Enthusiasm, joy and possibility create the pulse of Louisville’s campus life. The overall academic experience is enriched and supported by a vibrant program of extracurricular and co-curricular activities. A wide variety of clubs, social events, field trips, assemblies and parent activities enliven campus life and compliment academic programs.
Clubs and activities...
Trips, clubs, co-ed sports,
events, cheerleading, and Crespi! Want to know how exciting high school at
Louisville will be? Check out what makes Louisville High School so much fun!
Annual Speaker Series
Each year there is an excirting and thought-provoking lineup of guest speakers that visit Louisville with the goal of exposing students to other cultures, global issues, environmental challenges and teen physical and emotional health issues. Below is a sample of speakers in recent years.
Fr. Chris Ponnet, Pax Christi
Father Chris Ponnet is a Catholic Pastor of St. Camillus serving as chaplain at
LAC/USC Medical Center and Southern California Regional Coordinator for Pax
Christi USA. Fr. Chris is part of the Interfaith Communities United for Justice
and Peace working against the violence of wars and the violence of the Death
Penalty. He works with inmates and has testified in a death penalty case.
Dr. Anita Sengupta: Women, Mars, and STEM
Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Entry, Descent and Landing Engineer Anita Sangupta is a rocket scientist who works at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
and specializes in designing systems to land on Mars, Venus, and return to
Earth. She also teaches Astronautics and the Space Environment at the University
of Southern California’s Astronautical Engineering Department.
Nicole Clark- Cover Girl Culture
Nicole Clark is a former elite model who presents workshops and assemblies for
girls on body image, self-esteem, and media literacy. Her goal is to create a
Clever Girl Culture instead of a Cover Girl Culture - by opening girls’ eyes to
the manipulation of the media so they can break free of its spell. Her message
is taken seriously by young girls who are enamored with the fashion/modeling
industry.
Fr. Ken Deasy: Somalia? Kenya? Haiti?
Father Ken Deasy is a dynamic and personable native Californian Catholic priest
known throughout the Los Angeles area as an open, energetic, humorous,
compassionate, athletic, all-inclusive guy who, at the same time, loves to serve
and bring an experience of joy to the inner city of Los Angeles bringing people
of different faiths, lifestyles, cultures and ages into a harmonious union. Speaking to the
young Catholic church, he believe in “kids helping kids”; i.e., teaching
children to be aware of how other children in over 91 countries are dying and
need their help.
Michelle Mehta, J.D. Earth Month Assembly: WATER
Michelle Mehta is a staff attorney with the Natural Resources Defense
Council. Ms. Mehta works in the Water Program in NRDC’s Los Angeles office,
which aims to secure safe and sufficient water for humans and ecosystems in the
face of existing and emerging threats through the full spectrum of advocacy
approaches: major impact litigation; legislation, and policy analysis.
Father Greg Boyle, S.J., founder and CEO of Homeboy Industries
Rev. Boyle has been an advocate for at-risk and gang-involved youth in Los Angeles and around the world for more than 25 years. Homeboy Industries is a nonprofit organization that assists at-risk youth to become contributing members of their communities. It is the largest gang intervention program in the country.In 1992, as a response to the civil unrest in L.A., Rev. Boyle launched the first business, Homeboy Bakery, with a mission to create an environment that provides training, work experience, and the opportunity for rival gang members to work side-by-side. The Bakery’s success created a foundation to establish Homeboy Industries in 2001. Today, Homeboy Industries’ nonprofit economic development enterprises includes Homeboy Bakery, Homeboy Silkscreen, Homeboy/Homegirl Merchandise, and Homegirl Café.
Sr. Helen Prejean C.S.J., author of Dead Man Walking
Sister Helen began her prison ministry in 1981 when she dedicated her life to
the poor of New Orleans. In doing so, her eyes were opened to the Louisiana
execution process. Sister Helen turned her experiences into a book that t was
also nominated for a 1993 Pulitzer Prize. Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United
States was number one on the New York Times Best Seller List for 31 weeks. It
also was an international best seller and has been translated into ten different
languages.
Dr. Beth Brewer: Cyberbullying
Beth Brewer, a visiting professor in the School of Education at Loyola Marymount
University, teaches in the Department of Urban Education and serves as the
director of Catholic Teacher Preparation in the Center for Catholic Education.
Dr. Brewer holds a Masters degree in Secondary Education and a doctorate in
Educational Leadership For Social Justice.
Crossroads: Sr. Terry Dodge, SSL
Sr. Terry Dodge is a Sister of St. Louis. She is the executive director of
Crossroads, Inc. which provides transitional housing, education, career and
counseling services and support to women released from prison. Many of these women live with tremendous guilt and heavy hearts, but as Sister
Terry says, as a community, we owe them some mercy to help get them back on
their feet. And, as she points out, we certainly owe it to ourselves to make
sure they don’t end up back on the streets or behind bars, given that is the one
scenario in which everyone loses. And losing souls is not what Sister Terry is
about. “The work I do is not extraordinary. If it seems extraordinary, it is
because not enough of us are doing it.”
Explorers Club Sponsors Earth Day Assembly, Bringing Wildlife Expert Jeff Lee to Campus
The Explorers Club sponsored our Earth Month assembly. Our featured guest was Jeff Lee, an animal trainer from Steve Martin’s Working Wildlife, who brought with him a number of endangered animals from around the world: a binturong (bearcat), a porcupine from South America, a ferret, a capuchin monkey, and a brown tailed lemur. While learning about the future of these animals we were also encouraged to look at our own habitats and see how we can improve the lives for whom we share it.
Dr. Susan Love Inspires Louisville
Renowned Researcher and Physician spoke at Louisville High School about her latest findings in her efforts to understand the causes of breast cancer and to develop a cure for this disease. The Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation is recruiting ONE MILLION WOMEN to partner with scientists who are conducting the research that will move us beyond a cure and teach us how to end breast cancer once and for all. Learn more or sign up at: www.armyofwomen.org.
Producer Gary Straub, documentary filmmaker
Gary Straub shared his career and vision with Louisville students. His message: "Putting the power of film at the service of the poor."
Linda Biehl on Restorative Justice
Linda Biehl is the co-founder and director of the Amy Biehl Foundation in the U.S. and the Amy
Biehl Foundation Trust in South Africa. Linda’s relationship to South Africa and the genesis of these Foundations is
grounded in the life and death of her daughter Amy.
Film- Race to Nowhere
View trailer: Race to Nowhere: A concerned
mother turned filmmaker aims her camera at the high-stakes, high-pressure
culture that has invaded our schools and our children’s lives, creating
unhealthy, disengaged, unprepared and stressed-out youth. Race to Nowhere is a call to mobilize families, educators, and policy makers to
challenge current assumptions on how to best prepare the youth of America to
become healthy, bright, contributing and leading citizens.
Leila Conners Petersen The Co-Director, Writer and Producer of The 11th Hour, Speaks at Louisville
Leila Conners Petersen founded Tree Media Group in August of 1996. With a background in international politics, Leila set out to build a production company that creates media to support and sustain civil society. Most recently Leila directed, wrote and produced a feature-length documentary, The 11th Hour, with Leonardo DiCaprio and 54 leading thinkers and scientists about the state of the world and the state of the human condition. Leila spoke with Louisville students on issues of sustainability and the environment, and answered many questions thoughtfully and thoroughly.
From Louisville to Malawi: Dr. Monica Eneriz Wiemer '96 Speaks at Louisville
Women’s Health Week brought a passionate young alumna back to Louisville, Dr. Mónica Eneriz Wiemer ’96. She made the year-long call to action come alive for Louisville students as she spoke of her work in the children’s ward of St. Gabriel’s Hospital in rural Malawi. As an undergraduate, and then as a medical student at Stanford University, she focused on addressing the health needs of minority and under-served children and families. Her interest in the health needs of new immigrants led her to participate in international electives in Guatemala and Malawi to better understand the factors that impact children's health globally. She will return to Malawi to assist at St. Gabriel’s Hospital once again by delivering supplies and completing a needs-assessment for an ongoing partnership with Stanford University Medical School. Royal View magazine article
Freedom Writer Maria Reyes Speaks at Louisville
Freedom Writer Maria Reyes gave a gripping account of her journey from the gangs of East Los Angeles to newfound hope at Wilson High School with her classmates in Ms. Gruwell’s English class for at-risk students. Since she graduated from California State University, Long Beach, she calls students to find a way to reach out to troubled youth and show them that “there is another way to live your life.” Afterwards, many students waited patiently to speak with her and have their Freedom Writers book signed by Ms. Reyes, who greeted each with her lovely smile and a genuine hug.
From Hardship to Hope: Ghana's Thomas Awiapo
Thomas Awiapo has a truly inspiring story of survival and success. Orphaned before the age of ten, Thomas survived bleak poverty and hunger
in his small Africa village. His search for food led him to school at 12, and he eventually won scholarships to attend college and later earn a Master’s degree in the United States. Today he works for Catholic Relief Services training community leaders throughout Ghana. His story of initiative and his joyful presence has brought inspiration to thousands of people in the US. Thomas’ village received help from Catholic Relief Services (CRS) through Operation Rice Bowl, the program that connects prayer, fasting, and almsgiving with education about poverty and hunger around the world.
Jim Newton, Editor of Editorial & Opinion Pages, Los Angeles Times, Speaks at Louisville High School
A native of California, Jim Newton has spent much of his life writing about the state, especially its politics, government and legal affairs. He joined The Times in 1989 and covered federal law enforcement and the Los Angeles Police Department from 1992 through 1997, a period that included the 1992 riots, the federal trial of the LAPD officers who beat Rodney King, and the murder trial of O.J. Simpson. Newton was recently named editorial page editor of the Los Angeles Times, with responsibility for the newspaper's editorial, Op-Ed, letters and Sunday Opinion sections.
Sudan survivor and author Benjamin Ajak Speaks at Louisville High School on Nov. 14th in St. Louis Hall
Louisville students welcomed Benjamin Ajak to our campus. After listening to his story, they asked him some very thought-provoking questions. He joined the seniors for lunch on the lawn, signed books and shared his wonderful personality and charisma with our community.
Benjamin Ajak was five years old when his village in Southern Sudan was attacked by troops from his own government. To escape slavery, death or induction into the northern army, he fled naked and alone into the night. Walking by day and sleeping in trees at night, it was several days before he found his cousins, Benson, seven years old, and Lino, five. Together the three young boys joined the exodus of thousands of others and fled a thousand miles across Africa’s largest country. Facing lions, crocodiles and starvation, only half survived and made it into Ethiopia. They became known to the world as The Lost Boys. 
On September 11, 2001 Benjamin came to America. His first view of his new home outside his plane window was the World Trade Towers on fire. Together with his cousins, Benson and Alephonsion Deng, he wrote his memoir, They Poured Fire On Us From the Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys of Sudan which was published in 2005. Benjamin now lives in San Diego and travels the country speaking out about the genocide still going on in his country and to students about his extraordinary life which is an inspiration to all.
Ensemble Royale is featured in Showcase of choirs at Walt Disney concert hall's annual high school choir festival
Louisville High School’s Ensemble Royale, conducted by Ms. Maura Piazza, was featured as a solo choir at the Walt Disney Concert Hall during the 20th Annual High School Choir Festival, sponsored by the Los Angeles Master Chorale. Of the 25 choirs participating in the event, four were selected to perform a selection of music on center stage and receive feedback from professionals. They then performed six prepared choral pieces together with all thirty participating choirs, providing our all-girl choir a unique opportunity to sing in combined male/female vocal arrangements. Bravo, Ensemble Royale!
