Faculty Members Stephanie Pauloski and Jon Pohlig Awarded Magis Grants

For the second year, St. Joseph’s Prep offered faculty and staff the opportunity to apply for Magis Grants, which would fund research or travel that will better the academic experience for our students. 

 

The 2026 Magis Grant Recipients are Stephanie Pauloski (Modern Language) and Jon Pohlig ’02 (Classics). They will receive a $5,000 grant to fund summer learning experiences. 

 

Ms. Paulowski will be pursuing cultural and educational experiences in Peru, centered on visiting Machu Picchu, Cusco, the Sacred Valley, Lima, and other significant historical and indigenous sites, including activities such as visits to Inca ruins, excursions to different areas and communities, and tours about indigenous history and influence in South America. This ties directly to the content of the Prep’s level 2 and level 3 Spanish curriculum as well as our shared mission of educating for solidarity, global awareness, intellectual growth, and social justice with a focus on strengthening the understanding of the culture of the indigenous population and the social and economic realities in relationship to the non-indigenous populations. Additionally, there is the possibility of visiting a Fe y Alegria school, whose mission is to ensure an integral, inclusive and quality education for young people and adults in vulnerable situations, for the construction of a more equitable world. Latin American youth and adults can complete their secondary education and enter the higher education system or directly into employment.

 

Mr. Pohlig will be travelling to Greece to investigate designing an 8-10 day student trip for travel around Attica, and either to Delphi or Nauplion, and will dive deeper into material for the Athenian Democracy elective, combined with Sites and Monuments of Athens. The goal is to develop a student travel experience that can be coupled with a for-credit course at the Prep, tying to our institutional goal of increasing our Global Outreach. In addition to being part of a rigorous course that connects history, political science, and archaeology, this experience also ties into the Apostolic Preferences of walking with the poor and marginalized and accompanying youth in the creation of a hope filled future. There is the opportunity to connect with an organization working on Greece's own immigration situation and compare the differences and similarities that exist with our own country's immigration issues. There is also an ecological component to explore on this trip, tying into the Apostolic Preference of caring for our common home, as Greece has unfortunately seen a drastic uptick in destructive wildfires, providing an opportunity to learn about the climatological challenges Greece faces.

 

Within their proposals, both educators have shared clear visions of the fruits these experiences will yield not just for them, but for the students and for our larger community and how they plan to share them. Congratulations to them both!