About

Diversity and Inclusion

Gonzaga’s commitment to diversity and inclusion is articulated in the school's Diversity Statement below:
True to our mission to form men with and for others, we at Gonzaga College High School dedicate ourselves to building and continually nurturing a school culture that embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion. 
 
St. Ignatius’ urging to find God in all things compels us to recognize and celebrate the unique contributions that each student, family, faculty/staff member, and alumnus brings to the Gonzaga community. We are committed, therefore, to ensuring that Gonzaga reflects the diversity of our region, and is a school where all students can thrive. 
 
We are strengthened intellectually and morally by an environment where diversity is present and where individual perspectives are shared freely, received openly, and respected. Such an environment enables us to fulfill our mission to forge young men who are open to growth, intellectually competent, religious, loving, and committed to doing justice. 
 
When we diligently seek to find God in all people, all settings, and all things, we come to understand that our community’s diversity is a gift that serves an essential role in preparing our students to engage the pluralistic, global community in which we live.

To read this Diversity statement in Spanish, please click here. 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Practitioners

A team of faculty and staff at Gonzaga help grow our diversity and inclusion efforts. These DEI Practitioners are existing or emerging leaders in our community who work to create vision, mission, and values that drive diversity. A DEI practitioner serves as an internal consultant and helps members of the Gonzaga family grow as individuals, as groups and as an entire community.  With a dedicated team, Gonzaga expresses a strong commitment to combating bias and promoting inclusion.

  • Mrs. Lashieta Rogers, Committee Chair

    Lashieta Rogers has worked at Gonzaga since May of 2016, first in the Alumni and Advancement Office and now as Revenue Streams Manager in the Business Office. A D.C. native, she has 15 years of experience working with and implementing nonprofit fundraising systems, processes, and procedures. Prior to joining Gonzaga, Mrs. Rogers worked in development at Special Olympics, Washington National Cathedral, and the Lab School of Washington. 
     
    As a member of Gonzaga's DEI Practitioner Team, Mrs. Rogers hopes to aid the Gonzaga community in increasing diversity; commit to challenging and responding to bias, harassment, and discrimination; and commit to being deliberate in our efforts to ensure our campus is a place where all feel welcome.

  • Mr. Cris Hairston

    Cris M. Hairston joined Gonzaga as an Assistant Director of College Counseling in August 2018. Before coming to Gonzaga he served in an integral role at the University of Mary Washington as the Senior Assistant Director of College Counseling along with being the admission athletic liaison.  

    At the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year, he became Director of Vinco Student Support Services. In this role, Mr. Hairston serves as a mentor and liaison for students in Gonzaga's Vinco Scholars program, an endowed program that offers significant tuition assistance and tailored resources to students from the Washington area's most disadvantaged neighborhoods.  A graduate of the University of Mary Washington (2004), he resides in Fredericksburg, Virginia with his family.

  • Mr. Ariel Laguilles

    Ariel Laguilles ‘96 started teaching Spanish at Gonzaga in 2004 and began serving as the Global Education Coordinator in 2022. In this new role, Mr. Laguilles is working to create opportunities for students to better understand and appreciate the diversity that our world offers, in order to become better global citizens. 

    As the moderator for both the Spanish National Honor Society and the Asian American and Pacific Islander Club (AAPIC), Mr. Laguilles works with students who have a desire to learn more about their own and other cultures through service, education, and community building. By engaging in reflection and dialogue, embracing the Ignatian principle of cura personalis, challenging bias and stereotypes, supporting our affinity groups, and advocating for change, Mr. Laguilles is committed to fostering a culture of empathy and respect, and one that values the dignity and worth of every individual. 

  • Ms. Maureen McLaughlin

    Maureen McLaughlin joined the Gonzaga staff in 2010 as a Class Counselor. Before arriving at Gonzaga, she graduated from Boston College and then moved to California with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. She then worked at Jesuit High School, Sacramento, in the Campus Ministry and Counseling Departments for nine years before migrating back to her family in Northern Virginia.

    Maureen served as Department Chair of Counseling at Gonzaga for eight years, and has been involved in several clubs and committees, including The Unity Club, The Best Buddies Club, and The Ignatian Formation Committee.

    Maureen lives in Northern Virginia with her husband Brian and their two children, Jonathan and Isabelle Grace. She fundamentally believes in the idea of “cura personalis”, and that each person, created in the image of God, needs and deserves to share their story and be heard, so as to foster a community of respect, compassion and belonging.  

  • Mr. Jonathan Ruano

    Jonathan Ruano joined Gonzaga’s Campus Ministry office in 2016. After four years of leading service immersions, retreats and other faith/leadership based opportunities he joined the Office of Student Services in 2020, where he now works as Assistant Dean of Students.

    Mr. Ruano has co-moderated LASO (Latin American Student Organization) since 2016, helping the club grow in number and school involvement. He will continue this work as the Latino Student Success Coordinator, a position that will focus on serving Gonzaga’s growing Latin American community. Mr. Ruano holds a theology degree from John Carroll University and a Education Masters in Administration and Policy from Boston College.

  • Mrs. Kara Schwabel, PhD

    Kara M. Schwabel, PhD joined Gonzaga as the Assistant Headmaster for Faculty and Staff Formation in July 2021.  Before coming to Gonzaga, she served as the Principal of Nardin Academy, an all girls Catholic school in Buffalo, New York, and prior to that was Director of the Differentiated Instruction graduate program at Canisius College. 

    Her passion for teaching, creativity, and leadership and affinity for Ignatian Education has informed her work in developing and supporting programming for faculty and staff that further promotes the Jesuit ideals of cura personalis, openness to growth and the pursuit of equity and social justice.  She resides in Alexandria, Virginia with her husband, AJ, and youngest child, Ella. 

  • Mr. Conrad Singh

    Conrad Singh ‘00 began coaching at Gonzaga in 2008 and started working in the Marketing and Communications office in 2010. As a dedicated member of the Advancement team, Mr. Singh works diligently to help promote all of the wonderful aspects of the Gonzaga experience through digital and visual communication on an ongoing basis. 

    As a trusted leader on the varsity football staff, and head coach for the track and field program since 2021, Mr. Singh is excited each year to work with a multitude of students who have diverse backgrounds. Coach Singh sees each of the three seasons as an opportunity to help the student-athletes in his care grow inside and outside of competition while helping them understand the mission of the school to live for and with others every day.

  • Mr. Stephen Turner

    Steve Turner joined Gonzaga's staff in 1999 as a member of the school's basketball coaching staff and director of our Vinco program, serving as a mentor and counselor to students in need of additional support as they matriculate through Gonzaga. In 2004, he took over as Head Varsity Basketball Coach, a role in which he uses basketball as a vehicle to inspire and support student-athletes to achieve continued academic and athletic success.
     
    He now also serves as Director of Vinco Graduate Support Services, continuing to mentor current Vinco scholars as well as providing navigational support to Vinco alumni throughout their college experience. A longtime advocate for and mentor to Gonzaga students of diverse backgrounds, Mr. Turner looks forward to continuing this work as part of our DEI practitioner team.
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Programs That Advance Diversity and Inclusion

  • Open to all students, a variety of extracurricular clubs celebrate our community's diversity and create spaces for shared conversation, fellowship, and initiatives. See a representative listing of our student clubs here.
  • Gonzaga’s Vinco Scholars Program is an endowed program that provides dozens of deserving young men a Gonzaga education. In addition to significant tuition assistance for students whose families would otherwise not be able to afford a Gonzaga education, Vinco Scholars receive tailored resources to help them succeed on Eye Street. Learn more. 
  • Gonzaga's Global Education program creates opportunities for students to better understand and appreciate the diversity that our world offers, in order to become better global citizens. Learn More. 
  • A wide array of service opportunities are available to all Gonzaga students, granting them the opportunity to understand the gifts and hardships of a variety of different communities. Read More.
  • Led by a group of student researchers and supported by administrators and faculty, Gonzaga has spent time exploring our institution's ties to slavery. To read more about this project, click here.  
  • Every year, Gonzaga hosts a variety of school-wide assemblies, special guest speakers, and programs that celebrate our diversity and expose students to new ideas and cultures. Examples include our annual International Food Fair, Black History Month Assembly, and bilingual all-school Mass as well as schoolwide days of service, art exhibits, and more.
Celebrating 200 Years of Jesuit Education in the Nation's Capital

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