Solidarity Day this year structures itself around the topic of God and Technology. The goal of Solidarity Day this year is that many students show up, everyone feels that their voices are heard, and they leave with at least one takeaway.

In 2019, technology controls our lives. When was the last time you set your phone down and really examined what’s around you? How often do you think to yourself, how did this get here? Why is it here? Who put it there? Ms. Nugent isfocusing her solidarity project based off the unreported details around Loyola Academy. “Now the question becomes, what do the students have available to them at Loyola Academy that is under reported?” Ms. Nugent is confident that the students “can find it if they look for it.”

This project workshop challenges students to look beyond what they see everyday. A few examples Ms. Nugent stated was the original carpet, graffiti in school, the cracks in pavement, and even the Orchid in her room. Ms. Nugent wants the students to ask themselves, what’s the story behind it? How did it get there? Everything has a story behind it, they just have to find it.

Once the students have their topic, the next question becomes the angle of the story. What angle will they choose, and why? Ms. Nugent has a very different approach than previous solidarity workshops. This creates a fresh new approach to solidarity weeks as well, which  gives students a balance and a focus on how students so often walk right past everyday things that can be reported on. Ms. Nugent was very aware of the trees around Loyola Academy, and hoped to bring the students outside to observe the different kinds of trees, and “see the unseen at Loyola Academy.”

Her detail and fascination with nature will inspire students to branch out and view different angles of certain topics.