2012-2013 First-Year Text:

Welcome to the University!  Each year, Loyola's first-year students read the same book over the summer. This gives the incoming class a common experience and an example of the values and mission that we hold dear here at Loyola. In many of the first-year writing classes, students will have an opportunity to discuss and write about this year's First-Year Text, Enrique's Journey. 

Enrique’s Journey
by Sonia Nazario

Enrique’s Journey tells the story of a Honduran boy who was born into an incredibly poor family without enough money to eat. Enrique’s mother, Lourdes, left him and his siblings when he was only five years old to travel to the United States. The move enables Lourdes to earn enough money to send back to her children so that they may eat better and attend school past the third grade. Lourdes promises she will return quickly, but years pass and she is still struggling in America. When Lourdes calls, Enrique begs his mother to return to Honduras and to her family, but Lourdes tells Enrique to be patient. After eleven years of separation, Enrique can no longer bear the loneliness caused by his mother’s absence. With little more than a slip of paper bearing his mother’s U.S. phone number, Enrique sets off to make the illegal trek through Mexico to America on his own, clinging to the tops and sides of what the migrants call El Tren de le Muerte – The Train of Death.  Enrique’s Journey is based on Sonia Nazario’s award-winning series in the Los Angeles Times, winning one Pulitzer Prize for feature writing and a second for feature photography.

This story is quite compelling. While reading the book, we are confident you will want to learn more!

For more information or questions about your First-Year Text, please contact the Office of First-Year Experience at 773.508.7381 or firstyearexperience@luc.edu.