Fall 2006 Newsletter - Regis College

efore returning to New Orleans for the
New Year.
It is said that adversity makes us
stronger––it builds character; it makes
us more appreciative of what we have,
more aware of the other and of who we
are, and more grateful for our family and
friends. If there can be a positive side to
Hurricane Katrina for Boyd, he frames it
this way:
“When talking about poverty in my
ethics classes, I’ve always felt like I
was missing something. I could not
successfully communicate the sense of
helplessness that goes along with it;
the sense of being the victim of forces
too large to understand. But above all,
I could not communicate the sense of
humiliation that comes with accessing
an impersonal system, or in receiving
charitable support for one’s family in
order to survive. I myself had never
been in that position.
No longer. To be part of post-Katrina New
Orleans is to understand something of the
helplessness and humiliation of poverty,
regardless of your personal income.”
Boyd recruited a number of academics
and authors from NOLA to blog about
the issues that surround the recovery of the
city. It is worth checking out the website:
http://afterthelevees.tpmcafe.com.
His current research focuses on the
role of narratives in identity formation
and ethical decision making, most
recently in his “Broken Levees and Broken
Narratives: A Hermeneutic Engagement
of Post-Katrina New Orleans.” Look
for his forthcoming book, Detour and
Return: Theologically Appropriating Paul
Ricoeur’s Hermeneutics, which focuses
on the patterns in Ricoeur’s work and its
implications for theological reflection in
the ethical life. B
Laureto F. Padawan, Jr.
(M.T.S. 2004)
A Will to Succeed
The entire Regis faculty, staff and students
wish to extend their congratulations
to Laureto F.
Padawan Jr.
Laureto began as
Regis receptionist
in 2000 and
quickly became
an important
part of the Regis
community. His
kindness, his accommodating attitude
and his wonderful, warm smile made
him a great favourite with the students.
Laureto enrolled in the MTS program
as a part-time student and concluded his
studies in 2004, at which time he applied
for and was accepted into the RCMP
training program. This was not an easy
decision for Laureto, as it meant leaving
his family, Hedie his wife, and Gillian
and Larisse his two very young daughters,
behind in Toronto for six months while he
moved to the RCMP Training Academy
in Regina, Saskatchewan. He found the
24-week intensive CTP Cadet Training
Program “very challenging physically,
emotionally, financially and mentally.”
Following his graduation from this initial
training he came home to visit with his
family before heading off again to begin
the next phase of this year-long training
program.
He has been posted to Port
Coquitlam, B.C. for field training, the
second, six-month program, which he
must complete before he becomes a fullfledged
RCMP officer. His field training
program is going well, although he finds
the volume of work and the learning
curve overwhelming at times—learning
the police computer systems/programs,
investigative techniques, innumerable
violations forms; how to write reports
and document cases; how to prepare
court briefs and prepare for course
appearances, the arresting of offenders,
etc.. He works within the jurisdictions
of both Port Coquitlam and Coquitlam.
He works twelve-hour shifts, four days
on, four days off. He is certainly never
bored.
Finding a place for his family to
live and a Catholic school for his
daughter to attend has been a challenge.
Transportation has been another
challenge, as services aren’t nearly as
accessible as they are in Toronto.
But he has persevered and we admire
his strength of purpose and will to succeed.
Way to go, Laureto! B
Jesuits
in the Spotlight
Bertrand Djimoguinan, S.J.
(Th.M./S.T.L. 2000)
Missioned to Teach, Douala,
Cameroon
Upon completion
of his
studies at
Regis College,
Rev. Bertrand
Djimoguinan,
S.J., was missioned
to a
school in Chad
for two years. He taught during his
first year and was appointed Dean of
Studies in his second. He was then
sent to Collège Libermann in Douala,
Cameroon where he has spent the last
four years as Dean of Studies. “It goes
without saying that the education I
received at Regis has been very helpful
to me as I discharge my duties.” We were
delighted to track down Bertrand. We
wish him many blessings in his ministry
for he is a man of great character and
grace, a true minister of Christ. B
Bryan Pham, S.J.
(M.Div./S.T.B., 2004)
Multi-tasking in Seattle
There never
seems to be a
dull moment in
Bryan Pham’s
life. Since his
graduation from
the M.Div.
at Regis in
2004 and his
ordination to the Jesuit priesthood
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