St. John's Prep Today

st. john’s prepS P R I N G 2 0 1 1 Today

The Shannon Years: A Spirited Transformation

The Making of a Leader Celebrating Our Diversity

Networking – A Lifetime Skill Building Brighter Futures

AT THE PREP

FALL

Calendar April 24 Easter Sunrise Liturgy, Administration Building Chapel

at 7:00 am 27 Boston Young Professionals Event, Boston College Club,

6:00 to 8:00 pm

May 4 Alumni Association Meeting, Xavier Hall at 6:30 pm 20-22 25th Reunion for the Class of 1986 and 50th Reunion

for the Class of 1961 21 Baccalaureate Liturgy and Senior Class Awards

Ceremony 22 Commencement for the Class of 2011 24-26 Underclassman Awards Convocations 25 Portsmouth, NH, Alumni Reception, 100 Club in

Portsmouth, 6:00 to 8:00 pm

June 7 Game On Celebration, Game On in Boston, 6:00 pm 13 Ray Carey ’67 Diversity Fund Golf Tournament,

Ipswich Country Club at 1:30 pm 13 Summer Institute Programs Begin

July 23 Prep Alumni Night at the Lowell Spinners

October 2 Admissions Open House 3 Brother Linus Memorial Golf Tournament,

Kernwood Country Club, Salem 12 Grandparents Day for the Class of 2014 16 Walk for Hospice of the North Shore 22 Admissions Open House 21-22 Homecoming Weekend

November 8 Headmaster’s Council Reception, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem

Be sure to check www.stjohnsprep.org or call 800.292.0227 for more information about Prep events and programs.

Physics teacher Pete Dankert pauses to listen to a question in class.

Nothing beats fall at the Prep. Come back for Homecoming and Reunion Weekend!

Friday & Saturday, October 21-22• Varsity Football and Soccer Games• Homecoming Cookout and Family

Fun Events• Alumni Golf Tournament • Campus Tours

Special Reunion Events• All Alumni Reunion Dinner with a special

call to the Classes of ’66, ’71, ’76, ’81, ’91 and ’96

• Gold Eagle Luncheon

Stay tuned for more information or contact Jeff Connolly ’80, Director of Alumni Relations, at [email protected] or call 978.774.6727 x388.

Save the date and look for your invitations in August!

Dear Friends:

I am privileged this semester to engage in a moment of

reflection and study as a visiting scholar at the Barbara and Patrick Roche Center for Catholic Education at Boston College’s Lynch School of Education. Among my endeavors, I am seeking a perspective on Catholic education nationwide and how it relates to our future at the Prep.

Briefly, the Roche Center’s mission is to provide a locus for research and analysis of the central issues affecting Catholic education. The Center studies effective processes for everything from strategic planning and financial management to leadership and innovation. It also provides professional development for teachers, training for new administrators, support for curricular and technological innovation, and it creates partnerships with schools in the Catholic community. Reading those last two sentences, you will understand why I am eager and blessed. The Roche Center and the Prep share aspects of the same Catholic mission. We, too, are doing strategic planning, carefully managing our finances, developing our faculty, bringing innovation into the classroom and creating partnerships with the community. I hope to learn and share for the benefit of the Prep community.

In my short tenure at the Roche Center, I can see much about the challenges facing Catholic education in our country. Nationally, Catholic schools educate almost 2.5 million students (K-12) in 5,900 elementary schools and 1,200 high schools. Almost 175 Catholic schools closed or consolidated last year. Some 85% of Catholic high school graduates in this country attend college. At the Prep, by comparison, 99% of our graduates go on to four-year colleges.

Nationally, the top challenges facing all Catholic schools are institutional identity, enrollment, marketing, innovations in curriculum and technology, financing, fundraising, community engagement and measurement of results. Away from day-to-day management at the Prep, and with the objective

perspective that my sabbatical allows, I see three challenges facing St. John’s Prep in the upcoming decade: finances, identity and curriculum.

Finances. As a school that depends on tuition for 87 percent of our annual operating budget, we must broaden the sources of our financial support. While I rank St. John’s as among the top schools sending students to the best colleges in the country, and while our campus and physical plant is extraordinary by any measure, our next priority must be an endowment that can support tuition assistance and operating costs. At the same time, we must continue to focus on annual support for The Fund for St. John’s, planned giving and continued support from foundations.

Identity. Above all, we are a Catholic, Xaverian, college preparatory school. We are rigorous, service-oriented, educators of the whole person. We are spiritual, athletic, creative, diverse and compassionate advocates for human dignity. We are dedicated to peace and justice and we seek to be an intentional force in the world. None of this is questioned and none of it will change. We know who we are. The world of Catholic education is changing, however, and we will face challenges in our own future. Where will we go?

Curriculum. When I became headmaster ten years ago, we did not have Smart Boards, web portals and much of the educational technology we use today. We had no Chinese, engineering or journalism courses. There were fewer AP classes, no summer program, no rugby team, no Jewish Student Union, no Latinos Unidos en Acción, no A. E. Studzinski Library and no Brother Linus Athletics Commons. The list goes on. We are dynamic, we change ahead of the times and we must continue to do so.

Looking at the Prep from the outside offers an even more amazing view than the one I’ve have had as headmaster during the last decade. I am more convinced than ever that no one does Catholic education as well as we do, and no one will do it better than we will in the next decade. It continues to be “a great day to be an Eagle” for those on campus today, and for those who will be here in the future.

Pax et bonum, Skip Shannon, Headmaster

Headmaster’s Message

Pictured: Kobe Weiss ’12 reads the Prayers of the Faithful during Mass on the Feast of St. Francis Xavier.

ContentsThe Making of a Leader ..................................................................................................................................................... 3

Around CampusThe Shannon Years: A Spirited Transformation .............................................................................................. 4A Perfect Partnership ........................................................................................................................................................... 5Principal’s Perspective ......................................................................................................................................................... 6Keith Crowley Named Prep Principal ...................................................................................................................... 6Triple the Inspiration............................................................................................................................................................... 7Dave Malaro Receives the Ryken Award ............................................................................................................. 8Team Thor....................................................................................................................................................................................... 9Celebrating Our Diversity: Sharing Our Stories .............................................................................................. 10

SportsSports Summary: Fall 2010 and Winter 2011 ................................................................................................... 12Eleven Athletes, Two Coaches Inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame ..................................... 14

AlumniNetworking – A Lifetime Skill ........................................................................................................................................ 16Alumni Events Fall ’10 – Spring ’11 ........................................................................................................................... 17A Conversation with Mike Niconchuk ’07: Building Brighter Futures .......................................... 18

AdvancementBack to the Future .................................................................................................................................................................. 20Class of 1972 Centennial Fund ................................................................................................................................... 22Paving the Way for Students Today .......................................................................................................................... 23

Class Notes .............................................................................................................................................................................. 24

On the Cover: Mike Niconchuk ’07 with Minchito, a young friend who has known the BUILD team for three years. “Ideally, his generation will reap the benefits of increased community production and greater access to technology,” says Niconchuk.

Our Mistake! We made a mistake on page 5 of the Fall 2010 edition of SJP Today in the article titled “Striking the Right Balance.” The correct name of the company where Barry Munsterteiger ’92 works is Bonfire Labs http://www.bonfirelabs.com/. We are sorry for any inconvenience or confusion this error caused.

A publication of St. John’s Preparatory School A Xaverian Brothers Sponsored

Secondary School for Young Men Established 1907

Comments and contributions to this publication, as well as address

updates should be directed to:

Office for Institutional Advancement St. John’s Preparatory School

72 Spring Street, Danvers, MA 01923 800.292.0227 978.774.6727

Headmaster

Albert J. Shannon, [email protected]

PrincipalEdward P. Hardiman, [email protected]

Chief Advancement OfficerMichael Newhall ’80

[email protected]

Director of Advancement OperationsDorothy Dolan

[email protected]

Director of Alumni RelationsJeffrey Connolly ’80

[email protected]

SJP Today Editor and Director of Communications

Elizabeth [email protected]

Director of Planned and Major GiftsDebra R. Marino

[email protected]

Class Notes Editor and Advancement and Gift Services Manager

Kathie [email protected]

Communications and Projects ManagerDenise DeChristoforo

[email protected]

Stewardship and Special Events ManagerLauren Ritchie

[email protected]

Advancement CoordinatorMary Carol Vitolo

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Administrative AssistantKay Maurice

[email protected]

Design

Caruso Graphic Design

PrintingFlagship Press

PhotosArthur DurityDave Malaro

Winslow Townson

St. John’S PreP TODAY

Pat Connaughton ’11 drives the lane through a pair of Catholic Memorial defenders during the Catholic Conference finale on January 14. Held at the Prep’s Memorial Gymnasium, the game was broadcast live on Fox 25. The team went on to clinch the state title on March 19 at the DCU in Worcester, where they defeated St. John’s Shrewsbury, 72-57.

2 www.stjohnsprep.org

St. John’s Prep is proud to honor Jude Curtis ’77 as Distinguished Alumnus this year.

The Making of a LeaderAs the seventh of eight children, Jude Curtis ’77

might have gotten lost in the shuffle. But early on, his mother, a teacher who raised her children on her own, decided to enroll her youngest sons, Jude and Dan ’78, at St. Thomas School in Peabody with the plan that they would attend St. John’s Prep after graduation. Sister Martha, Jude’s eighth grade teacher, encouraged him to go to St. John’s as well, never suggesting that the cost would be an obstacle. His mother and older sister Mary would often drive by the Prep campus to encourage his interest and enthusiasm for the idea. But perhaps most important, his mother met with the Brothers, who assured her that help with tuition would be available and her plan for her sons to attend St. John’s would became a reality. This is where Curtis’s commitment to tuition assistance at St. John’s began.

“I always felt that I was destined to attend the Prep, notwithstanding that it was out of reach financially. The Prep made it happen and they did so with dignity and compassion,” says Curtis.

Curtis’ interests at the Prep were varied but as the years went on, he focused on student government and community service. He played freshman football with classmate Rich Iorio, but his days on the gridiron ended after one year.

“I asked Rich Iorio why, and he responded by saying that other than being slow, timid and having no real football ability, he thought I had great potential,” laughs Curtis. Chemistry class was no less humbling. During a parent teacher conference, Brother DiMarchi told his mother that while Jude would never be a chemist, he would do fine in life. Indeed, he has.

After graduating from The College of the Holy Cross and the National Law Center at George Washington University, he was on his way to a stellar career, most recently as chief ethics and compliance officer at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in New York.

“St. John’s prepared me well for my professional life. I trace my initial development as a leader to St. John’s, and I learned many of the leadership, business and personal skills necessary to perform my responsibilities at the Prep,” he says. “St. John’s was instrumental in forming me as a person and developing my values, which certainly helps me professionally.”

Throughout his career, Curtis maintained his relationship with St. John’s, serving on the Alumni Association, the Headmaster’s Council, and co-chairing a successful 25th reunion for his class. He quickly became known as one of the school’s most committed volunteers. In 1997, he joined the Board of Trustees, and in 2004, he was

appointed chairman, becoming the first lay alumnus to serve in the role.

“When we define loyalty amongst our students and alumni, we would do well to use Jude Curtis as a model,” Bro. Edward Keefe, CFX says today.

When the Ryken Center for the Arts was opened, Curtis made a gift in honor of his mother: a brick inscribed with her name outside the new facility. One of his proudest moments came when she accompanied him to the opening ceremony and was surprised to see her brick. For Curtis,

the gift acknowledged her commitment to providing him with the best education possible.

As chair of the Board of Trustees, Curtis focused on providing access for all students through tuition assistance. Having been able to attend St. John’s through the generosity of others, and his mother’s sacrifice and hard work, Curtis has always felt the need to ensure that others in similar situations would have the same opportunity.

“Serving with the first lay Prep grad to chair our board was a privilege that I will never forget. Jude was a moral compass for the board. He was the champion of significant increases in tuition assistance for families in need. His mantra was that the money must follow the mission, often saying that if we are to be Catholic and Xaverian, we will be judged by our commitment to the poor and the marginalized,” Headmaster Skip Shannon remarked.

Curtis and his wife, Liz, live with their three daughters in New York, where he serves on the Board of Trustees of the HealthCare Chaplaincy and on the development committee at his daughters’ school. While they love their new home base, the Curtises consider themselves to be Bostonians who happen to live in New York. And we will always consider Jude Curtis to be a distinguished alumnus of St. John’s Prep.

Pictured: Liz (center) and Jude Curtis with daughters (l to r) Maggie, Kate and Mary.

When we define loyalty amongst our students and alumni, we would do well to use Jude Curtis as a model.

— Bro. Edward Keefe, CFX

ST. JOH N’S PR E P TODAY 3

The Shannon Years: A Spirited TransformationSkip Shannon came to St. John’s Prep

in the fall of 2001 after more than two decades in higher education, including eight years as a college president. As he prepares to step down in June after a decade as headmaster, he leaves a legacy highlighted by a sweeping transformation of the Prep campus and a renewal of the school’s Xaverian identity.

Shannon oversaw the most significant changes to the Prep campus in more than 40 years with the addition of the 24,000 square foot A. E. Studzinski Library, a completely revitalized Xavier Hall, expanded turf playing fields, and the kind of cutting edge technology most often found on college campuses.

A Jesuit-educated Pittsburgh native, Shannon brought vision and energy to the task, but he says the credit belongs to his predecessors.

“We made the conscious decision to enhance the learning environment for our students, but none of these ideas were unique to me,” he says. “They were in the DNA of the Prep. Brother Drinan talked about a new library and Brother Keefe talked about renewing Xavier Hall some day. I am just the lucky guy who was able to find a way to put their dreams in place.”

At the same time that he focused on bricks and mortar, Shannon devoted his considerable energies to further strengthening the Prep’s already highly regarded academic and co-curricular programs.

Under his leadership, professional development programs for faculty and staff expanded; tuition assistance for families increased; diversity among students and faculty grew; Campus Ministry, service and athletics offerings broadened; and new courses in everything from Chinese to AP Economics were added to the curriculum.

“Everything we’ve done in the last ten years was done to make an impact in our students’ lives, and it has all been a part of the natural, organic growth that Brother Benjamin set in motion back in 1907.”

Shannon also inspired a new emphasis on the unique spirit and charisms of the Xaverian Brothers. As the first non-Xaverian to lead St. John’s, Shannon is careful to point out that he does not think of himself as the Prep’s first lay headmaster.

“The Brothers consider themselves to be lay people and they will tell you that you don’t have to be a brother to be a Xaverian,” he says. “On a spiritual level, I feel proud and very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to animate the Xaverian charisms at St. John’s.”

Much of what he accomplished at the Prep is the result of Shannon’s impressive success in fundraising. Annual giving now exceeds $1.2 a year, endowment growth is on pace to reach $10 million, and planned giving programs are in place to ensure long-term growth in philanthropic support for the Prep. Here, too, he says the credit should go to others.

“Through its generosity and involvement, the Prep community has made more of an impact in the last ten years than at any time in our history,” he says.

While he attended to his duties as headmaster, Shannon’s wife, Mj, became an integral part of the Prep community in her own right. From hosting alumni receptions and attending student events to baking her legendary chocolate chip cookies for the entire campus, she brought warmth and grace to her role. Through her association with groups like Hospice of the North Shore, she has been a valuable ambassador in the local community.

“Each of the headmasters made their own special impact on the Prep, but as the first lay headmaster, Skip had to carve

his own path. He did that in a wonderful and successful way using three attributes: boundless energy, incredible enthusiasm, and last, but not least, Mj. His goal was to make every day ’a great day to be an Eagle,’” says Tom DeSimone ’68, who served as chairman of the Board of Trustees from 2006 to 2008.

When he steps down as headmaster in June, Shannon will take on a new role, this time as headmaster emeritus – and lifelong Prep fan.

Around Campus

REFLECTION: PREP PARENT JOE CARLUCCI

Mary and I met Skip just after our son Patrick started at the Prep in 2001. From that first moment, we knew he was going to be a wonderful leader and we continued to be impressed with his motivational drive, his sincere caring for the Prep community, and his unwavering commitment to the Xaverian mission. It is so apparent that Skip’s imprint on the school, from the successful physical improvements of the campus to the pride we have all developed during his tenure, will endure forever.

REFLECTION: TEACHER & COACH BILL BRITTON

Skip Shannon’s ever positive attitude has been infectious and, in my opinion, it has created an atmosphere at the Prep that has made it a real pleasure on a daily basis for a teacher/coach like myself to truly enjoy coming to work to develop and use my talents as agents for growth for all of the students/athletes in my charge.


A Perfect PartnershipMj Shannon made a mark of her own at St. John’s with her devotion and

commitment to the Prep community. Whether it was hosting hundreds of events at her home, helping to build the Peace Labyrinth, or organizing the annual Walk for Hospice of the North Shore, her spirited enthusiasm and eagerness to give back won the hearts of everyone at St. John’s and in the wider community.

Mj sees her work and her husband’s career as a joint enterprise, one that has happily spanned four decades and allowed them both to pursue their commitment to family and Catholic education.

“Our connection has been central to all aspects of my life and it has taken us from Milwaukee to Danvers with stops in South Bend, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Rensselaer, Indiana, all based on opportunities for our growth, our children and our work with Catholic schools. I could not have done any of it without Mj,” says Skip.

Wherever Skip’s career in education took them, Mj made it a point to get involved with students, parents and alumni. And so when Skip steps down in June, it will mean changes for her as well. At the top of their agenda as they begin to settle into new routines and new rhythms is to spend more time with their three grandchildren – William, 1, Grace, 3, and Brady, 5.

“Having that freedom and time is such a joy,” says Mj with obvious delight.

With characteristic warmth, Mj has been a supportive presence at the Prep, particularly among students and faculty. Never one to shy away from rolling up her sleeves, she has led groups at PLI each summer, helped organize events like the Empty Bowls Dinner Party, chaperoned trips, gone on student retreats, danced with Skip at more proms than she can count, and baked an astonishing number of homemade chocolate chip cookies for hungry students.

“Mj and Skip have brought a real sense of family to St. John’s,” says Dale Bryant, a longtime friend and chair of the Fine Arts Department. “Their dedication, commitment and pride have inspired us all.”

For Mj, her years at St. John’s have been a labor of love.

“I will miss the students with their funny quirks and personalities, and the way they bring a different perspective to things,” says Mj. “Some of my best memories were traveling with the Men’s Choir. Seeing their reactions to different cultures and hearing them sing at a little chapel in Vienna just nourishes your soul.”

Pictured: Mj Shannon and daughter, Erika, with grandchildren Grace and William (in the stroller!) at the Walk for Hospice of the North Shore.

REFLECTION: MATT HARUTUNIAN ’03

As a student on the search committee for a new headmaster in 2001, I was immediately impressed by Skip and Mj’s passion for the school and their understanding of “the Prep experience.” In hosting students (and alumni) at their home, they proved that they not only cared about the academic success of the students, but more importantly, the full development of each individual Eagle. Now, as an alum, my bond with St. John’s is as strong as ever, and it’s thanks to the commitment they have invested in alumni relations.

MilestonesJULY 2001 • Skip Shannon begins his tenure as 15th headmaster at St. John’s Prep.

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 • Dr. Shannon offers leadership as the school reacts to the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, DC, and mourns the loss of three alumni: George Ferguson, ’64, Raymond Metz ’82 and Sean Lynch ’85.

December 2001 • St. John’s kicks off The Next Challenge Campaign with a $5 million gift, the largest single gift in Prep history.

September 2002 • More than 400 alumni, parents, faculty and staff gather to celebrate the school’s 95th Anniversary.

September 2003 • A new era begins with the appointment of Edward P. Hardiman, PhD as principal and the opening of the A. E. Studzinski Library.

Fall 2004 • Renovations begin on Xavier Hall, a landmark on campus since 1911.

June 2005 • Annual giving tops $1 million for the first time in school history.

Fall 2006 • A completely revitalized Xavier Hall reopens and the Prep community rallies to respond to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

Spring 2006 • Dr. Shannon and the Alumni Office begin a series of college campus receptions for young alumni at schools like Boston College and Villanova.

September 2007 • St. John’s begins a yearlong Centennial celebration with a community-wide Mass at Cronin Memorial Stadium.

Fall 2008 • Chinese is added to the World Languages Department offerings.

Spring 2009 • The new Brother Linus CFX Athletic Commons, with its expanded turf fields and new dugouts, is dedicated.

Fall 2010 • St. John’s initiates Prep 20/20, a strategic plan for the second decade of the new century.

January 2011 • Dr. Shannon is named a Visiting Scholar at the Barbara and Patrick Roche Center for Catholic Education at Boston College.


A R O U N D C A M P U S

Principal’s PerspectiveA fter eight years as principal at

St. John’s, Ed Hardiman will become headmaster in July. We asked him to look back on his years at the Prep and tell us what energizes him about his new role.

What was your first impression of the Prep? From the first moment that I stepped on the Prep campus, I have been inspired by the passion, commitment and energy of our faculty and staff. Everyone focuses on doing their best – for our students and for St. John’s. No matter how beautiful the campus, it is the people who make the difference at any institution, and we are blessed with an exceptionally talented faculty and staff at St. John’s.

Graduates often come back and talk about how well the Prep prepared them for college. What accounts for the strength of the academic program at St. John’s? Many of the students who come here are already motivated and ready to take on any challenge. But it is with the young men who come here wondering whether they can ever fulfill the Prep mystique where we make the greatest difference. We can make it happen because our teachers are willing to go above and beyond in order to help every student see where he is capable of going and helping him reach that point. Our teachers embody an ethos that says we don’t teach physics, history, algebra or English; we teach students. It brings great honor to our program.

What does the Prep do especially well with respect to personal growth and development? We provide a safe space for boys to grow and develop, to take risks and find out who they are as human beings. You can see it in the way that our Campus Ministry staff structures liturgies, retreats, service and leadership programs. It’s all about giving students opportunities to say, in a public way, that they’re searching for something. It’s a powerful experience for an adolescent boy in today’s culture.

What changes do you see on the horizon? We’re in the business of preparing students for jobs that don’t even exist yet! What that means for us is striking the right balance between what students need to know in terms of content and the skills they will need to succeed in the future. We will always focus on developing core critical thinking and writing skills, but at the same time, we are looking at initiatives

like one-to-one computing, new elective courses, and internship programs so that students can explore careers while they are still in high school.

What will you miss about being principal? I got involved in high school work because I love the energy and excitement of young people, so I will miss the day-to-day rhythm of school life. On the other hand, when you are on campus every day you don’t always see the fruits of the Prep education in action. Getting out to meet with our alumni and bringing their stories back to campus will be exciting. There have been many changes at St. John’s in the last ten years, but the heart and soul of the Prep remains the same, and I am looking forward to sharing that with our alumni.

Keith Crowley Named Prep PrincipalKeith A. Crowley, PhD, a seasoned

secondary school administrator and teacher with nearly two decades of experience in Catholic education, will succeed Dr. Hardiman as principal at St. John’s. Crowley, who

spent 14 years as a teacher and administrator at Xaverian Brothers High School, will assume his new duties on July 1, when Dr. Hardiman steps into his new role as headmaster.

“Keith Crowley is an innovative educator with a wealth of experience, as both a teacher and an administrator. Most importantly for the Prep community, he shares our commitment to educational excellence and our passion for inspiring students to achieve their full academic, personal and spiritual potential,” said Dr. Hardiman.

The job of principal at St. John’s is a wide-ranging one. Crowley will be responsible for all aspects of the academic

life of the school including curriculum, faculty development, spiritual life, student discipline, extracurricular programs, and athletics.

“I am honored to join the Prep community. I am impressed by the commitment of the faculty and staff to student learning and spiritual growth, and it is evident that the mission of St. John’s Prep animates the daily life of the school,” said Crowley.

Crowley came to Xaverian in 1997 as a science teacher and track and field coach. In 1999, he was named chair of the science department, and in 2001 he became assistant principal for freshmen. Previously, he taught science and was the strength and conditioning coordinator at Cathedral High School in Springfield, MA.

A trained physical therapist, Crowley has been an adjunct professor of science at Dean College in Franklin, MA, since 2003. He also serves on the faculty of the Summer Institute at Loyola University’s Center for Catholic School Effectiveness in Chicago, IL. He earned a PhD in educational administration from the Lynch School of Education at Boston College, as well as a BS and MS in physical therapy from Springfield College. He lives in Franklin with his wife, Patty, and their son, James.

We provide a safe space for boys to grow and develop, to take risks and find out who they are as human beings.


Triple the Inspirationby Jameson Pelkey, Athletics Department Assistant

During a scrimmage one Friday afternoon in the fall of 2009, Jared

Coppola ’11, one of the three football playing Coppola triplets, made a tackle that would change his life forever. Colliding awkwardly with a wide receiver on the opposing team, he fractured his C-5 vertebra, the same injury his brother, Brandon, received during a game in the fall of 2008. Brandon’s injury has prohibited him from participating in contact sports for the rest of his life. Jared’s injuries, more severe than his brother’s, left him paralyzed from the neck down and uncertain if he would ever be able to walk again.

On the evening of his injury, Jared had a CT scan and within an hour, doctors had operated to decompress his spinal cord. He underwent a 3 ½ hour surgery to insert a titanium stabilizer in his neck and fuse the splintered C-5 vertebra. Following the surgery, he spent 17 days in intensive care at Children’s Hospital in Boston and another three months at the Shepherd Center, a catastrophic-care facility in Atlanta, Georgia.

During the next 12 weeks, there were many long and challenging days for Jared and his mother, Dawn, who was by his side throughout his rehabilitation in Atlanta. With all of the hard work and dedication Jared put forth at the Shepherd Center, he slowly began to regain control of his neck, fingers, arms, and torso. This progress eventually allowed him to return to St. John’s on a part-time basis in January of 2010. While half the day was spent in the classroom, the other half was spent in physical therapy at the Northeast Rehabilitation Hospital in Salem, NH.

Since that fateful Friday afternoon back in the fall of 2009, family, friends, school, and the North Shore community, rallied to provide support of all kinds to Jared and the Coppola family. Though he rarely asked for help, teachers and classmates regularly pushed his wheelchair from class to class, took notes during classes, and made sure that he remained

part of the football team. Jared spent time with his teammates during practices and games, celebrating touchdowns, and giving congratulations after a score.

As the school year was beginning to wind down and with summer approaching, Jared entered the Christopher and Dana Reeve NeuroRecovery Network at the Boston Medical Center to participate in an innovative rehabilitation program. This daily therapy involved using a harness above a treadmill with staff helping to manipulate Jared’s leg muscles and hips in a walking motion.

Throughout this entire journey, Brandon and Jared’s brother, Tyler, continued to carry on the Coppola legacy with an extremely successful football career at St. John’s. In his senior season, Tyler helped lead the Eagles to the Eastern Massachusetts Division I Super Bowl game at Gillette Stadium. In addition to amassing 2,097 all-purpose yards as a senior, he set a school record, rushing for 1,820 yards in the regular season. Throughout the hard work and successes

of the season, Tyler kept Jared and Brandon always on his mind. They were an inspiration to their brother and to every member of the Prep football team.

Thanksgiving is a day every Massachusetts high school football player dreams about – representing your school in front of thousands of people. Adding to the excitement, the Catholic Conference Championship and a berth to the playoffs often comes down to the Thanksgiving Day game between St. John’s and Xaverian. Such was the case in 2010, when the winner would advance to the Division I playoffs.

With the stadium packed and emotions running high on the big day, Jared did what he had dreamed about and overcome long odds to achieve. He walked to midfield to join Brandon and Tyler for the opening coin toss. Inspired by his courage and determination, his teammates went on to dominate the Hawks, winning the game, 21-12. It all began with a walk to the 50-yard line.

Pictured: Jared at Gillette Stadium for the Division I EMass Super Bowl.

Older brother Derek Coppola ’08 had an outstanding career on the gridiron at the Prep and currently plays football for the University of New Hampshire.

The Boston Globe ran a terrific video of Jared’s Thanksgiving Day walk on boston.com. You can see it at www.boston.com/sports/schools/video/football/?bctid=688073199001

E:60 will air a 20-minute special on Jared in April with host Michael Smith. E:60 is ESPN’s first primetime news magazine featuring profiles, investigations, and cutting-edge stories on emerging and established sports.

Pictured: Wearing his #34 jersey, Jared walks onto the field with Tyler (left) and Brandon at Xaverian on Thanksgiving Day.

With the stadium packed and emotions running high on the big day, Jared did what he had dreamed about and overcome long odds to achieve.


Dave Malaro Receives the Ryken AwardFor religious studies teacher Dave Malaro,

teaching has been a “gradual learning experience.” He received the Ryken Award in December and we asked him to share his thoughts about teaching and what he hopes students take away from his classroom.

A lot has changed in your 34 years at the Prep. What has remained constant? I can easily name three things. The first is the level of professionalism and commitment at the school. When I first came to the Prep it was evident that I was expected to do quality work. No one said it. It was simply evident from the Prep environment. Teachers took

their jobs seriously and their work ethic and commitment was simply contagious. It is still that way today. Second is the level of support from the administration. If I was committed to doing the best possible job for my students, the administration was committed to providing the resources, support and encouragement needed to help me in this endeavor. That level of support is still forthcoming. Finally, the students at the Prep are great. Time spent in the classroom, or as club moderator, is fun. This is probably what keeps me coming back after all these years.

What stands out among your experiences as a teacher? During my early years at the Prep a student in my class brought me a note from his brother, whom I had had a year earlier. He wrote saying I was one of his favorite teachers because in my class he could raise critical questions and it was OK to be different. He, along with many others, helped me to learn that teaching is not about the “subject matter” (they will forget most of this). It is about the growth and development of young people.

What do you hope students take away from your class? First, understanding. Anthony Marinelli writes that, for most people, religion begins as an accident of birth. That is, those raised by Catholic parents are Catholic; those raised by Jewish parents are Jewish; etc. As adults, we must “ratify” what we have been taught if we are truly to be members of these traditions. But to ratify, we must understand what it is, at an adult level, our religions teach. Thus, understanding would be first. Second, critical thinking. Whether it be religion or history or physics, the ability to think critically is important. Therefore, I want my classes to be places where students can question and challenge. Third, I want our whole school to exhibit what the Catholic Church calls a “fundamental option for the poor and marginalized.” Many of us at the Prep lead lives of privilege, and the Church calls us to look beyond ourselves to those in need. The Prep is very involved in this task, and I hope my classes contribute to producing students who will truly care about others.

What do you find particularly inspiring about teaching? Ten years ago I was instrumental in starting a gay/straight alliance (GSA) at the Prep. For a number of years, students had asked for such an organization and the US Bishops, in 1997, issued a pastoral letter, titled “Always Our Children”, addressed to the parents of gay teens and the wider Catholic community. Drawing upon this document, I wrote a rationale and a mission statement for a GSA at St. John’s. At the time, many felt the reaction by the administration would be negative. But, of course, they were wrong. The reaction was what it has always been: How can we support your efforts? It was just like when I started the Astronomy Club under Brother Keefe 34 years ago, teachers and administrators working together to ensure the best possible support and opportunities for the students at St. John’s. This is what inspires me to continue teaching at the Prep.

Remembering 9/11An American flag was flying from an office building at 90 West Street in Manhattan when the World Trade Center collapsed on September 11, 2001. The badly damaged banner was pulled from the wreckage and through the efforts of the New York Says Thank You Foundation it is being restored as the National 9/11 flag. During a nationwide journey that includes stops in each of the 50 states, members of the public are being invited to join stitching ceremonies to help repair the flag. On March 24, St. John’s hosted the only stop the flag will make in Massachusetts. Holding the ceremony on the Prep campus was a special honor for St. John’s, which lost three graduates in New York that day: George Ferguson ’64, who worked at 90 West Street, Raymond Metz ’82, and Sean Lynch ’85. Former St. John’s football coach James Trentini and his wife, Mary were also among those who lost their lives on September 11. It was George Ferguson’s wife, Mary, who suggested the Prep campus to organizers of the ceremony. “We’re grateful to have this opportunity to remember our alumni and community members who lost their lives on September 11,” said Dr. Edward Hardiman, principal.Hundreds of community members and students attended the emotional ceremony. Student Council representatives acted as ushers, while the Concert Band played the National Anthem and the Men’s Chorus sang America the Beautiful. The New York Says Thank You Foundation hopes to complete the restoration of the banner in time to mark the tenth anniversary of September 11. Visit www.national911flag.org to learn more. Pictured: Mary Ferguson and Raymond Metz, father of Raymond Metz ’82, during the National 9/11 Flag ceremony.


Time spent in the classroom, or as club moderator, is fun. This is probably what keeps me coming back after all these years.


Team ThorI t’s been an outstanding rookie season

for the Prep robotics team, which won awards for innovative design and “out of the box” thinking at two First Tech Challenge competitions this year.

Going up against robots designed by teams from all over the area, the Prep robot, Thor, demonstrated impressive maneuverability and a highly flexible drive system. The judges were impressed and at two separate competitions, the team won Rockwell Collins Innovate awards for their work.

To be successful, robotics teams need people skilled in two distinct areas: hardware engineering and software engineering. The Prep team has both, says Bernie Gilmore ’80, who chairs the Computer Science Department and coaches the robotics team.

“We have guys who can do software very well, and guys who can do hardware very well. They work together effectively, they’ve shown a lot of creativity, and they’ve put in a tremendous amount of time. I am incredibly impressed,” Gilmore says.

The nine students who make up the team this year put in serious time and energy, typically meeting several times a week after school and getting together frequently on weekends. Often, it’s during those weekend sessions that they make the most significant progress.

“Our best work happens at weekend meetings because that’s when we have a span of four or five hours to work,” says team captain Petros Markopoulos ’12.

Last fall, the team got the go-ahead to build a practice arena on campus, which gave them an environment similar to what they encounter during competition. They built the practice arena in Griffin Hall and that’s where the team meets.

The meetings tend to be informal, typically starting with a review of what needs to be done next. The hardware and software groups then break up to tackle their respective tasks. Later, they sit down with Mr. Gilmore to take a look at what they’ve accomplished and discuss what still needs to be done.

“I try to give them that organizational structure so that they can learn what they did well and what they didn’t do as well,” he says.

Learning to collaborate and work effectively is an important skill and one that Gilmore believes will serve students well in college and in their professional lives.

“If you look at Apple, one of the reasons they are so successful is that they focus on getting a team together that can design hardware and software to create a seamless experience. It’s a company culture that really works. That’s the kind of thing that learning to work effectively as a team leads to and I hope our kids come out of the Robotics Team with that,” Gilmore says.

For now, the students are focused on what they’ve learned from watching other teams to improve their own robot’s performance. First Tech Challenge competitions give students plenty of opportunity to see what works – and what doesn’t.

“We look for ingenuity, consistency in performance and good use of materials, “ says Markopoulos. “We’ve learned to keep it simple because the overly complex designs usually fail.”

Kevin Low ’12 agrees. “It’s fascinating to see how other people approach a problem.”

FIRST Tech Challenge competitions are sponsored by FIRST, an organization founded in 1989 by Dean Kamen (inventor of the Segway) to inspire young people with a passion for science, engineering, math and technology. At the high school level, teams use kits provided by FIRST to design, build and program robots for competition against other teams. Working professionals, college students, and veterans of past First Tech Challenges judge the competitions, giving students further exposure to the real-life applications of their efforts.

Designing robots appeals to students for many different reasons: the intellectual challenge, the hands-on experience, and the thrill of competition. But even more, the team gives them experience that will stay with them long after Thor retires from the arena.

“I am interested in robotics because of the potential for the future. Everything will, in some way, be tied in with robotics,” says Markopolous.

With courses in XHTML and web design, 3D graphics and CAD, and programming in C++, students with an interest in computer science find a lot to like at St. John’s these days. More, in fact, than at many other high schools, according to Computer Science Department Chair Bernie Gilmore ’80.

“Having a computer science department with the variety of classes we offer is a step above what students find at many other high schools,” he says. “I haven’t seen anything that surpasses what we offer unless you look at schools that focus entirely on science and technology.”

The department’s roots go back to the Prep’s earliest days, when typing classes were a regular part of the curriculum and typewriter ribbons were considered high tech. In time, typing gave way to word processing, and from there, courses in web design and computer science were added. The range of courses offered today – everything from programming and robotics to multimedia and digital video production – reflects a steady interest among students who have grown up in the digital age.

“Ten years from now, the courses we offer will be completely different,” says Gilmore. “That’s one of the challenging parts of teaching in the computer science department.”

The Computer Science Department faculty includes Gilmore, Brother Robert Flaherty, CFX, and Tim Broderick ’05.

From Ribbons to Robots

Pictured: In the Prep practice area with Thor and robotics team members (front, l to r): Ford Seidel ’14 and Kevin Low ’13, and (back) Daniel Burke ’12, Matthew Guerrette ’12, Timothy Miller ’12, William Caruso ’12, Ian Springer ’12, Petros Markopoulos ’12.



Sharing Our Storiesby Heather Angel, Campus Minister

The boys gather around a wobbly-legged table in the Brother William Drinan, CFX,

Campus Ministry Center after school. It is busy, abuzz. Outside, a light snow has started to fall. All around us, students come in to hang out, do homework, or go out to volunteer at Xaverian Connection or Haven from Hunger. We talk a minute to review tasks from our last meeting and they get out the articles and information on immigration they have brought with them. They are eager to talk and share what they have gathered with each other.

Each year, six members of the junior class are chosen to represent St. John’s Prep at a retreat with students from all thirteen Xaverian Brothers Sponsored Schools

(XBSS). As seniors, these students work on a yearlong project to promote and celebrate the mission of Xaverian education. This year, the students decided to engage and educate the St. John’s Prep community about immigration as a social justice issue. Their goal is to learn from the community and celebrate the school’s mission to “inspire [one another] to honor the diversity that enriches both our school community and the world beyond St. John’s Prep.”

Rather than teach a community already rich in experience, the students chose to seek out, collect, celebrate and learn from the immigration experiences of students, faculty, staff and families. With this in mind, they created video interviews with members of the Prep community, who shared their own stories about coming to the United States. The students hope that these personal accounts can help us recognize and celebrate the strength and depth of experience within our own community.

The project made its debut at the school’s annual Multicultural Celebration with an Immigration Station, where people could watch the interviews that had already taken place. People attending the event were invited to record their stories, as well. The Immigration Station is mobile again as students continue to collect immigration stories from our community. Throughout this process, we are reminded of the universality of what it means to be “catholic” in the Catholic Church today. Rather than guess or expound or hypothesize on the immigration experience, our students knew that their community had far more knowledge about the topic than the six of them could teach.

In the spring semester, the XBSS students continue to focus on immigration as a social justice and human rights issue while building upon the experiences of those around them. In addition to studying, they are working with teachers of the social justice course about supplementing lesson plans on immigration with the stories collected right here at St. John’s. In teaching and discussing this issue, and any social justice issue for that matter, putting a human face on the issue is often the greatest challenge. The hope is that by celebrating the diverse experiences and backgrounds of our own community, the students can help their peers better understand the many realities of immigration. The students are trying to live out and teach the social teachings of the Church by looking to their own community for experience in order to recognize, celebrate and uplift the human dignity of all immigrants. And that starts with listening to a story.

The Immigration Station is a project of the XBSS students from the Class of 2011: Bryan Dumond, Drew Jenkins, Sean Mackinson, Daniel Mills, Kobe Weiss and Varum Vadlapatla.

Pictured: Seniors Bryan Dumond (left) and Drew Jenkins manning the Immigration Station during this year’s Multicultural Celebration.

Building Our CommunityIn the course of the school year, more than 1,000 events take place at St. John’s, among them two programs that highlight the rich diversity of the Prep community: the Martin Luther King Dinner and the Multicultural Celebration.

This year at the Martin Luther King Dinner, Nancy Sacco was honored for her work on diversity initiatives. A school counselor whose door is always open to students, Sacco played an influential role in the school’s involvement in the Race, Culture, and Ethnicity workshops at Salem State University, as well as many programs designed to support students and their families.

The Multicultural Celebration began as a small gathering and has evolved into one of the most popular events of the year with more than 700 Prep families joining in the festivities. It was at this year’s event that students introduced the new Immigration Project.

Throughout this process, we are reminded of the universality of what it means to be “catholic” in the Catholic Church today.

C E L E B R AT I N G O U R D I V E R S I T Y


Alvaro Tejada ’11Born in the Dominican Republic, Alvaro Tejada grew up in the capital province of Santo Domingo before moving to the United States at the age of eight. It was then that his family reunited with his father, who had come to America in hopes of finding a better job a month before Tejada was born. “We were supposed to move four years before, but our lawyers stole our money and papers; everything was delayed and it took another four years to process,” he says. “I was very excited when my mother told me we were finally moving to the United States. I was anxious to see snow and to learn how to speak English.”

On the Prep: Involved with the Cultural Immersion Club and Latinos Unidos en Acción, he plays wing on the rugby team. In college, he hopes to major in economics and minor in math.On Culture and Ethnicity: “At first, it was awkward to settle into a new school and adjust to a longer school day. In the Dominican, we are in school from only 8 to 12. I was also teased about not being able to speak English but that didn’t last too long. It took me about 10 months to master English. Since my dad had already been living here, my family and I adjusted quickly. I was

also able to assimilate well because the US is also a western culture. What I miss the most is spending time with my mother’s side of the family, the beaches and the warmer climate.”

Minh Tran ’11Minh Tran was born in Vietnam and moved to the United States at the age of six because his parents hoped to provide him with a better education. “My memories of sitting in poorly lit rooms studying from a hand-me-down book (my parents’) contrast with the facilities and organized units of an American elementary school,” says Tran. “As my passion for mathematics and science developed, I realized

that education is a vital part of the human experience. Thus, to me, my family had actually moved here for the full human experience.” He still cherishes his recollections of hot summer nights in Vietnam, when he would walk to his uncle’s house braving storms of mosquitoes.

On the Prep: “As my social awareness expanded, I was really glad to be part of a diverse atmosphere, both at my school and in my community. That’s not to say that I wasn’t disappointed when I learned that America was far from being a culturally tolerant country. Yet, it is a really bittersweet thing since I understand that America is composed of people with different beliefs and no matter how biased they may be, different ideas contribute to the broader American culture.”On Adjusting to a New Culture: “When I first arrived in the U.S., I found that there were many things to acclimate to, the first of which was the cold weather. The most difficult challenge was picking up the English language. I was young, so it was much easier for me than it was for my parents,” says Tran. “Moving to a new country was like drinking orange juice after brushing one’s teeth. One can’t really taste the orange juice without tasting remnants of the toothpaste altogether. America was a new experience.”

Evan Perez ’11Born and raised in Lawrence, Evan Perez grew up in the midst of an extended family that included his father’s parents, who came to live in the United States from the Dominican Republic. “My grandparents came here so that my father and his brother and sisters could get a better education,” Perez says. On his mother’s side, his grandparents came to the United States from Puerto Rico. On the Prep: As a freshman, Perez joined LUNA, Latinos Unidos en Acción, and the club has been an important part of his high school experience. He also discovered a passion for studio art at St. John’s and hopes to study architectural engineering in college. “LUNA helped me figure out my role at the school. It’s important that we have affinity groups like LUNA, the Asian Culture Club and Always

Our Brothers and Sisters. It helps kids feel free about who they are. We all may be different, but we’re all brothers at the school and it shouldn’t matter.”On Our Differences: “When I was younger, I didn’t see differences because my whole town is heavily Hispanic. But my ethnicity defined me when I came to the Prep. I started to realize that I was one of the only Hispanics here and it made me want to dig deeper into racial ethnicity-based problems at the school and in the community. I think it’s a good thing that I realized I’m different.

At the same time, there is a brotherhood here and people don’t care too much about it. I have friends of all ethnicities and we’re all close. Ethnicity and race are there and we shouldn’t try to avoid it; we should embrace it and allow other people to do the same.”

I N T H E I R VO I C E S I M M I G R AT I O N P R OJ E CT P R O F I L E S


Sports

Sports Summary: Fall 2010GOLFCoach: Larry O’NeillCaptains: Nick McLaughlin ’12, Nick Pandalena ’12The Prep golfers captured their 12th State Championship title in the program’s history. The golf team ended up defeating Boston College High School by four strokes, 298-302. Head coach Larry O’Neill, who was named Coach of the Year by the Boston Globe, had plenty of help leading St. John’s. Golfers Nick McLaughlin, who was named Athlete of the Year by the Boston Globe, and Nick Pandalena, who was named as an All-Scholastic by the Boston Globe, were among the leaders on a team of talented golfers.

CROSS COUNTRy Coach: Ray Carey ’67Captains: Ben Halpin ’11, Jarret Harrigan ’11, Pat Murphy ’11With a 3-1 record, Prep XC finished their regular season as co-champions of the Catholic Conference, and placed five runners on the conference All-Star team. The Prep finished fourth in the Division I EMass meet.

FOOTBALLCoach: Jim O’LearyCaptains: Nate Cyr ’11, Tyler Coppola ’11, Ryan Delisle ’11The Eagles had a successful season, ending the year with an overall record of 8-5. After a thrilling victory over Xaverian on Thanksgiving morning, the Prep earned a trip to the postseason. After defeating New Bedford in a Semi-Final match, the team traveled to Gillette Stadium for the Division I EMass Super Bowl, where they ended the season with a tough 31-7 loss to Everett High School.

SOCCER Coach: Dave CrowellCaptains: Adam Colella ’11, Jacob Barrows ’11, James O’Leary ’11Prep soccer had a great regular season, earning the Catholic Conference title and finishing the year with a final record of 13-3-2. The Eagles ended up losing a hard-fought game late against Acton-Boxboro, 3-2, in the Division I North tournament.

WATER POLO Coach: Tony PadvaiskasCaptains: Caleb Bower ’11, Conor Birmingham ’11The water polo team notched a great victory against Wilbraham & Monson Academy, and with four other close games, they finished the season with a 1-4 record.


Winter 2011BasketBallCoach: Sean ConnollyCaptains: Pat Connaughton ’11, Conor Macomber ’11Finished their season with a record of 25-1 and took home the school’s first State Championship in the Division I State Final. The Prep beat St. John’s Shrewsbury 72-57.

FenCingCoach: Jim CarterCaptains: Peter Gohn ’11 (team captain), Marco Egizi ’11 (sabre captain), Mark Chaoui ’11 (epee captain), and Dan Burke ’12 (foil captain)The Prep fencers claimed their seventh straight State Championship with a final record of 16-2.

HoCkeyCoach: Kristian Hanson ’94Captain: Colin Blackwell ’11assistant Captains: Joe Currie ’11, Andrew Pierce ’11In an outstanding season with a final record of 18-6-1, the Prep hockey team lost a heartbreaking overtime game to Malden Catholic in the Final of the Super Eight Tournament.

skiingCoaches: Tim Broderick ’05, Nick Carlucci ’06Captains: Tom Rogers ’11, Jason Pan ’11, Kyle Heffrin ’11In an undefeated regular season with a record of 8-0, the Prep skiers raced to a third place finish at the State Championship race.

swimming & DivingCoach: Tony PadvaiskasCaptains: Robert Breen ’11, Caleb Bower ’11Capping an exciting season with a 7-0 record, the Eagles won their sixth consecutive State Championship.

traCk & FielD Coach: Ray Carey ’67Captains: Dan Hyszczak ’11, Sean Enos ’11, Scott Sheehan ’11, Mike Galasso ’11The Eagles defeated Boston College High School in the Tri-County League Championship meet, 121-87, and finished their season with a final record of 4-1.

wrestlingCoach: Manny CostaCaptains: Mike Mayo ’11, Alex Kwmuntis ’11, TJ Crabtree ’11, Doug Harding ’11Prep wrestlers captured their 17th straight Catholic Conference Championship. Ended up finishing their season with a final record of 23-5-1, and had wrestler, TJ Crabtree ’11, as runner-up in the New England Championships. Head coach Manny Costa was also named to the New England Hall of Fame for high school wrestling.


Eleven Athletes, Two Coaches Inducted into the Athletic Hall of FameE leven former athletes and two coaches were inducted into

the St. John’s Prep Athletic Hall of Fame on November 24 at Danversport Yacht Club.

Also honored during the evening was Terry McHenry, past parent and longtime volunteer, who received the prestigious Crystal Eagle Award posthumously for her service and dedication to Prep athletics. In addition, the 1985 State Championship Hockey Team and the 1957-1962

undefeated track teams were recognized for their impressive accomplishments.

The Hall of Fame recognizes athletes and individuals for outstanding athletic achievements and contributions. If you would like to submit a nomination, please provide your name, the name of the person you are nominating, and detailed achievements and contributions of the nominee. Please mail or email this information to Larry O’Neill, 3 Rindge Road, Beverly, MA, 01915, or [email protected].

Pictured (l to r): Principal Ed Hardiman, Troy McHenry ’05, Dave McHenry, Dave McHenry Jr. ’90, Headmaster Skip Shannon, and Athletic Director Jim O’Leary during the posthumous presentation of the Crystal Eagle Award to Terry McHenry.

Edward Fleming ’48 Football, hockey, baseball

George Rickus ’59 Football, basketball, track, tennis, Best Athlete

Kevin Kelaher ’63 Football, hockey, baseball, Best Athlete

Geoffrey Pechinsky ’89 Fencing

Brian Connolly ’94 Football

Kenneth Raiche ’94 Skiing

Trevor Spracklin ’96 Tennis

Jeffrey Mackor ’98 Football, baseball

Zack Magliaro ’98 Football, track

Derek Hines ’99 Hockey, lacrosse (Award presented posthumously)

Ryan Leahy ’99 Football, basketball, baseball

Coach Mark Metropolis Tennis

Coach Andrew Viselli Volleyball

The newest Athletic Hall of Fame inductees proudly display their plaques: (front row l to r): Coach Andrew Viselli, Kevin Kelaher ’63, Kenneth Raiche ’94, George Rickus ’59, Jeffrey Mackor ’98, Ryan Leahy ’99, Susan Hines, and Steve Hines. (Back row l to r): Edward Fleming ’48, Coach Mark Metropolis, Trevor Spracklin ’96, Brian Connolly ’94, Geoffrey Pechinsky ’89, Zack Magliaro ’98, and Headmaster Skip Shannon.

S P O R T S


Enjoy a great day of golf to benefit the

Ray Carey ’67 Diversity Fund at St. John’s! Monday, June 13 • Ipswich Country Club12 noon registration • 1:30 pm shotgun tee time

$200 per player includes greens fees and cart, cookout and award ceremony, 50/50 raffle, longest drive contest, and closest to the pin challenge

Register online at www.stjohnsprep.org/careytournament. For more information, please contact Lauren Ritchie at [email protected].

Players and coaches from the 1985 State Championship Hockey Team gathered to celebrate the 25th anniversary of that milestone.

A large contingent from the 1957-1962 Undefeated Track Teams sharing a proud moment.

Hall of Fame continued

Billy McKenna ’84 (holding ball) and his brother Bobby McKenna ’73 (back row, 3rd from right) hosted the Coach Bob McKenna Alumni Basketball game in February.

Alumni Basketball Game


Networking – A Lifetime SkillNetworking isn’t something that you do

only when you are looking for a job. More than ever, it’s a lifetime skill that you can hone through practice and can bear fruitful results. It’s never too early or late to start. And who better to network with than with Prep grads? We all share a brotherhood and bond, and as you can see from the examples of the Prep network in action (on this page), our Eagles look out for each other and are willing to lend a hand.

We held our 2nd Speed Networking event in Danvers last fall, and the buzz and camaraderie of the event was incredible. Everyone, from recent college grads to experienced professionals, took part in a series of six-minute meetings. Folks exchanged business cards, resumes, and promotional products; many planned individual follow-up meetings. Moderating the event, we were proud to witness the genuine espirit de corps on display that evening.

An event in your area?We regularly schedule alumni receptions in major US cities where many alumni live. Many of you have attended these events. Because we can’t travel to every city, I hope you will contact me if you would be interested in taking the lead in planning a social or networking event in your area. It could be a general alumni reception, a speed networking event like the one described here, or a gathering to watch a sporting event. Our office can assist with the planning efforts.

We are committed to enhancing our networking resources and events by introducing more programs. Don’t wait to start using the Prep Network. Update your profile in the Alumni Portal, participate in the forums there or on LinkedIn, and attend a networking event. And let us know how you think we can help to strengthen the Prep Network.

Please get in touch with your comments and suggestions. Our goal is to ensure that you find value in the alumni programs and events. If you have any comments or suggestions, please contact Jeff Connolly ’80, Director of Alumni Relations, at [email protected] or 800.292.0227 x388.

With Conor Kenrick ’06 finishing up his final co-op rotation at Goldman Sachs in Boston and preparing to graduate from Northeastern, he turned to the Prep’s Alumni Portal to assist him in finding a full-time job. His approach was simple and targeted. He searched the Online Alumni Directory and identified several Prep grads working in positions and at companies that interested him. He then sent emails to introduce himself. He was amazed by the quick response he received and the willingness of fellow grads to help. Matt Curtis ’96, who works for Goldman Sachs in New York City, invited him to meet for an informational interview. Doug Dubiel ’87, who is based in Florida but travels

regularly to NYC, offered to hand carry his resume to colleagues in the financial services business.

kory Delehanty ’02 is at a crossroads. Currently serving in the United States Marine Corps, he was injured recently and is reluctantly preparing to leave the military. He posted on the Prep’s LinkedIn group that he is looking for career advice about making the transition to the civilian world. The response he received was overwhelming. In addition to expressions of gratitude for his service to our country, he was greeted with offers from Prep grads that ranged from help with his resume, to a limo ride when he returns to the area and numerous offers from alums to speak with him in person or via phone.

Alumni

THE PREP NETWORK

IN ACTION

YOUR PREP NETWORKING

TOOLKIT Online Prep Alumni Directory Alumni Portal with Career Networking

Resources LinkedIn Group with 1,200 Prep

Professionals Young Professionals Events Speed Networking Events Business Breakfasts in the

Boston Area Regional Receptions from NYC and

DC to Chicago and San FranciscoIdeas about making the most of the Prep network? We want to hear them! Contact Jeff Connolly ’80, Director of Alumni Relations, at [email protected].

Peter Coumounduros ’86 and Dennis Eagan ’94 armed and ready for the Speed Networking Event.

We all share a brotherhood and bond … our Eagles look out for each other and are willing to lend a hand.

In each issue we will highlight the Prep network at work, so please share your connections with Prep grads. Here are two recent examples:


Alumni Events Fall ’10 – Spring ’11Enjoy these pictures of Prep alumni gathering at recent events in Danvers and beyond.

Prep trustee Chris Davis ’79, Tyler DeStefano ’03, Jon Cassidy ’06, and Phil Conway ’79 at the Speed Networking event in November.

Classmates Dave Arthur ’05, Adam Karrlsson-Willis ’05, and Jonathan Gorga ’05 at the New York City reception in November.

Prep teacher Alexander Roche, Pat Flynn ’05, John Gavin ’05, Matt Guerin ’05, and Pat Fouhy ’05 celebrating their 5th reunion in November.

Ryan Leahy ’99, Peter Turco ’93, and Neil Casey ’83 at the Greenwich, CT, reception in November.

Matthew Connolly ’00, TJ Brouillard ’00, and Matt Lucerto ’00 enjoying their 10th reunion in November.

The Class of ’98 was well represented at the Boston Christmas Reception in December. Pictured are Eric Sjoberg ’98, Mike Gilleberto ’98, Mark LeFave ’98, and Adam Felzani ’98.

Anthony Lamanna ’08, Mike Vigorito ’09, Greg Tremblay ’10, Yelsen Francois ’10, Kyle Quadros ’10, Chris Cataldo ’09, Mike Cappuccio ’09, Prep Spanish teacher Pat Henaghan, and Andrew Crotty ’09 at the alumni reception held on the Boston College campus in February.

Building Brighter FuturesSocial entrepreneur and Tufts University senior

Michael Niconchuk ’07 is co-director of BUILD, a student-run international development group sponsored by the Institute for Global Leadership (IGL) at Tufts. Ambitious and multifaceted, BUILD (the name stands for Building Understanding Through International Learning and Development) establishes partnerships with rural communities in the developing world to improve lives by promoting sustainable economic development.

Fellow Tufts undergraduate and Prep alumnus Rajesh Reddy ’08 is also a member of BUILD, which has projects under way in Guatemala and India. Niconchuk was the keynote speaker during a Model United Nations conference at the Prep recently, and we followed up to ask about his passion for international development.

Social entrepreneurship is a growing trend in international development. What does it mean and why is it an important idea today? Entrepreneurship is about cultivating a seed, an incipient idea that has some potential for profit or for tapping into a specific market. It’s the same for social entrepreneurship, except that profits are reinvested in a social cause or mission. Social entrepreneurs can include anyone from non-profit bookstore owners who reinvest in literacy programs, to a creative fruit vendor in Port-au-Prince who uses his earnings to take care of street children. It’s a broad term, inherently rooted in a respect for self-propelled development and capitalism.

How did you settle on Santa Anita la Union in Guatemala for your first project? BUILD visited several communities in Guatemala in 2008. Santa Anita was the first site we visited, and without doubt, the most receptive and vocal population we encountered. They know what they want, and they are smart. Compared to other regional villages, they had very little access to or communication with local and international NGOs. Above all, it was the history of the community that left

the biggest impact. As ex-combatants and former refugees, the adults of Santa Anita live with a complicated and fragile psychology that would prove a difficult yet captivating challenge for our students, who are engaged on both an emotional and intellectual level.

With more than two years invested in the Santa Anita project, how do you feel about your progress? One of the most crucial questions for any maturing development organization is how to measure progress success. If we look at raw outputs – structures built, production increases, etc. – then we have done fantastically, but what we really want to measure is impact, both positive and negative, and community ownership. We often say that the “best projects will be the ones that grow to need us the least.” As we progress, we always bear in mind that even a small village’s development requires years of careful work and personal communication and collaboration.

How did you choose the site in India and what are the particular challenges facing the people there? Rajesh Reddy ’08, who has extensive family connections in Southern India (Hyderabad), was among those who spearheaded the India project. The region presents a particularly poignant case for development. Tamil Nadu is the southern-most state of

BUILD in Brief: GuatemalaBUILD created a Community Development Plan for Santa Anita la Union that focuses on agriculture, eco-tourism and communication/computer training. To implement the plan, they drew on the expertise of Tufts faculty, as well as partnerships with foundations, non-governmental organizations, and social service agencies. Highlights of the Santa Anita project include:• The community depends on agriculture for its livelihood, so BUILD helped to plan and build a 30,000-plant seed nursery for local seedling production; enriched the soil with 30,000 pounds of organic fertilizer and 15,000 pounds of lime; and purchased and planted 20,000 new plants.• Communication with the outside world was difficult and many villagers had never seen or used a computer. BUILD

team members set up and equipped a computer center to be used for education, to promote commercial enterprise, and to open the door to greater communication. The BUILD team trained villagers to become proficient in Word, Excel and email. Local youth were then trained to run and maintain the center, which has become a resource for local families, visitors and residents of nearby farms.

• To nurture a fledgling trade in eco-tourism, BUILD members mapped the entire area with GPS devices, and identified and photographed the birds, animals and medicinal plants found in the area. Next, they will create field guides and trail maps for visitors.Pictured: Community women learn the intricacies of plant grafting through a joint initiative sponsored by BUILD-hired engineers, Catholic Relief Services and the Asociación Nacional del Café (ANACAFE), the Guatemalan national coffee association.

A L U M N I

Left: Mike Niconchuk in Santa Anita, Guatemala. Right: Wearing a Danvers to Duran t-shirt from his days at the Prep, Niconchuk paints a portrait of Rodrigo Asturias at the computer center. Asturias is the son of the Nobel Prize-winning Miguel Angel Asturias and founder of the Organizacion Revolucionaria del Pueblo en Armas (ORPA) guerrilla movement. “The community holds him in high regard and one of their first requests was that the center bear his face,” says Niconchuk.

A C O N V E R S AT I O N W I T HM I K E N I C O N C H U K ’ 07


Development is as multidisciplinary a field as you can find – it’s about individuals, about history, about providing opportunities to those whose ideas just need a little room to grow.

India, a dichotomy of agriculture and rapid industrialization. It has the highest number of business enterprises in India and one of the highest literacy rates. Despite significant development, there is an ever-widening gap between rural and urban areas in education, health care, and poverty. The agrarian sector of Tamil Nadu is subject to monsoons and thus prone to erratic production based on rainfall. As a result, there has been a recent development towards manufacturing. This raises concerns about the future of food security in the region. Additionally, access to water and land remains problematic, and lack of job opportunities has led to a tragic wave of youth suicide in the past years, including in Thottiapati, the village where we are set to work.

To help fund BUILD’s work, you collaborated with a Wisconsin-based fair trade roaster to create a custom BUILD coffee blend. What kind of success have you had? The fair trade coffee market is huge, but we have an edge in that we have no employees and no salaries to pay. The student business element is also a huge attraction for our consumers. We have mainly used the blend for fundraisers and small events – such as a late night, final exam week, door-to-door delivery service – but we are looking for small restaurants and boutiques in the Boston area interested in carrying the blend. We’re competitive – $12 for a 12 oz. bag – which, for fair trade, organic, shade-grown coffee, is a decent price.

What drives your interest in economic development and social justice? Part is faith-based, part is about my ethnic ties to the developing world, and part is the utter complexity of the industry. At St. John’s, I traveled to Ecuador – as did Raj – and my experience there did impact me, almost as much as my subsequent stay in the hospital with dysentery. Perhaps it was the fight with dysentery that made me realize that there is nothing glamorous about poverty, and nothing savior-like about working in poverty alleviation. Development is as multidisciplinary a field as you can find – it’s about individuals, about history, about providing opportunities to those whose ideas just need a little room to grow.

How has your experience with BUILD affected you personally? My family has a complicated and very real relationship with the civil war in Guatemala, so working with a community of ex-guerrilla combatants is, in and of itself, personal. Additionally, I can confidently say that my professional and intellectual maturity, physical and emotional resilience, and my deep respect for those who have suffered through wars and violence are attributable to the work I have done with BUILD. I could not imagine pursuing something that does not engage both the mind and the heart, for the potential of that synergy is frighteningly and movingly powerful.

A senior at Tufts, Mike Niconchuk is majoring in international relations with a concentration in international securities studies and a minor in Arabic. Rajesh Reddy will graduate from Tufts in 2012 with a combined BA and MPH in political science and epidemiology & biostatistics.

Pictured, clockwise from top left: The BUILD India team traveled to several locations and NGOs to find projects. Here, Rajesh Reddy ’08 talks with NGO workers and community members in a tea-growing village near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu. Rajesh Reddy ’08 distributes school supplies at a learning center in Payir, a neighboring community of Thottiapatti. A scene in the village of Thottiapatti, which is made up of landless daily-wage workers who depend on seasonal opportunities for work. Photos courtesy of Sasha deBeausset, Tufts ’12.

BUILD in Brief: IndiaIn 2010, BUILD expanded its reach to Thotiapatti, a village of some 70 households in the Perambalur district of rural Tamil Nadu in south India. Now in its second year, the project recently received the prestigious Davis Foundation’s 100 Projects for Peace prize. Rajesh Reddy and other members of the team traveled to the area last summer to lay the groundwork for their efforts. They met with local development professionals and conducted a needs assessment before identifying Thottiapati as the site for the project. The team plans to focus on introducing vocational/computer training, communal bathroom facilities, sustainable energy sources, and creative outlets. Among the first projects will be helping a local artisanal women’s group develop a business plan to export kollam art.To learn more about BUILD, visit www.tuftsgloballeadership.org/programs/build.


Advancement

Back to the FutureInspired by the 25th anniversary of Hollywood’s “Back to the Future,” the Prep’s gala auction did a little time travel of

its own this year. The evening began as a 50s era sock hop and ended as a high-energy, high-tech foray into the future complete with a dinner menu that would have made the Jetsons feel right at home! The evening came to an emotional close with heartfelt video tributes to Mj and Skip Shannon, Jude Curtis ’77 and David St. Laurent, who were inducted into the Hall of Honor that night. More than 420 parents, alumni, trustees, faculty and friends put on their dancing shoes to attend the event, which was held at the Crowne Plaza in Danvers.

Clockwise from top left: Linda Shutzman (left), auction volunteer extraordinaire, with event co-chairs Maryellen Sheehan Hassey (center) and Denise O’Connor. Sandra and Peter Beauparlant ’89 with Frank and Ilene Twiss. Michael Prisco and Sue DiGiovanni, both Prep parents, did an outstanding job as co-chairs of the gala program book committee. Sporting letter sweaters and poodle skirts, a group of students cut some rug during the sock hop part of the night! The group included (l to r) Lyndon Ambrefe ’13, Taylor Doherty, Rachel Shamon, Margaret Rizza, Danielle Thorpe, Morgan Craig, Joe August ’13, Colby O’Connor ’12 and Liam Reilly ’12. (L to r) Deborah Gardner Walker, Denise Conry, and Deborah Wheeler peruse the silent auction items. Principal Ed Hardiman (second from left) and his wife, Kara, (far right) catch up with Prep trustee Amy Dittrich and her husband, Tim. Wendy Larivee (left) chats with fellow Spanish teacher Leslie Tremblay and her husband, Peter Tremblay. Bethany Nasser (center) with her son, Nick ’13, and Felicia Waldron. (L to r) Ed Hardiman (left) and Chair of the Board of Trustees Tom Riley ’75 look on as Mj and Skip Shannon are inducted into the Hall of Honor.


Each in their own way, the four people inducted into the Hall of Honor at the Prep’s annual gala on March 12 blazed new trails at St. John’s. Skip Shannon became the Prep’s first lay headmaster in 2001, and as the headmaster’s spouse, Mj defined what was an entirely new role at St. John’s. David St. Laurent, a Prep parent at the time, became the first lay chair of the Board of Trustees in 2000. Jude Curtis ’77 succeeded St. Laurent in 2004, becoming the first lay graduate of St. John’s to serve as board chair. A profile of David St. Laurent appears on this page; articles about Skip and Mj Shannon (page 4 and 5) and Jude Curtis (page 3) appear earlier in this magazine.

During an interview for the Prep’s Centennial history book, David St. Laurent reflected on change and

how it contributes to institutional strength and vigor. “I’m a big believer in change,” he said. “Change is good.” During his years on the Board of Trustees, St. Laurent oversaw a great deal of change at St. John’s, from new leadership and new facilities to new technology. St. John’s owes much of what it is today to St. Laurent’s leadership on the Board of Trustees.

David St. Laurent and his wife, Marge, were new to the North Shore when he became president and CEO of Electric Insurance. Their older son, Brian, had attended Fairfield Prep in Connecticut and they wanted a similarly rigorous, Catholic high school for their younger son, Matthew. They found it in St. John’s Prep and quickly became involved in school life. St. Laurent joined the Board of Trustees in 1992, bringing his considerable leadership skills, business acumen and passion for Catholic education to the task. He was named chairman in 2000 and led the board during a period when St. John’s built the A. E. Studzinski Library, renovated Brother Benjamin Hall, and appointed Skip Shannon as headmaster and Ed Hardiman as principal. An early advocate of new technologies, he provided much of the leadership for the integration of cutting edge technology into the curriculum at St. John’s. And to make all of these initiatives possible, he was integral to efforts that raised more than $20 million for academic facilities and endowment. Now retired, he serves as chair of the Northeast Health System, and has served on the board of North Shore Catholic Charities and his alma mater, Bentley College.

From top: Taking advantage of a break in the action were (l to r front) Lynn Kurker, Maureen Kapnis and Mike Kapnis ’76; and (l to r back) Paul Kurker, John Farmer ’79, Sue Farmer, Matt O’Keefe ’95 and Alexa O’Keefe. The Class of 1977 was well represented with (l to r) Jude Curtis, Kevin Tierney, John Brennan, Joe O’Connor, Rich Iorio, Charlie McNiff, and Matt Donahue. Finding a moment to chat were (l to r) Jeff Kaneb ’82, David Locke, Mimi Locke, and Karla Kaneb.

David and Marge St. Laurent with their son, Matthew ’94.


A D V A N C E M E N T

Class of 1972 Centennial FundBrian Harrigan ’72 contributed this article about the Class of 1972 Centennial Endowment Fund. It’s a great story that illustrates what can happen when classmates band together to reach an ambitious goal, in this case, providing valuable tuition assistance resources for students who might not otherwise be able to attend St. John’s.

This year represents the fourth anniversary of a vision to establish The Class of 1972

Centennial Endowment Fund at St. John’s Prep and the gift of a 35th Reunion granite bench now sitting proudly in front of Xavier Hall. The bench displays the names of classmates who have generously contributed to the fund, as well as deceased members of the class who have been sponsored by fellow classmates with a contribution.

It started when I attended a gala auction and won the heated bidding on a granite bench donated by fellow classmate Bruce Lane ’72. When my wife, Irene, asked me “What are you planning to do with a 3-ton granite bench?” it was time to get creative. A matching gift challenge was developed with the help of a few class members. Bruce Lane agreed to engrave the bench with the names of fellow classmates donating $500 or more to The Class of 1972 Centennial Endowment Fund and the bench became the 35th Reunion gift from the Class of 1972. More than $50,000 (half of the $100,000 goal) will have been raised by June 30, 2011. Created to help needy Prep students, the fund will begin providing tuition assistance for members of the Class of 2015.

Several class members contributed $500 to honor deceased members of the class, providing recognition of this legacy for Carl Graczyk, Stephen Smith, James W. Sullivan, Katherine E. Roberts, Jeffrey Ayers, Richard J. Caulfield, John F. Connors, Raymond F. Domey, Richard F. Harnett, Mary E. Kiernan, Mitchell T. Kloza, Kevin J. Mahoney, Richard F. O’Connor, and Raymond R. Ouellette.

There is still an opportunity for class members to contribute to the fund. The names of new donors will be engraved on the bench prior to Commencement for the Class of 2011. Anyone wishing to sponsor a deceased classmate may still do so. We anticipate 100% sponsorship of the list of deceased classmates by June 30. Please contact Michael Newhall ’80 at [email protected] if you would like to add to the fund. The Class of ’72 will continue to work toward achieving the original goal of $100,000 for the fund.

Contributors to the Class of 1972 Centennial Fund:

Daniel W. AhernGregory P. Ambrose

Peter A. BeekmanBernard L. Caniff

Lawrence V. CipolloneRobert E. Cormier

Neil R. CrowleyJohn L. Dolan

Leonard F. FeminoMatthew J. Fronzak

Robert J. FurlongW. Brian Harrigan

Bruce LaneWalter E. LangPaul J. L’Italien

Allan D. MacLellanJohn L. Mahoney

John J. McDonoughStephen G. McDonough

Thomas A. MrozWilliam L. Niconchuk

Kevin J. O’DonnellRichard W. O’Donnell

Bruce H. ReppucciRobert J. Ryan

Richard A. SavageDenis J. Sullivan

James M. Toohey Garrett J. Wall

26th Annual St. John’s Prep Brother Linus Memorial Golf Tournament

Kernwood Country Club in Salem Monday, October 3, 2011

Play one of the most beautiful courses on the North Shore, and experience the links where Walter Hagan, Francis Ouimet and Donald Ross were on hand for the grand opening exhibition matches.

Sponsorships are available. If you would like more information, please contact Mary Carol Vitolo at [email protected] or 978.774.6727 x417.

Members of the Class of 1972 gathered by their bench during the Centennial gala in 2007: (l to r) Headmaster Skip Shannon, Frank Romano, Bruce Lane, Bernie Caniff, Allan MacLellan, Larry Cipollone and Brian Harrigan.

NEW LOCATION!


The Gift That Gives BackAre you interested in making a charitable gift to St. John’s while also guaranteeing a fixed income for life? Funding a charitable gift annuity with St. John’s could be the answer. It involves a simple contract between you and the school, and in exchange for a gift of cash or appreciated securities, St. John’s will pay a fixed amount to you for the remainder of your life. If you want to make sure that your spouse receives the same benefit, you could consider a two-life gift annuity that would continue to pay until the longer of the two lifetimes. The payments are made on a quarterly basis, and because they are fixed, they will not decrease even if the economy changes. The remainder of the gift annuity stays at St. John’s as a charitable gift to be used as you choose. You will also receive a charitable deduction for a portion of the gift and some of the quarterly payment may be tax-free income. There is also an option of deferring the payments for a set number of years and taking advantage of a higher payout rate. Charitable gift annuities are a great way to guarantee a fixed income during your retirement years while also providing for St. John’s.

Paving the Way for Students TodayPaul Burda ’55 and his wife, Gail,

know the benefits of charitable gift annuities firsthand. Having recently funded a charitable gift annuity with St. John’s, Paul used the opportunity to honor his parents, Catherine and Paul Burda, by designating the remainder of the gift annuity to be used for tuition assistance in their names. Although Paul’s parents struggled financially throughout their lives, they felt strongly that he should attend St. John’s, believing that a strong education, combined with a solid moral background, would be the foundation for success in life.

After graduating from the Prep, Paul enlisted in the Navy, where he attended electronics school and served aboard the USS Columbus CA-74. After an honorable discharge in 1958, Paul began his career in the electronics industry, working during the day, attending Northeastern University at night, and eventually earning an associate’s degree in electronic engineering and a bachelor of science in industrial engineering. He held many positions in the industrial engineering field at companies such as Science Management Corporation and Sprague Electric Company, as well as a five-year stint in Canada. He eventually settled in North Adams, Massachusetts, where he acquired and

sold two small companies. After spending time as a consultant and working at TOG Manufacturing Company in North Adams as an industrial engineer, Paul became a senior operations engineer at Raytheon in Pittsfield. He is currently working on a project for the Navy, bringing his career full circle.

Throughout Paul’s long career, and after raising four children, he often reflected on what was most important to him in life. In planning for retirement, he thought about a charitable gift annuity with St. John’s that would guarantee a fixed income for the remainder of his lifetime, and Gail’s lifetime, as well. Remembering the struggle his parents endured, he also wanted to help with tuition assistance for future Prep students. A charitable gift annuity allowed him to realize both goals.

“Having always remained in touch with the Prep, and considering my parents’ prominent part in having me attend St. John’s, the decision to establish a charitable gift annuity in their memory was easy,” says Paul.

“Even though I have worked hard, and still do, the foundation St. John’s gave me proved my parents right, and for that I cannot thank them and the Prep enough. For that reason, I feel they would be very pleased to have the funds designated to support the Prep’s tuition assistance program. In this way, the effort they put forth to have me attend St. John’s can be multiplied many times over for others.”

Age(s)Payout Rate

Annual Income

Tax-Free Portion

Charitable Deduction

Single Life Annuity

65 5.5% $550 $369 $2,66670 5.8% $580 $408 $3.50375 6.4% $640 $470 $4,17680 7.2% $720 $549 $4,84385 8.1% $810 $651 $5,572Two Life Annuity65 and 65 5.1% $510 $338 $1,59975 and 75 5.7% $570 $412 $3,24685 and 85 7.1% $710 $560 $4,681

Sample calculations for a $10,000 charitable gift annuity at St. John’s Prep

For additional information about charitable gift annuities, please contact Debra Marino, Director of Planned and Major Gifts, at 978.774.6727 x358 or [email protected].

Prep alumnus provides for tuition assistance with charitable gift annuity

The foundation St. John’s gave me proved my parents right, and for that I cannot thank them and the Prep enough.


1943Bob Barry retired from IBM in 1986. Born and raised in Newport, R.I., he now lives in Auburn, N.Y. He considers himself very lucky to have married Mary Hagan sixty-two years ago. They have four beautiful children, six grandchildren, and are awaiting the arrival of their third great-grandchild in June. He says, “My days at St. John’s provide me with many great memories of the good brothers and friends I had there. I hope some of them will see this note and drop me a line. Oh, to be 18 again!”

1946Charlie Winchester and his wife, Jean, have nine grandchildren and welcomed their first great-grandchild in March. Charlie tells us that a letter of condolence

that Jean wrote to Jacqueline Kennedy at the time of her husband’s assassination was included in a recently published collection of the letters, “Dear Mrs. Kennedy: The World Shares its Grief, Letters November 1963.” Jean was the reigning Mrs. Massachusetts in 1963 and remembers that she and the rest of her family remained glued to the television in the kitchen of their Lexington home for four days. She was moved to write a note expressing her sympathy. Her letter, which was judged to be representative of the feelings of so many women in her age group at the time, was chosen for the book and was placed between letters from Dr. Spock and Winston Churchill.

1949John Collins tells us that he enjoyed a trip to Tuscany last fall. He reports that his son, Jack, is a colonel in the Army Medical Corps and is due home from a tour of duty in Afghanistan. John still writes and publishes articles about Thomas Merton in various scholarly journals.

1950Charlie Young was named to the Central Oregon Mediation Mediator Hall of Fame for his work with the circuit and justice courts of Deschutes county Oregon and for the nonprofit Central Oregon Mediation group of Bend, Ore.

19516 0 TH R E U N I O N Y E A R

John Egan, class agent extraordinaire and champion paddle tennis player, writes, “Class of 1951 – can you believe this is our 60th reunion year! Wow! Wow! Go Eagles.” Paul Short says he had a great visit to the Prep in early October. His wife, Willee, and his two nieces walked the campus with him and had a great tour of Xavier Hall as well as the library. “There’ve been many changes, all for the good of the Prep,” he says. They had three days in Boston followed by four days in Maine before returning to their home in Delaware. Very Rev. Richard Craig celebrated his fiftieth anniversary as a priest in the Archdiocese of Boston on February 2, 2011.

1954Jim Parent teaches mathematics at Great Bay Community College in Portsmouth, N.H. and reports that it keeps him young. He enjoys experiencing the 21st century greatly and finds that he is learning more from his students than they learn from him.

1955Bob Turain and his wife, Mary, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last year. They have lived in Ohio for the past thirty-two years. Bob retired with twenty years of service in the USAF in 1979 and worked for a manufacturing firm as a plant manager for the next fourteen years. He reports that life has been good. They have four married children and nine grandchildren. They stay in touch with George Kelley and Tim Kersey, showing that relationships made so many years ago are precious. He sends his best to all the Prep brethren. Mike Carusone says, “I have had a long time to think about how the Prep has changed my life. I was an unsettled teen, with little or no direction and the good brothers and classmates showed me a better future. My poor grades improved to near the top of our class. I’m sure Holy Cross and Harvard Business School would never have been possible without the influence of those happy years in Danvers.” Mike and his wife, Joan, have spent more than fifty years together and consider themselves fortunate to be living their senior years in Scottsdale, Arizona. Their oldest son and three grandchildren live nearby. They are both still working; Joan keeps two doctors organized and Mike is in real estate and teaches golf. He would love to hear from any St. John’s people in or headed to Arizona. He sends his best wishes to the Class of ’55.


Father Leo Shea tells us that after four wonderful years living and working in the Diocese of Montego Bay, Jamaica, he returned to the States in January 2011. He was coordinator of the Diocesan Evangelization Team, chaplain at the Blessed Assurance Orphanage where Prep students and faculty volunteer each

Class Notes

We hope you will enjoy these updates received from your classmates. Should you be inspired to get in touch with anyone, their contact information is now available on the Prep website’s alumni directory. We encourage you to use the directory and to keep your own profile up to date. It’s a resource available only to alumni!

In MemoriamPlease remember in your prayers these members of the Prep community who have passed away recently.Robert N. Farren ’29Edwin J. Crowley ’34Richard W. Martin ’41Donald H. Decesare ’43Leonard L. Sutter ’48Edward C. Caden ’54James P. Heron ’55Richard C. Killeen ’55Leonard R. Cervoni ’60Thomas F. Tighe ’60Michael L. Burke ’82Michael F. Austin ’83Thomas M. Jurgen ’84Lt. Frederick J. Trayers ’87Christopher J. Sarney ’91Matthew J. Doran ’98Jonathan D. Rowell ’07

This shot, taken in 1942, shows Tom McKenna ’43 (l) and Bob Barry ’42 (r) at track practice. They had just finished shoveling snow from the wooden practice track. Tom held the fastest time for the 220 and was the New England champ.

Bruce Fuller ’54 (far right) is shown here with fellow Greenwich (Ct.) High School coaches who were recently honored by the town of Greenwich for their outstanding coaching careers.


year and chaplain at Hope Hospice for AIDs patients. He retired in January, but was asked to be chairperson of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers centennial celebration taking place throughout 2011. He is coordinating the centennial activities throughout the world, especially in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the U.S.

1957Bill Shanahan spent time in Florida this winter with classmates Pete Rush and Joel Goldman. He also connected with Fr. Dan Magni (formerly Brother Anselm) and Dave Boraks (Brother Lucius) who were at the Prep in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

1958Adrian Leblanc resigned his position as director of the division of space life sciences at the Universities Space Research Association last fall. The USRA is a private, nonprofit corporation founded in 1969 under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences. It comprises 105 universities in the U.S. and abroad that have graduate programs in space-related sciences and/or engineering. He continues as a half-time employee working on special projects. He also remains active in his research area investigating countermeasures to prevent bone loss in space. He is the co-principal investigator, along with a Japanese investigator team, testing if an antiresorptive drug taken by crew during long duration missions on the International Space Station is effective. To date, four astronauts have completed the flight portion of the investigation. He will be presenting preliminary results at the Humans in Space Symposium in Houston, Texas, in April. He is also an invited speaker at the Keystone Symposium on Extreme Conditions in April. He continues as a professor at Baylor College of Medicine in the department of medicine and the center for space medicine. Robert Crosby is president and C.E.O. of Non-Public Educational Services which provides educational services through a variety of channels. Most notably, NESI partners with its subsidiary Richard Milburn High Schools, an alternative high school system which targets “at-risk” students and drop-outs. In an article about his company recently published in the Massachusetts Maritime Academy magazine, Bob says, “Our kids are the ‘back row’ kids. Every public high school teacher wants to get rid of them, but we want to make them ‘front row’ kids by connecting with them and making them successful.” Operated as for-profit businesses under contract with local school districts, there are

presently three RMHS schools operating in North Carolina, Illinois and Virginia. They offer smaller classes and set a firm goal to make the students feel safe, comfortable and involved. He says that teachers at Milburn love the challenge of an at-risk student. The school attracts young teachers who are up to the task. He provides them with good pay and offers bonuses if achievement goals are attained. More than 100 fully-accredited high school online courses are also offered through RMHS’s Milburn High School Online program. Bob has high expectations for the online high school and hopes to see it grow to 100,000 students in the next five years. He sees online learning as a supplement to regular high school, not a replacement. Inc. magazine recently selected his company as one of the country’s fastest growing private companies in 2010’s “Inc. 5000.”

1959Lieutenant John Cabral was honored on Veterans Day 2010 with the dedication of an A7E Corsair II airplane in his name thirty-seven years after he was killed in action in Vietnam when his plane experienced mechanical difficulties as it took off from the U.S.S. Saratoga. The dedication took place at the Military Aviation Preservation Society (MAPS) in Canton, Ohio, where the plane is housed and was attended by his widow, Maureen Cabral of Winchester. An article in the Winchester Star reports that the honor is the result of the efforts of Kim Kovesci who was an 18-year-old enlisted man who worked on the weapons and radar systems on the U.S.S. Saratoga where Lt. Cabral was a pilot and who lives in Ohio now. He recalled, “The pilots of the Saratoga flew 708 missions, mined the Haiphong Harbor, shot down MIGs, flew close support for ground troops, attacked the Ho Chi Minh Trail, went to downtown Hanoi, protected the B-52s, flew countless missions in both North and South Vietnam during some of the most intense fights of the war.” Lt. Cabral was one of two pilots lost while on-station in the Gulf of Tonkin. The other was Lt. Larry Kilpatrick who was shot down on June 18, 1972. He is still listed as missing in action. When Kovesci learned through his son, Benjamin, a naval flight officer who flies F-18 Super Hornets, that an A7 was at MAPS, he went over to see it. “When I saw the plane scattered all over the floor in pieces, I remember the thoughts that went through my mind,” Kovesci said. “I thought, ’This is disrespectful to our pilots, especially to the guys who gave the ultimate sacrifice and I have to do something about it.’” Beginning in 2008, Kovesci, along with two other volunteers

spent over 2,000 hours restoring the A7. This November, their hard work paid off when the A7 was dedicated to Cabral and Kilpatrick during a ceremony at the Faircrest Memorial Middle School in Canton. The setting was not accidental. In 1970, the school was built in the memory of nine soldiers from the area who were killed in Vietnam. The school’s entryway is devoted to those who have served and sacrificed for American freedoms. Every year the school honors veterans. Austin Ford reports, “Retirement is wonderful. We actually have time to travel and pursue some hobbies although work around the Fiddletown (CA) ranch is more than anticipated. Last year we spent five weeks in Central Europe – Prague, Vienna, Croatia and then Venice. Number one memory is the cathedrals and the presence of God in people’s lives not long ago. We made it back to New England in August – swung around the Prep as always. No one there to talk to, but it was fun to recount our wedding in the chapel forty-plus years ago. I stay busy with Rotary activities, racing my BMW, pickin’ and singin’ at the Cowboy Church and I founded a Tea Party Group in Amador County. Door is open here to California travelers any time.” George Rickus tells us, “I had the pleasure of attending the Athletic Hall of Fame dinner in November with my wife of 44 years, Bonnie. It was her first visit to the Prep as I dated her in college. She toured the campus, met the Athletic Director and classmates and friends of mine from the Prep years. She was in her glory spending the night at a table of nine men. As you might imagine, I did not marry a shy person so she had a great time hearing about the old times. And in my case, the very old times. I was honored as an inductee for the class of 2010. To say it was a surprise would be a huge understatement. Warm regards to all.”

1960Chris Lane was honored by the Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association in February with induction into their Athletes Hall of Fame. Chris was honored for his contributions to track on the high school level over many years. William McDonald writes, “When I got the letter from St. John’s announcing that my class was scheduled to have its 50th reunion last May, I was shocked. Where did 50 years go? I immediately knew that I would not attend the reunion. I had lost all contact with SJP and my SJP friends. What would be the point? But, then I got a call from David Mills, one of my best buds with whom I had not spoken in 50 years. It was wonderful hearing his voice and feeling those heart-warming sentiments of good friendship. I decided to attend


and even to get involved with the Planning Committee. Boy, was that a smart move. I took responsibility for producing the digital yearbook video to be shown at the big dinner. In order to make the video a little more exciting and nostalgic I took some 8mm home movies from my days at the Prep; had them digitized and inserted them into the video. While doing this I decided to also get digitized the movies from my college days. I made a video of a bunch of us Notre Damers who went to Mexico and built houses for poor families. I sent a couple of copies to the three members of the group for whom I had addresses. Then that evolved into something much bigger. I have now organized a reunion of that group and the successor groups at the University this May. I have gone from reunion avoidance to reunion addiction in one year – all because of SJP and David Mills.”


Louis Peter Walor has joined the Beverly real estate firm of RealPro Associates. He is very much looking forward to the 50th reunion in May. Ron Michaud and his wife, Heather, are active volunteers with the Salisbury, Maryland chapter of Mended Hearts, Inc., a national heart patient support group. Ron is a past president of the organization and they continue to visit heart surgery patients at the Peninsula Regional Medical Center. They are also members of the speaker’s bureau for Atlantic General Hospital, speaking on coping with heart disease and diabetes. Ron says it has been 6 ½ years since his heart transplant and “the beat goes on.” They are members of the Ocean City Parrothead Club for those who love an island lifestyle and Jimmy Buffett music. With a motto of “Party with a purpose,” the organization has raised over $1 million over the last ten years for local charities. John (Doug) Mullen writes that he has retired as professor of philosophy at Dowling College on Long Island and is back in Massachusetts, living on Rocky Neck in Gloucester. Doug’s lovely wife, Connie, passed away in April 2010 of breast cancer. He has a son, Alex, in Gloucester and a daughter,

Kimberly, on Long Island, where his grandson resides. During his academic career he wrote books and papers, taught philosophy and logic to thousands of students and spent three of his final five years in administration, two as provost and chief academic officer. Doug recently completed an assignment evaluating adjunct faculty members at Bunker Hill Community College. Since retirement he has completed a novel, which he is trying to sell, writes short stories, meets bi-weekly with a writing group and sails in the summer. He has twice been president of the Rocky Neck Art Colony. He writes, “I’ve been blessed with women religious in grammar school, Jesuits at Holy Cross, wonderful professors at Boston University, but the Prep remains my finest academic experience.” Peter Weston reports, “The Xaverian Brothers have instituted an Associate Member Program. Last fall I applied and was accepted. At a commitment ceremony last December 3rd I became one of the first 21 associate members of the Congregation. I continue to teach the calculus sequence at UMass Lowell in the morning and two sections of a math course at Suffolk University in Boston in the afternoon. I am very much looking forward to our 50th anniversary of our graduation from the Prep. Needless to say, St. John’s Prep and the Xaverian Brothers (especially the 12 years I spent in formation and teaching as a formal member of the Congregation) have had an enormous impact on my life. I have the deepest and most profound gratitude for the Brothers and the Prep.” kevin McPartland reports that he began his career path in the insurance industry, but it was short lived as his application to join the FBI was accepted and he instead spent 32 years with the agency investigating everything from fraud to hunting fugitives and bank robbers. He spent twelve years on their SWAT team and another eight years as a crisis negotiator and police instructor. He says he managed to end his career with the same number of holes in his body as when he started. After some retirement time spent playing tennis and

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Ever since Tony vorias ’61 arrived on the Prep campus as a freshman in the fall of 1958, St. John’s has been a part of his life. After graduating, he crossed paths with many Prep grads, but no one has been more a part of his life than classmate EJ Breen ’61. Vorias, Breen and Tom Yameen ’61 all attended Boston College. Later, Vorias and Breen were assigned to the same Naval Aviation Officers School class in Pensacola, Florida, where they oversaw the training of college Naval candidates, including Ernie Massa ’61.Shortly after being commissioned, Vorias married his high school sweetheart, Carol-Ann, in September 1966. Getting leave during training was difficult and he had only a weekend to tie the knot. “We invited some Prep pals and Brother Robertus, who walked the two grandmothers down the aisle and blessed the dinner. The next day, Carol-Ann and I boarded a plane to Pensacola, and on Monday I was back at flight school without missing a beat!”After completing F-4 Phantom fighter pilot training at Miramar Naval Air station in San Diego, Vorias joined the VF-92 Silver Kings squadron for two combat tours of Vietnam aboard the USS Enterprise. His final duty was as an instructor to new F-4 pilots who were in their final training.When his father took ill, he moved back to Boston to help his brother Rick with the family specialty welding and fabrication business. Breen later joined the company and stayed with Rick and Tony when they started their own manufacturing business, Flametech. EJ worked with the brothers for a few years before becoming a pilot with Eastern Airlines. Retired now, Vorias lives in Stuart, Florida, and spends summers in Rockport. “The Prep has always been part of our lives,” he says. “We are looking forward to renewing old acquaintances at the 50th reunion.”Pictured: Carol-Ann and Tony Vorias ’61.

Four stalwarts of the SJP track tradition, John Carroll ’60, Coach Ray Carey ’67, Chris Lane ’60 and Coach John Boyle.

Jimmy Buffett fans Ron Michaud ’61 and his wife, Heather, are active volunteers with a Parrothead group that raises money for local charities.


pursuing his avocation in photography, he started a private investigation agency now in its seventh year. He has two daughters working in the medical field and two stepsons. His daughters have blessed him with five grandsons and one granddaughter. One stepson is in college and hoping for a crack at professional golf; the other is in high school with plans to become a chef. Kevin and his wife, Elaine, are hoping to make the 50th reunion and look forward to seeing classmates there.

1964Bill Carney reports that he got together with John Mulderig ’65 and Bill Buckley ’65 in Charleston, S.C. in January to play golf at Kiawah Island and Briars Creek. They enjoyed the better-than-the-Northeast weather conditions for a week while bemoaning the end of Patriot’s football season.


Alan Sullivan is a vice president in Lockheed Martin Corporation’s Washington, D.C. office. He and his wife, Kathy, have been married for 27 years and have three children: a daughter, married and living in New Orleans and the mother of their four-year-old granddaughter; a son studying professional golf management at Campbell University; and a son who is a senior in high school and headed to college to study art.

1968Biff Michaud is CEO of the Salem Witch Museum and has recently finished a year-long conservation of the complete front of the 165-year-old building. His son, Faxon ’11, is captain of the Prep’s rugby team and is looking forward to spring and the defense of their unbeaten record. He was part of a small group that spent February vacation in Ireland playing against four international rugby teams.

1969Jon Malay became the president of the 14,000 member American Meteorological Society on January 23 at the Society’s Annual Meeting in Seattle. The AMS, founded in 1919, has its headquarters at 45 Beacon Street in Boston. Jon joined the AMS in 1970 when his first meteorology professor at the Naval Academy made everybody in the class become a student member. Still employed in the Washington office of Lockheed Martin as “the NASA and NOAA guy,” Jon says he’s the first aerospace industry professional ever elected as president. He also wants to tell the New England

and New York alumni that in spite of this job, he had nothing to do with the snow storms of 2011! He points out that any Prep grad should know God is responsible for production and meteorologists are just in sales. Michael Doherty has retired after a 34-year career of teaching physics and chemistry at the Andover and Winthrop public high schools. He is now enjoying time in both Naples, Florida, and Nashua, NH. Anthony John Coletti recently traveled to Nebraska and Kansas to provide photographs for his English agent, Jon Arnold Images. He says that the Midwest is becoming more of a tourist destination for Europeans and there is a need for photos of this area to promote Heritage Tours. It was Anthony’s first trip to these states and it proved to be an eye-opening experience for a boy who grew up in Swampscott. Anthony’s commercial work revolves around photographing architecture, so he was pleasantly surprised to find busy market districts with restored brick warehouses in Omaha and Lincoln, Neb. Kansas proved to be a photographer’s dream with its endless horizons, and small pioneer towns with their restored 1800s architecture. Historic grain elevators, cowboy themes from Dodge City, and art deco movie theaters provided many opportunities for great photographs. With all the mythology from The Wizard of Oz and its notoriety for tornados, Kansas was a lot more. Anthony and his agent were very pleased with the results. Some of this work can be seen on Anthony’s website at www.anthonyjohncoletti.com.

1970Jay Moller practices criminal defense law, mainly appeals, from his home in the mountains of Humboldt County, California. He lives off the grid with solar power and spring water. He represents four men on California’s death row before the California Supreme Court, where he’s briefed and argued eight cases over the years. Anyone traveling through is

Jon Malay ’69 who was elected a Fellow and President of the American Meteorological Society, is shown here receiving Fellow certificate from outgoing President Peggy Lemone.

While most of the world was watching the 24/7 coverage of the protests in Cairo in January, Hank Healey ’71 watched much of the action unfold from his hotel room near Tahrir Square. An education consultant working closely with the Ministry of Education, Healey was in Egypt (his 24th trip) as part of his work to help improve the country’s education system. He writes that on Friday, January 28, it was oddly quiet when he took a walk along the Nile. “Being a Friday morning it was supposed to be quiet; but it reminded me of the ‘quiet’ one finds on a college campus the morning before a big football game. In fact, it was perfect football weather: sunny and in the mid 60s. But the quiet I am referring to isn’t a silence, rather there is some activity, but it is special activity: the freshman team is getting ready to play, the varsity field is being lined, a few alums are walking around the campus, the university flags are up on all the buildings. It’s a quiet that is pregnant with the feeling of the big game that is going to take place. That is what I felt as I walked about: traffic was almost nil, but there were troop carriers out and about, the police were there in greater numbers, and what few people were out and about had an air of excitement about them.” What followed for Healey was a weekend of uncertainty about when and how he could leave Cairo. Ultimately, he got to the airport, made his way through chaos at the gate and immigration before finally boarding a British Airways flight to London. When he arrived home in North Carolina the following day, a crew from CBS News met him at the gate, eager for a firsthand account of the history-making events he had witnessed.Pictured: Protesters lining the street alongside the Nile as seen from Hank Healey’s hotel.


welcome to stop by. Don Weitz is an international tourism consultant and lives in Dallas, Texas. Working with Roots of Faith, an Israel-based tour operator, he brings Christian youth groups to Israel to experience the land and its people, while creating bonds of fellowship and renewed faith among participants. Don works with Travel and Learn, Inc. to produce life-changing tours to Eastern and Central Europe, concentrating on sites relating to the Holocaust. Don has also worked in PR and marketing for Jewish and Israel-related non-profits.


Joseph Orlando reports that 2010 was a spectacular year for the Orlando family. Joe and his wife, Connie, welcomed their fourth grandson in May – no girls yet! Their son, Joe, completed law school and passed the bar exam and has joined the family law firm, Orlando and Associates. Joe, Jr. graduated from Endicott College where he was a two-time all-conference baseball player. Joe and Connie celebrated 35 years of marriage in June. They also have two daughters, Amanda and Lisa.

1973Lt. Colonel Patrick McNamara has received the Massachusetts Medal of Merit in recognition of his long and distinguished military career in service to the United States of America and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The accompanying certificate said, “His superior dedication to duty, professional leadership and unmatched expertise contributed immensely to the advancement of Massachusetts National Guard missions and objectives, and to the safety and protection of all citizens of the Commonwealth. Lieutenant Colonel Patrick McNamara’s significant contributions and outstanding performance at both the State and national level reflect great credit upon himself, the Massachusetts National

Guard, the United States Air Force, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.” The Medal of Merit is the third highest military award given by the state of Massachusetts. Lt. Col. Patrick McNamara served over 32 years of U.S. Air Force uniformed military service. He and his wife, Erica Waasdorp, live in Marstons Mills. He has two sons, Patrick II and Brendan. In his civilian position, he joined “TEAM 6” as a Quality Assurance Specialist with the 6th Space Warning Squadron, Cape Cod Air Force Station Massachusetts. Mark Pothier was recently promoted to the position of deputy business editor at the Boston Globe, where he has worked for almost 10 years. He says, “I oversee the day-to-day operations of the Business section, edit Page One stories, and occasionally write for the paper’s Sunday magazine and Ideas section. A 2010 piece I wrote on computer passwords was featured on NPR’s “All Things Considered” and was one of the most-read stories on Boston.com for the year. After two decades of dormancy, I’m back making music again. The first single by my band, Adventure Set, is scheduled for release in a few weeks, to be followed by a full album later this year. The single and album will be available on iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody and other websites. I wrote all the songs, played keyboards, and programmed the computers. It’s produced by Stephen George, who played with me many years ago in the Chicago band Ministry. It’s kind of mind-boggling to actually be making music again at this stage of my life – I feel extremely lucky. Back in the day, a bunch of us used to

hold noisy jam sessions in the student union during lunch time. I didn’t realize it then, but those experiences also turned out to be part of my Prep education. Finally, and most importantly, my son, Justin, is in the middle of a deployment to Afghanistan, where he is serving at an Army outpost near the Pakistan border. He’s been there since October and we’re counting the days until his safe return.”

1974Bob Andler and his wife, Cheryl, celebrated 25 years of marriage in January. Bob has completed the course and thesis requirements for a master’s in medical management at the University of Rochester – his second master’s degree.

1975David Hepworth reports that after 20 years in New York City and 10 years in Sun Valley, Idaho, he has moved back to the North Shore. He is living in Rockport and working as a sales consultant at Acura of Peabody. He has a daughter, Samantha (14) and a son, Graham (11).


John Macdonald is looking forward to the graduation of son, Mark, from the Prep in May. He says that it’s been 35 years since he graduated; many things have changed, many have not. Mark will be attending Sacred Heart University majoring in athletic training and playing Division 1 lacrosse. The Prep team is looking forward to defending their state lacrosse title this spring. John’s daughter, Kristen, will be graduating from Fairfield University in May – unfortunately on the same day as the Prep graduation, so his wife, Karen, will be at one and he at the other.

1977Richard Iorio, M.D. has been elected president of the New England Orthopaedic Society and has been named director of adult reconstruction at Lahey Clinic in Burlington. Rich also is a professor of orthopaedic surgery at the Boston University School of Medicine. Rich and his wife, Mary Ellen, are the parents of a Prep sophomore, Alexander. Cindy Terzakis Gakos is counsel to the law firm of Porzio, Bromberg & Newman in Morristown, New Jersey, where she specializes in transactional commercial real estate law. She is an avid figure skater and a volunteer coach for the New Jersey Special Olympics Learn-to-Skate program. She also enjoys swimming, photography, traveling, and attending professional hockey games. She and

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Don Weitz ’70 is shown near the Western Wall on one of his trips to Israel.

Shown on a visit to campus are 1973 classmates (l to r) Larry “Podog” Richard, Pat “Mac” McNamara and Don “Batch” Bachelder.

Larry Richard ’73 had a reunion last fall with his former resident directors, Bro. Ed Keefe and Mr. Phil Harkins.


her husband, Nick, have a daughter, Alexandra, who is a senior at Dartmouth College majoring in English. Nick is a partner with the C.P.A. firm of Ross, Rosenthal & Company in Morristown. Cindy says she enjoyed returning to campus last fall for the reunion of Prep women and reconnecting with former classmates and friends. She looks forward to attending similar gatherings in the future. Michael John Buba reports, “Time is flying by as my granddaughter will turn 4 this year. Oh to be young again and have that amount of energy! All three children are gainfully employed. Adina is a store manager at the American Eagle North Shore Mall. Ian is a licensed energy auditor for ICF International, and my youngest, Hanna, is the head teller at Marblehead Bank. I continue to work at NSMC Salem Hospital as a project manager of construction, and my wife is at the MGH Danvers facility as a lab technician. As always, to all Prep Armed Forces members – Semper Fi!

1978Barry Freeman is living in the West Hills area of Los Angeles with his wife, Karen, son, Jake (17) and daughter, Julia (15). He has been working for the Motion Picture Association of America as a member of the classifications and ratings board for the past eight years. He continues to be a big Boston sports fan and vows never to root for the Lakers. After hearing about the New England snow, he is content to visit family, and friends, including classmate Frank Grealish, back East from May through September. He says he’ll try to make it back for the next big reunion as the 25th was a lot of fun. He would love to hear from any southern California classmates.

1979Mark Desjardins and his two sons live in Stonington, Conn., where he works for the Navy at the New London submarine base as a family doctor. He says, “2011 is a watershed year for me, since not only am I turning 50, like most of my Prep classmates, but I am also engaged to be married on 11/11/11 to Joanne Billera of New York City. This date is apropos, as I also retire on 5/14/11 from a 28-year military career that has included years in the Navy, Naval Reserve and Air National Guard. My last ‘hurrah’ with the military will be an Air Force mission in April to the Congo, where I am sure to get great use of my years of training with Mr. O’Loughlin! Any Prep alums should feel free to reach out to me ANY time they happen to be in southeastern Connecticut!”

1980Chris Hawthorne is happy to report that his son, James, will be entering SJP as a freshman in the Class of 2015! Ed McMorrow tells us, “After entering a poetry contest held by HEART MAGAZINE, published by Nostalgia Press, I have learned that one of my poems, ‘In My Orange Chair,’ has been awarded Honorable Mention and will be published Spring/Summer 2011 in the HEART #8 issue, in memory of Frank Cimerol. This is my latest achievement in my quest towards making a career out of the writing which I learned while a student at the Prep.” Ed’s college career at Tufts was made more difficult when he was diagnosed with epilepsy. He was able to graduate from Tufts, double majoring in international relations and economics. He credits his AP English course with Mr. Cimerol as the reason he was able to skip the standard freshman English course at Tufts. He went on to earn his master’s in political science at Boston College with an eye towards a career in the diplomatic service. Unfortunately, Ed’s health issues have precluded a full-time job. While he filled his time with volunteer work for many years, he has now devoted his time to writing and polishing previously-written prose and poetry for publication.


Larry Lessard and his fiancée, Jennifer, are living in Marblehead. He reports that classmate Chuck Pollard moved into the neighborhood shortly after they did. He splits his private time between family and whatever sport has his interest at the moment. He runs two companies: Lessard Environmental, Inc., which provides environmental testing and remediation services and Achieve Renewable Energy, LLC, which provides renewable energy solutions – mostly geothermal, solar and wind energy. They have offices in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Jersey.

1983Francis O’Hearn recently took a new position as the director of IT capital planning for the US Treasury. He still lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with an ever-shrinking household. Both daughters will be away at school this fall, Cait to the University of Maryland and Alison to culinary school. That leaves his wife, Kathleen, and him with an empty nest. He’d love to hear from the class of ’83. Derron Darcy has started writing and producing feature films. His first, Human Nature, is now in production. He’s part

of an indie film company called DC Productions which produces mostly low budget, SAG films.

1984Ed Hickey turned a longtime desire to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania into a fundraising event benefitting the Prestige Club whose mission is to help family and children’s charities. He performed his climb in late 2010, but the seed was planted long before after reading Ernest Hemingway’s short story “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” in Mr. Cimerol’s English class. “That was the first inkling that it was something I wanted to do eventually,” Ed said. For the fundraising aspect of the climb, Ed decided he would try to raise $1 for every foot of the mountain’s elevation, totaling $19,340. Although he had experience with hiking, a mountain climb would be a new challenge, so he started training a year in advance with weights and climbing up and down 10 flights of stairs daily at work. Hickey set out on his expedition with a porter and guide for a six-day climb, with temperatures ranging from minus 10 degrees to 30 degrees. Ed said that on the last day, the strain on his body was severe enough that he could only take one to three steps at a time – but he reached his goal and enjoyed the view from the summit. “You could see the entire shadow of Kilimanjaro on the earth beneath,” He said. “It was pretty neat.” He was worried

Ed Hickey ’84 is shown atop Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, having completed his climb to raise money for family and children’s charities in Broward County, Florida.

Frank MacMillan ’83 and his wife Laura spent a getaway weekend in New Orleans in January and found the city to be largely recovered from Hurricane Katrina. They are shown here in Jackson Square.


Peter Ronayne ’86 is at work on a new biography of Madeleine Albright. He became interested in Albright because her personal narrative so closely parallels the evolution of women and their roles in the second half of the 20th century, and because she was the first secretary of state to preside fully in the post-Cold War world.Ronayne has studied international relations and leadership through much of his career. An author, senior faculty member at The Federal Executive Institute and adjunct professor at the University of Virginia, he served as editor and contributor to “The Trusted Leader”, a compilation of essays about trust and leadership in the public sector. “I enjoy writing because it gives me an opportunity to synthesize content from a variety of fields and make it accessible to readers – while also helping me to clarify my own thoughts,” he says.Ronayne moved to Charlottesville to pursue graduate work in international affairs at the University of Virginia. He had graduated from Georgetown with a degree in French and spent a few years in Washington, DC, working in international business and development. “My initial plan was to earn a master’s and head back to DC for some think tank or policy work,” he says. “But I so enjoyed my work as a teaching assistant that I instead opted to dig in and gut it out for a Ph.D. focused on ethics and international affairs, ultimately writing a dissertation (and my first book) on the American response to genocide since the Holocaust.”After grad school, Ronayne was accepted to the Federal government’s Presidential Management Fellows program and landed a position teaching at The Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville. He served as the dean of the faculty for five years, and is now back in a senior faculty role, teaching a range of global and leadership topics. He travels and speaks on issues of leadership and generational difference, and has recently focused his work on the intersection of neuroscience and leadership performance.

that he’d fall short of his fundraising goal, but additional sponsorship came in after he completed the climb, bringing his total to more than $22,500. Ed is planning future mountain climbing for charity but already ruled out Mount Everest in the Himalayas. Lesser-known mountains in Nepal or Pakistan’s K2 are a possibility, though. He is grateful to his classmates Dan Gilligan, Phil Chisholm, Jeff Jones, and Russ Sullivan for their financial support of his project. Mike Cuipa reports that after practicing critical care medicine in suburban Saint Louis for the last ten years, he has accepted the position of chief of trauma critical care and director of intensive care services at Barnes Jewish Saint Peters Hospital in Saint Peters, Missouri. He and his fiancé, Anthony Jones, have recently purchased a home in suburban Saint Louis and plan to travel home to Massachusetts in the fall to be married. Paul Desjarlais reports, “My wonderful experience as show editor at Bill Moyers Journal over the past several years ended last May when Bill retired. Since then, I have been working as a senior editor with Hybrid Films, producers of several A&E Network programs including Parking Wars and Dog the Bounty Hunter, which just celebrated its 200th episode. I have been keeping up with several class of ’84 alums, including Marc Harris, with whom I suffered through the Patriots loss to the Jets.” Mike Muller recently assumed a business development role at Mimeo.com, a provider of web-based document print and distribution technology. His role is to further develop Mimeo’s National Accounts strategy for Fortune 500 enterprises. He lives in Georgetown with his wife Trishia and two daughters, Sarah and Rose. He is in touch with several classmates from the Prep and recently got together with Mark Gudaitis and Brian Russo during Brian’s annual pilgrimage home from California around the holidays. He is also in touch with Mike LeBrasseur, who lives in Northbridge and serves on that town’s school committee. Mike can be found on LinkedIn.

1985David Hough is proud that his son Dominic was accepted as a member of the Class 2015 at the Prep carrying on the legacy tradition of the Hough family. David’s two brothers, Timothy and Harold Hough, are also Prep grads, and Tim’s son, Sam Hough, is currently a freshman.


John Malone lives in Los Angeles with his wife Daisy, four cats and seven fish. After earning a B.A. in chemistry from

Harvard University and working for several years in the field of analytical instrumentation, John decided to scrap it all in the mid-nineties and move to L.A. to follow his passion for acting. Although still a proud, card-carrying member of the Screen Actors’ Guild, John has found that Hollywood is not the best place to make an honest living. You may remember him from a brief role on “The Drew Carey Show,” but probably not. Although he still dabbles in writing, acting and directing now and then, the bulk of his time is spent playing the role of “Forensic Accountant” at the litigation consulting firm of Bruce L. Ross & Company, assisting math-challenged attorneys, judges and juries in their understanding of economic damages, business value and other accounting-related issues. Gerry Donovan and family moved to Wenham in 2010. The Donovan’s have three children, Liam (6), Willow (4) and Beau (1). Gerry has had an insurance and wealth management practice at Northwestern Mutual Life for the past 20 years. He still keeps in touch with Tom Treacy, Tedd Taskey, and Dave kennedy. He says “hello” to all of his cross country classmates and admits that he is still intimidated by Ray Carey even after 25 years. kevin Johnson and his wife, Lisa, have been living in Rye, N.Y. since 1994 and keep very busy raising three children: Madeline (12), Benjamin (9) and Sam (6), all of whom are Red Sox fans. Following graduation from Boston College, Kevin and Lisa worked in Boston for a few years, moved to Rye, took a brief detour to London, and then settled in Rye again. Kevin works in business development at Morningstar; Lisa does similar work with Buttonwood Mementos. They are looking forward to catching up with Prep friends at the 25th reunion. karl Smith is working in Accra, Ghana, where he is vice president and head of finance for American Tower Company. He has worked for the company for twelve years and is part of a multi-national team expanding their business overseas. His wife, Jeanne, and their four children, Ben (10), Harry (7), Charlie (5) and Gretchen (4) are still at home in Marblehead, but are planning to join him for the summer break. He say that Western Africa is a far cry from New England and takes a lot of getting used to, but he thinks he picked the right winter to be away. He’s looking forward to the 25th reunion in May and seeing all the other ’86 Prep grads. Sean Galaris and his wife, Stella, live with their two boys, Justice (13) and Jared (11) in Clearwater Beach, Florida. They spent three weeks last summer visiting family and sightseeing in Greece and Italy. Sean reports that the boys’

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favorite part of the trip was the time spent at the Vatican. Sean is a senior vice president with The Continental Group, a real estate management firm. Rick Bromby and his wife, Paula, live in Ipswich with their daughter, Haven, and son, Braden. He enjoys summers on Little Neck, where classmate Gerry Donovan also has a home. Rick is an attorney with the Law Office of David J. Hoey in North Reading, a practice specializing in medical malpractice, nursing home abuse/neglect and serious personal injury. He is also a real estate broker at Windhill Realty in Ipswich. He looks forward to greater involvement with the Prep alumni lawyers group and to seeing old friends at the upcoming 25th reunion. Peter Coumounduros is at the forefront of organizing matches involving the newest competitive family game – bean bag toss – also known as cornhole. Those now nearly ubiquitous game structures seen in backyards everywhere have become popular as competitive events. The game is roughly equivalent to horseshoes, pitting two teams of two against one another in a competition to 21 points. Points are scored by tossing cotton bags filled with corn at target holes cut into angled wooden platforms placed 20 to 27 feet apart. The American Cornhole Association outlines the specific dimensions for officially sanctioned play, but occasionally at indoor tournaments one makes do with the limited indoor space. Bags that are successfully tossed into the target hole are worth three points; those that land on the platform are worth one. Peter is a representative for the Cornhole Game Association and organizes games in the Reading area. He says, “The appeal is you can play very competitively with other adults in any number of settings – beach, backyard, block parties, or in a low-key environment with family and kids.” Unlike horseshoes or lawn darts, which have the potential for injury, cornhole is fairly harmless and can be played almost anywhere. “I’ve yet to see anyone get hurt by a beanbag,’’ Peter says. “It’s easy to set up, easy to move around, easy to pick up and get used to the game. And if you’re

short on players, you can pull in one of your kids.’’ Like many devotees, he has constructed his own playing targets from material purchased online through the ACA or hardware stores. Mike kennealy writes to say “I’m now in my second year as a trustee of the Prep, serving alongside fellow ’86 kevin Richardson. I’ve really enjoyed serving on the board and finding ways to give back to St. John’s. I live in Lexington with my wife, daughter, and two sons, and I am a managing director of a private equity investment firm called Spectrum Equity Investors, which I joined in 1997. I hope a lot of you can make it back to the Prep for our 25th reunion from May 20-22. This is the first time that a 25th reunion will take place over Commencement weekend, and we’re hoping for a great turnout and a chance to catch up with a lot of our classmates.”

1987Chris Pramas continues to run his own company, Green Ronin Publishing. Recent successes include role playing games based on DC Comics and BioWare’s Dragon Age franchise. Since having one job just isn’t enough in the current economy, he also took a gig at Vigil Games as lead writer on Dark Millennium Online, the Warhammer 40,000 MMO RPG. This necessitated a move to Austin, TX. His wife Nicole and step-daughter Kate remain in Seattle and the whole family hopes to reunite later this year. The question is, will it be in Austin or Seattle? Answer hazy, try again later. Jim Poolner is program coordinator at Harvard University’s Life Sciences Undergraduate Office, and is living in Belmont. His son, Milo, will turn 16 this summer, so Jim is fondly recalling Mr. Sullivan’s driver’s ed course. Jim also plays guitar in a local band, and would like to give shout-outs to Mr. Flatley, Mr. Yanchus, Mr. Prisby, Brother Comber, the guys in the Sci-Fi club, and the folks who gave him rides to and from SJP.

1988Mike McNamara and his wife, Sylwia, won the bronze medal in the Mixed Swiss Teams at the Bridge World

Championships in October of 2010. After the Prep, Mike earned a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University, a J.D. and M.B.A. from Boston University and an L.L.M. from Fordham University. He worked as in-house counsel for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York before owning his own equity options trading firm on the floor of the stock exchange in New York. Now he and his wife play bridge professionally. Mike has a 9-year old son, Drew. They all study Tae Kwon Do and both Mike and Drew have their black belts.

1989Chris Bernard will travel around Alaska this summer while researching his book, “Chasing Alaska” to be published by Lyons Press. Chris lived in Alaska for five years and now lives in Portland, Oregon. The book will use the parallel narratives of his travels and those of an arctic explorer ancestor to look at the people, the culture and the landscape of the region and the ways in which they’ve changed over the last century. Alumni living in Alaska who would like to meet up can contact him at [email protected]. Joey Ahrens and his wife, Gretchen, vacationed late last summer in Oregon and Washington where they rented motorcycles and toured Mt. Rainier, Mt. Olympus, Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood. They had the chance to visit with former Marine buddies and old friends from Reno. Joey has accepted a new position within his company, Accelera Solutions that requires a move to San Antonio, Texas, from his current home in Virginia. He’s looking forward to catching up with Justin vanderpot who lives in San Antonio.

Left to right: Luke Emberley, son of Maribeth and Sean Emberley ’93 Thomas McGovern Luther, son of Laura and P.T. Luther ’96 William Ryan Flatley, son of Atina and Brian Flatley ’94 Murphy Jane Holden, daughter of Becky and John Holden ’93 Thomas William Sterio, Jr., son of Caroline and Tom Sterio ’99.

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Mike McNamara ’88 is shown with his wife, Sylwia, and son, Drew. Mike and Sylwia won the bronze medal in Mixed Swiss Teams at the Bridge World Championships last fall.


Wedding Bells

L to r: Michael Byrne ’93 and his wife, Amy, pictured at their October wedding with groomsmen (l to r) Anthony DiRubio ’93, Brian Dzierzak, Christopher Colpoys ’93, Matthew Felzani ’95, Amy and Michael, Matthew Churchill, best man Christian Haines ’93 and Patrick Byrne. The wedding was held at the Cranwell Resort in Lenox. ! Brian Lee ’93 and Laura McDaniel on the day of their Vermont wedding in May, 2010.

Above: When Eli Mavros ’99 (center) and Jennie Cohen were married on September 25, the Prep was well represented with a wedding party that included eight members of the class of 1999 at St. John’s: Matt Murphy, Andrew McGovern, Colin Forbes, Paul Bradley, Jonathan Schneider, best man Liam Mahoney, Wilson Karaman and David Maloney. The wedding was at the bride’s parents’ home in Bedford Hills, NY. Eli and Jennie live in Park Slope, Brooklyn. ! Left: Taylor Bottomley ’02 and Emily Dana were married at St. Mary of the Annunciation

Church in Danvers in June, 2010. Their reception was on the beautiful grounds of the Myopia Hunt Club in Hamilton.

1990Eric Black is working as the senior manager of post production for Scholastic Media in Soho, NYC and living in Astoria, Queens, with his wife and two children, Lyla (4) and Quinn (2). They are expecting their third child in July. They’ve all been very busy with their daughter’s line of stuffed monsters, called LylaTov Monsters which they’ve been selling online at www.blacksrock.etsy.com. Eric had a chance to catch up with Dave Ridley last fall. He’s living in Peabody with his wife and three children and Eric reports that he’s still as charming as ever.


Greg Wilkinson was honored by US Sailing’s Olympic Sailing Committee as its 2010 National Coach of the Year. He was cited for exhibiting extraordinary dedication to the sport and making an impact on the athletes he has coached. Greg has been coach of the Boston College sailing team since 2002. Last year his teams achieved the rare accomplishment of winning all three championships in the Intercollegiate Sailing Associations competitions. In an article in the Boston Globe, Greg said, “This is quite an honor, one I never anticipated. When you look at the list of past winners, it’s a Who’s Who in the world of sailing and it’s an honor to be numbered among them.” In addition to his coaching duties, Greg is involved in the administration of collegiate sailing. He served as commissioner of the ICSA for four years and on the board of directors. In 2008, he joined the Eastern Yacht Club as year-round sailing director/sailing professional. Michael Hughes has started a CPA firm, Gaudet & Hughes, Inc. in North Reading.

4-year-old Lyla Black, daughter of Eric Black ’90, loves to draw monsters which are then fabricated into dolls by her very talented mother, Erin. Lyla is donating a portion of all sales of her monsters to Tikva Children’s Home in Odessa, Ukraine, to enrich the lives of the children living there and help them have happy dreams.

C L A S S N O T E S

L to r: Alex Athanassoiu ’98 and his bride Katherine were married in Huntington Beach, California in October. ! Matthew Briggs ’00 and his college sweetheart, Kathy, were married in September in Windsor, Connecticut. ! William (Ted) Shanahan ’03 married Jaclyn (Christoforatos) Shanahan on November 7, 2010 in New York City.


1993Tim Goldberg and his wife, Kate, welcomed a son, Evan, to their family. Older sister Sienna (2) is already teaching him the ropes. Tim kniveton reports that after ten years with Nokia in San Francisco, he left the company in April 2010 and joined a Silicon Valley digital advertising startup, Turn.com, as the senior director of technical operations. He also serves his local community as a reserve police officer and has been promoted to sergeant. He is the department’s lead background investigator. Ryan McMeniman and his wife, Elissa, welcomed Aidan Joseph into their growing family last April. Big sister, Nora, has been a great helper and has adjusted nicely to the new addition. In January 2010, Ryan became the owner of Ward Hill Marketing, a small marketing firm with high technology and industrial clients based all over the world. Brian Lee married Laura McDaniel on May 28, 2010 in a ceremony at the Saint Michael’s College Chapel with a reception at the Essex Resort and Spa in Essex, Vermont. Brian and Laura spent their honeymoon on a cruise to the Bahamas. Brian is an associate director of residence life at Saint Michael’s and Laura is employed by the University of Vermont. Darrin Berard recently published his first novel, Pap. The book is available in digital format at barnesandnoble.com. Pap examines the life and death of Huckleberry Finn’s father, attempting to answer some of the central mysteries in Mark Twain’s classic work. Darrin has taught American literature at Lowell High School since 2000.

1994Greg Aulson and his wife, Amy, are living in Bedford with their son, Dylan (3) and daughter, Shea (6). Greg is an implementation analyst consultant at Fidelity Investments in Merrimack, N.H. He’s a graduate of Stonehill. He stays in touch with classmate Matt Haight. Todd McDermott lives in Richmond, Virginia, with his wife, Ashleigh, and two children, Sean (2 ½) and Natalie (3 months old). Todd works in finance at Capital One.

1995Brendan Ward has joined the law firm of Mavros and Fitzgerald in Lynn as an associate focusing on criminal and family law. Brendan is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and the New England School of Law. Paul J. Scott, through his media company GoingClear Interactive of Boston, has recently been appointed to serve as the top internet/communications advisor for Democratic Republic of the Congo presidential candidate elect, Oscar Kashala. The election will be in November 2011. Part of this project will require a visit to the DRC. Chris Batterton and his wife, Stacey, have two daughters and live in Yorktown, VA. Chris is a business development manager for Wyle and part time Virginia Air National Guard F-22 pilot.


Joseph Barone and his wife, Alison, have been married for two years and are expecting their first child in July. Joe graduated from UMass Amherst with a B.S. in biology and then attended Palmer College of Chiropractic Florida in Port Orange where he met Alison. He now lives in Marlborough where he runs a successful practice. Jason Canzano and his wife, Jocelyn, welcomed their first child, Sabrina Lia last year. Jason lives in Hampton, N.H. and has founded a registered investment advisory firm called Breakwater Asset Management on the New Hampshire seacoast. P.T. Luther and his wife, Laura, welcomed a son, Thomas, on January 3. The Luthers are living in New York City.

1997Robert Muse, his wife and their 2-year-old daughter welcomed baby Liam Robert to their family in September. Bob has taken a new job at Grand Circle Travel as an IT project manager. The Muse family lives in Milton.

What happens when a young boy is thrust into life with a new family after his parents die? And not just any new family, but a family of monsters who inhabit a richly detailed fantasy world? That’s the story told in Monster World, an award-winning screenplay that Patrick Carey ’92 wrote with his son Wyatt. The fruits of their collaboration won an award at the 2010 Screenwriting Expo and Carey gives much of the credit to Wyatt, who was all of six years old at the time. Carey, who was a social worker in San Francisco after graduating from Stanford, took notice when Wyatt created his imaginative monster world and decided that it would be just the setting for a story about a how a young child copes when his whole world comes tumbling down around him. Wyatt stayed involved throughout the writing process. He suggested, among other things, that the two main characters should be named Wyatt and Owen, the latter after his younger brother. “He’s been much more actively involved than people would assume,” Carey told Creative Screenwriting magazine. “As I was writing the pages, I would read them to him at night when he was going to sleep. Basically, it was bedtime reading. He told me, ‘There should be less talking and more action.’ That’s the most common note I got from the 6-year-old development exec at my house.”Carey, a stand-up comic and screenwriter, lives with his wife and their two boys in Los Angeles. He also wrote “Growing Up Irish Catholic and How I Survived My Mom’s Eleven Sisters,” a laugh-out-loud funny account of his own childhood adventures. His mother, Dianne, teaches biology at St. John’s, and his father, Ray ’67, taught social studies and continues to coach Prep cross country and track. The family includes sisters Michelle and Julie, and his brother, Ray IV ’91.

Greg Aulson ’94 with his children, Dylan (3) and Shea (6).

Jason Canzano ’96 on the New Hampshire seacoast with this wife, Jocelyn and daughter, Sabrina.


1998Alex Athanassiou was married in October at the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort overlooking the ocean in Huntington Beach, California. He and his bride, Katherine, enjoyed a ceremony and reception that were a mix of Greek, Portuguese and Filipino traditions, featuring a lot of food (including a whole lamb and a pig roast), drinking and dancing. It was capped off with a bonfire on the beach. Alex’s brother Nicholas Athanassiou ’97 was his best man and Andrew Smith flew from his home in Southeast Asia to be a groomsman. Jonathan Juchnevics and his wife, Gloria, are expecting their first child, Christopher (CJ), in early April. They are building their first house and will be moving in just before he arrives. After spending the last five years with Hilton Hotels Corporation, he accepted the role of director of human resources with Hunter Warfield, a financial services company in Tampa, Florida. In addition to going to U.S.F. for a degree in business, he has returned to get his degree in human resources management. He has lived in the Tampa area for ten years now and reports that he is loving life. Being able to see the Red Sox in Tampa nine times a year helps him miss Massachusetts a little less. Ryan Winters is pursuing a career in law enforcement in San Diego. He is in the hiring process for both the San Diego police department and the San Diego sheriff’s department. He says it’s been a long, tough process and something he’s proud to have accomplished. David Lamattina has been married since 2005 to Yraima Agreda who is originally from Venezuela. They live in Wakefield with their daughter, Isabella (2). David started a real estate investment firm, LMT Properties, LLC in 2008 which buys and holds apartment buildings located north of Boston. He is also a real estate broker with United Multi Family. Brad Pitcher and his wife, Kelly, bought a home in Rowley and are expecting their first child in July.

1999Tom Sterio and his wife Caroline welcomed their first child, Thomas, Jr., in July of 2010. The family is living in San Antonio, Texas, where Tom is in the department of periodontics at The University of Texas Health Center. Michael Bien and his wife, Kathleen, welcomed their first child, a daughter, Charlotte Rose, on December 31, 2010. Chris Pelletier graduated from the Navy’s grueling Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL School in December. The program began in June 2010 with 287 students of which only 43 graduated. He expects to earn the coveted Navy SEAL Trident in July of this year. kevin Burke and his wife, Ginger, welcomed a daughter, Bailey, in September. Kevin and Ginger both started new jobs this winter; Kevin at State Street Global Advisors in market data services and Ginger as director of administration for the office of advancement at UMass Lowell. They have a very busy life!

2000Matthew Briggs married his college sweetheart, Kathy Wyporek, on September 18, 2010, at St. Joseph’s Parish in Windsor, Conn. Casey Russo was a groomsman. Matthew is a senior associate at PAN Communications, a public relations agency based in Boston. His wife, a graduate of Suffolk Law School, is an assistant district attorney in Middlesex County. They currently live in East Boston with their cat, Puccino. Eric Bromley is now a combat mission ready pilot in the B-2 stealth bomber. Last November he flew the stealth in a fly-by over Denver at 1000 ft. A serious hip injury incurred while training for his second Kansas Half Ironman Triathlon has put him on injured reserve for the time being and until his recovery status is clear his flying future is a bit hazy. If he doesn’t have to choose a medical retirement from the Air Force, at the very least he will be able to fly Twin Otters used by the Air Force Academy Skydiving team in Colorado Springs.

C L A S S N O T E S

Rob Hewett ’01 is one busy guy! In addition to his role as sponsorship manager for Mammoth Mountain in California, he recently launched Hewett and Wisner, an athlete management agency. Not long after graduating from UMass Amherst, he joined Link Marketing, where he got hooked and decided to focus his career on marketing action sports like surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, BMX and motocross.Mammoth is the second largest ski resort in the U.S., and Hewett’s job is to align the mountain with brands that will enhance programs at the resort. He has had a productive year so far, signing up some major sponsors that include Ford, Red Bull, Coke, Burton, and Oakley. He looks for sponsors who will go beyond signage, product samples, demos and the like to interact with Mammoth on an experiential level to hold events, shoot commercials, ads or make videos at the resort.He also spends time on the mountain, skiing and snowboarding with pro athletes to foster the relationships with them and the companies they represent. Despite having grown up with board sports, he is humbled by the pros. “There is something to be said for pure, God-given talent. It is especially evident with the legends of skiing and snowboarding that I get to ride with here,” he says.He and his partner in Hewett and Wisner gear their work towards action sports, providing athletes with representation, contract negotiations, training and conditioning, and media training. Hewett says the firm has a handful of young skiers and snowboarders all riding well this year and positioned to perform well in events like the Dew Tour and X-Games next season. He predicts these athletes will be the next wave of big names in the industry.“I get to live the quintessential Southern California lifestyle – surf, skate, snowboard – all while spending my days with the brands and professional athletes that are pushing the industry forward,” says Hewitt. He says the action sports industry is teeming with opportunity for intelligent, hard working, and reliable people. Even more, he’s willing to speak with anyone who would like to get into the industry.

Eric Bromley ’01 stands under the B-2 Stealth bomber he piloted in a ceremonial fly-over in Denver last fall.


200110 TH R E U N I O N Y E A R

Curtis Ranta recently moved back to Boston and bought a condo in Charlestown. He says that after five years on the West Coast it was finally time to be closer to family and friends. He is working for Sun Life Financial representing their annuity division in eastern Massachusetts and all of Rhode Island. He’s enjoyed reconnecting with Prep friends and is playing on a soccer team with Paul Roberts and other alums. Steve Langton is doing big things on the Bobsled World Cup Tour. He recently won the World Push Championships in Cesane, Italy, competing against the push athletes from every other country and cementing his position as the #1 bobsled push athlete in the world. In addition, he has been sliding with three gold medalists on the returning world championship/Olympic champion sled, The Night Train. His team completed the 2010-2011 World Cup circuit and earned the 2nd place ranking in the 4-man and the 4th place ranking in the 2-man events heading into the World Championships in Königssee, Germany. Ben Zani is living in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which as the “Buckle of the Bible Belt” is culturally very different from Danvers. He is the sports director and a general news reporter at the Chattanooga News Chronicle. He also writes about sports regularly for the Chattanooga Times-Free Press, Rotowire.com, and NBA.com and he appears weekly on the local Fox sports radio affiliate. He says if you need help with your fantasy football team, he’s your guy. As there is no money in small-town journalism, he’d be happy to learn of any steady jobs doing anything at the Boston Globe or the New York Times. He stays in touch with a few Prep alums on Facebook and says he can be found on any Justin Bieber message board.

2002Tom Weaver is in his second semester at the Brandeis International Business School pursuing a master’s in international

economics and finance. He’s also begun an internship with The Midway Group, a small hedge fund in New York. He’d be interested in hearing from other alumni in the world of finance.

2003William (Ted) Shanahan married Jaclyn (Christoforatos) Shanahan on November 7, 2010 in New York City. They now live in Boston. Ted is an associate at Summit Partners and Jaclyn is an associate at HighVista Strategies. Donnie Bessom graduated from Providence College and after having some fun in the comedy circuit locally, moved to Huntington Beach, California, in 2009. To his mother’s relief, he gave up comedy and entered a master’s degree program in political science. He has found his niche teaching community college students at Golden West College and finds the students amazing. He is president of the political science graduate student association. He recently got a grant as project leader for the Cal State Long Beach Sustainability Task Force which is charged with design changes at the school as well as integrating green technology into the city of Long Beach. Projects range from solar panels to bringing back the public transportation system with street cars powered by renewable energy. He will complete his master’s this spring and is on track to graduate summa cum laude. He’d like to give special thanks to Mr. Carey, Mr. Britton, Mr. Pawlyk and Headmaster Shannon for giving him the tools he needed to succeed. He says, “After losing my older brother in 2008, I was hit pretty hard. Luckily, I had great mentors at St. John’s who gave me the strength I needed to carry on and fulfill my dreams. I’m happy to see the St. John’s community doing so well and, if the snow let’s up, I’ll be sure to stop by. Go Eagles!”

2004Dan Sheehan went back to school after working for two years and is enrolled in a master’s program in exercise

physiology at Springfield College. He is also an assistant coach on the track and field team at Springfield. Constantine Alexandrou and his family own and run Nick’s Place, a restaurant with locations in Winthrop and Saugus. Matt Dekow finished his biomedical engineering job with GE Healthcare last year and moved back to Boston where he started dental school at Boston University. He accepted a US Army Health Professions scholarship and committed four years to the Army Dental Corps after he graduates school in 2014. Matt recently got engaged to his fiancée, Amanda, over the holidays. Jim konish is now working as a hardware engineer at Occam Robotics in Boulder, Colorado. He plays the harp and sings in an acoustic blues duo and also does lots of hiking, skiing and mountain biking around Colorado and Utah. Bob Barrows served as the editor-in-chief of the Albany Government Law Review and as the executive editor for the New York State Bar Association’s Journal of Government Law and Policy. He will be graduating in May from Albany Law School with high honors and will be taking the bar exam in July. Alexander Bagley ’04, an MD/PhD student at Harvard Medical School, was one of only 24 medical students in the country to receive the 2011 Leadership Award from the American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation. The award provides medical students, residents/fellows and early career physicians from around the country with special training to develop their skills as future leaders in organized medicine and community affairs. Before going to medical school, Bagley graduated from MIT in 2008 with degrees in chemical engineering and biology. A member of the MIT varsity basketball squad, he combined his interest in medicine, education and athletics by founding the Sports Legacy Institute Community Educators (SLICE), a medical student-run organization that educates student athletes about concussions through free, interactive presentations. SLICE has served hundreds of young athletes across greater Boston and will

L to r: Donnie Bessom ’03 takes to the skies. Jim Konish '04 backpacking in Rocky Mountain National Park near his home in Boulder, Colorado. Alexander Bagley ’04 receives the 2011 Leadership Award from the American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation.


expand to other medical schools across the country. He plans to pursue a career in academic medicine while continuing to develop outreach programs to serve the community.

2005Tim O’Sullivan graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology with a B.S. in aerospace engineering and is now working as an engineer in the service engineering stress group at Gulfstream Aerospace in Savannah, Georgia. Charles Leach graduated from Northeastern University with a degree in criminal justice during the summer of 2010. In October Charles was commissioned into the United States Marine Corp as a Second Lieutenant. He completed Officer Training Camp in the summer of 2009 and took his oath this fall. Following his commissioning ceremony Charles proposed to his girlfriend, Luisa Colucciello. The two live in Lynnfield and are excited to see what the Marine Corp has in store for them.

20065 TH R E U N I O N Y E A R

Gary Gaudet is pursuing his master’s in accounting at Suffolk University. He was awarded a graduate fellowship position and works for the chair of the marketing department assisting with research and writing. He will graduate in May and will be starting a position with Ernst & Young in Boston as an auditor in the fall. Robert Bradley graduated with a B.A. in government from the College of William and Mary last May. He is now living in Washington, D.C. where he works as a legislative correspondent for the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. He expects to stay on Capitol Hill for the foreseeable future but does plan to go to graduate school at some point. Andrew Leonard is spending the year as a volunteer with Health Care for the Homeless in Mobile, Ala., through the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. Paul Gangi graduated from Boston College with a degree in secondary education and history and is now working at the State House for the newly-elected Republican state representative from Andover, Jim Lyons. Michael McGrane ’96 is “living the simple life” in Arizona with his wife, Kimberly. They have a daughter, Carly, who will be two in June and a new addition expected in early August. Mike works from home for the New York Stock Exchange Euronext.

2007John Howie is a senior at Boston College majoring in economics and Chinese. He will graduate in May 2011. Following his internship at J.P. Morgan in New York in the summer of 2010, he was offered and has accepted a full-time position as an analyst in J.P. Morgan’s Private Bank. He will join the bank in July 2011 and will reside in Manhattan. Michael

Caruso will graduate in May from Bentley University. He is working at Reebok World Headquarters as a global IT ecommerce intern. He says that if you love sports, there are many advantages to working at Reebok, including meeting professional athletes, going to professional sporting events and playing various sports during and after work at their indoor and outdoor facilities. He says, “St. John’s really prepared me for life in college as well as for my professional career, and for that I would like to thank all staff members I interacted with during my high school career.” Ted Davis is an engineering major at McGill University. McGill’s baseball team won the Canadian National Championship last year and Ted hit a bases-clearing three run double to take the lead in the final game.

2008kevin Grondin spent the winter semester studying in London at Regent’s College. He is taking classes to fulfill his management major and marketing minor at Providence College as well as some core classes in biology and history. His travels have taken him to many of the major tourist sites – everything from Stonehenge to the Beatles origins in Liverpool. He says that one of the best views of London can be had by those brave enough to make the trek to the top of St. Paul’s Cathedral. He plans to get in a visit to Florence and Rome before returning to the U.S. Sean Bishop has been named a First Team All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Sean is a junior at Bowdoin College and helped lead the Polar Bears to their best-ever season with 15 wins and a trip to the NCAA semifinals. Sean anchored the defense that allowed 12 goals in 21 games to place second in the NESCAC and rank among the nation’s leaders in team goals against average (0.54). He also chipped in a goal and three assists this season and was recognized as a First Team All-New England Small College Athletic Conference player and was named a team co-captain for 2011. Sean follows in the footsteps of Nick Figueiredo SJP ’04, Bowdoin ’08, Bowdoin’s last All-American honoree in soccer.

2010Dan Landry has completed basic training in the U.S. Marine Corps at Parris Island and graduated from infantry school at Camp Lejeune in February. Semper Fi!

Jarrett Carpenter ’05 is in his second year as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala. A group of students from the school where he works gathered for this picture.

C L A S S N O T E S

Marine 2nd Lieutenant Charles Leach ’05 and his fiancée, Luisa Colucciello.

Ted Davis ’07 plays on the Canadian National Championship McGill University baseball team.


It’s not easy to say this, but the Prep ranks third among Catholic Conference schools for alumni participation in annual giving. It’s time to take our place at the top!

• First place: BC High 24% • Second place: St. John’s Shrewsbury 21%• Third place: St. John’s Prep 14%

Game Plan: Take over first place in annual giving by alumni!

Bonus Points: Two generous donors will contribute $75,000 when we reach 17%, putting us well on our way to the top. Get in the game!

Your Move: Make your gift online at www.stjohnsprep.org/ gameon, call 800.292.0227, or send your check (payable to St. John’s Prep) to Office for Institutional Advancement, St. John’s Prep, 72 Spring Street, Danvers, MA 01923. Thank you for supporting St. John’s.

Post Game: After you make your gift, plan to join us for a celebration at Game On in Boston on Tuesday, June 7 at 6:00 pm. Details at www.stjohnsprep.org/gameon.

GAME ON!

Non-Profit OrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDPermit No. 39Danvers, MA

St. John’s Preparatory School72 Spring StreetDanvers, Massachusetts 01923

ADDR ESS SE RVICE REQU ESTE D

Looking for something fun this summer?You’ll find a world of opportunities at St. John’s!

Summer InstituteEngaging courses in a relaxed environment: Arts – Academics – Enrichment – Leadership. Coed; for students entering grades 7 to 12.

Camp ChristopherThe ultimate day camp experience on the Prep campus. Eight one-week sessions for boys and girls ages 5 to 12.

For more information about summer at St. John’s, visit www.stjohnsprep.org/summer.

Eagles Skills CampWeek-long sport-specific skills camps led by Prep coaching staff: Baseball – Basketball – Football – Lacrosse - Soccer. For boys ages 12 to 15.

SJP Strength & Speed Camp A high intensity core strength and conditioning program that delivers guaranteed results. Our latest Skills Camp offering! For girls and boys in grades 9 to 12.

St. John's Prep Today

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