We are delighted to share this interview with Martha Lorena López Rivas, Head of the Institutional Support Unit at Liceo Javier(Guatemala), who participated as a facilitator in the Ignatian Global Citizenship Course. This course is a facilitator-led global course that offers a new synchronous global learning experience for Ignatian educators. A new course modality that allows members of our global community to learn together in global groups with educators from different Jesuit schools around the world.
Lorena’s participation as a facilitator not only contributed to delivering on the holistic vision of education offered by Jesuit schools but it has also helped us, as a community, to keep growing as contemporary Jesuit educators. Thank you Lorena!
Without further ado here is Lorena’s facilitation experience.
If you are interested in knowing more about our facilitation opportunities, please contact Felipe Revollo at info@educatemagis.org
Q1. What is your full name, current job title, job responsibilities, school name, city and country where you work?
Martha Lorena López Rivas, I work at Liceo Javier in the city of Guatemala. I am currently in charge of the Institutional Support Unit, which supports the General Management and the Rectorate in all the activities that the school needs to organise with the whole educational community.
Q2. Where were you born? Can you briefly share with us a special memory from your own biography that relates to your first interest (curiosity) in God or the Jesuit community?
I was born in Guatemala City on May 15, 1967, into a very Catholic family devoted to the Virgin Mary. My first encounter with the Jesuit community was in my youth when I participated in activities organized by Liceo Javier, such as Mass, sports events, and I could sense the closeness to a God of service and love. My best friends have always been from Liceo Javier, and through them I have learned about the Jesuits, their charisma and their academic formation.
When I started a family and thought about the education of my future children, my first thought was: “I want my children to go to a Jesuit school”, and I had no doubts about considering Liceo Javier.
Q3. What is your relationship to the Jesuit community? How important is it for your life, your personal ethos, to work for or be part of the Jesuit community?
Twenty-five years ago, I began a purely professional relationship with Liceo Javier. Little did I know that being a teacher would become my way of being, rooted in the deepest part of my soul, “to love and serve in all things as Jesus did”.
The Ignatian charism has taught me to see God in everything, to be more for others and to work for the building of the Kingdom of God. Being part of this wonderful community has taught me to look at life and care for people with different eyes. I feel very blessed to be part of the work of the Society of Jesus.
Q4. Based on your personal experience, how do you define global education?… and what is the meaning of global citizenship in the context of the document “Jesuit Schools: A Living Tradition in the 21st Century”?
A global citizen is a person who, from their consciousness, seeks depth where they are and takes responsibility for their place, space, and the world around them. They strive to be more for others. It is a person who is compassionate, seeks justice, and is focused on the building of a more connected and humane world, a world that is less unjust. Our task as educators of our students is to help them become aware, compassionate, committed, and competent people who will always serve others as Jesus did.
In the words of the Secretariat for Education of the Society of Jesus, “Working in the field of global citizenship is another step on a path laid out by Ignatius himself and walked by all those who preceded us.”
Q5. What examples of global education projects or intercultural initiatives can you share with us from your own past in which you have been involved?
GAt Liceo Javier we have implemented policies on environmental protection, equity and inclusion, and the creation of a healthy and safe environment, with all educators being responsible for their implementation. I have also had the experience of participating in “Tejiendo Redes Ignacianas” (“Weaving Ignatian Networks”). This is a project that promotes the exchange of cultural and artistic projects between countries in the Central American region.
Q6. Could you please try to explain the connection between the life/message of Jesus and … global education/citizenship?
As an example, to our students and those closest to me, my deep commitment to working together to build the Kingdom of Heaven and to care for the less fortunate in order to create a more humane world. This is a commitment and a responsibility to make our world more just and more supportive, following Jesus’ example of love and service in all things.
Q7. What has been your experience so far (positive/challenging aspects) in promoting Ignatian Global Citizenship in the cohorts organised by Educate Magis?
Fantastic! Being able to share the experience of my workplace, Liceo Javier Guatemala, with others and learn from their experiences and inspiring projects has allowed me and other educators to deepen our shared understanding of global citizenship through new eyes and perspectives.
Q8. Why is it important for students in Jesuit schools around the world to learn about global citizenship, intercultural communication, and discernment?
We are a family with a shared commitment. We seek the common good and the greater good, discerning to find the best of the best. We want to unite our cultures to speak the same language: the language of love for others.
Q9. What is your favourite quote/phrase related to global citizenship, or simply to education, from a historical figure that you admire?
As a motto for all aspects of life, including my role as an educator, I deeply admire the quote from St Ignatius: ” Act as if everything depended on you; trust as if everything depended on Him”.
