Resident Scholar Mychal Shares His Story at St. Peter Claver Day Celebration
Earlier this month, Thrive For Life had the great privilege of participating in Xavier High School’s celebration of St. Peter Claver Day. St. Peter Claver Day, named after the Jesuit saint who ministered to enslaved African and indigenous peoples in the Caribbean and defended their human rights, is a day for Xavier students, faculty, and staff to join together, understand, and appreciate each other’s diversity, and to understand the perspectives of others inside and outside of the community. The day is about listening, sharing opinions, and learning more.
This year, the Xavier community invited Thrive For Life to share more about its work behind and beyond the prison walls. Students had the opportunity to hear powerful testimony from Ignacio House Resident Scholar Mychal who is completing his degree at New York University. Mychal recounted his journey from behind to beyond the walls during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. In what he described as a miracle, he discovered Ignacio House shortly before his release from prison. Since entering our community, he has continued his coursework at NYU where he studies storytelling, videography, and narrative construction. Through many internships and fellowships, Mychal honed his photography and editing skills and aspires one day to be a creative director for a firm or organization with a visionary mission.
At the conclusion of his remarks, students had the opportunity to view the first chapter of our recent documentary on the journey of Jerrel, one of our most recent graduates from Ignacio House who this past May earned his MBA from Mercy College. The Xavier community also had the opportunity to hear from our Jesuit Scholastics who accompany Fr. Zach each week on his trips to Rikers Island to provide spiritual care to our brothers and sisters in the city jail system. To round out the celebration, Thrive For Life gladly received a gift of dozens upon dozens of brand new shirts and socks that will be delivered to our brothers and sisters at Rikers. In total, Xavier raised enough materials for over 1500 people.
We are incredibly grateful to the community at Xavier High School for their deep care for our mission to transform lives behind and beyond the prison walls. We look forward to continued collaboration with our friends here on 16th street! Go Knights!