Sparking wonder

Little sparkling eyes gaze up at Father Bob Jones, S.M. ’98, as he turns the first page of the P.D. Eastman classic Go, Dog. Go! His face does half the storytelling, stretching into exaggerated gasps and mischievous grins that keep the children hooked. He holds up each page, making sure the little faces gathered around him can see every bright illustration.

“In this classroom, you are explorers.” 

Several  Marianists  —  including Brother Dave Murphy ’70 and Father Joe Kozar ’69 — joined Jones at UD’s Bombeck Family Learning Center to read to about a dozen preschoolers as part of the center’s Community Reading Program.

“I am excited to align brothers and sisters to read,” said Maureen O’Rourke ’05, director of Marianist PULSE and mother to a young Bombeck student and one Bombeck graduate. “It is beyond adorable to observe.”

The children love their guest readers, O’Rourke said. Each month brings other members of the UD community, and sometimes the children hand over another book or ask to sing a song together.

A small sign on the wall reads, “In this classroom, you are explorers.”

And as Jones turns the final page, it’s clear the little explorers in the room have traveled far — all without leaving the small, round carpet at his feet.

Photos by Sylvia Stahl. 

 A version of this article appears in print in the Spring 2026 University of Dayton Magazine, Page 10. EXPLORE THE ISSUE — MORE ONLINE