Academic & Personal Counseling

List of 10 items.

• Career Day

  On October 16th, Academic and Personal Counseling partnered with Alumni Relations in hosting the following alumni, family and friends of Strake Jesuit.
  
  Paul Smith ’83
  Stephen Brandau ’06 – Arts & Entertainment
  Alec Luong ’03 – Architecture
  Sgt. Herb Martinez – Law Enforcement
  Freddy Warner ’78—Public/Government Relations & Healthcare
  
  Steve Hogan, DDS ’03 – Dentistry
  Dr. James Suliburk – Medicine/Neurosurgery
  Tom Stallings ’86 – Sales/Sports Marketing
  
  Jack Christman ’13 and Kyle Luong ’13 – Petroleum Engineering
  Col. Walter Cunningham --- Engineering/Space Exploration
  Fr. Richard McNeillie ’01 – Ministry, Room
  Mark Lawrence – Engineering/Project Management
  Champ Warren ’84 – Finance/Banking, Room
  Randy Almaguer ’76 – Entrepreneurship, Room
  Our students enjoyed engaging sessions in which they discussed "a day in the life" of each speaker, what each career path looks like (schooling, internships, etc), and interesting facts about their job, closing with fascinating Q&A sessions.
  
  Thank you to all of our speakers!

• Concerts on the Quad

  In an effort to promote ongoing camaraderie among our students, Academic and Personal Counseling, along with Pastoral Ministries, partners together each semester to host Concerts on the Quad. This exciting event is an opportunity for musicians from the Houston Area to come to our campus and perform during community time.

• Crusader Connection

  Crusader Connection is a unique opportunity for incoming freshmen to spend time getting to know each other, become familiar with Strake Jesuit and have fun in the process. The goal of this week is to provide a level of comfort as students enter into their new school, allowing them a chance to become acquainted with sources of support in our school, meet with current upperclassmen who will share advice, experiences, and answer questions, learn about Jesuit traditions and how to become a true leader on campus.

• Cura Personalis: Substance Abuse Program

  Strake Jesuit has created a program called the Cura Personalis program, whose purpose is to deter substance abuse among the student body and aid those students already afflicted by substance abuse habits. For a detailed look at this program and policies, visit Cura Personalis. 

• Healthy Relationships Education

  Strake Jesuit is committed to forming young men ready to serve as leaders in the collective effort to establish and hone every facet of justice in the world. This includes working for the broad cultural adoption of a proper understanding of the dignity of human relationships.
  
  To that end, the Counseling Department collaborates with other offices on campus in delivering a four-year program of Healthy Relationship Education. Through this education, students will be able to understand the context of contemporary issues in gender relations, sexual violence, and relationship safety, including what the Church calls "sinful inequalities that affect millions of men and women." Students will be able to analyze this context through the lens of a Catholic Christian worldview, especially including a commitment to the transcendent dignity of all people. Also, students will be able to articulate and enact practical strategies for enhancing safety in their own relationships, and to give practical aid to those victimized by relationship violence.
  
  To achieve these goals, students receive integrated instruction in their theology classes, health classes, and counseling groups. The Counseling Department also provides programming for students' families on many issues of adolescent development, including healthy relationships and sexual violence. The Crusader Crew freshman orientation program guides freshmen to be thoughtful and virtuous in their relationships. The Pastoral Ministry Center provides programming dedicated to the dignity of men and women, both during retreats and in targeted programming, including a Forum on Manhood designed to help students better grasp their role as good men leading the world towards justice. The Athletic Department incorporates programming based on Coaching Boys into Men, a mentorship program that helps students process their relationships with a healthy vision of their own masculinity. Finally, faculty and staff are equipped to identify other opportunities to discuss these issues.
  
  Strake Jesuit has partnered with AVDA (Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse) to develop and deliver some of this programming. For more information on AVDA, click here. For more information on Coaching Boys into Men, click here.

• Men Fully Alive

  The vision of the Counseling Department at Strake Jesuit holds that graduates will be instilled with a deep understanding of who they are as men, husbands, fathers, leaders, always developing a more passionate grasp of their responsibility as Sons of God.
  
  As counselors, we find that many parents have difficulty broaching important topics with their sons. In an effort to bridge that communication gap, we are excited to announce Men Fully Alive. The program is a four-part, rotating dinner series which offers families an interactive and engaging opportunity to begin having these conversations. Following a powerful presentation on the evening’s topic, participants are challenged to reflect in-depth with their family, creating a dialogue, while also strengthening their bonds.
  
  

  Four Part Series Includes

  Chosen: The Porn Myth: Exposing the Reality Behind the Fantasy of Pornography
  
  November 4th, 2019
  
  ~ Matt Fradd ~
  
  Thanks to new research on pornography's harmful effects on the brain, on relationships, and on society, there is today a wave of passionate individuals trying to change cultural norms ― inspiring others to pursue real love and avoid its hollow counterfeit. Today's younger generation wants a love that is untainted by warped perceptions of intimacy and by selfish desires. Millions are now recognizing pornography for what it is and rejecting its influence in the lives of their friends, their teammates, their children, and themselves. This presentation is part of that movement
  
  Set Apart: Substance abuse (Specifically Vaping), Spring 2020
  
  Unashamed: Mental Health Awareness, Fall 2020
  
  Saints Alive: In God's Image, Spring 2021

• Red Ribbon Week

  Each year, Strake Jesuit hosts our annual Red Ribbon Week. Red Ribbon Week in an effort to increase substance abuse awareness within our community.
  
  Our message about substance abuse will not be simply “drugs are bad—don't do drugs”: users and non-users know that. Instead, we hope to reach our students on a deeper level by challenging them to be a part of a meaningful conversation with the SJ community about the mental and physical effects of substance, and the effects substance abuse has on the family and on society.
  
  We hope that our students will arrive at their own conclusions and make smart decisions as they continue toward becoming young men. In addition to this, we will be focusing on the topic of Substance Abuse within your son’s classes, including counseling. Coaches and Directors will also spend time having group conversations with their members for the duration of the week. While there will be a strong emphasis on Substance Abuse this week, this discussion will remain on our priority list as the year progresses.
  
  On April 1st, 2019 we are hosting the Live Your DREAMS program here at Strake Jesuit. The Live Your DREAMS Program aims to reduce impaired and distracted driving among teens in the greater Houston area by utilizing a multi-level varying intensity approach to include community and school-based awareness, hospital-based prevention programs and in-depth workshops. Through strategies geared towards reducing the initiation of teenage risky behavior, increasing parental involvement and encouraging peer-to-peer interaction, the Live Your DREAMS programs enables students to achieve their dreams as young adults and beyond.
  
  On April 4-5th 2019, we are hosting Shattered Dreams here at Strake Jesuit. Shattered Dreams is an educational experience that reminds us all of the dangers associated with underage drinking and driving. It reminds us that too many young lives have already been lost and countless others have been severely impaired because of the tragic consequences of underage drinking and when drinking is combined with driving.

• Strake Jesuit Transfer Student Union

  Our goal is to assist new students in grades 10, 11 and 12 in making a meaningful and enjoyable transition to Strake Jesuit College Preparatory.   By focusing on building relationships, the group is structured to guide new students through a variety of activities with the goal of accessing the resources, skills, and supports they need to experience a successful transition to Strake Jesuit. Led through a series of fun and collaborative group activities by previous transfer students, new students will become familiar with the culture of Strake Jesuit, explore the campus and building, and build a sense of community with other transfer students. 

• Wellness Wednesdays

  Academic and Personal Counseling has partnered with Smiles and Fur Friends to host Canines on Campus one Wednesday of the month.
  
  

  Mission Statement
  Smiles and Fur Friends is a group of organized volunteers and their specially trained and certified personal pets. The purpose of our visits is to bring unconditional love and familiar comfort to people when they are facing challenges in their lives. We truly enjoy sharing the furry comfort of our pets with the people we visit in residential facilities and with community groups.

• Wellness Week

  On October 2nd , 2019, Academic and Personal Counseling held our Wellness Fair here at Strake Jesuit. This event was held in conjunction with our annual Wellness Week. This year we had over 500 students visit 5 or more booths!
  
  A huge thank you to the following exhibitors:
  
  

  Topics and Agencies

  • Substance Abuse
    Palmer Drug Abuse Program
  • Fitness & Nutrition
    Strake Jesuit
  • Stress Management
    Malaty Therapy
  • Healthy Relationships
    AVDA
  • Disability Awareness
    University of Houston
  • Anger Management
    Strake Jesuit
  • ADHD
    Strake Jesuit
  • Anxiety
    Houston OCD
  • Art Therapy
    Strake Jesuit
  • Cognitive Distortions
    UTH
  • Spiritual Approach to Self Care
    Trumpet Behavioral Health
  • Depression
    The Lovett Center
  • Family Dynamics
    Family Houston
  • Anxiety
    Menninger
  • ADHD
    The Conative Group
  • Substance Abuse
    PaRC
  • Spiritual Approach to Self Care
    University of Houston
  • Animal Assisted Counseling
    Smiles & Fur Friends