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Profile Hank and Chris Shea Forensics Supporters & Forensics Team Impact Profile by Eric T. Lawrence ’98 Bright-eyed teenagers enter the halls of Delone Catholic not entirely sure where the next four years will take them, to say nothing of the 50 years after that. They encounter faculty and staff members eager to help them use the classroom and extracurricular activities to ultimately discern where they are being called. The results often lead the Spirit of a Squire to be filled with gratitude.
Hank and Chris Shea
The story of Hank Shea ’74 becoming a grateful Squire began when his father, an employee of Westinghouse, was transferred to Gettysburg in the fall of 1970. Shea is the oldest of five brothers, the three oldest of whom would graduate from Delone Catholic before another transfer for Mr. Shea took the family to New Jersey. Shea recalls his parents being very supportive of his activities, which were many and varied, including time spent as a member of the basketball and golf teams, the international relations club, and student government, where he ultimately served as the student body president as a senior. With an already full resume, another pursuit at Delone Catholic served to open doors that have led to a vast array of experiences over the past 50 years. “The really important and most transformative involvement was in Forensics,” Shea said. “Dad said that we could play whatever sports we wanted as long as our grades were good enough, but all of us had to participate in either speech or debate. It turned out to be very wise.”
“Delone Catholic taught me about my responsibility to others through my faith, my family, and my friendships. It taught me to feel and express gratitude and to work together with other people to make the world a better place.” – Hank Shea ’74
Shea recalls that he “dabbled” in debate, but as a sophomore, he got into extemporaneous speech because of Delone Catholic Hall of Honor inductee Mary Furlong. “Mary was a strong taskmaster,” Shea recalled. “She said to me and Mike Dorman ’74 that we could be very competitive at the state and national level. Starting in my junior year, three days a week, sometimes more, we would eat our sandwich in about five minutes and then go to Mary’s classroom. We would give extemporaneous speeches on topics she would give us. We did that for two years.”
That dedication was rewarded when Shea and Dorman qualified for the National Catholic Forensics League tournament in New Orleans, La., as seniors. “There was not a lot of money, so we took a bus from Hanover to New Orleans,” Shea said. “I don’t think there was even money for a hotel along the way. We just slept on the bus, but it was a wonderful experience.” His experiences at Delone Catholic, particularly with Forensics, led to his being accepted to the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University on an ROTC scholarship. He spent time during college as an intern on Capitol Hill and won a competition for the Circumnavigators Foundation Fellowship as a junior. The prize for that win was a 90-day world trip that took him to South America, Africa, and South Asia. “Seeds planted at Delone were nurtured at Georgetown. That’s the bottom line,” Shea said. He was accepted into the Harvard University School of Law, leading the U.S. Army to defer his active duty until he graduated. Shea was named Assistant to the Army General Counsel, working at the Pentagon, where he served on the Panama Canal Commission, as the lawyer for Arlington National Cemetery, and in numerous roles that increased professional opportunities for women.
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The Squire | Fall 2023
