By Brian Harper

In hindsight, Jeff Sullivan's road to the Jesuits looks preordained.

He attended Creighton University, a Jesuit school in Omaha, Neb., before joining the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in Milwaukee, Wis. Later, he spent two years working at a Jesuit mission in Ecuador, before taking a job as a librarian at Red Cloud Indian School, a Jesuit-run institution on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

The reality, of course, is more complex. It involves many moments, steps, goals, and dreams that continue to shape Sullivan as he pursues Jesuit formation that will culminate with his being ordained a priest.

Now working as a teacher and soccer coach at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Ill., as part of the regency stage of Jesuit formation, Sullivan sat down with the Midwest Jesuits to talk about what initially drew him to the Society of Jesus, surprising insights he has gained about himself in the process, and what he would like people to know about the Jesuits.

To listen to our conversation, click the audio player to the left.

Read more about Sullivan and several of his Jesuit brothers' formation in the Society of Jesus.

Learn about the stages of Jesuit formation and a vocation with the Jesuits.