A Life Shaped by Jesuit Education

Having his dad as a teacher was unavoidable for Richard Joseph Nevle ’83. Does the name sound familiar? He is the son of the late former principal, Richard Charles Nevle. As a student at Strake Jesuit, Richard felt a sense of community from Br. Casey Ferlita, S.J., calling students out and teachers imploring students to be themselves. He recalls that it was the most formative period of his life, which transformed and oriented him to the work he does today at Stanford University.

Richard loved his dad’s class and his style of teaching. Many alumni will remember Mr. Nevle as a great storyteller who made history a story. “Through his Irish American gift of gab, he was able to talk as though he was a participant in the events, and therefore, the students were; he made history real and palpable,” Richard reflects. Growing up, he was surrounded by books, and with his dad as an educator, it was natural for him to have a pull towards education. 

After graduating from Strake Jesuit, Richard received a B.A. in Geology from Amherst College and a Ph.D. in Geological and Environmental Sciences from Stanford University. While in grad school, he was a high school tutor and a teaching assistant (TA). As a TA, he realized he loved teaching; it was a great escape from the demands of grad school research and a way to connect with people. 

Following in his dad’s footsteps, Richard also pursued a career in Jesuit education. He taught at Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, CA, and Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, CA, before joining the team at Stanford. Just like Strake Jesuit, he noticed that orientation towards service and Ignatian spirituality are profound aspects of Jesuit institutions. He continues to carry these aspects as Deputy Director of the Earth Systems Program at Stanford. “[My dad’s] interpretation of what it meant to be an Ignatian educator is something that is deeply influential on how I think about and approach my work,” he says. 

Now, at Stanford, Richard teaches large lecture classes and small writing seminars, and part of his job is advising undergraduate students. Cura personalis, care for the whole person, is a staple of Jesuit education, and he practices this whenever he tries to meet students where they are. In the Earth Systems Program at Stanford, students are looking for a way to make an impact and contribute to solving daunting social-environmental challenges the planet faces while also figuring out where their talents, passions, and interests align. As an advisor, Richard helps them explore academic, intellectual, and service-oriented pathways, where they can figure out who they are in the world. In other words, he is an Ignatian educator through and through, even while not working at a Jesuit institution. Ignatian spirituality has helped him inform his worldview of finding God in all things; it is deeply informative to his work, how he lives his life, what he prioritizes, and what his values are. 

“As a high school student, the Ignatian world was the water I swam in. It has become such a part of who I am as a human being, as a teacher, as a dad, as a husband, as a friend; it’s just fundamental to how I see the world, what I believe is important to focus on, my choice of career and how I serve, engage, and interact with my students,” he reflects. 

Richard’s Jesuit education is integral to the man he is today, and he is thankful and proud of how Strake Jesuit continues to grow. “I feel a deep sense of gratitude for the Jesuits and the lay faculty who are willing to make time to nurture the growth of young people,” he says. He is grateful for the continued labor and love of every faculty and staff member on campus who contributes to the larger purpose of the institution, which is ultimately to create a better world by shaping the lives of young men into who they are called to be.