Will Ledig ‘17

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With the start of the second half of the 2015 – 2016 school year, Strake Jesuit is happy to welcome back Father Doug Hypolite, SJ to the school community. In order for students and faculty who have not yet met Fr. Hypolite to get to know him, I sat down with Father and interviewed him about his experiences with Strake Jesuit.

Fr. Hypolite has served at Strake Jesuit not once, but twice, before his current tenure at Strake Jesuit. His first assignment occurred from 1974 – 1977, when Father was a Jesuit scholastic, and he not only taught, but also served as the Dean of Students during his last two years. Fr. Hypolite returned to Strake Jesuit in 1986 and stayed until 2003. During that period, he taught French and Theology classes, while functioning both as the rector of the Jesuit community and as a chaplain at Duchesne and Regis. After leaving Strake Jesuit in 2003, Fr. Hypolite moved to Florida to work at Tampa Jesuit. During his time there, he taught French and Spanish, held the position of Dean of Students, and once again was the rector of the Jesuit community.

Now Father is back at Strake Jesuit, with a full schedule of Spanish classes. During his current tenure at Strake Jesuit, Fr. Hypolite would like to instill in his students the importance of their studies–of striving for intellectual excellence. Additionally, he hopes to exemplify the benefits of spiritual life in Christ by participating in retreats and various other school activities.

Although many things have changed since his previous stay at Strake Jesuit, including the size of the campus and the number of Jesuits teaching classes, Father still values Strake Jesuit as a place of community. He enjoys that everyone possesses a common mission, to do everything for the benefit of the school, community, and students, and to do all things for the greater glory of God. Also, Father believes that the faculty is of high quality and that each member works well with each of the others.

Finally, Fr. Hypolite has a few messages for the school community. He’d like to instruct everyone to take work seriously, “to not settle for the minus, but to work towards the magis, the more.” Additionally, Father also encourages all students to not take learning for granted, and instead work towards academic success. In his own words: “Thanks to those I’ve met as you have all been very nice and pleasant to be around.”

If you haven’t yet already, please welcome Father Hypolite back into the Strake Jesuit community and get to know more about him.