Adnan Rasho, known as Ed, is a loved and respected member of the Loyola community, but his life was not always so upstanding. 

He can often be heard playing his flute in the chapel and be seen working around the school with the maintenance staff and chatting with students. But, for many members of the Loyola community, his presence can be felt in a much more meaningful way, particularly those who have had the opportunity to hear his story. 

Ed, born in Bagdad, came to the United States at thirteen and soon found himself lost. Shy with low self-esteem, Ed tried to change who he was, turning to alcohol and the wrong crowd, and, eventually, after high school, drugs. His relationship with his wife and children fell apart, and despite several attempts to get help, he was stuck. In and out of rehab, jail, and various programs, he could not see a way, or even a reason, to change his life. However, in prison, things completely changed. 

Ed began reading the Bible and found a connection to God — something that completely revived his life. After this initial connection, Ed, afraid he would fall back into his old ways, decided to pray that God would take away his addiction. 

As if in answer to his prayer, a few weeks later he came across a former addict he had previously used with who had reformed and found God. He invited Ed to go to church and pray with him, and on August 10, 2011, Ed, as he says, “surrendered to Christ.” Blessed with a miracle, Ed believes that God took away his addiction and filled it with the Holy Spirit. 

Now, eight years after his conversion, Ed says “God is everything in my life.” He credits his conversion to God alone, not his own doing. Overtly, yet genuinely, faithful, Ed does not shy away from sharing his story, as he hopes that it will help others. He says, “My hope is in Christ. My life is being obedient to his words, his promises, and to love others and to share with others my experience that I have encountered.” Ed’s relationship with God is the relationship he places above everything else in his life. He says that God did not find him, because God was there the entire time. He just was not looking. 

Ed’s addictive personality now manifests itself in positive ways. A health nut who makes his own kombucha, he exercises four days a week, does not drink or smoke, and has a love for music. After picking up the flute in high school, Ed can now be heard playing the flute (by ear) in the chapel, in mass services, and in the Loyola Variety Show. Recently, he also has learned to play the duduk, an ancient instrument from Armenia.

He says that when he practices “everything is blocked” and he “is in a different world.”  

Even chaperoning summer service trips, Ed touches everyone he comes across. One student from his trip to West Virginia this past summer, Mary Fuller, says, “He would talk about his story while always being curious in ours. I have never seen somebody so genuinely happy with their life and it made me appreciate mine more.”

Recent graduate, Sophia D’Agostino, who also met Ed on a summer service strip describes Ed as “a man for others — a man who wholeheartedly loves his God and everyone around him.” She adds, “His joyful flute playing and endless jokes had the other students and I smiling the entire trip. The Loyola community is a better place with Ed in it.” 

Even as discussing his own healthy habits, Ed’s selflessness and gratitude are completely apparent. He adds that he appreciates Loyola for allowing him to use the weight room and that he credits God for how he lives his life now. He takes none of the credit for his changed ways, saying everything he does is for God’s glory. 

While Ed is extremely grateful to Loyola Academy for hiring him and giving him a community, it is clear that the Loyola community is just as grateful to have found Ed.