Since the 1950s, the small, paved area on the northeast corner of the quad has served a lot of functions.
Established as a home for a statue of Mary donated by the class of 1954, over the years this site has served as both a social and spiritual hub, a place for students, faculty staff and visitors to visit with each other during down time, to study between classes, or sit or stop for a quiet moment of reflection.
Filmmaker Chad Sogas, '03, had a rat tail for 10 years growing up. It was so much a part of his history that he decided to make a film about it, but the film uncovered something he kept hidden for years.
Sogas is now an editor/director in the advertising industry in Brooklyn, New York. He created the film “Rat Tail” and it has won a hoard of awards and been shown at the two biggest film festivals in North America – Hot Docs & DOC NYC. However, his biggest accomplishment is the change he was able to make in himself.
Ashley Neybert was taught at a young age that she could accomplish anything she set her mind to. This critical lesson followed her as she faced unimaginable challenges during her college career.
Neybert began her college career at the University of Northern Colorado. One day she received a phone call that her family had been in a car accident and had to be life-flighted to a hospital. To assist in her family’s recovery, she moved with them from Colorado to Kansas City, where she ended up at Rockhurst. While helping her family recover, Neybert was going legally blind.
Two friends who met while theatre students at Rockhurst are now bakers in St. Louis, specializing in pretzels, pies, brownies, cheesecakes, cookies, bagels, coffee, etc.
That “etcetera” will be key to their story later.
Rockhurst University and Hawks soccer has gone international as five former men’s soccer players created a school in their native Italy, providing educational and athletic training for international college athletes.
If the walls of Conway Hall could talk, they’d probably be laughing.
Richard “Dick” Shaw is one of the most beloved and entertaining professors to ever teach at Rockhurst. You don’t meet Dick Shaw and walk away without a story and a smile, and now the retired teacher of 43 years is sharing those with a wider audience.
Shaw released his first book, "Tales from the Professor: Life is a Hoot!," in March through Amazon.
When Greg Nicholas ('97, '00) and Amy Essner ('98, '01) met at Rockhurst as undergrads, little did they know how their lives would change…and how many kids’ lives around the world they’d change together.
After completing their undergraduate degrees, the two finished physical therapy school at Rockhurst and got married. They've spent a life in service ever since, though selflessness has always been a part of who they are.
“That’s why we chose RU,” Amy said. “The values we got from Rockhurst deepened that need for service.”
Don’t call it a comeback — when Caroline Campbell took over the position of director of alumni relations at Rockhurst University in May, it marked a return to more than just Jesuit education (she’s a graduate of Marquette University) — it’s also a chance to come back to an institution with which she is very familiar.
Rockhurst University will present the 2022 St. Ignatius Award to national healthcare leader and physician Dr. David Wild, ’19 EMBA. The award is presented annually to a Rockhurst graduate in recognition of outstanding accomplishments, leadership, and reflection of Jesuit values in the person’s professional career.
In 1997 Merritt Neil was about to graduate from Rockhurst with a degree in Communication Studies. Like other seniors, she needed a job.
Little did she know that the door that would open thanks to a Rockhurst alumnus would lead to what she called “one of the greatest gifts of my life.”
