's his niche and he's not asports guy.
He's not an academic, althoughhe is a pretty good academic.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
He's going to be a doctor one day.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
But this boy was really wanting to do this and I
could see the fire, and so westarted this really quiet
esports team.
We would take monitors from myoffice and walk them downstairs,
plug them in commitment.
Speaker 3 (29:32):
Yeah, they would bring their own technology.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
They would bring their own you know, gaming
systems and they would sit thereand they would play for two
hours and we'd have to pickeverything up and take it all
back upstairs and put it back inmy office and we did that every
like three times a week, youknow, for the entire year and
these kids were five of themwere talking to each other and
cheering each other on andthey're playing online.
They're playing at home, like,no matter what snow day, it
(29:55):
didn't matter, we're stillplaying Like you know it's.
And it was that, thatcamaraderie, that that
brotherhood, that love.
You know that that I was seeingin this.
So this year we doubled down.
We expanded our, our computerscience program.
We got a new hire, gabby'sfantastic.
You guys should have her on.
If you can, we'll find her.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
She took over the esports.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
That's her wheelhouse Now.
The kids are super excitedabout joining this new platform.
We have funding for it now, soit's official.
I'm looking forward to it justskyrocket Again.
I mentioned earlier we havethree kids who got scholarships
offers from differentuniversities.
These are the kids that usuallyI mean sometimes they fall
(30:34):
through the cracks.
I mean esports and onlinegaming.
You know, you kind of like ageout a bit, a little bit, unless
you really double down and youwant to be a professional goal
right.
And these kids are serious Imean serious players love it.
Yeah, we have an e-chess teamnow that I I mean, they were
ranked top 10 in the nation lastyear.
I saw the little plaque there.
Yeah, first year hit the groundrunning and these I mean we've
(30:57):
got potential and so I'm reallyexcited to see what that
potential is and what they cando this year.
Speaker 3 (31:02):
They also have a great space down on our first
floor, so if you're on campusfor a tour, be sure you check
that out, and it's really, Ithink it's funny.
Since I've been here, I've seentwo spaces really transformed
by students.
One was our weight room and acommitment from our students to
want to have a betterenvironment to work out, and, as
(31:23):
Steve and I always compliment,I mean, it's always everything's
put back where it belongs everysingle time because they take
pride in it.
And the same thing with youresports room.
I see these kids treat thefurniture, treat the environment
with such respect, because it'ssomething that they have wanted
and they've earned, and I thinkthat makes it so much more
important To answer yourquestion, though, steve, the
(31:44):
thing that I am most lookingforward to, which I always look
forward to, is getting to seethe growth of these freshmen,
because I always joke, I spend alot of my time in K through
eight education, and my firstjobs were teaching
kindergartners through eighthgraders and I always say
kindergartners, for about almostthe full year, are really like
(32:05):
second semester preschoolers.
There's a lot of like basicthings we're going over waiting
your turn, you know, raisingyour hand, being patient, you
know and it's kind of the sameway with freshmen right I spent
a lot of my time in middleschool and I will tell you
everything I see about our boysand where they struggle and
where they thrive is still thatdevelopmental stage of what
(32:28):
they're.
What you're seeing in eighthgrade I'm kind of at the top of
my game, but I'm also veryinsecure at the top of my game.
And so watching that growth andwe always talk about it is, by
the end of the Camino project weprobably, on average, have
around seven boys that haven'tfully committed to it, right,
haven't completed it to ourlevel of expectation Seven out
(32:52):
of last year, 200.
That's saying that a largemajority of them are buying in.
But what that also tells us isanother really important thing
in the sense that, okay, theseseven boys didn't commit, and
that then becomes a biggerquestion why didn't they commit?
Are they not feeling likethey're going to make it through
to graduation, cause this istied to their graduation
requirement?
(33:12):
Does that mean that they're notfeeling the sense of support
that they need to complete it?
So it's become like anotherintervention point for our
counseling department, for ouracademics department or sorry
department and even our studentlife, to say, okay, is this kid
not involved and that's why hedidn't do his Open to Growth?
(33:36):
Because he's not doing anything,he's just showing up on campus
and going through the day.
So it allows us this greatopportunity to check in with our
freshmen throughout the schoolyear and to see where they're at
and then to make those changesand those interventions to make
them feel a part of thiscommunity or, if they're not
feeling a part of this community, address what that is.
And I think that that is one ofthe things I always look
forward to and tyler will say Iprobably don't look forward to
it in may, when I'm chasing themdown during finals to come see
(33:58):
me.
But I, in a way, I do, becauseI think that's where my, my
freshman experience relates tothem.
I wish I had had someonechasing me down and saying, hey,
if you continue down this it'sgoing to be a huge thing for you
to dig out of, and that's whatwe don't allow them to do here.
Is we really stop that trainfrom exiting the station?
(34:19):
So yeah, that's what I lookforward to is the growth of our
freshmen from day one to, youknow, day 365.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
Got it All right?
Last question, and a veryimportant one If you could tell
a prospective family the numberone reason they should send
their son to Rockhurst, whatwould it be?
Speaker 3 (34:39):
This is probably unfair because this is 98
percent of my job, but I willsay, you know, being the sister
of two former Hocklets and thedaughter of one and the
granddaughter of one, there havebeen times I've loved rockers
and there have been times thatI'm like didn't love it, and I
think what I learned the most bycoming here as an adult and
working here is all the thingsthat I would get frustrated with
(35:03):
my brothers about when theywere at rockers was really not
anything to do with rockers andactually it's some of the
qualities now that I think makethem stand out.
You know I said young men.
They like that.
Stand out, young men.
We'll call them young men stuff.
Is that confidence which Iequated to cockiness right?
Speaker 1 (35:21):
When.
Speaker 3 (35:21):
I was in high school like, oh, my brother's so full
of himself.
It was a confidence that wasembedded in them and probably in
the same way I saw that ascockiness, they saw my
confidence that I was gettingfrom St Teresa's at the time as
a bossiness or a pushiness.
So it's funny because onceyou're in that environment, my
brothers haven't had theopportunity Well, I guess my
(35:47):
older brother's kind of gettingthe opportunity to experience St
Teresa's as a father now.
But having the uniqueexperience now of being part of
that community and seeing whatthat actually what's happening,
that formation is so awesome.
And so I always say you can getan education anywhere, right,
you can get an excellenteducation anywhere in the city.
I don't think you can get theformation experience that the
boys here get at other places.
(36:08):
And why I say that is theall-male environment allows for
a vulnerability that you cannotget in another environment.
They are not afraid to takerisks.
They're not afraid to trythings that may not seem like
typical male things to do likechoir.
Choir is our biggestco-curricular on campus.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
And.
Speaker 3 (36:28):
I think that vulnerability and that ability
to try things out of yourcomfort zone is what sets them
apart.
So that's what I always say.
The formation is what I wouldtell a parent.
Speaker 2 (36:39):
Number one, to kind of go off that too the network,
Like just the network of all theamazing graduates from rockers
that are out there in the worldand it's everywhere.
I mean I didn't really realizethat my first couple of years,
but now that I've had, you know,four classes, you know graduate
and and these kids are outthere, I have kids that email me
(37:02):
all the time you know, saying,hey, mr Baker, I'm at KU or
wherever right now and I'mlooking at, I'm working on
trying to find my first job,what do you recommend?
Whatever, and then I connectthem with other people in the
network outside and when Ireached out to Burns and
McDonald just the other day,found an alumni and he was like
I have 10 people, 10 people hereon campus that want to work
(37:22):
with you guys, however you wantto, in whatever context you want
.
They're alumni, they'regraduates from, from Rockers,
and they're waiting for you totalk to them and that's
everywhere.
I mean that's not.
I mean you, right, you're analumni.
Yeah, so how that network hasimpacted you in your personal
life.
All the boys that graduated 260freshmen this year, like 200
graduated last year all thosekids are out there right now.
(37:42):
Right, I mean like seeds in thewind and it's just, it's an
amazing network.
So that's I mean, number onereason that my son will come to
Rockhurst High School is becauseof that network, that
experience, that formation.
I love it.
Speaker 1 (37:55):
I love it and I can't say it enough.
You know whether we're talkingabout the network, whether we're
talking about that confidence,that funny.
I had that convo with somebodyyears ago and you know, working
with athletes, working withyoung people and big on having
people be successful, there wasthis, there is this, whatever
(38:16):
you want, to call it?
let's call it animosity towards,towards rockers, hawklets and
all of this.
And I just said to it was acouple I said why wouldn't we
want these young men to beconfident?
Right, and it's not fakeconfidence because they've put
the work in, they've done thework, they've been challenged to
do the work and then they reapthe benefits of the work.
(38:37):
And what you miss is how theyhad to overcome whatever
failures and setbacks along theway for that final product.
And then we want them to bewhat Cheapish, right.
Speaker 2 (38:51):
And for others it doesn't make any sense.
Speaker 1 (38:52):
They go out in the world hearts on fire to do
something.
Speaker 2 (38:57):
Yeah, as Beth said, the first thing freshmen do is
get out there.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
Yeah, you know and go get it.
So I appreciate you guys.
This is a, this is fun and andI I want to sign up for the
program.
Let me figure it out.
We'll get you a job.
Speaker 3 (39:11):
We'll have Steve's portfolio available on our
website by the end of the yearso you guys can come back and
check it out.
But yeah, thanks for having us,Steve, and thanks, Tyler, for
not just joining us today butfor being my partner on this
journey.
Yeah, I've really enjoyedworking with Tyler.
Speaker 2 (39:28):
It's been a great collaboration.
Speaker 3 (39:29):
I'm back at you.
Yeah, so next week we have thenew man on campus, Father Kramer
, joining us.
Oh yeah, If you have not metFather Kramer yet, you are going
to be so excited for thispodcast.
He brings a fire and energylike no other.
Speaker 1 (39:42):
Yeah, looking forward to it, guys, and this has been
another episode of Rock Talk.
This is Steve Beth and Tylerand
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