The Mertz Magician: First-year Student Leaves his Mystical Mark on Campus

Walking out of their dorm, most people check their pockets for their phone, wallet and keys. Jude Al-Hallaj never leaves Mertz Hall without checking for his deck of cards. 

Since this year’s Welcome Week, rumors of a magician on campus have been brewing. Reportedly, a student would go around introducing himself as such and offering magic tricks like classic “pick a card, any card” ruses. But to his friends, this magician is no mystery — it’s Al-Hallaj. 

The first-year biology student said his passion for magic began when he was a high schooler in 2024. Not having known any magicians prior, Al-Hallaj said he simply picked up a deck of cards out of boredom one day. The passion has since grown to be a huge part of his identity. 

“I got pretty good at it, good enough to get invested into it, so I just continued doing it and eventually I got paid for it at one point, and I was just like, ‘Alright, this could be an actual career,’” Al-Hallaj said. “Plus I’m meeting new people, I’m making friends, it goes well with my personality.”

When starting out, Al-Hallaj said he learned about two tricks — enough to bring into his junior year high school classroom. The enthusiastic feedback and fascinated reactions he got charmed him into continuing beyond the school day. 

“I would babysit these kids, they’re my cousins and there’s three of them and they’re little,” Al-Hallaj said.  “They would not listen to me unless I showed them, so I’d be like ‘If you brush your teeth, I’ll show you a magic trick, ‘That’s what really got me into it.”

His launch as a full-fledged magician really came, however, at Loyola, where he used the magic to overcome the challenge of making friends as a first year.  

“If you’re at a party or something, it’s so much easier and cooler to go up to someone and say ‘Hey, can I show you a magic trick?’ or like, ‘Hey, I’m a performer, I do magic’ and you pull out a deck of cards,” Al-Hallaj said. “Nine out of 10 times they’re like, ‘Hell yeah, I want to see magic.’”

During welcome week, where Al-Hallaj began garnering fame, he said he would go up to people waiting in line for events such as build-a-bler or the Big Bus tours, do a trick and invite them to ask for another if they ever saw him again. One recipient was first-year English major Kat Evans, who said she appreciated his positive presence. 

“When I see him around campus it’s like, ‘That’s the magic man,’” Evans said. “It brings a little bit of spirit.”

With a variety of tricks up his sleeve, Al-Hallaj said he’s most known for his card maneuvers. The first-year almost always has a deck on him, ready for a show.

His skills go further than just 52 cards, though Al-Hallaj said he’s also dabbled in hypnotism and professional pickpocketing. Once he began exploring the world of magic, he said he fell down a bit of a rabbit hole. 

Al-Hallaj said he got into hypnotism after seeing a hypnotist in real life. First, he watched the performer work on other people, and when Al-Hallaj himself got hypnotized, he immediately knew it was something he wanted to get into.

“He did some cool shit on me,” said Al-Hallaj. “At that moment I’m like, ‘I’m gonna buy an audiobook.’”

His first goal in his hypnotism was to make someone fall asleep. He said he had many failed attempts but was hooked from his first successful attempt, immediately wanting to expand his abilities. 

“I was so in control,” Al-Hallaj said. “I did it three times before where I failed with different people, and with this person, it was like, ‘Holy shit it worked. I know what I did differently. I’m gonna continue doing this.’ It was really, really cool, and I just kept getting better at it and better at it.”

The art of hypnotism and pickpocketing includes a lot of psychology and understanding a person’s body language, Al-Hallaj said. Empowered by his interest in magic, he said he plans on adding a psychology minor to explore this area of expertise. 

What started as two tricks quickly grew into not only a passion for psychology or performing, but an uplifting enchantment for students across campus.  

Third-year sport management student and de Nobili front desk receptionist Mike Hardy is one of many students who said he’s enjoyed a magical moment with Al-Hallaj. Hardy said he often sees Al-Hallaj while at work and remarked on the magician’s ability to make a long or boring shift special.

“He comes out, he’s very excited to see me,” Hardy said. “There’s times I see him, and I could use a little pick me up,”

Al-Hallaj said he plans to continue studying magic and grow his repertoire of tricks. Since finding a deck of cards only a year ago, Al-Hallaj said magic has now become a true passion and a part of his identity.  

“Magic is a part of me,” Al-Hallaj said. “If they like magic, they like me.”