Diocese of Gary

MERRILLVILLE – On June 11 a powerful tornado moved through the Merrillville area, causing significant damage to the Andrean High School campus and impacting nearby communities. High school administrators worked quickly with the help of businesses and community organizations to ensure the building would be ready for students.

Two months later, on Aug. 11, another fierce storm with damaging winds caused trees and power lines to topple across Northwest Indiana, leaving many communities without electricity for days. While it seemed as though perhaps Mother Nature was trying to prevent the 59er family from reuniting, the students once again filled the hallways on the first day of classes on Aug. 18.    

“Andrean is family and family needs to be together,” said Principal Jaycob Knazur. “From the onset of the storm, we set the goal to be back as soon as we possibly could and honor our existing calendar. I'm grateful for the organization, hard work, and resources that made that goal a reality. Seeing the smiling faces of students on Day 1 made the hard work and long nights worth it.”

Now that the school is heading into week three, Knazur stated it is wonderful to be around a bustling community and feel a sense of normalcy after such a unique summer.

“We look forward to the days ahead and the work that is still to be accomplished,” he said, “but are inspired and convinced to continue to serve our students to make Andrean what God wills it to be.”

On Aug. 21, Andrean High School juniors and seniors attended their first class retreat of the school year. During the day, students learned more about God and heard the message that God loves his people unconditionally. Students also did lesson three of the virtues boundaries section, teaching the importance of boundaries and how to articulate comfort levels with others.

Amanda Charbonneau, theology teacher and assistant campus minister, led a Rosary as an opening prayer. Then, Andrean staff gave different short talks relating to boundaries, both physically and digitally, and the importance of communicating what someone is and is not comfortable with.

The students also had the opportunity to hear from guest speaker Jason Evert, who was in the region for the Diocese of Gary’s Emmaus Conference. Gianna Niece, campus minister, was excited for the opportunity for students to hear from Evert on how the Catholic Church views issues around chastity.

With the first week of the 2026-27 school year underway, Niece reflected on the year ahead.

She said, “One thing I'm looking forward to this school year is getting out to do service alongside students and watching their relationship with Christ as they grow closer to Him.”

Student Aliyanna Hoyney-Vazquez said it was pretty relieving to be back at Andrean and have a sense of community again. She was happy to be able to get together with others, talk about what happened over the summer, and vent with one another about the problems some students have been dealing with.

“It's pretty relieving to find people who are also going through a hard time and be able to support each other,” she said.

As a senior, Hoyney-Vazquez is looking forward to hanging out with her friends and playing sports in her last year of high school.

Junior Abby Stokes said it was great to return for another school year and felt the recovery from the summer storms brought everyone closer together, as everyone was impacted in some way and others, she noted, are still being impacted.

“I missed my school,” Stokes said. “I was really sad that it was damaged. It just feels so good to be back. Everyone is together, and it’s nice.”

Stokes is happy to be moving to the next level in her education. Having completed her sophomore year last year, she feels ready to take on more responsibilities and believes the school is preparing her for that.

Classmate John Fire said that after everything that happened, he too noted, “it felt great” to be back at Andrean. He said the town and the school proved themselves to be a great community. He noted how a variety of people from the area and around Indiana came to help and worked together to get everything “back in shape.”

“It's a very welcoming environment at Andrean,” he said. “I’m glad to be here. It’s good to see new faces and new people.”

Fire, a junior, is looking forward to participating in the clubs along with all the sports that the high school offers.

In the following week, students gathered for their first all-school Mass at nearby Our Lady of Czestochowa Shrine. Father Will O’Donnell, an Andrean alumnus who was recently assigned as school chaplain, celebrated the liturgy.

Andrean High School hosted its first home football game of the season on Aug. 21 and is looking forward to another on Sept. 11, when alumni will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the stadium that evening. Andrean’s official Homecoming game is Sept. 25, and it will welcome alumni to its Alumni and Friends Tent during the game.