Encouraging Vision and Hope

Reprinted from Traditions, Winter 2016-2017
March 14, 2017

Cretin Profile: Hugh McElroy'56

More than sixty years ago, a self-professed ‘goofball’ in his high school military program was pulled aside by Cretin’s JROTC Col. John Hougen (Ret.) and was taught a life-changing lesson.

“He told me he believed I had leadership abilities and could be a good influence on others – and that single act of belief in me had a significant impact on my life ever since,” said Hugh McElroy ’56. “I went from an undisciplined and not very cooperative kid to an officer and company commander my senior year.”

McElroy, Executive Director of Luminarias, a program for vulnerable girls in Guatemala, has made it his mission to encourage and affirm others in some way, no matter what challenges they experience. “To encourage vision and hope, raising the sense of self-value – that is the keystone of my work in Guatemala.”

Changing Life Stories in Guatemala

Luminarias is a unique program for vulnerable girls in Guatemala that provides a home, education, social, and career skill-building, with a focus on the character and spiritual development of girls from impoverished backgrounds.

McElroy, who has been to Guatemala for 17 consecutive years, now spends five months living there each year, with the remainder of the year back in Minnesota, advocating for and raising awareness of the project. It is his belief that these girls can flourish if they live in a safe, secure environment, feel accepted and affirmed, develop a sense of self-worth and are given the chance to be educated as a whole person. “Our measure of success is not simply a job or higher education…we know true success is independence and confidence – a blend of physical, intellectual, spiritual, social and emotional growth…the whole human being,” explained McElroy.

The commitment to vulnerable youth in Guatemala started when a friend invited him to join a ten-day mission trip through St. Paul-based Common Hope in 2000. From 2005-2012, he lived in a large orphanage with over 200 kids for approximately five months each year. In 2013, he co-founded Luminarias, providing a community home, mentoring, education, career guidance, character formation, and individual attention to very disadvantaged girls in order to break the cycle of poverty and give these girls a chance at a decent and productive life.

Mirroring the power of affirmation and opportunity that McElroy experienced in high school, Luminarias is committed to supporting the girls’ developing values system, in which beauty is judged on the inside and success is measured by character and not economic success. “The opportunities we offer these girls, that they would not otherwise have, are critical to our mission,” explained McEloy. He started a music, art, aerobics, and soccer program in which the self esteem of the girls can be fostered. Luminarias is a “family” environment, where the girls live in community and have responsibilities and expectations.

Sense of Social Awareness Starts and Ends at Home

Not a stranger to world travel, McElroy retired from 3M after working in sales, marketing, and later as an international business planner, which involved a lot of travel, especially to South American and Asia. “I was awakened to how privileged I was to live in St. Paul, having graduated from such good schools, and with so much opportunity.”

The seeds of his social awareness came earlier – especially at Cretin. “The roots of my work in Guatemala comes from my faith, the seeds of which I was given early on,” noted McElroy.

Having grown up in St. Mark’s and now a Nativity of our Lord parishioner for the past 30 years, he ended up at Cretin because of his family’s deep Cretin ties. His dad, a “Brothers fan,” graduated in 1929; his three brothers are also alumni. “My years at Cretin were good years because I absorbed a lot of what I value today, without even realizing it at the time.”

He explained that in high school, it was the little things that fertilized this idea that our time and energy should reflect our gospel values. “How powerful for high-school kids to always say, ‘Let us remember, we are in the holy presence of God…’ We were a just a bunch of immature adolescents and yet, we absorbed the sense that we should love God, as well as the call to love our neighbor as ourselves.”

Reflecting on his personal experience, McElroy noted, “Cretin showed me the value in balancing expectations and discipline, and we incorporate these same things into our community in Guatemala.”

Commitment to the Neighbor

While he has dedicated his work these days to the Guatemalan Luminarias Project, he points out that the opportunity to love our neighbor starts right at home in our local neighborhoods.

After retiring in 1997, McElroy found himself with time on his hands and he was drawn the philosophy: Better to light one candle than the curse the darkness.

As a volunteer in a Common Bond Community, he began working with youth on the westside of St. Paul. He tutored and mentored disadvantaged youth, many of whom were Hmong, Cambodian, and Somalian immigrants who were trying to build a new life in Saint Paul. In fact, his work on the westside earned him special recognition as one of the Eleven Who KARE in 2003.

Often asked why he has dedicated so much of his life to building up the disadvantaged, either in the Twin Cities or in Guatemala, he points to his personal experience in which he realized, through education, travel, and business, just how privileged he was and how much poverty and struggle there is in the world.

“Why am I, one of 7 billion people on this earth, right now, lucky enough to be born right here, in St. Paul, educated at the best schools, with access to so much opportunity?” McElroy reflected, “I don’t take things for granted anymore.”

He also humbly points to the need to put his faith in action and challenges himself and others to do their part to positively change even a small part of someone else’s struggles. He notes that those opportunities exist right here, whether it is committing your time, talent or treasure to an opportunity to make a difference.

While no one person can solve all the problems, everyone can start in their neighborhood – even by doing just one kind thing. He suggests it is as easy as visiting the elderly, sitting with someone who might be lonely or a simply smile. “It’s not always easy, or even the thing you want to do,” said McElroy. “To love God…and love your neighbor…you just have to do it!”

This article and more are featured in the Winter 2016-2017 issue of the CDH Magazine, Traditions.