Week 5:

This week, in anticipation of student interviews happening soon, I concentrated on organizing my thoughts around my interview questions.  I plan to keep the interviews informal, but want to have a general outline of what I hope to uncover during my conversations.

·         Tell me about your background: your family, your high school, etc

·         How important is your faith tradition in your life?  How important is it to your parents?

·         Did you attend regular religious worship sessions as a child?

·         Why did you choose to apply to Loyola?

·         Did Loyola’s Catholicism appeal to you?  Was it a negative?  Or was it a non-issue?  Why?

·         How do you define religion?  Spirituality?  Faith?

·         Do you have close friends on campus who are of different religions?  If not, why do you think this is?

·         What has your interaction been with Catholic traditions since you arrived on campus?  Have you attended Mass? 

·         Does Loyola support students of your religion?  Are there adequate facilities, student groups?

·          Do faculty seem open to ideas from a non-Catholic perspective?

·         Have you ever felt discriminated against on campus?  If so, who was the perpetrator of the discrimination?

·         Do you feel that the student support staff you come into contact with are knowledgeable of your faith tradition?  Should they be?  How could they improve, if needed?

·         What is a Catholic institution’s responsibility to students of other faiths?

·         Is Loyola’s statement “a home for all faiths” lived in practice on campus?  By administrators? Faculty?  Staff?

·         How has your Loyola experience compared to what you expected it to be?

·         Do you feel that your experience with the Theology course requirement has challenged your faith (that you brought to campus with you) or deepened it?  Elaborate on this/...

·         Based on your Loyola experience, would you recommend Loyola/a Jesuit institution/a religious institution to a student of your faith tradition who is considering applying?

·         Are there opportunities on campus that I could participate in that would help me understand your experience more deeply?

·         Is there anything I haven’t asked that you feel a student affairs professional on campus should be aware of