Taking the Plunge with Fairfield Prep | Alumni Magazine Summer 2025

It was 2021 and the world was still wrestling with COVID. Schools, with their large congregations of students, faced significant challenges. In particular, Jesuit schools — schools known for an education that is not confined to a classroom, but insists that students learn, grow and forge the bonds of brotherhood through community service and retreats — were confronted with unique circumstances. 

With many outreach experiences off the table, Teresita Gonzalez, Belen’s Christian service coordinator, mulled options with colleagues at Belen and also Fairfield Prep in Fairfield, Connecticut. At the time, a Belen alum, Tommy De Quesada ‘94, was the principal at Fairfield. (He is now Belen’s executive director of enrollment and community outreach.)

Ultimately, Belen and Fairfield took the plunge on a unique take of the “Urban Plunge,” an Ignatian immersion experience that typically puts students in underserved neighborhoods to spend several days working and living in community with marginalized groups. In fall 2021, this kind of in-person exposure remained out of the question; however, Mrs. Gonzalez and her Fairfield counterpart proposed a virtual Urban Plunge. “It was a weird time, even for in-person interactions, so putting together a meaningful virtual experience between the two schools was difficult,” said Mrs. Gonzalez.

That first Belen-Fairfield event, in fall 2021, included virtual large group meetings, small group chats and breakout groups that participated in select service outings. Following the service experiences, the groups reconvened online for reflections and prayers. “Even though it was done virtually, it exceeded our expectations,” said Mrs. Gonzalez. She continued, “The students learned how to discern their experiences and explore deeper meanings of Catholic Social Teaching. It was really special.” Thus, in spring 2022, with the pandemic waning, Belen welcomed the first Fairfield in-person cohort to campus — this time with a “care for creation” message and the theme “All Who Thirst.” That began an annual exchange, which will continue next year when Fairfield young men return to Belen in the spring of 2026.

Mrs. Gonzalez reflected on that first in-person experience in 2022, “All Who Thirst,” and how the students, through visiting the Everglades, going on swamp walks, and observing the relationship between environmental conditions and the sustainability of life, observed climate change up close. She offered an example, “The highest area in Miami is a Haitian mecca. It includes a thriving Haitian migrant community centered around the Notre Dame d’Haiti Parish. But because this area floods the least, it is now being gentrified with condos going up. The residents have lost about 10% of their parish already. This is only one of many things that made climate change visible to our students.” Next year, she said, they will travel to the Florida Keys and confront the issue of affordable housing.

Elliott Gualtiere, Fairfield Prep’s dean of mission and ministry, noted that each school’s group — typically 15-18 students — has the opportunity to immerse themselves in two unique communities. In Florida, students visit the Everglades and consider environmental care and justice. “They become more rooted,” he noted. “They move out of their bubble, they realize, whether they’re from Belen or Fairfield, that they speak the same Ignatian language as they learn firsthand what it means to be Men for Others, and what Ignatian concepts such as cura personalis look like in action.”

He continued, “This past March, Belen students came to Fairfield which is more of an urban setting. The boys served the inner city of Bridgeport, connecting directly with underserved communities through work at a soup kitchen, helping out in after-school programs and serving at a local church whose pastor is a Fairfield Prep alum. Groups are intentionally intermingled and a distinct camaraderie developed. During the final sharing the morning before they left, you could see the bonds that had formed and sense their gratitude. We watched them exchanging numbers with plans to keep in touch. It’s about the relationships — not just the students but even between the adults involved.”

Mrs. Gonzalez echoed that sentiment. “The staff’s fraternity gives us the incredible opportunity to collaborate. I’ve learned a lot. The kind of kindness they show us…it’s an amazing connection. We become relatives. I can’t appreciate that enough.”

“It’s important that our schools make these connections,” added Elliott. We really see the impact these experiences have on our students. They move out of their comfort zones, but they’re doing it with their Jesuit-educated brothers and that makes a world of difference.”