A Companion on the Way
Sometimes first impressions do capture character, as I found when Bond Hassen ’23 started on the debate team. From the first practice, he was all beaming smiles, enthusiastic engagement, and infectious good cheer as he raised the spirits of his fellow freshmen. Over the four years since, this initial impression has only deepened, and not only on my part: Bond has left an indelible mark on Jesuit for the better, bringing light into the lives of his friends and colleagues by demonstrating leadership rooted in authentic engagement and care.
Bond’s intellectual curiosity shines. He defies the truism that one is either a STEM student or a Humanities student: his favorite class? Theology. And Statistics. And all the English classes. And Precalculus. Perhaps the secret to his academic success is to approach everything with his trademark enthusiasm. Speaking to his experience at Jesuit, Bond cheerfully notes what he believes has made it such a powerful and formative experience for him: “I can tell that all the teachers really care about me, so it’s made me feel at home while fostering a really awesome learning environment.”
Bond mirrors this care, living out the Jesuit mission and impressing his teachers by pairing intellectual engagement with humility and kindness. Mrs. Jessica Schuffenecker testifies to Bond’s generous, selfless attitude. “Although his academic abilities are extraordinary,” she says, “Bond is down to earth and humble. I’ve never heard him boast, brag, or talk down to anyone.” Theology chair Mr. Reid Linden observes that Bond is “the type of student that makes everyone around him better,” while Mr. Jeremy Dunford praises Bond’s “unique capacity to offer insight with a mature charisma.” Indeed, as freshman orientation leader, freshman retreat leader, and stalwart member of his church’s Bible study, Bond lives out our motto Men for Others in reaching out beyond the classroom for the good of others.
As a mentor to the debate team’s freshmen, Bond passes along the lessons he has learned, clearly grateful for generous guidance from his brother, Beck Hassen ’21. Cooper Parcus ’23 has a special perspective on Bond, as the two are close friends and debate partners. Cooper describes Bond’s mentorship style as “phenomenal.” Cooper says, “Bond is never rude or harsh when he is teaching; rather, he exemplifies the ‘Loving’ aspect of the Grad at Grad.”
Bond and Cooper really shine in demonstrating empathy for their younger and more vulnerable teammates. Bond reflects, “I have a really good memory of what it is like to be a freshman and being really confused, so I tried to make it as understandable as possible.” By fostering younger talent, Bond and Cooper played a crucial part in breaking Strake Jesuit’s all-time record this year for students who qualified to the Texas Forensic Association State Tournament. As head debate coach Mr. Jerry Crist explains, “We have an amazing class of freshmen that owe their fundamentals to Bond and Cooper.” Teammate Ethan Wan ’26, sums it up: “they were good at teaching and helped to give us the starting push we needed.” Bond’s goal as a leader is humble: “I hope that one day [the teammates I’ve helped train] can be better than I am.”
As a leader, Bond feels called to “[walk] with others and [teach] among them instead of above them.” Jesuit is proud and blessed to have students like Bond to model servant-leadership.
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