Liam Zidar: Student Council President, Hope Squad national council member, self described natural leader.

A senior at Loyola, Liam is the student council president for the 2021-22 school year. Liam stands out  from most students at Loyola by how involved he is in the school community.

“Liam might be the most involved guy I know at school,” says senior, and fellow student council member Seichi Shinozaki.

Liam is also a member of the Loyola Academy Hope Squad which helps combat mental illness within the student body at Loyola. Again Liam takes it to the next level where he is one of 20 students on the Hope Squad National Council where he got the opportunity to represent the council as a panelist speaking to 20,000 members of the Chicago teachers union.

When talking about his favorite memory so far at Loyola, Liam recalls the time he pitched an entire game of baseball against Brother Rice. “After my last pitch I was overwhelmed with happiness when I saw my fellow students and fans cheering me on.”

Contributing to his growth and success at Loyola is Dr. Lowe, Liam’s Ancient Greek teacher. With a five person class, Zidar feels that Dr. Lowe can be more attentive to each student and really cares about them all.

“He shares his passions with us and we often talk about our own future goals and career paths we hope to take with him,” says Liam. “He listens attentively and demonstrates that he actually cares about us.”

Post Loyola, Liam has his eyes set on getting into, and attending Notre Dame University and pursuing his dream of becoming an Interventional Cardiologist. Continuing his involvement in Hope Squad is also one of his goals, as he also intends to try and expand Hope Squad to “colleges around the country.”

Following the theme of going into the medical field, Liam’s favorite class at Loyola was his junior year AP chemistry class. Liam claims that the teacher (Ms. Michaels) and the students in his class helped create an “inclusive and welcoming environment that made the very challenging class fun.”

Loyola is a school that encourages students to be leaders, “Women and Men for others,” and to leave the school community better than they found it. With his involvement in the school and contributions as a leader in various large clubs at Loyola, some would say that Liam Zidar has accomplished this.

When asked what impact he wants to have on Loyola after he leaves, Liam says that he hopes to be remembered as someone who “embodied the mission of being a man for others.”