My Life at SJCC

Human life is shaped by various experiences; some of which we forget with the passing years, but some others remain engraved in our lives so deeply that they become part of our life thereafter. My first association with SJCC was in the summer of 2009, as I stepped into the campus for my summer vacation, which eventually led me back, in the following year for my first year of regency (in 2010-11).

As I venture back into my memories, the first thought comes to my mind is to thank my students both residential and day scholars. My job at SJCC was to be a demanding teacher during the class hours and to be a compassionate elder brother at other times. As I was the first Jesuit Scholastic to work there as the regent, as an institution SJCC began to set lots of things in order. It was indeed a herculean task to bring in

the discipline especially in terms of class timings, conduct, cleanliness, basic mannerisms, and inter personal relationships. I am sure the batch which completed their studies in June 2010 with whom I spent the first 2 months of my stay at SJCC, may have found it hard to cope as from out of the blue, suddenly someone started monitoring them very closely. Sutesh, Anil, Sachin, Kiran, Pravita, Vinaya, Sangeetha, are but a few names  who showed such maturity to cope with the change without a word of bitterness.

In terms of Infra structure, it was much different then. The office room of SJCC hardly had space for 3 people to sit comfortably, which was later shifted to the present location. The need for audio visual facilities was found and soon was equipped with the facilities. Hostel condition, in terms of infra structure was very poor and soon the measures were taken.

That evening, it was raining heavily. Our kitchen was adjacent to the Louis Boarding, on the ground floor, which was also the kitchen for mid-day meals for the IHS students. Given to the heavy rain and the wind, the place around was flooded and room was leaking water in. We couldn’t cook and the students left hungry. Soon after the event the kitchen was shifted to the present location. That evening I saw tears in the eyes of my director, Fr Francis Guntipilly, SJ looking at the empty stomachs and hungry looks.

The then director, Fr Francis Guntipilly, SJ who introduced the concept of community college to Karnataka was indeed a visionary and a forward thinker who loved the poor and the marginalized. I believe, SJCC owes much for his services and for grooming the concept of community education which has come to be a light to many rural and urban youth of Karnataka. I must acknowledge and appreciate the dedicated services of Mr Vijay, for whom SJCC was a home away from home, who more than often went out his way to accommodate the needs of the students. The late Mr Amal Raj, who was teaching communicative English, won our hearts with his committed service. But one personality that inspired was Mrs Savithri Krishnamurthy, who was teaching written communication to the advanced section. She knew the pulse of every student and had unique ways to cope with them. Her service was selfless and teaching was her passion. Hats off to you Madam...! Apart from the teaching staff, we also had Mrs Jackline,- warden of the girls hostel who accompanied the girl students to the best of her capacities.

Our students were not from the elite class. We had no bright rank holders. We had poor, people from the margins of the society. Many of our students were from broken families, from backgrounds who were struggling to meet the ends and students who even had criminal backgrounds. If some had given up their formal education due to the lack of motivation, others were forced to, by the pressing economic problems.

The batch which began their studies in July 2010, was very special to me as I accompanied them till the end of their course at SJCC. On my journey with them, I realized that each of them had a world behind them; a world which was shattered, a world which had more bruises and less hope/optimism. Community College, true to its name was a home to all of them. We the staff of SJCC of 2010-11 did work tirelessly to rebuild their broken world and gather their shattered dreams.

I believe it is the inner world of a person that shapes his outer living. For me personally, being the person in charge of both the hostels was a great learning to listen to the joys and griefs of my students. This indeed has shaped me to be a better human and never to judge a person by his mere externals.

Amidst the daily routines, the staff at SJCC emerged with the noble idea of an inter –community college event, for the first time in the history of Communty Colleges in Karnataka. WAVES-2010,   brand name suggested by late Fr Joy Fernandes, SJ who was a great admirer and supporter of SJCC, was indeed a great success. A month long intense preparations was a special opportunity, the staff found to enthuse every student to dream high – is something I always cherish about my stay at SJCC. I must acknowledge the hard work put in by Mr Vijay and Mrs Savithri Krishnamurthy, who worked tirelessly, forgetting their personal engagements to prepare the students for the event. WAVES-2010 was a great success for it provided a platform to the less privileged students to exhibit their talents, which is often denied to them in the mainstream colleges. Thanks to Fr Daniel Fernandes, SJ- the then rector who accompanied us as every step every step with his motivating presence.

Inter College Sports Tournaments, Mock interviews, preparing syllabus for the various courses, outing to Wonder La, Industrial visits, Leadership programs, NLP……I just have an ocean of memories of SJCC and to express all that this magazine will not be sufficient.

It was indeed a great sight at the end to see most of our students walking out with a smile on their faces and confidence in their hearts, with a rejuvenated spirit to realize their dreams of creating a space for themselves in today’s competitive world of ours  and also to  create a ray of hope for others and so to create a humane society; for SJCC not only developed the personal and  inter –personal skills but also formed the students in the social conscience. Pramod, John Paul, Joseph, Martin, Raghavendra, Mallesh, Azeem, Niranjan, Jabbar Singh Suvarna, Deepa, Arokia Mary, Shalini, Apporva, Elizabeth, Priyanka are a few names that come to my  mind at the moment. Thanks to you all. For you were God’s gift  to SJCC.

As I conclude, I have come to realize that we the staff of SJCC were like seers, looking for the divine each in his/her own way. And we did find the presence of the divine in our students. On this journey of search we became friends among ourselves and to our students, at times we were task masters and at other loving parents. With all these we built a temple, not on any land, made of stones, rather in the hearts and minds of our students with love, care and fraternity- a temple that stands beyond the limits of caste, creed and culture.

 In the following summer, 2011, I said good bye to SJCC with a deep sense of satisfaction and contentment, to my further Jesuit journey. Years have gone by, but the values and convictions that were formed at SJCC, rule my life even today.

Thank you SJCC!