“If I was not a Jesuit in training, I would want to be a Kardashian!” Huh?! Wait a minute. A lifelong commitment to poverty, chastity, and obedience versus living in the fishbowl of reality TV that celebrates excessive wealth? Nevertheless, those words were the first piece of information that the math office shared when asked about their new co-worker, Mr. Nicholas Albin, SJ.

Far from living a Kardashian lifestyle, Mr. Albin has traveled with the Jesuits to three underdeveloped countries, India, Mexico, and Ecuador, working mostly with the poor and oppressed. He admitted, “India was by far my favorite mission. I spent nine weeks there in the summer of 2016, and I would love to go back.”

While Walsh Jesuit is not India, Mr. Albin says that he loves the atmosphere of Walsh and how welcoming all of the students are here. “The relationship between students and teachers here at Walsh is like nowhere else I have seen before. It truly is like a family here.”

Growing up in Washington, D.C., he played tennis and golf and was involved in the band while in high school. He then went on to attend Xavier University in Cincinnati and earned a degree in Business Administration and Finance. There he enjoyed working with campus ministry and served on the student senate for three years. Mr. Albin actually never even thought about becoming a Jesuit until he attended college and met some Jesuits at Xavier.

Mr. Albin is now in his 6th year out of the 11-year process of becoming a Jesuit. Last May he completed a Masters in Social Philosophy from Loyola University, Chicago, while in the Jesuit first-studies program . Mr. Albin is in a period of Jesuit formation called “regency,” a 3-year experience during which a practicing Jesuit works/teaches in a Jesuit institution. Once this step is completed, Mr. Albin will move on to the next step toward ordination which includes formal study of theology, either at Boston College or Santa Clara in California.

Mr. Albin teaches Algebra I and Ecclesiology. To find out who Mr. Albin is inside of the classroom, this reporter talked to some of his students. “He never lets me leave class without understanding the discussion,” said Allie Khalil ’20. Freshman math student Carly Tabone stated, “He always makes time for me and my needs”  Mr. Albin obviously has a deep care for his students and truly wants them to grow each day.