Loyola University Chicago

Fr. Piderit Discusses Rome Center

As Fr. John J. Piderit, S.J. concluded his visit to the Rome Center, he discussed his impressions of the campus, the role it takes in Loyola's overall educational goal and his advice to current and future students of the Rome Center.

His initial sense of the campus was based on the setting and physical layout. "It's larger than I thought it was going to be. I have lived in Europe before, both in Germany and England, and I know space is tight. Even when people told me that we have a nice campus, I made my adjustments in my mind," he said.

The president was pleased to notice the ease and frequency with which students go to the center of Rome. "I know students like to go on long trips and weekend trips, but the fact that students are downtown every day looking at something, or maybe just eating or drinking something. I think this is excellent. And they talk about it a lot, which I think is also good," he said.

During his visit, the president spent time talking with students both at meals and in the evening. This helped him to understand the kind of experience the students have here. "Students have pointed out that Rome Center students are like freshmen when they arrive. I don't mean they are the same level of maturity, they are not, but it's the same sense of being in a foreign place and being dependent on others and being open to some direction. Students here are more mature, so they want to do some things on their own, too," he said. This combination of direction and freedom is part of what we are doing with the Freshman Experience at Loyola University Chicago, he said.

"The things that I consider important in the Loyola Freshman Experience are all done here, and they're done extremely well," he said. Those things include introducing students to another culture, explaining what the expectations are for students and creating a stable pattern of interaction in classes and at meals. "Very quickly you know everyone by sight and you feel comfortable with people. Because you feel comfortable with them it makes exchanges in the classroom and group projects much more effective," he said.

In recent years, the faculty of Loyola University Chicago has focused on multicultural goals in the curriculum. Fr. Piderit said that the Rome Center fits most directly into this educational goal. In his view, the best way to have a multicultural perspective is to learn another language. The second best way is to live in the country and experience that country even without knowing the language and the third best way is to encounter different cultures through literature, he said. Fr. Piderit is fluent in German and speaks French, Spanish, Latin and Greek. He studied abroad after he finished his undergraduate studies.

"Does experiencing another culture mean that you understand every culture on earth? No. It does mean that the next time you meet someone from another culture you will understand the types of misunderstandings that can occur and the necessity of being polite because you don't know what your words or even your gestures mean to someone else," he said.

Fr. Piderit said it would be ideal if everyone at Loyola could spend time abroad, but this may not be realistic. He addressed the challenges faced by current and future students of the Rome Center.

"Many students think that coming to the Rome Center would be something good, but they're afraid to do it. They don't want to miss their friends at home. It's going to cost a little bit more money and they're basically afraid. They don't know what it's like living abroad, but they do know it's different," he said.

He continued by addressing each of these questions. "Nothing will change a student's life more than studying abroad. As a person, it's going to make you much more interesting, and as a friend, when you go back you're going to have many things to talk about. You yourself will be interested in more different aspects of your friends than when you left," he said.

"The money part I don't want to downplay, because students are always short on money," he said. Earning the money to come to the Rome Center is a challenge, but it's not an obstacle, he said.

To have apprehensions about leaving what you know and are comfortable with and going to another place is natural. "Living abroad is this vast unknown. But most students that have come over here and have been here for a month of two can't believe how they struggled for so long thinking about if they wanted to come. It's a clear winner," said Fr. Piderit.

"It's the brave, the intelligent and the adventuresome who decide to come over," he said.