Full Text of HR0505 101st General Assembly
HR0505 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives
wish to congratulate Sister Jean Dolores | 4 | | Schmidt, BVM on the
occasion of her l00th birthday on August | 5 | | 21, 2019; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, A beloved icon on the campus of Loyola University
| 7 | | Chicago, Sister Jean has become an international celebrity
| 8 | | thanks to her role as chaplain of the Loyola Ramblers men's
| 9 | | basketball team, rising to stardom as she joined the team | 10 | | during
their historic 2018 NCAA March Madness run; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Sister Jean was born the first of three children | 12 | | in a
devout Catholic family to Joseph and Bertha Schmidt in San
| 13 | | Francisco on August 21, 1919; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, When she was in third grade, Sister Jean was | 15 | | inspired
by the joy, kindness, and devotion of her teacher, a | 16 | | member of
the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary | 17 | | (BVM); Sister
Jean would later say that when she prayed as a | 18 | | child, her prayer
would be, "Please God tell me what I should | 19 | | do ... but please tell
me that I am to be a BVM"; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Sister Jean left her home in San Francisco during
| 21 | | September of 1937 for a two-day, three-night train trip to |
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| 1 | | Dubuque,
Iowa to begin a six-month period as a postulant, or | 2 | | candidate,
with the BVMs; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, On March 19, 1938, she was officially received | 4 | | into the
BVMs, taking on the order's traditional habit and her | 5 | | new
religious name, Sister Jean Dolores; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, After professing her final vows as a BVM in | 7 | | Dubuque on
August 15, 1945, Sister Jean was assigned to teach | 8 | | at St.
Charles Elementary School in North Hollywood, | 9 | | California, where
she started a sports program, coaching | 10 | | women's basketball,
softball, volleyball, track, ping-pong, | 11 | | and yo-yo; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Sister Jean continued to teach for 20 years in | 13 | | several
elementary schools in the Los Angeles Archdiocese until | 14 | | the
summer of 1961, when she arrived on the campus of Mundelein
| 15 | | College in Chicago after completing her master's degree at
| 16 | | Loyola University, Los Angeles and began teaching college
| 17 | | courses for the first time; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Sister Jean held numerous roles at Mundelein | 19 | | College
over the next 30 years; she was named Acting Dean of | 20 | | Mundelein College in 1970, afterwards serving as Director of | 21 | | Coffey Hall
for four years, in addition to already serving as | 22 | | Associate Dean
and Director of Summer Sessions; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, In 1984, Sister Jean ended her tenure as Associate | 2 | | Dean
and Director of Academic Services, becoming Associate Vice
| 3 | | President for Academic Affairs at Mundelein College; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, In 1991, Mundelein College become affiliated with
| 5 | | Loyola University Chicago, and Sister Jean joined Loyola
| 6 | | University as Assistant Dean and an academic advisor; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Sister Jean took on a new role in 1994 with the | 8 | | Loyola
men's and women's basketball teams, helping the players | 9 | | keep
their grades high enough to remain eligible to play, | 10 | | calling
herself the "Booster Shooter"; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, In 1996, Sister Jean transitioned from her role as | 12 | | an
academic advisor to official team chaplain for the men's
| 13 | | basketball team, where she long maintained a key role in
| 14 | | supporting the team, offering both spiritual support and
| 15 | | practical advice on the players' game performance; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, In addition to her work with the Loyola University
| 17 | | basketball team, Sister Jean held a weekly prayer group for
| 18 | | students in her Regis apartment and launched the SMILE program
| 19 | | (Students Moving Into the Lives of the Elderly) in 2009, | 20 | | pairing
Loyola students with residents at the Clare, a | 21 | | retirement home
next door to the Water Tower Campus; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Sister Jean received numerous honors in her time | 2 | | at
Loyola University, including a Doctor of Humane Letters | 3 | | honorary
degree from the university in 2016, induction into the | 4 | | Loyola
Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017 and receiving the Sword | 5 | | of
Loyola, the university's highest honor, at the 2018 | 6 | | Founders'
Dinner; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Sister Jean has devoted her lifetime to serving | 8 | | others,
touching the lives of countless people, especially | 9 | | students,
faculty, staff, alumni, and other members of the | 10 | | Loyola community; therefore, be it
| 11 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 12 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 13 | | we
congratulate Sister Jean Dolores on her l00th birthday on | 14 | | August
21, 2019; and be it further
| 15 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 16 | | presented to Sister Jean as a symbol of our respect and esteem.
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