Center for Catholic Education at UD

The CCE would like to introduce you to Jack Dalton! Jack is a UD Alumni and Marianist PULSE volunteer serving our local Catholic schools with ECHO for the 2021-2022 school year.

What do you do at the Center for Catholic Education?

I am a Marianist PULSE volunteer working with ECHO. I assist with planning events and retreats for Peacemakers, and I assist the counselor and family advocate at St. Benedict the Moor Catholic School.

Tell us a little about yourself and what led you to working with the ECHO program in the CCE?

I studied secondary mathematics education and mathematics at UD. My high school and UD are both Catholic, Marianist institutions. I grew to love the Characteristics of Marianist Education and the Marianist charism during my 8 years at my high school and UD and I want to explore how I could bring that charism to any school that I teach at while also creating a learning community that respects the needs of every student. Marianist PULSE provides a way for me to explore how I can bring Marianist charism wherever I go, and serving students through ECHO helps me learn more about the type of educator I can be for my students.

Describe your family.

My immediate family includes my parents, my 25 year-old brother Nick, and our family dog Winston (a wire fox terrier). My family enjoys spending time together by watching movies and TV shows together, going on walks around our neighborhood, and sharing our passions with one another. Sometimes we have large projects we help each other out with, like building raised garden beds for our background or moving furniture around the house.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

I enjoy going for long runs around Dayton, learning more about mathematics and computer programming, curling up on the couch for a good read, and getting to know friends by enjoying meals, going on walks, and talking about their passions with them. I love spending time with my lay Marianist community, catching up with my college roommates, writing letters about mathematics, and gathering with the Marianist Family in Dayton. I am also looking into serving on social justice teams and tutoring students in math!

Why do you support Catholic education?

Education in and of itself is good. Education provides students with necessary skills for life (like math!) as well as many wonderful opportunities to build relationships with those in their schools. Catholic education goes a step further to create a space where students can intentionally nourish their relationship with God in the context of their classroom community. Catholic education also provides students with a disposition of social justice through the lens of Catholic Social Teaching. In this way, I believe that Catholic education helps students to connect their skills and passions to the world through social justice.

Who is your role model?

One of my role models is Fr. Jim Fitz, SM. I first met Fr. Jim during my first year at UD through Marianist Leadership Scholars, and I continued to run into Fr. Jim throughout my service as a Mass coordinator at the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception and other Marianist gatherings. Fr. Jim has provided me with insight on community living, what it means to have a relationship with Mary, and how to read and respond to “the signs of the times.” Sometimes, Fr. Jim and I will talk about something that I am wrestling with. Through some gentle teasing that always brings a smile to my day, he demonstrates to me a listening ear and challenges me with insights that may be difficult for me to hear at the time of our conversation, but it’s the insight that I need to grow. Fr. Jim embodies what it means to be a man of faith living in the Catholic Marianist tradition and reminds me of my call to be a lay Marianist today.

Tell us three fun facts about you.

1. I ran my fastest 1600 meter run (about 1 mile) in 4:20.56.
2. I have lived in 6 states and traveled through 34 states (Rhode Island and Colorado were beautiful!).
3. When I was little and I would be having a bad day, the song Downtown by Petula Clark would always make me in a better mood (and it still does!).

Written by Jack Dalton. Edited by Ava Gravino.