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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate Sister Jean Dolores
4Schmidt, BVM on the occasion of her l00th birthday on August
521, 2019; and
 
6    WHEREAS, A beloved icon on the campus of Loyola University
7Chicago, Sister Jean has become an international celebrity
8thanks to her role as chaplain of the Loyola Ramblers men's
9basketball team, rising to stardom as she joined the team
10during their historic 2018 NCAA March Madness run; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Sister Jean was born the first of three children
12in a devout Catholic family to Joseph and Bertha Schmidt in San
13Francisco on August 21, 1919; and
 
14    WHEREAS, When she was in third grade, Sister Jean was
15inspired by the joy, kindness, and devotion of her teacher, a
16member of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
17(BVM); Sister Jean would later say that when she prayed as a
18child, her prayer would be, "Please God tell me what I should
19do ... but please tell me that I am to be a BVM"; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Sister Jean left her home in San Francisco during
21September of 1937 for a two-day, three-night train trip to

 

 

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1Dubuque, Iowa to begin a six-month period as a postulant, or
2candidate, with the BVMs; and
 
3    WHEREAS, On March 19, 1938, she was officially received
4into the BVMs, taking on the order's traditional habit and her
5new religious name, Sister Jean Dolores; and
 
6    WHEREAS, After professing her final vows as a BVM in
7Dubuque on August 15, 1945, Sister Jean was assigned to teach
8at St. Charles Elementary School in North Hollywood,
9California, where she started a sports program, coaching
10women's basketball, softball, volleyball, track, ping-pong,
11and yo-yo; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Sister Jean continued to teach for 20 years in
13several elementary schools in the Los Angeles Archdiocese until
14the summer of 1961, when she arrived on the campus of Mundelein
15College in Chicago after completing her master's degree at
16Loyola University, Los Angeles and began teaching college
17courses for the first time; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Sister Jean held numerous roles at Mundelein
19College over the next 30 years; she was named Acting Dean of
20Mundelein College in 1970, afterwards serving as Director of
21Coffey Hall for four years, in addition to already serving as
22Associate Dean and Director of Summer Sessions; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, In 1984, Sister Jean ended her tenure as Associate
2Dean and Director of Academic Services, becoming Associate Vice
3President for Academic Affairs at Mundelein College; and
 
4    WHEREAS, In 1991, Mundelein College become affiliated with
5Loyola University Chicago, and Sister Jean joined Loyola
6University as Assistant Dean and an academic advisor; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Sister Jean took on a new role in 1994 with the
8Loyola men's and women's basketball teams, helping the players
9keep their grades high enough to remain eligible to play,
10calling herself the "Booster Shooter"; and
 
11    WHEREAS, In 1996, Sister Jean transitioned from her role as
12an academic advisor to official team chaplain for the men's
13basketball team, where she long maintained a key role in
14supporting the team, offering both spiritual support and
15practical advice on the players' game performance; and
 
16    WHEREAS, In addition to her work with the Loyola University
17basketball team, Sister Jean held a weekly prayer group for
18students in her Regis apartment and launched the SMILE program
19(Students Moving Into the Lives of the Elderly) in 2009,
20pairing Loyola students with residents at the Clare, a
21retirement home next door to the Water Tower Campus; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Sister Jean received numerous honors in her time
2at Loyola University, including a Doctor of Humane Letters
3honorary degree from the university in 2016, induction into the
4Loyola Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017 and receiving the Sword
5of Loyola, the university's highest honor, at the 2018
6Founders' Dinner; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Sister Jean has devoted her lifetime to serving
8others, touching the lives of countless people, especially
9students, faculty, staff, alumni, and other members of the
10Loyola community; therefore, be it
 
11    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
12HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
13we congratulate Sister Jean Dolores on her l00th birthday on
14August 21, 2019; and be it further
 
15    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
16presented to Sister Jean as a symbol of our respect and esteem.