November 10, 2025 • 39 mins
A school’s true test isn’t just grades or trophies—it’s whether the people it forms keep coming back to lift the next class. That’s the heartbeat of our conversation with executive leader and alum parent, Diane Marty, who shares how Rockhurst strengthens access, care, and real-world learning while holding tight to its Jesuit mission. From meeting 100% of verified financial need to rebuilding a counseling model for today’s challenges, we walk through a strategic plan designed to support, surround, connect, and engage every student.
You’ll hear the human side: alumni across the country who say Rockhurst changed—or even saved—their lives; a young grad pledging five years of giving because a few teachers wouldn’t let him settle; and the power of brotherhood that endures well into careers and cities far from campus. We dig into practical steps that make mission visible—transportation solutions for families, faculty retention so the best teachers stay in the building, and a gold-standard playbook for athletics and activities that reflects our values on every field and stage.
We also unpack the future-facing work: AI literacy supported by alumni-funded professional development, internships that count for credit and pay, and networks like Rock Connect that turn a handshake into a summer job. Diane’s personal “5809” moment in the robotics lab—an unexpected sign that she was home—captures what keeps people tied to this place: formation that lasts, community that shows up, and a culture that adapts without losing its soul.
If you care about education that shapes character and competence, or you’re ready to mentor, hire, or simply reconnect, this is your invitation. Subscribe, share with a fellow Hawk, and leave a review telling us the one moment that shaped you—and how you’ll pay it forward.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:30):
Welcome everybody.
This is Steve Redman, and youare listening to Rock Talk.
I know that's not our normalintroduction, but I wanted to
get right into this conversationtoday.
We got a very, very specialguest, our very own Diane Marty
here with us on this episode,and we are looking forward to
talking with her.
So, Diane, I want you to jumpright in because as I've done a
(00:55):
little research, you areprobably one of the most
interesting people on the in thein the in the world.
SPEAKER_02 (01:01):
So if you would uh listeners, I'm so sorry if
you're about to try and Googleany of that and go, what is he
talking about?
SPEAKER_00 (01:09):
If you would just introduce yourself, tell us
about your role and you knowwhat you do here at the rock uh
rockhurst.
SPEAKER_01 (01:15):
Yeah, yeah, I'm happy to.
So, first of all, thanks forhaving me.
I'm Diane Marty and I started mywhole my own Rockhurst journey.
I had uh two boys who camethrough the school, Max and
George, classes of 2016 and2018.
SPEAKER_03 (01:26):
Okay, cool.
SPEAKER_01 (01:27):
So I logged six years as a mom first and then
came back after they were bothin college to work for the
school.
I'd been consulting.
I had a fundraising consultingbusiness of my own, and so I'd
done that.
And so started off here at TheRock.
I think it was in August of2020.
Okay.
Yeah.
So it was the 2020 to 2021school year, and started as a
(01:51):
consultant.
And then a few months into that,David Laughlin said, Hey, I've
got a good idea.
And I went, Well, tell me aboutthat.
And so that's how I ended upcoming back to the school full
time.
First as the vice president ofphilanthropy and engagement.
SPEAKER_03 (02:05):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (02:06):
And presently, my title is executive VP of
Strategic Planning.
SPEAKER_03 (02:11):
Cool.
SPEAKER_01 (02:11):
And oh wait, there's more.
SPEAKER_03 (02:14):
Love it.
SPEAKER_01 (02:15):
And vice president of philanthropic engagement.
Oh no, it's not.
Oh my gosh, that's a big fatlie.
And also uh vice president ofphilanthropic investments.
Excuse me.
It's a lot of word soup becausewe're we're, you know,
concluding a strategic plan atthis point and have some really
exciting things coming down thepipeline as a result of that.
SPEAKER_03 (02:33):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (02:34):
And part of that is bringing a fellow rock grad.
Well, I'm not a rock grad, butmy boys are.
Mark Blank, class of the nineclass of 98, is coming back, has
come back as the vice presidentof philanthropy and engagement.
So that's my original title.
So Mark's moved into that role,and I squished over with a you
know, kind of a commensuratetitle and then the the strategic
planning park.
SPEAKER_00 (02:53):
Okay, cool, cool, cool.
So as I told you, there's a lot.
You do a lot.
I see you for the folkslistening.
I see Diane running around a lotand you know doing all kinds of
stuff.
So I appreciate that.
And want to ask first, becauseyou know, I'm I'm curious how
the boys doing.
Where are they at and what'sgoing on?
SPEAKER_01 (03:11):
Thanks.
You know, you know the way to mymom's hurt, don't you?
No, the boys are great.
Max is in Chicago and doinggreat.
He's been in the position heheld.
From here, he went to LoyolaChicago for a year and then
finished at Mizzou.
Um loved it.
Yes.
I thought that would ring abell, huh?
Yeah.
And uh and he through a rockconnection, actually, had an
interview and then ultimatelyhis hire straight out of
(03:32):
college.
And he's still at that job inChicago and loving it.
SPEAKER_03 (03:35):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (03:35):
And George is living his best 20-something life as
well.
He's in the Twin Cities,straight out of here.
He went to St.
Thomas University, and it'sexciting to see we've got a
couple guys there now and acouple other guys considering it
too.
And from there, he did a seasonwith the New York Giants.
And then his gang back inMinneapolis was calling him
back, like George, come back.
(03:55):
And and soccer is his sport.
So he is working for the Loon,the MLS team there in
Minneapolis.
So as I say, best 20-somethinglives.
SPEAKER_00 (04:03):
I love oh, so he's rolling.
So so St.
Thomas, that's in Minneapolis.
SPEAKER_01 (04:08):
Uh St.
Paul, Texas.
St.
Paul.
SPEAKER_00 (04:09):
Okay, all right.
SPEAKER_01 (04:10):
And then it's like saying, you know, straight down
State State Line Road.
SPEAKER_02 (04:15):
Are you in Kansas City, Missouri?
Are you in Leewood, Kansas?
Where are you at?
SPEAKER_00 (04:19):
And so with the Giants thing, is he like in a a
sports role of some kind, orwhat what is what was that
about?
SPEAKER_01 (04:25):
So yeah, yeah.
He actually at one point hesaid, uh, yeah, mom, it's my job
to make sure Eli Manning signsenough autographs.
Oh, okay.
So he was working in partnershipand marketing.
Um I'm not sure if those are theexact words that the Giants use,
but you know, working with thethe folks who who do
sponsorships of the team.
SPEAKER_00 (04:41):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (04:41):
And that's really kind of what he does now too
with the loons.
SPEAKER_00 (04:44):
Gotcha.
Love to hear it.
Well, love to hear it.
I'm glad they're doing well.
Oh, they are.
SPEAKER_01 (04:47):
They are, you know, and that's that's the thing too,
is that what makes the comingback so easy, because obviously
I didn't go to Rockhurst, but asa mom, I saw everything, every
wonderful thing that anybody hadto say about Rockhurst High
School come true for my ownvoice.
SPEAKER_03 (05:01):
Yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (05:02):
And that's really easy to to watch that unfurl and
look at them, you know, again inChicago and Minneapolis, but the
guys on both sides of them arestill their Rockhurst brothers.
SPEAKER_00 (05:12):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (05:12):
And that's pretty cool.
SPEAKER_00 (05:13):
And I mean, we we've talked about that on just about
every episode, how real andvivid that aspect of this
experience is.
Yeah.
The connections that you makehere, the connections that last
a lifetime.
And it's really, really cool to,you know, see that continue to
(05:35):
take place.
I am on a personal mission asI've talked to, you know,
recently I was talking to acouple of business classes, you
know, about my uh basically myprofessional career.
And you know, and they werealways asking, like, well, you
know, how did this experienceimpact you?
Or what's one thing you couldtell us about this experience
(05:55):
that you know maybe you miss?
And I said, just press into thebrotherhood sooner.
You know, like if I can help youmove out of the fray of 14 to
18, and I'm in that mode andjust see the value, the real
value of what you're a part ofright now, you're gonna be even
(06:16):
more blessed when you get out ofhere and go into, you know, that
brotherhood.
And so we're excited about it.
SPEAKER_01 (06:23):
You know, and I tell you too, sorry, just to kind of
tag on here to to what you'retalking about, it's not just the
brotherhood amongst thestudents.
But, you know, here atRockhurst, like, you know, you
hear from time to time, you'llhear people say, Okay, in, you
know, maybe once in a life youhave that one teacher who really
makes an impact on you.
Yeah.
And yet we talk to our studentsand they can name three or four
(06:45):
instructors, like withouthesitation.
And so it's not only the thepeer-to-peer community, but but
the the amazing faculty andstaff that are in the building
forming relationships andwalking with these young men.
SPEAKER_03 (06:57):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (06:58):
And then the community that reverberates out
from that, you know.
So again, I'm still lifelongfriends with the parents I met
when my boys were here.
SPEAKER_03 (07:05):
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (07:05):
And and that community just ripples out.
And and the really great thingthat I don't think a lot of
students realize because they'renot thinking about this, right?
But, you know, when somethingripples out, it also comes back.
SPEAKER_03 (07:18):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (07:18):
And that's the community that surrounds our
students, surrounds our alumni,surrounds our families.
SPEAKER_03 (07:24):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (07:24):
Surrounds those who don't know us yet, and they
don't even know it.
SPEAKER_00 (07:27):
You know, that's a real thing.
SPEAKER_01 (07:28):
Just get here.
Come talk to Steve.
Come talk to Steve Ribmond.
SPEAKER_00 (07:32):
So this part of our series, you know, we we kind of
have this thing chunked out inwaves or series is about giving.
SPEAKER_01 (07:39):
Oh, don't hate that.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (07:41):
Whether it's, you know, time, talent, or treasure.
And I thought it would just bevery interesting in your role,
right?
Because you get to see it, youget to, I mean, you're neck deep
in those conversations all thetime.
You know, what do you think isimportant about our like our
community?
And and, you know, I want maybewe go from the outside in,
(08:05):
right?
The alumni, the folks that youdeal with to in-house.
Like, what do you think is soimportant about folks in our
community giving back to RockersHigh School?
SPEAKER_01 (08:15):
Yeah.
Wow.
You know, what's what's soimportant?
I mean, again, again, it's thiscommunity that never leaves you.
You know, and it's kind of amagical thing to watch the alums
I've been able to meet acrossthe United States, you know, not
just here in Kansas City, butacross the United States to say,
you know, to to watch them kindof digest and think about, oh
(08:39):
yeah, what I've got right now, Ican trace back to Rockhurst High
School.
And I had a great time incollege and grad school, and I
got married along the way, orwhatever, you know, whatever's
happened, but I I can trace itback.
And somebody said to me one timeat an alumni event, they said,
you know what, this is Rockhurstis like my forgotten community.
(08:59):
And yet it's really notforgotten.
It's really never far from myconscience, but but I don't
think about it every day.
And then when you reconnect toit, how magical that is.
And so that's you know, that's agiving and a receiving moment as
well.
It doesn't even involve time,talent, or treasure.
Just just that moment of, youknow, when when I first started
here, Father Jacobazi at thetime was the principal, and he
(09:22):
said, you know, you really needto understand this is not just
about education, this iseducation and formation hand in
hand.
Yeah.
Okay.
They are, you know, linked,coupled, 100% permanently
together.
And as as students experiencethat here.
But then again, in the alumnicommunity, hearkening back to
(09:44):
that.
You know, I had I had agentleman say to me, we were we
were in Dallas and Austin justlast week.
And a gentleman and his wifeboth said to me with tears in
their eyes, both of them,Rockhurst High School saved his
life.
I mean, that's powerful.
SPEAKER_03 (10:00):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (10:01):
You know, nobody certainly wants to script a
scenario where somebody's lifehas to be saved, but he said
Rockhurst High School saved mylife.
And, you know, people havereflected that that back to me,
you know, that that it saved mylife.
It it changed my life.
It gave me this life.
SPEAKER_03 (10:17):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (10:18):
You know, and and that level of consciousness
amongst the alumni, like theyfeel that viscerally.
And it's it's powerful, it'smagical, and and and the level
of loyalty back to one's highschool.
SPEAKER_03 (10:33):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (10:33):
You know, think about that.
You know, we we even had a ayoung man reach back to us.
He was at he was at GeorgetownUniversity, and and there were
some life circumstances, and andhe said, Oh my gosh, you know, I
don't know if I'm gonna be ableto stay at Georgetown.
And he called Rockhurst HighSchool to say, Can you help?
SPEAKER_00 (10:51):
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (10:51):
What do I do?
And it so happened that I knewsomebody, you know, there at
Georgetown that I could put himin touch with.
But the reaction of that, thatadministrator at Georgetown to
say, Oh my gosh, I don't thinkin my entire career I've had a
young person reach back to theirhigh school because they knew
you'd pick up the phone andyou'd have a connection and
(11:12):
you'd get them through it.
That's gosh, that's cool.
You know, and and that is thatis a community, that is a whole
community embrace.
SPEAKER_03 (11:21):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (11:21):
You know, that that doesn't let go of you when you
leave these walls and hallways.
SPEAKER_00 (11:26):
And I think that's that part is so real, and that's
kind of what I was just sayingis like when I interact with the
young men now as an alum, uh, Ithink our listeners know I went
here, but if you didn't, Igraduated in 2004.
So and yeah, because I guess weget new listeners all the time.
So being an alum myself is someaningful for me to be boots on
(11:49):
the ground because that is theone thing that I cherish more
than anything about myexperience here was it it
changed my life at a at a timewhere there was a lot of chaos
in my life personally when I washere in a in such a delicate
(12:10):
formative stage of my life.
Right, right.
Those same and I mean when I saythe same, like they're still
here, some of them that lovedme, that poured into me, that
held me accountable.
I remember very explicitlytalking to when I was you know
interviewing for this, I saidRockhurst is uniquely, uniquely
(12:33):
a place in in my heart that Iwould put down just about
anything to serve in thatcommunity if I can give back a
fraction of what I got from thisplace.
And it's cool to hear from youbecause if you if you guys don't
know that are listening, our PEteam, they're worldwide with
this thing.
They the uh I am envious of theflight miles that they rack up
(12:53):
and the points because they arealways on the move having those
conversations, and it's so coolto be able to hear that other
alumni out there that I've nevermet, right?
Maybe, maybe not, that feel thatsame way in their own way.
SPEAKER_01 (13:07):
Oh man, I'm telling I mean it just it it it keeps
pouring out, and that's youknow, lucky us that we get to
hear those stories, you know.
I and and that translates back,you know, in a number of ways.
Like, you know, so so you havefolks who can say that, and you
know, I've I've had even a ayoung alum say to me, Hey, you
know what?
I'm gonna do big things.
(13:28):
I came from here.
I love this place.
I had those three, four, fiveinstructors he could name off
the top of his head.
Yeah, I'm gonna go do bigthings.
You know what?
I'm gonna give back.
And that young alum, I'm notnaming him intentionally, okay,
but class of 2015 has put down a$25,000 commitment that said
$5,000 a year over five yearsthat I can plan for and budget
(13:52):
for.
Yeah.
Like I'm gonna do big things andI know where it came from.
Yeah.
And so we have alumni who havethis amazing sense of gratitude.
And and you know, it's again,it's it's it's overwhelming, and
we're so blessed for all ofthat.
But you know, these guys whothink, I'm gonna go do great
things.
There are guys who've alreadydone great things that are able
to give back in in financialways too.
(14:14):
And there are guys who arewanting to do still
transformative things, right?
You know, and it's just oh man,the way it all reverberates
back.
You know, and we continue topour in to to these students, or
you know, we take young men andand we expect the best from
them, and then we equip them andchallenge them to become even
better.
SPEAKER_00 (14:35):
100%.
SPEAKER_01 (14:35):
All right, and and that level of expectation,
accountability and impact, theresults.
SPEAKER_03 (14:44):
Yeah.
For sure.
SPEAKER_01 (14:46):
There's a there's a book, the Heath brothers wrote a
book.
I think it's the power ofmoments, and they talk about,
you know, these moments in yourlife that define you.
So, Steve, you've just you knowyou've enunciated some of that
here, you know.
And if you close your eyes andthink about, okay, where do I go
in my memory right away?
Like, there's like, okay, great,you know, we won that football
game, my high school graduation,my college graduation, and then
(15:07):
you go, well, flatline, and yougo, Oh, I got married, beep.
And then, oh, I had a kid.
But like, where did all thosemoments go?
Right.
And and part of the philanthropyand engagement team's mission is
to be, and we literally say itthis way.
I mean, we did it did a retreat,did some thinking, brought all
kinds of perspectives fromacross the the team of eight and
(15:27):
nine people together, and said,We're all here for each person
in this building so that he cango out and be one for all.
So we're all for one, so he canbe one for all.
And and our job, if we're doingit right for philanthropy and
engagement, it's not all aboutthe dollars.
It is about, you know, givingback time, talent, treasure,
(15:48):
however, you can give back tothis community that has loved
you so much, you know.
Our job is to create thosedefining moments, to bring you
back to those moments of thatconversation with instructor X,
you know, or the moment afriend's parent, you realize
that you are a part of thatfamily too.
And, you know, we stand in frontof the parents and we say, you
(16:09):
know, we're gonna ask you for alot.
Okay, because it's not just thealums we're talking to.
Yeah.
Some of their parents are like,oh yeah, we're aware.
You know, and if you're analumni parent, boy, hello, you
know, but we we say we're gonnaask you a lot, and we're
unrelenting in it, and we'realso unapologetic.
SPEAKER_03 (16:24):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (16:25):
Because we believe that every future in this
building is worth every ask thatwe make.
SPEAKER_00 (16:29):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (16:30):
And that's what motivates the work.
SPEAKER_00 (16:31):
It's a big and it's a big mission, and it's the the
more time I spend in thebuilding, the more I meet
different folks.
You realize how vast what we'retry what we're when I no, and
I'm excuse me, when I say tryingto do like we've done
historically, but because wecontinue to evolve, like it's
(16:52):
like, oh, yeah, we gotta keepbecause what what they're what
we were doing 20 years ago whenI was here.
SPEAKER_01 (17:00):
It's not the same, and it's not the same, right?
SPEAKER_00 (17:02):
It can't be the same, and we have to just keep
moving it and and that's why Ithink it's so cool.
You know, I get to meet morealumni, and I get, you know, now
I'm rubbing elbows withdifferent folks as I, you know,
kind of move around in indifferent, you know, capacities,
and it's like the Yeah, it'sit's just really cool to see
folks that are well it yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (17:23):
I mean, yes, yes.
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cutyou off, you know, but like
these words and what you'regetting at, these were words
that were fed back to us by thedad of an alum who said, I hope
that Rockhurst always adapts butnever changes.
SPEAKER_03 (17:34):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (17:35):
So it's about staying true to those ideals and
that linked education andformation, but adapting.
Because to your point, like theschool should not be the same as
it was 20 years ago.
And and that's part of what ourstrategic planning has done,
this multi-year effort.
It's not something we just wokeup one day and said, Hey, let's
go this direction now.
But you know, if you had abusiness and you didn't change
it for 20 years, you know, it'sprobably not the way you want to
(17:58):
run your, you know.
And so we've got this greatproduct, you know, the rock.
It's solid.
It's the rock, right?
But how do we strengthen that?
SPEAKER_04 (18:07):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (18:07):
How do we build upon that?
And so, so that's what we'relooking at now are, you know,
models of care for all of thosein our community.
So, not only how can we buildpathways to enable all families
to know that their son could behere at Rockhurst.
Right.
Like finances should not be anobstacle.
What can we do to remove that?
(18:28):
And not just the dollars thereeither.
But okay, it does no good if,say, I were a single mom north
of the river.
If I work north of the river andI can't get my kid physically
here to school, all right, thenit does me no good to hear, oh,
he could come here and we willmeet 100% of your verified
financial need.
That does me no good, right?
(18:48):
So looking very holistically atthat through this strategic
planning process to say, okay,here are the priorities.
And and by the way, you know,the trustees never varied.
The priorities are the humancapital in the school.
SPEAKER_03 (18:59):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (18:59):
Okay.
They are the students in theirfamilies and the faculty staff
that walk this daily missionwith them.
SPEAKER_03 (19:04):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (19:05):
And again, when you're grounded in that, I mean,
it's it's that granular.
Like that's who we're all about.
And there is no swaying fromthat.
The trustee the trustees haveset it forth.
David lives it, David Laughlin.
Everybody in this building does.
SPEAKER_04 (19:19):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (19:20):
You know?
And so yeah, we're we're gonnacontinue to adapt, we're gonna
continue to strengthen theexperience that alumni knew or
that parents already had.
You know, it's even verydifferent from when my boys were
here.
SPEAKER_00 (19:29):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (19:30):
But and that's a good thing.
That's a good thing.
SPEAKER_00 (19:32):
Yeah, so along those lines of the are there parts of
the strategic plan that youcould talk about?
SPEAKER_01 (19:39):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (19:40):
To like rope, just because you know, like you say
it, and then it's like for ourour listeners to understand,
because this is also a big partof this platform, is helping
people, you know, reallyunderstand, like, oh, that is a
very different place than Iactually thought with just the
different folks that we have onhere.
(20:00):
So can you kind of elaborate alittle bit on the strategic
plan?
SPEAKER_01 (20:04):
Yeah, yeah.
So there were really out of thestrategic plan, you know, we
were guided by number one, ourour Jesuit Catholic mission,
okay, and the universalapostolic preferences, the UAPs
of the Jesuits.
And out of that, we hadstrategic planning pillars that
eventually morphed into fourstrategic planning committees.
SPEAKER_03 (20:24):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (20:24):
So accessibility and affordability, formation of the
whole person, academic andprofessional success, and
athletics and co-curriculars.
Okay.
So that's not just athletics,but you know, everything from
choir, speech, and debate,theater, chess club, you know,
whatever.
But really looking at the ways,you know, how do we do this and
and how do we do each of thoseareas better?
SPEAKER_03 (20:45):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (20:46):
And so, really, through this strategic planning
process that involved more than200 people across the United
States and in fact worldwide.
Um, we had some participantsfrom outside of the United
States.
SPEAKER_03 (20:55):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (20:56):
And and boiling all of that down, and I'm I'm trying
to think about my body languagehere, which does no no good to
the listeners.
But I'm trying to come up withlike a little YMCA dance or
something like that, becausereally the actions that are
resulting from strategicplanning are that we are going
to support our students.
Okay, with increased, you know,two years ago through through
(21:17):
this office, the admissions andmarketing office, we made the
pledge to families that anyyoung man that comes here, if
you have, if your family hasverified financial need, we will
meet 100% of that need, which ishuge.
When I first started five yearsago, I think we were meeting
like 75, 78%.
And if you think about that,well, if I need$10,000 and you
(21:39):
say, well, I can give you$7,500,well, like where where do you
expect me to get the other$2,500?
You know?
Right.
Yeah.
So so supporting our students,you know, in those holistic
wraparound ways as well.
That we're we're starting topilot some things now.
So current parents will haveseen some transportation surveys
from Father Kramer, ourprincipal.
And also making sure, you know,again, five years ago, I think
(22:01):
we had a faculty retention ratethat was less than 90%.
SPEAKER_04 (22:05):
Oh.
SPEAKER_01 (22:05):
All right.
And when you think, you know,we've got about 135 people in
the building, plus or minus in agiven year, like we don't want
to be losing that many people.
Right.
Right.
So taking a look at that, how dowe keep the best and the
brightest walking alongsidethese kids every day on the
front lines?
That's really who we are.
Like, like the mom dropping herkid off isn't coming through the
doors to see Diane Marty.
Right.
(22:26):
That's not what's going on.
SPEAKER_03 (22:27):
Exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (22:28):
All right.
So we're supporting our studentsin that, you know, in a myriad
of ways through strategicplanning and and the initiatives
that will result.
We are surrounding our studentswith a new level of care.
You know, unfortunately, thereare, you know, people talk about
now like high, high levels ofanxiety amongst young people.
Okay.
And so how do we, how do we workwith that?
(22:49):
How do we support it?
How do we get the kiddo, youknow, hopefully, you know, most
of the kiddos in the building,hopefully they're doing great.
All right.
But, you know, we all have thosemoments, right?
Not, you know, they're diviningmoments, they're not positive
defining moments, but you know,where our world gets robbed.
SPEAKER_04 (23:03):
100%.
SPEAKER_01 (23:04):
Whether we lose a grandparent or, you know,
somebody you're dating breaks upwith you.
Like there are these moments,and that's a big deal to kids,
right?
So how do we get those littlethose kiddos through those
moments and back to kind of,okay, great, look, it's gonna be
okay.
SPEAKER_03 (23:17):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (23:18):
Trust us on this.
And then, you know, then thereare kiddos who are, you know,
for a multitude of reasons,whatever they may be, living
kind of in constant crisis, youknow, with with again, whether
it's anxiety or, you know,whatever's whatever's going on.
And so how can we show thisthose kiddos?
Like we're there for them,right?
We are here to support them.
It will get better.
SPEAKER_03 (23:39):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (23:40):
All right.
And so, so this continuum ofcare that we're gonna do, you
know, restructuring a counselingmodel here is gonna be really
exciting.
And and not just, we're not justgonna do something for the
students in the building, butreally to talk to the parents as
well.
So here's some, you know, we'regonna we're looking at
educational programming to say,okay, as a hypothetical example,
what's it like to parent a kidin a digital age?
(24:01):
What's it like to try and have aconversation with your kid about
doing homework and they're usingAI?
Like are they, you know, and andand for the faculty too,
morphing into the next, youknow, we're we're gonna surround
the student, we're gonna supportthe students, we're gonna
surround the students, we'regoing to connect the students
with these new opportunities.
And in a big push, shout out tothe class of 1975 that has
(24:22):
created a fund to help support,you know, for for the
foreseeable future here tosupport professional development
around AI.
SPEAKER_03 (24:30):
Gotcha.
SPEAKER_01 (24:31):
How do we teach it?
How is it ethical?
How do we use it?
How do you leverage it?
What are things you should notdo with it?
You know, so so connectingstudents to those real world
moments that are relevant andtime-bound right now in front of
their faces, right?
As all of this unfolds.
And again, supporting thefaculty too in their own
(24:51):
professional development.
And how do we get ahead of thecurve?
We've got a number of kiddos whohave brought things to us.
President Laughlin shares astory about a young man who's
attending school here, but hedoesn't show up before 10 a.m.
any day because Monday throughFriday, he's working at Burns
and Mac and getting paid for itand getting credit here for it.
And David also shares a storythat this young man said, you
(25:12):
know, and I understand, I justkeep taking these tests over
there.
And he said, I think I've passedmore field tests than some of my
coworkers, my adult coworkers.
So how do we, how do we, throughstrategic planning, we're
looking at, sorry, I didn't evenjoke y'all.
Um, you know, how do we, how dowe keep getting ahead of the
curve for the kiddos that wecan, you know, get ahead of the
curve and turn around andpresent these opportunities to
(25:33):
them rather than bringing it tous.
Okay.
So that's how we're going toconnect the students better
through strategic planning.
And then we're also going toengage the students where they
are, what are their interests?
There's a positive youthdevelopment theory.
Sorry, I'm geeking out on youhere.
I love it.
Dr.
Peter Benson, um, he createdthis theory for positive youth
development that if you take theyouth's passion, so what are
(25:54):
they excited about?
And they can tell you what thatis, you know, even as you know,
young as like seven, eight yearsold, they can tell you what they
get excited about.
And if you take that passion andyou pair it with two non-parent
caregiving adults, P.S.
We've got more than 135 of themin the building.
All right.
So pair that passion with thosetwo adults plus opportunity
(26:17):
equals thriving.
That is literally a formula forthriving for young people.
Okay.
And so connecting and engagingthem through athletics and
co-curriculars, even beyond theclassroom, okay, is is the other
thing we're looking at.
And how can we do that?
And how can we build and promoteopportunities for the greater
(26:37):
community to come support themin that?
SPEAKER_03 (26:39):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (26:39):
You know, so so if you think about it, you know,
like my own boys, they playedsoccer and hockey here, you
know, so we could go out to therink and they'd have their
community there, supportingthem, cheering them on.
Same thing for soccer.
And oh man, our soccer team nowis crushing.
I'm so glad you paused in withthat because I my filter popped
down there.
I was gonna say something else.
(27:00):
So yeah, they're crushing it.
And so, so what can we do to getthe community out there around
them?
And and also to literallywriting a playbook that whatever
coach or moderator you'reworking with, if you're
representing the rock, you'vegot that crest on your chest,
you know, or or you know, thelogo on your shirt or on your
necktie or whatever it is, thatthere's a gold level standard
(27:23):
that everybody's rising to.
SPEAKER_00 (27:24):
Yeah, you're talking my language.
All right.
SPEAKER_01 (27:26):
So yeah.
So, so yeah.
So again, strategic planning,we're focusing on supporting the
students, surrounding thestudents, connecting the
students, and engaging thestudents at a whole new level,
just to keep building on andstrengthen the rock.
Love it, you know, to fortifyit.
Here we go.
Here we go.
So yeah, so stay tuned.
It's gonna, it's it's buckle up,buckle up.
SPEAKER_00 (27:46):
And I guess on that note, because we keep talking
about essentially an undertoneof the community.
You know, you and I can't dothat alone to together.
We couldn't do it as two people.
So when you're looking at thevastness of just the mission
(28:06):
from your perspective, what areways you would like to see, you
know, our internal community,external community, or our
community in general getinvolved with this whole thing?
SPEAKER_01 (28:19):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
So number one, it stays, youknow, it it we can't it can't go
anywhere if we don't know whereyou are or we're not
communicating.
You're not hearing from us,we're not hearing from you,
right?
So so that's been a lot of whythe big push to get outside of
these walls since we couldpost-COVID, you know, to to hit
the road, literally, okay?
Is is to go connect with people,right?
(28:40):
And so we say in the in thosecities and communities where we
are, we say, okay, great, youknow, have a look around you.
Like, who do you know who's herethat's not here with us tonight?
Get them here.
SPEAKER_03 (28:51):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (28:51):
You know, and we'll we'll send out the invitations
for those events.
And then, you know, it's a it'sa good thing, but you know,
we'll get calls that say, Hey,Diane, how come I didn't get the
invitation to the Austin eventthe other night?
I go, give me a moment.
I'm looking it up on mycomputer.
I go, Oh, because we show you'restill living in your mom's
basement in Kansas City.
Okay.
So, so, you know, so number oneis is stay in touch.
(29:12):
Like make sure we know where youare, we know how to reach you.
Invite those who aren't, youknow, that you don't see on your
left or your right, whetheryou're at a game here on campus
or you know, we're at an eventin San Diego or Seattle or
Washington, D.C.
or wherever it may be.
SPEAKER_03 (29:27):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (29:28):
Invite people back.
You know, we we there are anumber of ways, you know, it's
it's so rich and deep here.
There are so many layers to it.
You know, as a as a mom, analumni mom, I could be a member
of the Rockettes Club.
Okay, it's alumni moms club.
Mora Healy's done an amazing jobof creating parent community and
and community engagement throughthe spectacular auction.
(29:49):
So you can volunteer, you canstay in touch, you can help us
out with office, you know, rightnow, like with office, you know,
tasks.
Right now, there's there's acurrent parent upstairs in our
office helping us, you know, putsome of that data in, you know,
from a guy who moved out of hismom's basement 17 years ago who
just remembered to tell us, youknow.
So so yeah, so there's alwaysopportunities and ways to get
(30:10):
back and to stay in touch.
And we really do hear frompeople that that makes a
difference too.
Like, because you know, we weall kind of we all grew up with
your kids.
SPEAKER_04 (30:20):
Yeah, all right.
For sure.
SPEAKER_01 (30:22):
You know, there's my my colleague Merda Suarez, she's
our director of alumniengagement.
She said, you know, the time.
Sure goes fast when you have afront row to the life of a young
person.
SPEAKER_03 (30:32):
For sure.
SPEAKER_01 (30:33):
And that's what we have.
We have a front row to the lifeof that young person.
And we're cheering that youngperson on just as much as their
parent is and their grandparentand their neighbor.
You know, and so so having thatfront row seat, like that's
that's a big deal.
And we invite you all back to,you know, to to remember that
front seat and to remember that,you know, that that that
(30:54):
community that that surroundedyou, not just your student.
SPEAKER_00 (30:57):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (30:57):
And and again, yeah, just come on back.
We're so delighted to have you.
SPEAKER_00 (31:02):
Yeah.
And you know, as I'm now hereand I'm guilty of this too,
which is so funny.
And you know, I'll say this toyou.
SPEAKER_01 (31:10):
Do you still live in your mother's basement?
Is this what you're about toconfess?
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (31:13):
Thankfully, no.
SPEAKER_01 (31:13):
I was gonna say we know where to find you out
there.
SPEAKER_00 (31:16):
But you know, I've I've said this to, you know,
different folks in the buildingtoo.
It's like any way I can help asa former alumni, as a person,
you know, I am available to youbecause I also know like exactly
what you're talking about.
Like you leave here and then youfor whatever reason, right?
You don't stay in touch, you youor you just get wrapped up in
(31:38):
the fray of life, and now you'reoff growing up.
And you know, don't don't wait15 years to say, oh, you know
what?
Let me go check out.
I remember this spaghetti dinnerthing that I you know, so father
bird jokes.
I uh I am I'm looking and I'mand I'm looking forward to you
know that and other activitiesand events.
SPEAKER_01 (32:00):
Well, I tell you too, yeah, because like, you
know, take what you just said asan example.
Like, if I came to you and said,hey, Steve, I've got this young
alum who's looking for X, Y, andZ, and he knows you were there,
there, and there, would you helphim?
SPEAKER_03 (32:13):
Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (32:13):
You are never gonna say no to that.
Like these guys, right?
And that's that's been that'smagical to watch happen too.
You know, we had a couple ofkiddos who are from the class of
2022, I believe it was, at anevent in LA.
And then we did another event inNewport Beach.
And by God, one of those kidsshowed up, you know, both
events.
All right.
They're they're in the vicinity,but he sh he came to both events
(32:35):
with his resume.
SPEAKER_03 (32:36):
Oh, cool.
SPEAKER_01 (32:37):
And you can read on LinkedIn the results of that
because he had an internship.
SPEAKER_04 (32:40):
Love it.
SPEAKER_01 (32:41):
Okay.
And and so I've got, we were inDC and I've got a young man
there who's saying, Hey, I'mlooking for an internship or to
explore.
I'd I'd ultimately like to dosomething in analytics or
consulting, but I'm looking fora summer internship to help me
explore that.
So any alumni listening, allright, or alumni connected
people listening who want tohelp this man out, you know,
this young man out.
He's he's a phenomenal youngman, as are all Rockhurst men,
(33:03):
you know?
And so, so yeah, so reach backto me.
You know, can I can I give myemail here?
If you want to reach back tMarty at rockhursths.edu.
I'd love to hear from you thatwe can connect you.
And this again, too, is is againfrom faithful, loyal alums
who've started Rock Connect.
It's a formalized businessnetworking for particularly with
a a slant for you know for youngalumni to get their foot in the
(33:25):
door.
But yeah, there again, so manylayers, so many ways you can get
involved.
So all you have to do is stay intouch, reach back to us, raise
your hand, say, I'm here.
SPEAKER_00 (33:33):
Yeah, I'm here.
SPEAKER_01 (33:35):
We'll answer that call.
We'll answer that call.
SPEAKER_00 (33:37):
Okay.
Well, let me ask you this.
And this is a question, youknow, as we're coming, and I
hate it.
I love I love doing thesebecause, you know, we you just
start talking to folks and youget into these good
conversations and you realizemore and more that this place is
exactly what you hear people sayabout it.
It's a special place.
And so on that note, the finalquestion if you could tell a
(34:01):
prospective family the numberone reason they should send
their son to Rockhurst, whatwould it be?
SPEAKER_01 (34:08):
You know, I'd go back, we're you know, and we're
back now.
We're we're at the top of thehour again where where we
started.
Again, I I really I mean this.
I mean this sincerely.
I watched every wonderful thingthat people ever said about
Rockhurst High School come truefor both of my boys.
SPEAKER_03 (34:24):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (34:25):
And I didn't know that was gonna happen when we,
you know, enrolled them here,but I absolutely watched it
happen.
And that's that's what I rest myheels on.
I've I've lived that experience.
I've lived that experience, andI hear about that experience
every day that I'm representingthe school.
Yeah.
And it's it's it's phenomenal.
(34:47):
It really, really is.
SPEAKER_00 (34:48):
And, you know, it's I almost well, actually, I don't
feel bad about it because youknow, my my testimony is
similar.
You know, every day I get towatch, I'm almost more
encouraged and proud because nowbeing here, I get to see some of
the same people that loved onme, loving on the next
(35:09):
generation.
I get to hear differentconversations similar to you,
about people who are so loyal towhat this place is and what it
does that they would never thinkabout not being involved or
giving or making sure the nextgeneration of young men can
experience the iteration thatthey got to.
(35:33):
And I would encourage folks to,you know, well, I guess for me
as one of the admissionsdirectors, you know, I'm easy to
deal with.
Call me, email me, show up.
We can talk.
SPEAKER_01 (35:45):
To be clear, I'm not scary either.
I'm not easy to deal with,right?
Well, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (35:48):
No, and I and I just like any well, you can quite
honestly, anybody, you justshould hey, yeah, reach out
because we want this experiencefor every young man that thinks
or believes or hopes it's forthem.
SPEAKER_01 (36:03):
100% we do.
100%.
SPEAKER_00 (36:05):
And that's what everything that you've heard so
far on this podcast has beenabout.
You know, from what you do on adaily basis to what I do to what
the teachers do, it is aboutthat young man that wants to
come here and be a part of thisexperience and this journey.
And so it's been a blessing forsure.
unknown (36:25):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (36:25):
Well, you know, and I'll I guess close it out here
in like my own really personalstory, you know, about the time.
So so when I began the work as aconsultant with Rockhurst, that
was in August, and it was justthe prior December.
I'd lost my dad.
Oh, yeah.
It was unexpected.
And it was a sudden, yeah,thanks, thanks.
And and so, you know, I wasgoing through that grieving
(36:46):
process as it is, right?
And and about the time Davidsaid, Hey, why don't you come
in-house and do this in-house?
And I was thinking, like, okay,well, I've got this pretty good
deal, you know, I'm aconsultant, I can set my own
hours, choose my client, youknow, do all this kind of stuff.
And I thought, oh man, but thisagain, back to what I witnessed
for my own children.
Like, this is a life-changingpathway and opportunity, like,
(37:08):
right?
I gotta think about this.
And and so, you know, you throwyour hands up and you give the
whole, like, okay, give me asign that will uh help.
And I was walking through therobotics lab.
Have I told you the story?
Okay, I'm walking through therobotics lab and I stopped dead
in my tracks.
And uh, this is before I cameback to work full time.
So this is in that firstsemester of 2020.
And I I said, Oh my gosh, Andy,Andy Wilson.
(37:29):
Yeah, I said, What what's thatbanner there on the wall?
It says Jezubots, and and hesaid, Yeah, that's our that's
Jesubots, that's the name of ourteam, our competitive robotics
team.
And I said, Okay, but what'sthat number at the bottom?
He said, 5809.
I said, Yeah.
He said, Well, that's ourcompetition number, why?
And I said, and I cannot makethis up.
And and I wow, I also still kindof can't say it already.
(37:51):
You know, I said, I just said,give me a sign.
Five eight oh nine is also theaddress of the house I grew up
in.
SPEAKER_00 (37:58):
Oh wow.
And I said, you know what?
SPEAKER_01 (38:01):
Okay, I guess I'm home.
I'm home.
And that's how it's felt to meever since.
And I sense that that's how thealumni feel, that's how the
parents who entrust us with ourchildren feel, and it is.
It's a it's a cycle that justkeeps on giving, keeps
perpetuating, keeps growing thefamily.
And it's there's nothing likethat.
SPEAKER_00 (38:19):
Yeah, rock.
Rockhurst, your home away fromhome.
I mean, that's really what itis, whether you're a student
here or you're uh an alumni,yeah, that you know, you have
that affinity for this placebecause that's what it that's
what it ultimately becomes, youknow, in a lot of ways.
And we just want people tounderstand that and experience
that and jump on board, youknow.
(38:42):
Yeah, for sure.
So well, Diane, it's been awonder talking to you.
We'll have to do this again.
And everybody listening, weappreciate your time.
This is Steve Redman.
Beth Beth is uh out today, youknow, but you know, she's here
in spirit, and we areappreciative of you listening.
This is Rock Talk, and we willtalk soon.
Welcome everybody.
This is Steve Redman, and youare listening to Rock Talk.
I know that's not our normalintroduction, but I wanted to
get right into this conversationtoday.
We got a very, very specialguest, our very own Diane Marty
here with us on this episode,and we are looking forward to
talking with her.
So, Diane, I want you to jumpright in because as I've done a
(00:55):
little research, you areprobably one of the most
interesting people on the in thein the in the world.
SPEAKER_02 (01:01):
So if you would uh listeners, I'm so sorry if
you're about to try and Googleany of that and go, what is he
talking about?
SPEAKER_00 (01:09):
If you would just introduce yourself, tell us
about your role and you knowwhat you do here at the rock uh
rockhurst.
SPEAKER_01 (01:15):
Yeah, yeah, I'm happy to.
So, first of all, thanks forhaving me.
I'm Diane Marty and I started mywhole my own Rockhurst journey.
I had uh two boys who camethrough the school, Max and
George, classes of 2016 and2018.
SPEAKER_03 (01:26):
Okay, cool.
SPEAKER_01 (01:27):
So I logged six years as a mom first and then
came back after they were bothin college to work for the
school.
I'd been consulting.
I had a fundraising consultingbusiness of my own, and so I'd
done that.
And so started off here at TheRock.
I think it was in August of2020.
Okay.
Yeah.
So it was the 2020 to 2021school year, and started as a
(01:51):
consultant.
And then a few months into that,David Laughlin said, Hey, I've
got a good idea.
And I went, Well, tell me aboutthat.
And so that's how I ended upcoming back to the school full
time.
First as the vice president ofphilanthropy and engagement.
SPEAKER_03 (02:05):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (02:06):
And presently, my title is executive VP of
Strategic Planning.
SPEAKER_03 (02:11):
Cool.
SPEAKER_01 (02:11):
And oh wait, there's more.
SPEAKER_03 (02:14):
Love it.
SPEAKER_01 (02:15):
And vice president of philanthropic engagement.
Oh no, it's not.
Oh my gosh, that's a big fatlie.
And also uh vice president ofphilanthropic investments.
Excuse me.
It's a lot of word soup becausewe're we're, you know,
concluding a strategic plan atthis point and have some really
exciting things coming down thepipeline as a result of that.
SPEAKER_03 (02:33):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (02:34):
And part of that is bringing a fellow rock grad.
Well, I'm not a rock grad, butmy boys are.
Mark Blank, class of the nineclass of 98, is coming back, has
come back as the vice presidentof philanthropy and engagement.
So that's my original title.
So Mark's moved into that role,and I squished over with a you
know, kind of a commensuratetitle and then the the strategic
planning park.
SPEAKER_00 (02:53):
Okay, cool, cool, cool.
So as I told you, there's a lot.
You do a lot.
I see you for the folkslistening.
I see Diane running around a lotand you know doing all kinds of
stuff.
So I appreciate that.
And want to ask first, becauseyou know, I'm I'm curious how
the boys doing.
Where are they at and what'sgoing on?
SPEAKER_01 (03:11):
Thanks.
You know, you know the way to mymom's hurt, don't you?
No, the boys are great.
Max is in Chicago and doinggreat.
He's been in the position heheld.
From here, he went to LoyolaChicago for a year and then
finished at Mizzou.
Um loved it.
Yes.
I thought that would ring abell, huh?
Yeah.
And uh and he through a rockconnection, actually, had an
interview and then ultimatelyhis hire straight out of
(03:32):
college.
And he's still at that job inChicago and loving it.
SPEAKER_03 (03:35):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (03:35):
And George is living his best 20-something life as
well.
He's in the Twin Cities,straight out of here.
He went to St.
Thomas University, and it'sexciting to see we've got a
couple guys there now and acouple other guys considering it
too.
And from there, he did a seasonwith the New York Giants.
And then his gang back inMinneapolis was calling him
back, like George, come back.
(03:55):
And and soccer is his sport.
So he is working for the Loon,the MLS team there in
Minneapolis.
So as I say, best 20-somethinglives.
SPEAKER_00 (04:03):
I love oh, so he's rolling.
So so St.
Thomas, that's in Minneapolis.
SPEAKER_01 (04:08):
Uh St.
Paul, Texas.
St.
Paul.
SPEAKER_00 (04:09):
Okay, all right.
SPEAKER_01 (04:10):
And then it's like saying, you know, straight down
State State Line Road.
SPEAKER_02 (04:15):
Are you in Kansas City, Missouri?
Are you in Leewood, Kansas?
Where are you at?
SPEAKER_00 (04:19):
And so with the Giants thing, is he like in a a
sports role of some kind, orwhat what is what was that
about?
SPEAKER_01 (04:25):
So yeah, yeah.
He actually at one point hesaid, uh, yeah, mom, it's my job
to make sure Eli Manning signsenough autographs.
Oh, okay.
So he was working in partnershipand marketing.
Um I'm not sure if those are theexact words that the Giants use,
but you know, working with thethe folks who who do
sponsorships of the team.
SPEAKER_00 (04:41):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (04:41):
And that's really kind of what he does now too
with the loons.
SPEAKER_00 (04:44):
Gotcha.
Love to hear it.
Well, love to hear it.
I'm glad they're doing well.
Oh, they are.
SPEAKER_01 (04:47):
They are, you know, and that's that's the thing too,
is that what makes the comingback so easy, because obviously
I didn't go to Rockhurst, but asa mom, I saw everything, every
wonderful thing that anybody hadto say about Rockhurst High
School come true for my ownvoice.
SPEAKER_03 (05:01):
Yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (05:02):
And that's really easy to to watch that unfurl and
look at them, you know, again inChicago and Minneapolis, but the
guys on both sides of them arestill their Rockhurst brothers.
SPEAKER_00 (05:12):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (05:12):
And that's pretty cool.
SPEAKER_00 (05:13):
And I mean, we we've talked about that on just about
every episode, how real andvivid that aspect of this
experience is.
Yeah.
The connections that you makehere, the connections that last
a lifetime.
And it's really, really cool to,you know, see that continue to
(05:35):
take place.
I am on a personal mission asI've talked to, you know,
recently I was talking to acouple of business classes, you
know, about my uh basically myprofessional career.
And you know, and they werealways asking, like, well, you
know, how did this experienceimpact you?
Or what's one thing you couldtell us about this experience
(05:55):
that you know maybe you miss?
And I said, just press into thebrotherhood sooner.
You know, like if I can help youmove out of the fray of 14 to
18, and I'm in that mode andjust see the value, the real
value of what you're a part ofright now, you're gonna be even
(06:16):
more blessed when you get out ofhere and go into, you know, that
brotherhood.
And so we're excited about it.
SPEAKER_01 (06:23):
You know, and I tell you too, sorry, just to kind of
tag on here to to what you'retalking about, it's not just the
brotherhood amongst thestudents.
But, you know, here atRockhurst, like, you know, you
hear from time to time, you'llhear people say, Okay, in, you
know, maybe once in a life youhave that one teacher who really
makes an impact on you.
Yeah.
And yet we talk to our studentsand they can name three or four
(06:45):
instructors, like withouthesitation.
And so it's not only the thepeer-to-peer community, but but
the the amazing faculty andstaff that are in the building
forming relationships andwalking with these young men.
SPEAKER_03 (06:57):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (06:58):
And then the community that reverberates out
from that, you know.
So again, I'm still lifelongfriends with the parents I met
when my boys were here.
SPEAKER_03 (07:05):
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (07:05):
And and that community just ripples out.
And and the really great thingthat I don't think a lot of
students realize because they'renot thinking about this, right?
But, you know, when somethingripples out, it also comes back.
SPEAKER_03 (07:18):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (07:18):
And that's the community that surrounds our
students, surrounds our alumni,surrounds our families.
SPEAKER_03 (07:24):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (07:24):
Surrounds those who don't know us yet, and they
don't even know it.
SPEAKER_00 (07:27):
You know, that's a real thing.
SPEAKER_01 (07:28):
Just get here.
Come talk to Steve.
Come talk to Steve Ribmond.
SPEAKER_00 (07:32):
So this part of our series, you know, we we kind of
have this thing chunked out inwaves or series is about giving.
SPEAKER_01 (07:39):
Oh, don't hate that.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (07:41):
Whether it's, you know, time, talent, or treasure.
And I thought it would just bevery interesting in your role,
right?
Because you get to see it, youget to, I mean, you're neck deep
in those conversations all thetime.
You know, what do you think isimportant about our like our
community?
And and, you know, I want maybewe go from the outside in,
(08:05):
right?
The alumni, the folks that youdeal with to in-house.
Like, what do you think is soimportant about folks in our
community giving back to RockersHigh School?
SPEAKER_01 (08:15):
Yeah.
Wow.
You know, what's what's soimportant?
I mean, again, again, it's thiscommunity that never leaves you.
You know, and it's kind of amagical thing to watch the alums
I've been able to meet acrossthe United States, you know, not
just here in Kansas City, butacross the United States to say,
you know, to to watch them kindof digest and think about, oh
(08:39):
yeah, what I've got right now, Ican trace back to Rockhurst High
School.
And I had a great time incollege and grad school, and I
got married along the way, orwhatever, you know, whatever's
happened, but I I can trace itback.
And somebody said to me one timeat an alumni event, they said,
you know what, this is Rockhurstis like my forgotten community.
(08:59):
And yet it's really notforgotten.
It's really never far from myconscience, but but I don't
think about it every day.
And then when you reconnect toit, how magical that is.
And so that's you know, that's agiving and a receiving moment as
well.
It doesn't even involve time,talent, or treasure.
Just just that moment of, youknow, when when I first started
here, Father Jacobazi at thetime was the principal, and he
(09:22):
said, you know, you really needto understand this is not just
about education, this iseducation and formation hand in
hand.
Yeah.
Okay.
They are, you know, linked,coupled, 100% permanently
together.
And as as students experiencethat here.
But then again, in the alumnicommunity, hearkening back to
(09:44):
that.
You know, I had I had agentleman say to me, we were we
were in Dallas and Austin justlast week.
And a gentleman and his wifeboth said to me with tears in
their eyes, both of them,Rockhurst High School saved his
life.
I mean, that's powerful.
SPEAKER_03 (10:00):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (10:01):
You know, nobody certainly wants to script a
scenario where somebody's lifehas to be saved, but he said
Rockhurst High School saved mylife.
And, you know, people havereflected that that back to me,
you know, that that it saved mylife.
It it changed my life.
It gave me this life.
SPEAKER_03 (10:17):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (10:18):
You know, and and that level of consciousness
amongst the alumni, like theyfeel that viscerally.
And it's it's powerful, it'smagical, and and and the level
of loyalty back to one's highschool.
SPEAKER_03 (10:33):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (10:33):
You know, think about that.
You know, we we even had a ayoung man reach back to us.
He was at he was at GeorgetownUniversity, and and there were
some life circumstances, and andhe said, Oh my gosh, you know, I
don't know if I'm gonna be ableto stay at Georgetown.
And he called Rockhurst HighSchool to say, Can you help?
SPEAKER_00 (10:51):
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (10:51):
What do I do?
And it so happened that I knewsomebody, you know, there at
Georgetown that I could put himin touch with.
But the reaction of that, thatadministrator at Georgetown to
say, Oh my gosh, I don't thinkin my entire career I've had a
young person reach back to theirhigh school because they knew
you'd pick up the phone andyou'd have a connection and
(11:12):
you'd get them through it.
That's gosh, that's cool.
You know, and and that is thatis a community, that is a whole
community embrace.
SPEAKER_03 (11:21):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (11:21):
You know, that that doesn't let go of you when you
leave these walls and hallways.
SPEAKER_00 (11:26):
And I think that's that part is so real, and that's
kind of what I was just sayingis like when I interact with the
young men now as an alum, uh, Ithink our listeners know I went
here, but if you didn't, Igraduated in 2004.
So and yeah, because I guess weget new listeners all the time.
So being an alum myself is someaningful for me to be boots on
(11:49):
the ground because that is theone thing that I cherish more
than anything about myexperience here was it it
changed my life at a at a timewhere there was a lot of chaos
in my life personally when I washere in a in such a delicate
(12:10):
formative stage of my life.
Right, right.
Those same and I mean when I saythe same, like they're still
here, some of them that lovedme, that poured into me, that
held me accountable.
I remember very explicitlytalking to when I was you know
interviewing for this, I saidRockhurst is uniquely, uniquely
(12:33):
a place in in my heart that Iwould put down just about
anything to serve in thatcommunity if I can give back a
fraction of what I got from thisplace.
And it's cool to hear from youbecause if you if you guys don't
know that are listening, our PEteam, they're worldwide with
this thing.
They the uh I am envious of theflight miles that they rack up
(12:53):
and the points because they arealways on the move having those
conversations, and it's so coolto be able to hear that other
alumni out there that I've nevermet, right?
Maybe, maybe not, that feel thatsame way in their own way.
SPEAKER_01 (13:07):
Oh man, I'm telling I mean it just it it it keeps
pouring out, and that's youknow, lucky us that we get to
hear those stories, you know.
I and and that translates back,you know, in a number of ways.
Like, you know, so so you havefolks who can say that, and you
know, I've I've had even a ayoung alum say to me, Hey, you
know what?
I'm gonna do big things.
(13:28):
I came from here.
I love this place.
I had those three, four, fiveinstructors he could name off
the top of his head.
Yeah, I'm gonna go do bigthings.
You know what?
I'm gonna give back.
And that young alum, I'm notnaming him intentionally, okay,
but class of 2015 has put down a$25,000 commitment that said
$5,000 a year over five yearsthat I can plan for and budget
(13:52):
for.
Yeah.
Like I'm gonna do big things andI know where it came from.
Yeah.
And so we have alumni who havethis amazing sense of gratitude.
And and you know, it's again,it's it's it's overwhelming, and
we're so blessed for all ofthat.
But you know, these guys whothink, I'm gonna go do great
things.
There are guys who've alreadydone great things that are able
to give back in in financialways too.
(14:14):
And there are guys who arewanting to do still
transformative things, right?
You know, and it's just oh man,the way it all reverberates
back.
You know, and we continue topour in to to these students, or
you know, we take young men andand we expect the best from
them, and then we equip them andchallenge them to become even
better.
SPEAKER_00 (14:35):
100%.
SPEAKER_01 (14:35):
All right, and and that level of expectation,
accountability and impact, theresults.
SPEAKER_03 (14:44):
Yeah.
For sure.
SPEAKER_01 (14:46):
There's a there's a book, the Heath brothers wrote a
book.
I think it's the power ofmoments, and they talk about,
you know, these moments in yourlife that define you.
So, Steve, you've just you knowyou've enunciated some of that
here, you know.
And if you close your eyes andthink about, okay, where do I go
in my memory right away?
Like, there's like, okay, great,you know, we won that football
game, my high school graduation,my college graduation, and then
(15:07):
you go, well, flatline, and yougo, Oh, I got married, beep.
And then, oh, I had a kid.
But like, where did all thosemoments go?
Right.
And and part of the philanthropyand engagement team's mission is
to be, and we literally say itthis way.
I mean, we did it did a retreat,did some thinking, brought all
kinds of perspectives fromacross the the team of eight and
(15:27):
nine people together, and said,We're all here for each person
in this building so that he cango out and be one for all.
So we're all for one, so he canbe one for all.
And and our job, if we're doingit right for philanthropy and
engagement, it's not all aboutthe dollars.
It is about, you know, givingback time, talent, treasure,
(15:48):
however, you can give back tothis community that has loved
you so much, you know.
Our job is to create thosedefining moments, to bring you
back to those moments of thatconversation with instructor X,
you know, or the moment afriend's parent, you realize
that you are a part of thatfamily too.
And, you know, we stand in frontof the parents and we say, you
(16:09):
know, we're gonna ask you for alot.
Okay, because it's not just thealums we're talking to.
Yeah.
Some of their parents are like,oh yeah, we're aware.
You know, and if you're analumni parent, boy, hello, you
know, but we we say we're gonnaask you a lot, and we're
unrelenting in it, and we'realso unapologetic.
SPEAKER_03 (16:24):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (16:25):
Because we believe that every future in this
building is worth every ask thatwe make.
SPEAKER_00 (16:29):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (16:30):
And that's what motivates the work.
SPEAKER_00 (16:31):
It's a big and it's a big mission, and it's the the
more time I spend in thebuilding, the more I meet
different folks.
You realize how vast what we'retry what we're when I no, and
I'm excuse me, when I say tryingto do like we've done
historically, but because wecontinue to evolve, like it's
(16:52):
like, oh, yeah, we gotta keepbecause what what they're what
we were doing 20 years ago whenI was here.
SPEAKER_01 (17:00):
It's not the same, and it's not the same, right?
SPEAKER_00 (17:02):
It can't be the same, and we have to just keep
moving it and and that's why Ithink it's so cool.
You know, I get to meet morealumni, and I get, you know, now
I'm rubbing elbows withdifferent folks as I, you know,
kind of move around in indifferent, you know, capacities,
and it's like the Yeah, it'sit's just really cool to see
folks that are well it yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (17:23):
I mean, yes, yes.
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cutyou off, you know, but like
these words and what you'regetting at, these were words
that were fed back to us by thedad of an alum who said, I hope
that Rockhurst always adapts butnever changes.
SPEAKER_03 (17:34):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (17:35):
So it's about staying true to those ideals and
that linked education andformation, but adapting.
Because to your point, like theschool should not be the same as
it was 20 years ago.
And and that's part of what ourstrategic planning has done,
this multi-year effort.
It's not something we just wokeup one day and said, Hey, let's
go this direction now.
But you know, if you had abusiness and you didn't change
it for 20 years, you know, it'sprobably not the way you want to
(17:58):
run your, you know.
And so we've got this greatproduct, you know, the rock.
It's solid.
It's the rock, right?
But how do we strengthen that?
SPEAKER_04 (18:07):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (18:07):
How do we build upon that?
And so, so that's what we'relooking at now are, you know,
models of care for all of thosein our community.
So, not only how can we buildpathways to enable all families
to know that their son could behere at Rockhurst.
Right.
Like finances should not be anobstacle.
What can we do to remove that?
(18:28):
And not just the dollars thereeither.
But okay, it does no good if,say, I were a single mom north
of the river.
If I work north of the river andI can't get my kid physically
here to school, all right, thenit does me no good to hear, oh,
he could come here and we willmeet 100% of your verified
financial need.
That does me no good, right?
(18:48):
So looking very holistically atthat through this strategic
planning process to say, okay,here are the priorities.
And and by the way, you know,the trustees never varied.
The priorities are the humancapital in the school.
SPEAKER_03 (18:59):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (18:59):
Okay.
They are the students in theirfamilies and the faculty staff
that walk this daily missionwith them.
SPEAKER_03 (19:04):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (19:05):
And again, when you're grounded in that, I mean,
it's it's that granular.
Like that's who we're all about.
And there is no swaying fromthat.
The trustee the trustees haveset it forth.
David lives it, David Laughlin.
Everybody in this building does.
SPEAKER_04 (19:19):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (19:20):
You know?
And so yeah, we're we're gonnacontinue to adapt, we're gonna
continue to strengthen theexperience that alumni knew or
that parents already had.
You know, it's even verydifferent from when my boys were
here.
SPEAKER_00 (19:29):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (19:30):
But and that's a good thing.
That's a good thing.
SPEAKER_00 (19:32):
Yeah, so along those lines of the are there parts of
the strategic plan that youcould talk about?
SPEAKER_01 (19:39):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (19:40):
To like rope, just because you know, like you say
it, and then it's like for ourour listeners to understand,
because this is also a big partof this platform, is helping
people, you know, reallyunderstand, like, oh, that is a
very different place than Iactually thought with just the
different folks that we have onhere.
(20:00):
So can you kind of elaborate alittle bit on the strategic
plan?
SPEAKER_01 (20:04):
Yeah, yeah.
So there were really out of thestrategic plan, you know, we
were guided by number one, ourour Jesuit Catholic mission,
okay, and the universalapostolic preferences, the UAPs
of the Jesuits.
And out of that, we hadstrategic planning pillars that
eventually morphed into fourstrategic planning committees.
SPEAKER_03 (20:24):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (20:24):
So accessibility and affordability, formation of the
whole person, academic andprofessional success, and
athletics and co-curriculars.
Okay.
So that's not just athletics,but you know, everything from
choir, speech, and debate,theater, chess club, you know,
whatever.
But really looking at the ways,you know, how do we do this and
and how do we do each of thoseareas better?
SPEAKER_03 (20:45):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (20:46):
And so, really, through this strategic planning
process that involved more than200 people across the United
States and in fact worldwide.
Um, we had some participantsfrom outside of the United
States.
SPEAKER_03 (20:55):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (20:56):
And and boiling all of that down, and I'm I'm trying
to think about my body languagehere, which does no no good to
the listeners.
But I'm trying to come up withlike a little YMCA dance or
something like that, becausereally the actions that are
resulting from strategicplanning are that we are going
to support our students.
Okay, with increased, you know,two years ago through through
(21:17):
this office, the admissions andmarketing office, we made the
pledge to families that anyyoung man that comes here, if
you have, if your family hasverified financial need, we will
meet 100% of that need, which ishuge.
When I first started five yearsago, I think we were meeting
like 75, 78%.
And if you think about that,well, if I need$10,000 and you
(21:39):
say, well, I can give you$7,500,well, like where where do you
expect me to get the other$2,500?
You know?
Right.
Yeah.
So so supporting our students,you know, in those holistic
wraparound ways as well.
That we're we're starting topilot some things now.
So current parents will haveseen some transportation surveys
from Father Kramer, ourprincipal.
And also making sure, you know,again, five years ago, I think
(22:01):
we had a faculty retention ratethat was less than 90%.
SPEAKER_04 (22:05):
Oh.
SPEAKER_01 (22:05):
All right.
And when you think, you know,we've got about 135 people in
the building, plus or minus in agiven year, like we don't want
to be losing that many people.
Right.
Right.
So taking a look at that, how dowe keep the best and the
brightest walking alongsidethese kids every day on the
front lines?
That's really who we are.
Like, like the mom dropping herkid off isn't coming through the
doors to see Diane Marty.
Right.
(22:26):
That's not what's going on.
SPEAKER_03 (22:27):
Exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (22:28):
All right.
So we're supporting our studentsin that, you know, in a myriad
of ways through strategicplanning and and the initiatives
that will result.
We are surrounding our studentswith a new level of care.
You know, unfortunately, thereare, you know, people talk about
now like high, high levels ofanxiety amongst young people.
Okay.
And so how do we, how do we workwith that?
(22:49):
How do we support it?
How do we get the kiddo, youknow, hopefully, you know, most
of the kiddos in the building,hopefully they're doing great.
All right.
But, you know, we all have thosemoments, right?
Not, you know, they're diviningmoments, they're not positive
defining moments, but you know,where our world gets robbed.
SPEAKER_04 (23:03):
100%.
SPEAKER_01 (23:04):
Whether we lose a grandparent or, you know,
somebody you're dating breaks upwith you.
Like there are these moments,and that's a big deal to kids,
right?
So how do we get those littlethose kiddos through those
moments and back to kind of,okay, great, look, it's gonna be
okay.
SPEAKER_03 (23:17):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (23:18):
Trust us on this.
And then, you know, then thereare kiddos who are, you know,
for a multitude of reasons,whatever they may be, living
kind of in constant crisis, youknow, with with again, whether
it's anxiety or, you know,whatever's whatever's going on.
And so how can we show thisthose kiddos?
Like we're there for them,right?
We are here to support them.
It will get better.
SPEAKER_03 (23:39):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (23:40):
All right.
And so, so this continuum ofcare that we're gonna do, you
know, restructuring a counselingmodel here is gonna be really
exciting.
And and not just, we're not justgonna do something for the
students in the building, butreally to talk to the parents as
well.
So here's some, you know, we'regonna we're looking at
educational programming to say,okay, as a hypothetical example,
what's it like to parent a kidin a digital age?
(24:01):
What's it like to try and have aconversation with your kid about
doing homework and they're usingAI?
Like are they, you know, and andand for the faculty too,
morphing into the next, youknow, we're we're gonna surround
the student, we're gonna supportthe students, we're gonna
surround the students, we'regoing to connect the students
with these new opportunities.
And in a big push, shout out tothe class of 1975 that has
(24:22):
created a fund to help support,you know, for for the
foreseeable future here tosupport professional development
around AI.
SPEAKER_03 (24:30):
Gotcha.
SPEAKER_01 (24:31):
How do we teach it?
How is it ethical?
How do we use it?
How do you leverage it?
What are things you should notdo with it?
You know, so so connectingstudents to those real world
moments that are relevant andtime-bound right now in front of
their faces, right?
As all of this unfolds.
And again, supporting thefaculty too in their own
(24:51):
professional development.
And how do we get ahead of thecurve?
We've got a number of kiddos whohave brought things to us.
President Laughlin shares astory about a young man who's
attending school here, but hedoesn't show up before 10 a.m.
any day because Monday throughFriday, he's working at Burns
and Mac and getting paid for itand getting credit here for it.
And David also shares a storythat this young man said, you
(25:12):
know, and I understand, I justkeep taking these tests over
there.
And he said, I think I've passedmore field tests than some of my
coworkers, my adult coworkers.
So how do we, how do we, throughstrategic planning, we're
looking at, sorry, I didn't evenjoke y'all.
Um, you know, how do we, how dowe keep getting ahead of the
curve for the kiddos that wecan, you know, get ahead of the
curve and turn around andpresent these opportunities to
(25:33):
them rather than bringing it tous.
Okay.
So that's how we're going toconnect the students better
through strategic planning.
And then we're also going toengage the students where they
are, what are their interests?
There's a positive youthdevelopment theory.
Sorry, I'm geeking out on youhere.
I love it.
Dr.
Peter Benson, um, he createdthis theory for positive youth
development that if you take theyouth's passion, so what are
(25:54):
they excited about?
And they can tell you what thatis, you know, even as you know,
young as like seven, eight yearsold, they can tell you what they
get excited about.
And if you take that passion andyou pair it with two non-parent
caregiving adults, P.S.
We've got more than 135 of themin the building.
All right.
So pair that passion with thosetwo adults plus opportunity
(26:17):
equals thriving.
That is literally a formula forthriving for young people.
Okay.
And so connecting and engagingthem through athletics and
co-curriculars, even beyond theclassroom, okay, is is the other
thing we're looking at.
And how can we do that?
And how can we build and promoteopportunities for the greater
(26:37):
community to come support themin that?
SPEAKER_03 (26:39):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (26:39):
You know, so so if you think about it, you know,
like my own boys, they playedsoccer and hockey here, you
know, so we could go out to therink and they'd have their
community there, supportingthem, cheering them on.
Same thing for soccer.
And oh man, our soccer team nowis crushing.
I'm so glad you paused in withthat because I my filter popped
down there.
I was gonna say something else.
(27:00):
So yeah, they're crushing it.
And so, so what can we do to getthe community out there around
them?
And and also to literallywriting a playbook that whatever
coach or moderator you'reworking with, if you're
representing the rock, you'vegot that crest on your chest,
you know, or or you know, thelogo on your shirt or on your
necktie or whatever it is, thatthere's a gold level standard
(27:23):
that everybody's rising to.
SPEAKER_00 (27:24):
Yeah, you're talking my language.
All right.
SPEAKER_01 (27:26):
So yeah.
So, so yeah.
So again, strategic planning,we're focusing on supporting the
students, surrounding thestudents, connecting the
students, and engaging thestudents at a whole new level,
just to keep building on andstrengthen the rock.
Love it, you know, to fortifyit.
Here we go.
Here we go.
So yeah, so stay tuned.
It's gonna, it's it's buckle up,buckle up.
SPEAKER_00 (27:46):
And I guess on that note, because we keep talking
about essentially an undertoneof the community.
You know, you and I can't dothat alone to together.
We couldn't do it as two people.
So when you're looking at thevastness of just the mission
(28:06):
from your perspective, what areways you would like to see, you
know, our internal community,external community, or our
community in general getinvolved with this whole thing?
SPEAKER_01 (28:19):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
So number one, it stays, youknow, it it we can't it can't go
anywhere if we don't know whereyou are or we're not
communicating.
You're not hearing from us,we're not hearing from you,
right?
So so that's been a lot of whythe big push to get outside of
these walls since we couldpost-COVID, you know, to to hit
the road, literally, okay?
Is is to go connect with people,right?
(28:40):
And so we say in the in thosecities and communities where we
are, we say, okay, great, youknow, have a look around you.
Like, who do you know who's herethat's not here with us tonight?
Get them here.
SPEAKER_03 (28:51):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (28:51):
You know, and we'll we'll send out the invitations
for those events.
And then, you know, it's a it'sa good thing, but you know,
we'll get calls that say, Hey,Diane, how come I didn't get the
invitation to the Austin eventthe other night?
I go, give me a moment.
I'm looking it up on mycomputer.
I go, Oh, because we show you'restill living in your mom's
basement in Kansas City.
Okay.
So, so, you know, so number oneis is stay in touch.
(29:12):
Like make sure we know where youare, we know how to reach you.
Invite those who aren't, youknow, that you don't see on your
left or your right, whetheryou're at a game here on campus
or you know, we're at an eventin San Diego or Seattle or
Washington, D.C.
or wherever it may be.
SPEAKER_03 (29:27):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (29:28):
Invite people back.
You know, we we there are anumber of ways, you know, it's
it's so rich and deep here.
There are so many layers to it.
You know, as a as a mom, analumni mom, I could be a member
of the Rockettes Club.
Okay, it's alumni moms club.
Mora Healy's done an amazing jobof creating parent community and
and community engagement throughthe spectacular auction.
(29:49):
So you can volunteer, you canstay in touch, you can help us
out with office, you know, rightnow, like with office, you know,
tasks.
Right now, there's there's acurrent parent upstairs in our
office helping us, you know, putsome of that data in, you know,
from a guy who moved out of hismom's basement 17 years ago who
just remembered to tell us, youknow.
So so yeah, so there's alwaysopportunities and ways to get
(30:10):
back and to stay in touch.
And we really do hear frompeople that that makes a
difference too.
Like, because you know, we weall kind of we all grew up with
your kids.
SPEAKER_04 (30:20):
Yeah, all right.
For sure.
SPEAKER_01 (30:22):
You know, there's my my colleague Merda Suarez, she's
our director of alumniengagement.
She said, you know, the time.
Sure goes fast when you have afront row to the life of a young
person.
SPEAKER_03 (30:32):
For sure.
SPEAKER_01 (30:33):
And that's what we have.
We have a front row to the lifeof that young person.
And we're cheering that youngperson on just as much as their
parent is and their grandparentand their neighbor.
You know, and so so having thatfront row seat, like that's
that's a big deal.
And we invite you all back to,you know, to to remember that
front seat and to remember that,you know, that that that
(30:54):
community that that surroundedyou, not just your student.
SPEAKER_00 (30:57):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (30:57):
And and again, yeah, just come on back.
We're so delighted to have you.
SPEAKER_00 (31:02):
Yeah.
And you know, as I'm now hereand I'm guilty of this too,
which is so funny.
And you know, I'll say this toyou.
SPEAKER_01 (31:10):
Do you still live in your mother's basement?
Is this what you're about toconfess?
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (31:13):
Thankfully, no.
SPEAKER_01 (31:13):
I was gonna say we know where to find you out
there.
SPEAKER_00 (31:16):
But you know, I've I've said this to, you know,
different folks in the buildingtoo.
It's like any way I can help asa former alumni, as a person,
you know, I am available to youbecause I also know like exactly
what you're talking about.
Like you leave here and then youfor whatever reason, right?
You don't stay in touch, you youor you just get wrapped up in
(31:38):
the fray of life, and now you'reoff growing up.
And you know, don't don't wait15 years to say, oh, you know
what?
Let me go check out.
I remember this spaghetti dinnerthing that I you know, so father
bird jokes.
I uh I am I'm looking and I'mand I'm looking forward to you
know that and other activitiesand events.
SPEAKER_01 (32:00):
Well, I tell you too, yeah, because like, you
know, take what you just said asan example.
Like, if I came to you and said,hey, Steve, I've got this young
alum who's looking for X, Y, andZ, and he knows you were there,
there, and there, would you helphim?
SPEAKER_03 (32:13):
Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (32:13):
You are never gonna say no to that.
Like these guys, right?
And that's that's been that'smagical to watch happen too.
You know, we had a couple ofkiddos who are from the class of
2022, I believe it was, at anevent in LA.
And then we did another event inNewport Beach.
And by God, one of those kidsshowed up, you know, both
events.
All right.
They're they're in the vicinity,but he sh he came to both events
(32:35):
with his resume.
SPEAKER_03 (32:36):
Oh, cool.
SPEAKER_01 (32:37):
And you can read on LinkedIn the results of that
because he had an internship.
SPEAKER_04 (32:40):
Love it.
SPEAKER_01 (32:41):
Okay.
And and so I've got, we were inDC and I've got a young man
there who's saying, Hey, I'mlooking for an internship or to
explore.
I'd I'd ultimately like to dosomething in analytics or
consulting, but I'm looking fora summer internship to help me
explore that.
So any alumni listening, allright, or alumni connected
people listening who want tohelp this man out, you know,
this young man out.
He's he's a phenomenal youngman, as are all Rockhurst men,
(33:03):
you know?
And so, so yeah, so reach backto me.
You know, can I can I give myemail here?
If you want to reach back tMarty at rockhursths.edu.
I'd love to hear from you thatwe can connect you.
And this again, too, is is againfrom faithful, loyal alums
who've started Rock Connect.
It's a formalized businessnetworking for particularly with
a a slant for you know for youngalumni to get their foot in the
(33:25):
door.
But yeah, there again, so manylayers, so many ways you can get
involved.
So all you have to do is stay intouch, reach back to us, raise
your hand, say, I'm here.
SPEAKER_00 (33:33):
Yeah, I'm here.
SPEAKER_01 (33:35):
We'll answer that call.
We'll answer that call.
SPEAKER_00 (33:37):
Okay.
Well, let me ask you this.
And this is a question, youknow, as we're coming, and I
hate it.
I love I love doing thesebecause, you know, we you just
start talking to folks and youget into these good
conversations and you realizemore and more that this place is
exactly what you hear people sayabout it.
It's a special place.
And so on that note, the finalquestion if you could tell a
(34:01):
prospective family the numberone reason they should send
their son to Rockhurst, whatwould it be?
SPEAKER_01 (34:08):
You know, I'd go back, we're you know, and we're
back now.
We're we're at the top of thehour again where where we
started.
Again, I I really I mean this.
I mean this sincerely.
I watched every wonderful thingthat people ever said about
Rockhurst High School come truefor both of my boys.
SPEAKER_03 (34:24):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (34:25):
And I didn't know that was gonna happen when we,
you know, enrolled them here,but I absolutely watched it
happen.
And that's that's what I rest myheels on.
I've I've lived that experience.
I've lived that experience, andI hear about that experience
every day that I'm representingthe school.
Yeah.
And it's it's it's phenomenal.
(34:47):
It really, really is.
SPEAKER_00 (34:48):
And, you know, it's I almost well, actually, I don't
feel bad about it because youknow, my my testimony is
similar.
You know, every day I get towatch, I'm almost more
encouraged and proud because nowbeing here, I get to see some of
the same people that loved onme, loving on the next
(35:09):
generation.
I get to hear differentconversations similar to you,
about people who are so loyal towhat this place is and what it
does that they would never thinkabout not being involved or
giving or making sure the nextgeneration of young men can
experience the iteration thatthey got to.
(35:33):
And I would encourage folks to,you know, well, I guess for me
as one of the admissionsdirectors, you know, I'm easy to
deal with.
Call me, email me, show up.
We can talk.
SPEAKER_01 (35:45):
To be clear, I'm not scary either.
I'm not easy to deal with,right?
Well, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (35:48):
No, and I and I just like any well, you can quite
honestly, anybody, you justshould hey, yeah, reach out
because we want this experiencefor every young man that thinks
or believes or hopes it's forthem.
SPEAKER_01 (36:03):
100% we do.
100%.
SPEAKER_00 (36:05):
And that's what everything that you've heard so
far on this podcast has beenabout.
You know, from what you do on adaily basis to what I do to what
the teachers do, it is aboutthat young man that wants to
come here and be a part of thisexperience and this journey.
And so it's been a blessing forsure.
unknown (36:25):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (36:25):
Well, you know, and I'll I guess close it out here
in like my own really personalstory, you know, about the time.
So so when I began the work as aconsultant with Rockhurst, that
was in August, and it was justthe prior December.
I'd lost my dad.
Oh, yeah.
It was unexpected.
And it was a sudden, yeah,thanks, thanks.
And and so, you know, I wasgoing through that grieving
(36:46):
process as it is, right?
And and about the time Davidsaid, Hey, why don't you come
in-house and do this in-house?
And I was thinking, like, okay,well, I've got this pretty good
deal, you know, I'm aconsultant, I can set my own
hours, choose my client, youknow, do all this kind of stuff.
And I thought, oh man, but thisagain, back to what I witnessed
for my own children.
Like, this is a life-changingpathway and opportunity, like,
(37:08):
right?
I gotta think about this.
And and so, you know, you throwyour hands up and you give the
whole, like, okay, give me asign that will uh help.
And I was walking through therobotics lab.
Have I told you the story?
Okay, I'm walking through therobotics lab and I stopped dead
in my tracks.
And uh, this is before I cameback to work full time.
So this is in that firstsemester of 2020.
And I I said, Oh my gosh, Andy,Andy Wilson.
(37:29):
Yeah, I said, What what's thatbanner there on the wall?
It says Jezubots, and and hesaid, Yeah, that's our that's
Jesubots, that's the name of ourteam, our competitive robotics
team.
And I said, Okay, but what'sthat number at the bottom?
He said, 5809.
I said, Yeah.
He said, Well, that's ourcompetition number, why?
And I said, and I cannot makethis up.
And and I wow, I also still kindof can't say it already.
(37:51):
You know, I said, I just said,give me a sign.
Five eight oh nine is also theaddress of the house I grew up
in.
SPEAKER_00 (37:58):
Oh wow.
And I said, you know what?
SPEAKER_01 (38:01):
Okay, I guess I'm home.
I'm home.
And that's how it's felt to meever since.
And I sense that that's how thealumni feel, that's how the
parents who entrust us with ourchildren feel, and it is.
It's a it's a cycle that justkeeps on giving, keeps
perpetuating, keeps growing thefamily.
And it's there's nothing likethat.
SPEAKER_00 (38:19):
Yeah, rock.
Rockhurst, your home away fromhome.
I mean, that's really what itis, whether you're a student
here or you're uh an alumni,yeah, that you know, you have
that affinity for this placebecause that's what it that's
what it ultimately becomes, youknow, in a lot of ways.
And we just want people tounderstand that and experience
that and jump on board, youknow.
(38:42):
Yeah, for sure.
So well, Diane, it's been awonder talking to you.
We'll have to do this again.
And everybody listening, weappreciate your time.
This is Steve Redman.
Beth Beth is uh out today, youknow, but you know, she's here
in spirit, and we areappreciative of you listening.
This is Rock Talk, and we willtalk soon.
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