The Rambler Read is Loyola University Chicago's common reading experience, an opportunity for the Loyola community to foster meaningful discussion and engagement on issues that impact our community.

This year's Rambler Read is Wake Up With Purpose!: What I've Learned In My First Hundred Years, by Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt and Seth Davis. Sister Jean's memoir explores what it means to live a life with purpose; to "always do the good that's in front of us," while choosing to be happy, not taking ourselves too seriously, and pausing to notice the "small miracles happening all around us every day, if we only pay close enough attention."

Each new student will receive a copy of the book immediately following New Student Convocation, and will be encouraged to read it over the course of the academic year. We invite you to read Wake Up With Purpose!, incorporate it into classes and programs, and join the conversation on campus this year.

"I recently came upon an African proverb that said 'When an old person dies, a library closes.' I thought that was such a beautiful verse. And by that logic, if the old person is still living, that means the library is open, right? That's a pleasant way to imagine myself. I'd like to think I have information to share and stories to tell that could be helpful and inspirational to others. And you don't need a library card to hear my stories. All you have to do is pull up a chair and ask. As someone who was born just nine months after World War I, I've seen a great deal."

"I've seen so many changes over the past 103 years, but the important things remain the same. I wanted to recount the story of my life for people, not because I feel that I am so special or my life has been so extraordinary, but rather as a way to give people hope and optimism that once they find their purpose, they can go through life with joy and fulfillment."

- Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt

Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt celebrated her 104th birthday in August 2023. Sister Jean "is a religious sister of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She has spent her entire adult life working as a teacher, administrator, and volunteer, first at elementary and grade schools in Chicago and Los Angeles, and later at Mundelein College and Loyola University. Since 1994, Sister Jean... has served as team chaplain for Loyola's basketball team. She gained national—and international—fame in 2018 when the Ramblers went on a Cinderella run to the Final Four. Sister Jean has been a household name ever since."

Seth Davis "is an award-winning college basketball studio analyst for CBS Sports and a senior writer for college basketball at The Athletic. Since 2004 he has been a mainstay of CBS and Turner Sports coverage of the NCAA tournament." In addition to Wake Up With Purpose!, Seth's basketball books include Wooden: A Coach's Life and When March Went Mad: The Game That Transformed Basketball.