Oh, the places he’ll go! Georgetown’s new mascot-in-training Jack Junior is currently traveling from his birthplace in Southern California to Washington, D.C., visiting with Georgetown alumni and seeing famous sites like the Las Vegas Strip and the Gateway Arch along the way.

After a weeklong road trip, Jack Junior will arrive on the Hilltop at the end of his cross-country trip on Friday at 4 p.m. for a welcome ceremony at Healy Circle (you can follow his progress across the country here).

At the official celebration, JJ will receive his Georgetown collar and become a Hoya. Hoya Blue, the Pep Band, and the cheerleaders will be on hand to attempt to teach JJ the words to the fight song. All attendees will get a “special celebratory favor” after the ceremony.

Friday also promises the first meeting between JJ and his Mr. Miyagi, Jack the Bulldog, who is still recovering from surgery to repair a torn ACL.

While we anxiously await Jack Junior’s arrival in 48 hours, here’s another video of the young whippersnapper! That poor shoe! We wonder if the shoe’s Nike logo was intentional.

Photo: Christopher Steck

Jack, Our beloved mascot and the dog who eats boxes so we don’t have to, tore an ACL on Sunday. According to Fr. Christopher Steck, Jack likely injured himself jumping on a couch. Steck tweeted Monday that the hobbled bulldog will need two months to recover.

Initially attended to by the mother of former Hoyas basketball player Ryan Dougherty (COL ’11), who is a veterinarian, Jack will visit a canine orthopedic surgeon to plan his recovery. Steck initially suggested that surgery is probable.

The NCAA confirmed to USA Today that Jack will be allowed to attend the Final Four if he has recovered from his injuries and, of course, if the Casual Hoya Delusion Train makes a stop in New Orleans. Mascots do not travel to regional sites.

Jack had to be carried to the Selection Sunday party in Leo’s Sunday. He is not allowed to use stairs for the time being.

Providing a glimpse in to the Jesuit philosophy, the Georgetown College has created a video entitled “Jesuits at Georgetown.”

The video features Fr. Kevin O’Brien, S.J., executive director of Campus Ministry, Fr. Ryan Maher, an associate dean in the College, and professors Fr. Matthew Carnes, S.J., and Fr. Christopher Steck, S.J.

In the video—which includes footage from the University Gaudete Sunday Mass, Steck’s weekly mass in New South, and Fr. Carnes teaching his government class—each Jesuit talks about their purpose and vision at the University.

Maher opens the video, saying, “Our job as educators and as priests is not to bring God to people, or even to bring people to God. Our job, our way, of living out our educational vocation is to ask the right questions, and to help young people ask those questions.”

Carnes—who came to Georgetown in the fall of 2009—said that while many people think of Jesuits as “old school,” his goal in class is to engage students. Carnes was instrumental in introducing iClickers to the University.

Maher mentions in the video that the Jesuits had a great impact on him as both a student and as a fellow priest, especially Fr. Thomas King, S.J.

He also reflected on why the Jesuits are central to Georgetown, saying, “What does our presence mean? What difference does it make? We are meant to embody in a particular way the tradition that animates and gives life to Georgetown and has for 200 years. We’re not the only ones, but we are asked to do it in a particular and unique way. In many ways we are the tenders of the fire.”

Kuna Malik Hamad, the lead videographer for the College, created “Jesuits at Georgetown”.

Jesuits at Georgetown from Georgetown College on Vimeo.