HGP Magazine 1

Holy Ghost Prep M A G A Z I N E

GREATER HEIGHTS

President Gregory J. Geruson ’79 and the HGP team are working tirelessly to transform Holy Ghost Prep into the area’s premier Catholic college preparatory school.

ISSUE NO. 1

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W IN T E R 2017

FROM THE PRESIDENT

this issue

Welcome to the First Issue of Holy Ghost Prep Magazine

Features 2

Greater Heights President Gregory J. Geruson ’79 and the HGP team are working tirelessly to transform Holy Ghost Prep into the area’s premier Catholic college preparatory school.

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Alumni Icon: The Holt Family The Holt family has become a collective stalwart for Holy Ghost, serving the school through financial support, the volunteering of its time, the offer of advice and counsel, and by sending four next-generation Holts to HGP, with more young Holt men on the horizon.

9 Departments

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Campus News

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Athletic News

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Faculty Icon: Tony Chapman ’71 The 2016-17 school year marks Tony Chapman’s 40th at Holy Ghost Prep. Over those four decades, he has served the HGP community as history teacher, dean of students (and disciplinarian), mentor, colleague, friend, and varsity basketball coach.

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Alumni Feature: Rand Geiger ’02 Rand Geiger ’02 has gone from Bristol Pike to Hollywood, serving as a producer on both successful motion pictures and hit television shows.

Alumni News Holy Ghost Prep Magazine

Chief Financial Officer Tim Woods

Holy Ghost Prep Magazine is published twice yearly

by Holy Ghost’s Office of Communications and is distributed to alumni, parents, and friends of Holy Ghost Preparatory School.

Director of Admissions Ryan Abramson ’94

Editor Bill Doherty

Design Karp Graphic Design

Contributing Writers Bill Doherty Michael Bradley Matthew Jordan

Holy Ghost Preparatory School 2429 Bristol Pike Bensalem, PA 19020 215.639.2102 t

Contributing Photographers Catalano Studio Clem Murray, Philadelphia Inquirer Douglas Benedict, Academic Image Lifetouch School Photography Lisa Varley Photography

Cover Photography: Douglas Benedict, Academic Image

Issue 1, Winter 2017

Join Us on the Web Stay connected to Holy Ghost Prep!

Facebook: HolyGhostPrep Twitter: @holyghostprep Instagram: Instagram.com/ HolyGhostPrep LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/ grps/Holy-Ghost-Prep-AlumniNetwork-1093977/about Snapchat: Keyword: holyghostprep

Director of Communications Bill Doherty

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ver this past year, it’s become clear that we no longer want to be “the best-kept secret in Bucks County.” Instead, our vision is to be the premier Catholic college preparatory school, and—with your help, commitment, and support—that vision is attainable.

Following numerous meetings and much discussion, our Vision 2020 strategic plan took shape and was recently approved by our Board of Trustees. The elements of the plan are outlined in the cover story of this magazine, so please take some time to read it and all of the compelling content in this magazine’s inaugural issue.

One of the most important pieces of our strategic plan is keeping all of Holy Ghost Prep’s constituencies—alumni, students, parents, faculty and staff, prospective families, community leaders—engaged and informed.

Our ability to engage you is vitally important to who we are, what we do, and where our aspirations take us.

So if you are an alumnus who has lost touch or a parent who wants a better understanding of the HGP community, take time to connect with us. You are the best reflection of Holy Ghost Prep and the education it provides. Follow us on Twitter (@HolyGhostPrep) and Facebook to learn the latest news. Come to campus for a major event; lend your time and talents to our Leadership Externship Advantage Program (LEAP), which helps current Holy Ghost students evaluate their career path; make plans to attend an upcoming alumni gathering. Reach out to tell us what you’ve been up to, if you’ve been promoted or honored, or simply to say hello.

Enjoy this first issue of Holy Ghost Prep Magazine. Bill Doherty, a seasoned storyteller who joined Holy Ghost over the summer as our director of communications, has worked tirelessly on it. He would welcome your feedback at wdoherty@holyghostprep.org. Please share your thoughts about this issue of the magazine as well as your ideas for future ones with him.

Until then, happy reading.

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Our ability to engage you is vitally important to who we are, what we do, and where our aspirations take us.

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Architectural Renderings Courtesy of Howard V. Lebold, McGillin Architecture Holy Ghost Prep’s Executive Team President Gregory J. Geruson ’79

Gregory J. Geruson ’79 President

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GREATER HEIGHTS

By Bill Doherty

The constant hum of construction vehicles emanating from the underrepair clock tower became just part of the soundtrack this past summer and fall for visitors to Cornwells Hall, the iconic building on Holy Ghost Prep’s campus.

But to Gregory J. Geruson ’79, the president of Holy Ghost Prep, those daily construction noises and the scaffolding right outside his window were symbols that something special is happening at his alma mater.

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get excited, not distracted, by the construction sounds,” Geruson says. “They are a metaphor for the positive momentum we have going on at Holy Ghost Prep.” While not as visible as the work being done on the clock tower, Geruson and Holy Ghost Prep’s executive team have completed an important construction project of their own—formulating a three-year strategic plan called Vision 2020 that will guide Holy Ghost Prep on its path to be the area’s premier Catholic college preparatory school.

This multifaceted plan wasn’t arrived at in a vacuum.

Instead, it was an outgrowth of a series of discussions that Geruson and Holy Ghost Prep’s executive team had with faculty, students, and key constituencies across campus as well as with trustees, alumni, and parents.

Instead of hammers and hard hats, the HGP leadership team’s tools of choice were post-it paper flip charts and sharpie pens. These road-show sessions started out by tackling large questions, such as: What does it mean to be premier? How do you achieve that goal? And how do you measure success? The answers from each discussion were recorded on the flip charts and some consistent themes quickly came to light.

Eventually, the four main pillars of the plan—known as the school’s four strategic imperatives (Collegiate, Spiritan, Engagement and Communication, and Unique Gifts)— emerged and the same type of probing questions were asked about each one: What does it mean? How do you achieve it?

What key initiatives will help the school reach those goals?

And what key outcomes can be expected by the year 2020?

The school’s executive team presented this bold vision for HGP to the Board of Trustees in late October—in the form of a plan that outlined a series of sweeping, decisive steps that will enable the school to build upon its legacy and ultimately stand among the area’s best college preparatory schools for generations to come. The trustees unanimously endorsed the plan.

“This is an ambitious plan that builds upon our historic strengths and honors the core Spiritan values that have made Holy Ghost such a special place,” Geruson said after the meeting. “This three-year strategic plan, which we are calling ‘Vision 2020,’ has the potential to be truly transformative for HGP, and I am so encouraged by the positive and enthusiastic response of our trustees, our faculty, staff, alumni, administrators, and parents.”

Holy Ghost’s Board of Trustees is excited to see the plan executed over the next three years.

“Having been associated with the school in one way or another for the past 40 years, it is magnificent to see the forward momentum the school has going at this time,” says Anthony Geonnotti ’76, vice president of construction at Toll 4

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“It is magnificent to see the forward momentum the school has going at this time,” says Anthony Geonnotti ’76, chairman of Holy Ghost Prep’s Board of Trustees.

Brothers, who serves as the chairman of Holy Ghost Prep’s Board of Trustees.

“The school’s focus on the strategic plan, that when completed will elevate Holy Ghost Prep toward being the premier Catholic college preparatory school in the area, has resulted in truly exciting times at Holy Ghost.”

As Geonnotti points out, the plan’s key initiatives, when executed, will signal tangible progress on the path to being premier. Among many key initiatives, the school will break ground in April on its new Holt Family Arts and Athletic Activity Center and then will begin the first phase of the school’s STEM initiative this summer with the conversion of lower level classroom and storage area in Cornwells Hall (approximately 2,000 square feet) into a state-of-the-art maker space.

Other key outcomes of Vision 2020 include: x An increase in enrollment to 510 students by 2020 from 450 students just two years ago. Growing the student population will add to the vitality of the campus and foster a more dynamic community of teaching, learning, and research. x The two-phased construction of a STEM Tower in Cornwells Hall. In phase one of the project, the lower level of the northeast wing of Cornwells Hall will be converted into a maker space where students will be creative, experiment, and build practical projects. In the second phase, the first floor of Cornwells’ northeast wing will be transformed into two STEM-based biology labs, the second floor into two STEM-based physics labs, and the third floor into two STEMbased chemistry labs. x A dramatic increase in the amount of merit and needbased scholarship money available to students. The goal is to award $2 million in merit and need-based dollars by 2020 and to increase the school’s diversity population to 13% students of color by 2020. x A significant expansion of Holy Ghost Prep’s regional, national, and international service learning opportunities.

Holy Ghost Prep will expand its school service and immersion efforts in Tanzania. The plan is to travel annually to Arusha—to serve, to learn, and to walk side-by-side with the Tanzanians.

Clockwise from bottom left: The Vision 2020 plan will expand service trips to Tanzania, increase the student population to 510, improve the college outcomes at HGP, and result in the building of STEM labs in Cornwells Hall.

x The adoption of multiple measures to improve college outcomes for its students. The ultimate goal is to have onethird of the graduating senior class, beginning in the year 2020, attending top-50 national schools and another onethird of the class attending top-20 regional schools. x Increased engagement and communication with alumni and other key constituents. This initiative will include eliciting feedback from alumni and current student/ parents via surveys, keeping them better informed through various communications vehicles (i.e., the new twice-peryear Holy Ghost Prep Magazine and an increased number of original stories shared on the website and on social media), improving the Annual Fund participation rates of all key constituents, and continuing to grow the number of community-building events, such as the LEAP program and the golf outing.

x The comprehensive rebranding of the school to further strengthen HGP’s position in the prep school marketplace and to better spread the school’s unique story far and wide.

With the Vision 2020 plan approved, it won’t be long until the construction sounds return to campus—first across Bristol Pike at the Activity Center this spring and then back in Cornwells again this summer.

And that is music to Geruson’s ears.

“We set our sights on what we want our future to look like, and what we have to do in order to become the premier Catholic college preparatory school,” says Geruson. “And now we’re rolling up our sleeves and doing the necessary work to achieve the strategic plan’s goals and to take Holy Ghost Prep to even greater heights.”

Bill Doherty is the director of communications at Holy Ghost Prep.

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HGP Icons Family Values

By Michael Bradley

The Holts enjoyed a family pilgrimage to Royal Saint Andrews in Scotland (left to right): Thomas Holt III ’02, Michael Holt ’91, Eric Holt ’03, the late Thomas Holt Sr., Christian Holt ’11, Thomas Holt Jr.’81, Phillip Holt ’01, and Leo Holt ’82.

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THE HOLT FAMILY

henever any of Tom Holt, Sr.’s children would start complaining about some of their small problems or behave as if the entire galaxy was conspiring against them, he would casually dispense a bit of wisdom designed to remind them that they had all they needed to handle life’s irritants.

“Help is at the end of your own two hands.”

Tom Sr. was a North Catholic High School graduate and the son of a man who left school after sixth grade to work. As he built the business his children now manage and expand, he was committed to their education. Tom 6

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Sr. and his wife, Joan, wanted them to have more, so they sent their three sons—Tom Jr. ’81, Leo ’82, and Michael ’91—to Holy Ghost Prep and made it clear that they were not only to thrive in the classroom but also to develop the values that would spur them to help others.

“My father had an unquenchable thirst for excellence and improvement,” Leo says. “If we got a 3.5 [grade point average], he wanted to know why it wasn’t a 4.0. And if we got a 4.0, he wanted to know why there wasn’t a higher scale. He set a high standard for us.”

The message was delivered in a variety of ways—“He was responsible for giving us a pat on the back or a nudge to do better,” Michael says—but it never wavered. Years later, it’s clear the lesson was received, processed, and implemented. The Holt family has become a collective stalwart for Holy Ghost, serving the school through financial support, the volunteering of its time, the offer of advice and counsel, and by sending four next-generation Holts to HGP, with more young men on the horizon.

“Our father was always one to give back,” Tom Jr. says. “Hopefully, we can continue to provide that giving back

to the school. It’s an important part of what we do as a family, and we learned a lot of that from Ghost, the values we were taught there.”

The most recent manifestation of that generosity is the naming gift for what will debut in late 2017 as the Holt Family Activity Center, a campus jewel that will include a performing arts center, a multi-purpose gymnasium, music instruction rooms, and special training areas for baseball, track and field, golf, lacrosse, and crew. The Holt Family Activity Center will serve Holy Ghost students but also will be available to community groups, something that makes taking leadership in the program even more attractive for the Holts.

“This gives us a sense of pride to be able to do something our father set out to do,” Michael says. “We can help young men become educated and move through life with a sense of accomplishment.”

The Activity Center is another step in Holy Ghost’s quest to become the area’s premier Catholic college preparatory school. There is no question Ghost has been providing superior instruction for decades, but new facilities like the Center stand as tangible examples that HGP students have everything they need to thrive and become future leaders.

“It all goes back to raising the bar and providing a better all-around experience for young men,” Tom says.

“The Activity Center offers many things the school doesn’t have, but it will also be offered to the community and have an impact there, too.”

The Center’s expected contributions to the world around Holy Ghost fit in well with the school’s desire to prepare its graduates to serve more than just themselves. That the Holt name will be on it demonstrates further the commitment it has made to expand the school’s mission and goals. A lot of people can give money to a project, but it’s another thing altogether to have that donation represent a greater dedication.

“Their family is the top philanthropic family of Holy Ghost Prep in time, talent, expertise, and financial support,” says President Gregory J. Geruson ’79. “They have been wonderful to the school.”

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s Tom looks out over the Delaware River from the Holt Logistics headquarters in Gloucester City, NJ, he describes big things for the future. The company, founded by the Holt brothers’ grandfather in 1926, provides “supply chain logistics and is focused on the import and

export of international cargo.” The company has purchased three new, enormous cranes that will enable it to handle freight from larger ships, allowing it to compete with the big ports on the East Coast. Despite the success of the company, there is always room for growth. The new cranes mean new opportunities, just as the Activity Center represents Holy Ghost’s commitment to a brighter future.

“They are a strong family and have a great sense of loyalty to Holy Ghost and to each other,” says Father Jeffrey T. Duaime C.S. Sp. ’76, president of Holy Ghost from 2002-13 who now serves as the provincial superior of the United States province for the Congregation of the Holy Spirit. “They have been very supportive of different projects, going back to the 1980s.”

Tom was the first Holt at Holy Ghost and says his playing JV soccer helped him “settle right in” with a good group of friends. He graduated in 1981 and went on to Villanova, which is the collegiate equivalent of HGP for the Holt family. All three brothers are Wildcats, each of Tom’s children went to Villanova, as did Leo’s wife, Melinda.

Ironically, Tom’s wife, Angela, is a Saint Joseph’s graduate, although they make the “mixed marriage” work quite well.

And Angela is as big a supporter of Holy Ghost as is Tom. Their four boys, Tom III, Eric, Phillip, and Christian, are Holy Ghost alums, and it won’t be long until 11-year-old Eric Jr., who like his father, grandfather, and uncles is a strong golfer, will be a Firebird, as will Mike and his wife Susan’s 11-year-old son, Michael Jr. Three other boys are on the horizon, albeit further down the road.

Although the Holt brothers promise “an open dialogue” about sons’ and grandsons’ high school destinations, it’s not too likely many other schools will be mentioned.

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understand how worthwhile four years spent at Holy Ghost can be. Mike speaks about how the school’s smaller class size created a “tight-knit bonding experience” not found in other schools.

He remains close with several former classmates. And if any of the youngergeneration Holts needs an endorsement from someone not as, ahem, mature, they can consult Tom’s 23-year-old son, Christian, who has the same affinity for the school as his father and uncles.

“I always went up there when I was younger to watch my brothers in sporting events,” says Christian ’11, the youngest of Tom’s four boys. “I attended basketball summer camps and wanted to go there.

“It was a great experience for me, because I was always a little timid, and Ghost helped me develop social skills.

I feel like Holy Ghost prepared me very well for Villanova.”

The Holts describe themselves as a close-knit group, and when the list of children and grandchildren is read, the numbers rise pretty quickly. One would imagine that family dinners can get pretty crowded. “They’re a lot of fun,” Mike says. In an age where individualism is celebrated, and everybody is trying to push his or her specific identity, it’s refreshing to find people who remain loyal to a specific idea and a place.

For the Holts, Holy Ghost is more than a school. It helps define them and allows them to stay connected to the vision Tom Sr. had for his children.

Giving back to Ghost is an important gesture and one that will help the school continue to grow. But the Holts want people to know that their connection to Holy Ghost is more than a name on a building. It’s an everyday condition.

“The name is less important to us than the legacy of the young people going through it and what it means to them and how they’ll be able to enjoy it,” Leo says. “It’s less important than the fact that Holy Ghost will continue the traditions it established.”

For Tom, that means spending time on the Board and helping to squire Holy Ghost into the brightest future possible.

Geruson says that Tom “challenges the school leadership to think in the most creative ways about the school,” something that forces administrators and staff to be relentless in their attempt to make Holy Ghost stronger.

That is accomplished in long-term ways, like the Activity Center, and dayto-day by providing the kind of support and instruction that allows young men to grow in the Spiritan tradition.

Christian remembers how his classes weren’t dreary lectures but lively give-and-takes that sparked a

F A C U LT Y I C O N | T O N Y C H A P M A N ’71

desire to learn and were backed up by support from faculty who wanted to see students succeed. “This is fundamental to Holy Ghost Prep’s mission,” he says.

“The teachers care about you.”

Just as Holt Logistics has its eye on expansion and growth, so too does Holy Ghost look to a future filled with new horizons. The Holt Family Activity Center is a big step in that direction, but the building is a physical representation of everything the school has offered for decades and will continue to provide. That’s the essence of the family’s devotion to Holy Ghost and its willingness to be part of its future through philanthropy but also through its leadership in the boardroom, enthusiasm about enrolling future generations at the school, and pride in what Ghost has done for the family.

“It’s a natural thing to support the people who have supported you,” Leo says. “High school is not all hearts and flowers. You need someone to guide you when there are dark times, and you’re not just running through Elysian Fields. We have seen that at Holy Ghost Prep.”

Thanks to the Holt family, many others—including their offspring—will see it, too.

Michael Bradley is a writer, broadcaster, and teacher who lives in Broomall, PA. In addition to writing for many national publications, Bradley teaches journalism at Villanova University and is the faculty advisor to The Villanovan student newspaper.

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By Matthew Jordan

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The Holt Family Activity Center will have a major impact on Holy Ghost Prep for decades to come.

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The Right Way

TONY CHAPMAN ’71

otivational leaders give talks about it. CEOs claim they aspire to it. But not everyone does things the right way, and few people have done them for as well or as long as Tony Chapman ’71, who has been doing everything the right way at Holy Ghost for the past 40 years.

The 2016-17 school year marks Chapman’s 40th at Holy Ghost Prep.

Over those four decades, he has served the HGP community as history teacher, dean of students (and disciplinarian), mentor, colleague, friend, and, perhaps most notably, varsity basketball coach.

The longevity is impressive.

“The fact that he can still do it after 40 years is amazing,” says Rick Morgan ’88, who played guard for Chapman for three years. “Kids and parents today aren’t the same as when he started.

Yet, he still finds a way to teach, coach, motivate, and win, regardless of the era. That is not easy to do.”

While the kids may have changed, Chapman believes that he has, too.

“I am ‘old school,’” he admits, “but I am a much different teacher, coach, and disciplinarian than I was 20 years ago. I don’t think people really knew me years ago. Now I let my guard down sometimes, but the result is usually positive.”

Not every student might say they’ve had the benefit of seeing Tony Chapman with his guard down. The “Chapman Mystique” remains the stuff of legend at Holy Ghost. Every student who has ever been summoned to Chapman’s office before first period knows “the look”—the straight face that never betrays what it’s thinking, the infamous mustache and glasses only enhancing the inscrutable expression.

Jim Stewart still remembers meeting Chapman for the first time back in 1992, when Stewart was being given a tour of the campus as part of the interview process for his current position as athletic director.

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“Tony was standing on the top of the steps in the gym lobby,” Stewart recalls, “in between activities at his basketball camp. He looked at me and said, ‘We’ll talk.’ I was caught somewhere between feeling like ‘My father is about to lecture me’ and ‘Uh oh, what did I do?’”

But everyone agrees that once you get to know Chapman, you will discover someone who likes kids and empathizes with them. It’s an attitude that informs his decisions as dean of students, a position that Chapman has held for the past 26 years.

“What stood out the most to me about Tony as a disciplinarian,” says Kathy Posey, a teaching colleague of Chapman’s for 21 years and a member of his disciplinary committee for another 12 years, “is that he was always professional and fair. He often took the side of the student to explain the behavior. Even with my own children’s disciplinary situations—and trust me, there were many—he handled those situations with fairness and compassion. He did that job with tremendous integrity and honor.”

Chapman’s compassion for his students is rooted in a positive outlook about their potential. After 40 years at his alma mater, he remains optimistic about who kids are and what they can be.

“Kids are innocent and can be shaped,” Chapman says. “For the most part, they are honest. If you level with them, they really want to be truthful.

Because of that, I don’t try to fake anything. I try to be brutally honest and hope for the best in return, and I usually get it.”

“He is a very down to earth and straightforward person,” says Jeff Ainsley ’12, a former player who now works as an admissions fellow at Holy Ghost. “What you see is what you get.

He knows how to pull the best out of his players and students in the most effective way.”

Perhaps nowhere else has Chapman shaped young men more effectively 10

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Staying in the Family Twelve Holy Ghost Prep alumni are teaching classes at their alma mater this school year. Here’s a list of them, in alphabetical order:

Tony Chapman has won over 800 games as Holy Ghost Prep’s basketball coach.

than on the basketball court, where his squads have won 21 Bicentennial Athletic League (BAL) titles, nine District One titles, and two Eastern State titles over the past 39 years. Last year he won his 800th game for Holy Ghost, an astounding number for any head coach.

Those numbers are even more impressive in light of Chapman’s strict policy not to recruit players, a practice that separates him from many other high school coaches. In the intensely competitive world of high school basketball, Stewart acknowledges the challenges of maintaining that kind of integrity.

“He could very easily sell himself and the program by going to grade school games and inviting kids to HGP individually,” says Stewart. “It is very challenging to compete and win year after year without recruiting. But Tony is a great coach who maximizes his players’ abilities.”

Brett Manney ’04, who played for Chapman on his team’s run to the state championship game in 2004, agrees: “He did not always have the best basketball players, but he got the most out of his players. Instead of recruiting his talent, he instilled a sense of

culture, discipline, and tradition, which was unlike any program in the area.”

Gary Nolan ’95, who played for Chapman for three years and then coached alongside him for another 15 seasons, sees something else behind Chapman’s choice not to recruit: a sense of mission.

“There are those out there who will criticize him for not going out and trying to secure blue-chip athletes,” says Nolan. “Tony sees the big picture, which is preparing young men for their future, whether it’s basketball or life in general. He doesn’t see himself purely as a basketball coach. Tony sees himself as a teacher at an institution that he loves.”

The games themselves reveal the benefits of Chapman’s commitment not to recruit. Anyone who has attended a Holy Ghost basketball game knows that it often offers a special kind of excitement—the excitement of watching a less talented, but well-coached group of players outperform a more talented opponent, regularly winning games they have no business winning.

“I think his greatest accomplishments have come with some of his average teams, the teams

Ryan Abramson ’94 Tony Chapman ’71 John Fitzpatrick ’89 Justin Goulet ’99 Patrick Hoelzle ’01 Mike Jacobs ’01 Patrick McGhee ’03 Peter Puleo ’98 Thomas Saxton ’95 John Scanlon ’01 Stephen Stunder ’98 Robert Vierlinck ’03

that probably would have won only a handful of games for any other coach,” says Nolan. “Tony’s teams win not only the games that they should win, but they win more games that they shouldn’t than anyone else.”

Those kinds of wins don’t come naturally. They are the product of intense preparation, focus, and sacrifice. By doing things the right way, Morgan believes.

“Tony was about winning, but winning the right way,” Morgan says.

“It did not matter who you were, or who you thought you were. I remember a practice before a big playoff game my senior year. I wasn’t doing something the way he wanted it done. I swear to this day that I was doing it right and it was someone else making the mistake.

It didn’t matter. I was the leader of the team and he expected me to make sure we were all doing it right. He even threatened to remove me. ‘We will win this game with you or without you,’ he told me. ‘It is your choice.’ I learned in that moment that it isn’t always about being right individually.”

According to Tom Finnegan, who has coached alongside Tony for the

past 26 years, Chapman’s demands on his players go hand in hand with how much he cares for them.

“His connection to his players is something I can’t describe,” says Finnegan. “He demands so much over four years, but they instinctively know that he cares. Players come back year after year after their graduation because they know how much he cares.

When you turn your son over to him, you have to know it’s one of the best decisions you’ve ever made. Will he be tough? Yes, he will. But will your son be a better person for it? Absolutely.”

Chapman extends that respect not only to his players and coaches, but to his opponents.

“His respect for people and for the game is unparalleled,” says Nolan.

“Now, teams crush inferior teams by 50 points. There is no sportsmanship whatsoever, and all sorts of theatrics.

Tony has never done that. There have been so many occasions where he pulled the plug so teams would not be embarrassed.”

Honesty. Integrity. Expectations.

Sacrifice. Respect. The right way.

And what is Chapman’s reaction to all that he’s accomplished? Humility, not surprisingly. He attributes his success not to himself, but to the community of which he’s been such an integral part for the past 40 years, the “respectful, motivated kids, supportive parents, and the great people who have coached with me over the years.”

Most of all, though, he feels a sense of gratitude. “I am most proud of two things. Being able to do this for all these years with the support of my family, and the friendships I have made with both players and coaches over the years,” Chapman says.

Ask any of those players and coaches who should get the credit for the team’s legacy, however, and they deliver it right back to Chapman. Morgan recounts a couple of conversations this fall with other fathers on the sidelines of their sons’ soccer games.

“Twice in a three-week period, the subject of basketball came up,” Morgan says. “Both times, the second that I mentioned that I played at HGP, the next question was, ‘Did you play for Chapman?’ As soon as I said yes, there was an instant change to the conversation. It went from, ‘Yeah sure, you played basketball’ to ‘Wow … you must really know how to play since you played for him.’ What a great feeling that is. As an individual, it is nice to be able to tell people that I was once a pretty good player. But it doesn’t compare to the feeling I get when people recognize the person for whom I played. It is like wearing a badge of honor, one that I wear more proudly than any other that I can imagine.”

Badges like those aren’t awarded to just anyone. They have to be earned—by doing things the right way.

Matthew Jordan received a master’s degree in English and creative writing from Rutgers University and a master’s in English education from the University of Pennsylvania. Along with publishing fiction and nonfiction in Philadelphia Stories and other literary journals, he has taught English and writing at Holy Ghost Prep for the past 18 years.

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Mastering Life’s Plot Twists

By Michael Bradley

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f Rand Geiger ’02 has proven anything during his 32 years, it’s that he’s open to change. Ever since he enrolled at Holy Ghost Prep a mere two weeks before the start of his freshman year, Geiger has been able to master life’s plot twists and successfully move forward on a different path. Okay, so maybe that last-minute “decision” to start at HGP was more of his parents’ charting a new course for him, but he adjusted pretty quickly.

“It was a little bit under protest at first,” Geiger says, laughing.

Making a move from the film world to TV a couple years back wasn’t exactly an expected transition, either.

But production on Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb had finished, and with Hollywood in love with a small collection of superheroes and cuddly animated characters, and filming taking place in far-flung locations, the movie business wasn’t exactly bustling with creative storytelling opportunities around Los Angeles. Geiger and his wife, Sona, had a child on the way (Ravi, who turned 1 in August), and he wanted to “open up connections” to the expanding world of TV. So he started looking for opportunities.

And found O.J. Simpson.

By serving as an associate producer on Ryan Murphy’s The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, Geiger made a dramatic move between the genres. The series won nine Emmy Awards (it was nominated for 22) and showcased the talents of actors like Cuba Gooding Jr., John Travolta, and Sarah Paulson. By making a move he describes as “a pivot,” Geiger was able to demonstrate his ability to work in TV, something that helped him land an associate producer’s spot on Netflix’s Stranger Things.

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RAND GEIGER ’02 “I read the book [about the Simpson trial] in two days and was fascinated by it,” Geiger says. “I’m not interested in true crime for the sake of true crime. That’s not what’s interesting to me. But the book wasn’t about the murder. It was about the lawyers, the media, and seeing it all from a different perspective.

“I was 11 in 1995 and remember being in class and seeing the divide between the white kids, who were hearing things from their parents and were angry with the verdict, and the black kids who were cheering.

The book changed my perspective, understanding how both reactions were possible. It sparked something in me.”

Ever since his days at Holy Ghost, when Geiger discovered his love of entertaining others, thanks in large part to his work with Tony Figliola’s forensics team, Geiger has worked to provide audiences with a different approach to storytelling. He channels the energy he showed in his forensics performances into the productions of which he has been a part, bringing a similarly vibrant attitude and enthusiasm.

“He lit up the room,” says Figliola, who has run the forensics program at HGP since starting at the school in 1980. “He could play a lot of different characters. He had a flexible face and voice.”

Geiger doesn’t believe he made a strong impression on Figliola during his early forensics encounters. “I don’t think [Figliola] thought too much of me,” he says. Geiger’s transformative moment came sophomore year, while presenting an oratory in Figliola’s public speaking class. Focused more on memorization and not messing up the words to the piece he was reciting, Geiger “had no expression.” But Figliola encouraged him to let his personality come through, and Geiger showed some potential. “[Figliola] told me I should go out for forensics,” Geiger says.

That suggestion changed Geiger’s life. He had been a good math student and figured he would eventually go somewhere like the Air Force Academy and study engineering. But once he started performing—forensics is comprised of debate, speechwriting, and acting—Geiger was captivated. He hadn’t appeared in anything on stage beyond fourth grade, but he was a big fan of Saturday Night Live, particularly Adam Sandler, and enjoyed doing impersonations for his friends. As he became more comfortable, Geiger began enjoying success in competitions, thanks to innate talent but also to an ability to approach his performances with a quiet confidence.

“He was very talented and had a great attention to detail,” says Nick Jajko ’02, now an attorney in Philadelphia.

“He had a very specific idea of how he thought things should go in something he was trying to create.”

As a junior, Geiger and John Buettler ’02 won the Harvard National Tournament for their interpretation of “Jimmy vs. The Velvet Hammer,” a story about a straight-laced kid—played

by Geiger—who confronts his wild alter ego. Geiger thrived on performing, but he enjoyed competing and working his way through the various rounds even more. “I love it when you can bring a bunch of people together and whittle them down to the best,” he says.

Brian Lamsback ’02, who worked with

Rand Geiger ’02 joined the HGP juniors via Google Hangout from Los Angeles for Career Day this past fall.

Geiger in forensics, as well as student government, remembers Geiger as “calm and kind and friendly.” But when it came to performing, Geiger “could dial it up” and learned how to “control a room” through his forensics work.

Instead of heading to Colorado Springs to become an engineer, Geiger went to Ithaca, where he studied television and radio with a concentration in video production.

“I love movies and TV and performing,” he says. “Forensics provoked the thought that I could work behind the camera and tell stories.”

A combination of internships and summer jobs in Hollywood convinced Geiger that entertainment was his world. After graduating from college, he headed back to southern California and got a job working on Night at the Museum, which was released in 2006. He ran post-production on The Internship and This Is Where I Leave You before earning an associate producer credit on Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. All of those movies were helmed by Shawn Levy, with whom Geiger continues to work.

Geiger currently serves as the postproduction supervisor on a Christmas film release from Fox, Why Him? Joining Ryan Murphy on his wildly successful TV project about the O.J. Simpson trial, Geiger had the chance to establish himself in a new medium, something that set the stage for Stranger Things. The Netflix project has an interesting 1980s look to it, and some have called it “an homage” to the era, a

time which Geiger certainly enjoys. His main focus is servicing the storytelling, whether it is something he has written, is producing, or is performing.

“I want stories to be original, and I want to elevate them,” he says. “I want to take time with them and look at them from all angles. I don’t like being locked into one version of how it has to be. A lot of things came out when we were making Stranger Things. They were happy accidents, things that we found together through collaboration and a lot of different people’s perspectives.”

That makes perfect sense, given that Geiger has been discovering new things since his parents decided to send him to Holy Ghost.

“My experience at Holy Ghost opened up my world,” says Geiger, who traveled the country with forensics and spent three summers in Nicaragua as part of a service project. “Whether in school or on the road, I dealt with, befriended, and learned from people who thought differently than I did and who, on the surface, might have seemed quite different from me. But it all had a cumulative effect of expanding my views, opening my perspective, and tapping into an empathy that has served me well as a storyteller.”

Michael Bradley is a writer, broadcaster, and teacher who lives in Broomall, PA. His work has appeared in many national publications, and he has appeared on a variety of radio programs nationwide. Bradley teaches journalism at Villanova University and is the faculty advisor to The Villanovan student newspaper.

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Campus

Holy Ghost Prep Receives $525,000 Gift from the Schreyer Foundation HGP’s Montgomery Program Is Aptly Named and Making a Difference Kevin Montgomery’s life was tragically cut short in 1998, but his memory will live on forever at Holy Ghost Prep— thanks to a simple but powerful gesture by his close friend Stephen Stunder ’98.

Mass of the Holy Spirit Kicks Off 2016-17 School Year On a postcard-perfect Sunday morning, the Holy Ghost Prep community officially kicked off the 2016-17 academic year with an outdoor Mass of the Holy Spirit in the school’s courtyard.

The Mass, which was held on the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, was attended by a crowd of approximately 500 Holy Ghost students, parents, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends. The Very Rev. Jeffrey T. Duiame, C.C.Sp. ’76, provincial superior for the U.S. Congregation of the Holy Spirit, concelebrated the Mass—along with Rev. Phillip Agber, C.C.Sp, Rev. Christopher McDermott, C.C.Sp., and Rev. Silvio D’Ostilio, C.C.Sp. ’46.

ARTSY APRIL

Near the conclusion of the Mass, a service that was filled with hymns beautifully sung by Holy Ghost Prep students, President Gregory J. Geruson delivered his state-of-the-school address. In his speech, Geruson explained the four strategic imperatives— Collegiate, Spiritan, Engagement and Communication, and Each Student’s Unique Gifts—that will guide Holy Ghost Prep on its path to be the area’s premier Catholic college preparatory school.

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ON TAP Holy Ghost Prep will celebrate the arts in a big way this April. The school’s Fine Arts Festival, which includes an art show and concert, will take place at 6 p.m. on April 6.

The 2017 school show will be Cole Porter’s Anything Goes. The show dates are April 27-30 in the Firebird Fieldhouse.

H O LY G H O S T P R E P M A G A Z I N E

Holy Ghost Prep received a $525,000 gift

in the fall of 2016 from the Schreyer Foundation, a Princeton, New Jersey–based charitable foundation.

Holy Ghost Prep Receives $2.5 Million RACP Grant

Montgomery passed away at the age of 17 from complications of a diabetic attack on January 21, 1998, but Stunder has never forgotten his friend who carried a 3.98 GPA and was set to attend Duquesne University that fall.

Holy Ghost Prep will receive $2,500,000 in state funding from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) to aid in the cost of the acquisition and construction of the school’s Arts and Athletic Activity Center.

Montgomery was one of those students who dove into everything that Holy Ghost Prep had to offer—serving as the basketball team manager, singing in the school chorus and acting in school plays, performing service work for Habitat for Humanity, and even dressing up as the Firebird mascot for big games.

The grant marks a significant step in helping Holy Ghost achieve its overall goal of $5,000,000 for the Holt Family Activity Center. The project will be an adaptive reuse of a vacant former beverage distributorship into a 26,000-square foot performing arts and athletic space that will benefit Holy Ghost Prep, the town of Bensalem, and the surrounding community.

“Kevin was involved in everything at Ghost,” Stunder recalls. “We didn’t have a peer tutoring program back then. So Kevin found time to tutor his classmates and ended up being the driving force behind the creation of the Holy Ghost Prep National Honor Society tutoring program.”

The Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) is a Commonwealth grant program administered by the Office of the Budget for the acquisition and construction of regional economic, cultural, civic, recreational, and historical improvement projects.

The school remembered Montgomery in May 1998 when a tree was planted on the walkway to the Firebird Fieldhouse and was dedicated to his memory by the Class of 1998.

When Stunder, who now serves as director of counseling at Holy Ghost Prep, created a program that would provide extra support and intervention to enable HGP students to be successful from day one at the school, there was only one person to name it after.

“The program had to be named after Kevin,” Stunder says.

After meeting with Montgomery’s parents, the school was given the go-ahead to name the first-year program the Montgomery program.

In its first year of existence, the Montgomery program currently serves seven members of the HGP Class of 2020. The program began for these students over the summer, as they participated in pre–ninth grade programs in math, English, and study skills.

A plan of success was developed for each student and that plan is reviewed monthly by Stunder and each student’s teachers to make sure that the extra measures (which include a student assistance course, National Honor Society tutors, and Bucks County Intermediate Unit extra help, if needed) are working.

“This grant wouldn’t have happened without the bipartisan efforts of our state representatives Gene DiGirolamo, Scott Petri, and Frank Farry, Northeast Philadelphia state representative Mike Driscoll, our state senator Robert M. Tomlinson, and Pennsylvania’s governor Tom Wolf. And we certainly appreciate the local support of our mayor, Joe DiGirolamo,” Holy Ghost President Gregory J. Geruson ’79 says.

“Their collective efforts resulted in a game-changing grant that will help transform Holy Ghost Prep into the area’s premier Catholic college preparatory school.”

When Geruson announced the news during an all-school assembly on October 20—with state senator Tomlinson, Mayor Joe DiGirolamo, as well as state representatives DiGirolamo, Petri, Farry, and Driscoll in attendance—the Holy Ghost Prep student body erupted into a standing ovation that lasted nearly two minutes.

Holy Ghost Prep graduates are an-

The early returns on the program have been quite positive. But ask Stunder what he’s proudest about regarding year one of the program, and it is clearly the fact that he was able to pay tribute to his late friend.

nually sought after by some of the

“Kevin Montgomery’s name will live on here,” Stunder says. “He epitomized selflessness and humility when he was a student here.

Kevin was truly dedicated to helping others, especially his fellow classmates. He was the perfect person to name this program after.”

Holy Ghost’s Class of 2016 attend

world’s most admired colleges and universities. Fifty-three percent of colleges and universities that are ranked in the U.S. News and World Report’s National Top 100.

Founded by the late William Schreyer, the former chairman of Merrill Lynch who led the company into global markets in the mid-1980s and early 1990s, and his wife, Joan, the Schreyer Foundation has donated millions over the years to hospitals, health associations, and educational institutions, including a series of gifts to Holy Ghost Prep over the past eight years.

“We have valued our relationship with the Schreyer Foundation and have long admired the Schreyer family’s compassion and dedication to transforming lives through their philanthropy to schools and colleges,” says Holy Ghost Prep President Gregory J. Geruson ’79.

“This latest Schreyer Foundation gift will literally change lives by giving more young people access to a Holy Ghost education.”

This $525,000 gift marks the completion of a commitment that the Schreyer Foundation made to Holy Ghost Prep during the mid-2000s.

Holy Ghost Prep’s Strong Enrollment Numbers Buck National Trends During a time when many independent and

Catholic schools are experiencing declines in enrollment, Holy Ghost Prep remains an attractive choice for area families.

Holy Ghost Prep welcomed 124 students into its Class of 2020, along with seven new transfer students into its other high school classes. With the addition of these transfer students entering 10th and 11th grades, HGP’s net retention is above 100%—well outpacing the national average for independent day schools in the United States.

Holy Ghost’s second consecutive robust admissions year and terrific retention rate brought the school’s total enrollment to 485 students, a significant rise from the 449 students on campus in 2014.

“Area families are clearly seeing the Holy Ghost difference. They are attracted to our Spiritan identity and proven approach that uniquely prepares Ghost graduates for college and to eventually be the ethical leaders the world needs,” says Gregory J. Geruson ’79, president of Holy Ghost Prep. “We challenge our students to engage deeply in learning, appreciate one another, and grow into adults who are intellectually curious, ethically sure-footed, and generous of heart and mind.”

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Athletic

Nine Successful Alums Speak to Holy Ghost Prep Juniors on 2016 Career Day

Back on Track Just over a year ago, Calla-

Tony Figliola Receives National Award for Outstanding Teaching Tony Figliola, an English teacher who has built one of the

nation’s finest high school forensics programs at Holy Ghost Prep, was selected by the National Communication Association (NCA) as the 2016 recipient of the Marcella E. Oberle Award for Outstanding Teaching in Grades K-12.

On September 23, Holy Ghost Prep held its annual Career

Day, which provided the Class of 2018 with the opportunity to learn about careers in medicine, aerospace and defense engineering, law/government affairs, accounting, motion picture and TV production, marketing, entrepreneurship, and scientific research from a distinguished group of HGP alumni.

In total, nine Holy Ghost Prep alums—eight were on campus in the Chapman Arena and the ninth, movie and TV producer Rand Geiger ’02, joined the students via Google Hangout from Los Angeles—took part in Career Day. Groups of juniors spent 12 minutes meeting with each HGP alum, leaving with a deep reservoir of career advice by morning’s end.

The nine alumni speakers at the September 23 Career Day were: Don Furmanski ’83, VP, Sales and Engineering, AMETEK Aerospace and Defense Sam Hellings ’83, Senior Research Scientist, Bristol-Myers Squibb Dave Ventresca ’87, Sr. Manager, Marketing and Digital Strategy, Accenture Interactive Michael Gujda ’87, VP, Senior Audit Group Manager, TD Bank Joe Pargola ’96, Legal Specialist, New Jersey Department of Children and Families Thomas DiEnna, D.O. ’96, Emergency Room Physician, Doylestown Hospital Rand Geiger ’02, Film and TV Producer Lenwood Greenwood ’04, Data Analyst, Comcast Business Grant Cooper ’11, CEO/Entrepreneur, Social Vantage During their presentations, each Holy Ghost alum talked about his experiences in his chosen field and how his time at Holy Ghost prepared him to succeed.

“Any time I’m here at Holy Ghost, I feel like I am coming home,” said Joe Pargola ’96. “Any success that I’ve enjoyed in my life, the foundation for it was laid here at Holy Ghost. I was happy to have the opportunity to speak to the current Holy Ghost students and to offer them some advice and guidance. It’s nice to give back to Holy Ghost, a place that has given me so much.”

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Figliola received this prestigious honor during the NCA’s 102nd annual convention, which was held November 10-13 in Philadelphia.

Figliola has excelled as a classroom teacher by emphasizing the importance of communication, including developing the highly successful sophomore-level Communication Skills curriculum—a year-long course with one semester of speaking and one semester of writing.

In addition, Figliola has built Holy Ghost Prep into a high school powerhouse unlike anything the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has ever seen. Since he took over the forensics program in the early 1980s, the Firebirds have won 36 consecutive Philadelphia City Speech championships, 18 Pennsylvania state championships, and have produced more than 100 individual state champions and 27 individual national champions.

“Through his unique combination of talent and hard work, Tony has built a nationally recognized speech, drama, and debate program here at Holy Ghost Prep,” says Gregory J. Geruson ’79, Holy Ghost president. “There are but a handful of schools in this country that can rival what Tony has accomplished with our students through the past 30-plus years.”

As a teacher and a forensics coach, Figliola has impacted countless lives.

“Over the past 30 years, Tony championed the art of communication. Holy Ghost Prep’s English curriculum is now designed around the importance of the spoken and written word, requiring every student to complete a public speaking course during his sophomore year,” says Ryan Abramson ’94, an English teacher and the director of admissions at Holy Ghost Prep. “The power of this focus is evident in the countless alums who regularly make financial contributions to the speech program—citing their training in high school as the edge they needed in professional careers ranging from business to medicine to computer science.

“The unquestionable constant in this resume of success is Tony’s commitment to his students. Tony is always the first person to cheer, congratulate, and encourage. In return, his students—from 14 years old to 40—count him among the most important influences in their lives.”

han Lennon ’17 was building quite a running resume for himself, winning the 2015 PIAA District 1 cross-country title and then medaling at states.

Holy Ghost Prep Captures PIAA District 1 Sportsmanship Award

Colleges were beginning to take notice, and all Lennon, a junior at that time, had to do was drop his mile time into the 4:20s during the Holy Ghost 2016 indoor and outdoor track seasons to intensify that interest.

But then a foot injury got in the way. At first, Lennon tried to muscle through, thinking it was something minor and focusing on his goal of impressing college track coaches rather than the pain in his left foot.

“I thought that I could fight through it,” says Lennon. “But then my times weren’t good.

And my mom saw me limping around constantly, so we decided to get it checked out.”

Lennon was diagnosed with a broken bone on the top of his left foot, costing him the chance to turn college coaches’ heads even further as a junior. But he followed his doctor’s advice and was eventually able to trade in his walking boot for running shoes.

Healthy again, Lennon trained religiously in the summer before his senior year—lifting one day, running the next. The regimen paid off, as Lennon was back to his old dominant self again this past fall, winning the 2016 District 1 Class AA individual cross-country title and once again medaling at states. In addition to Lennon’s individual success, the senior-laden Firebirds cross-country squad won its 21st consecutive Bicentennial Athletic League (BAL) crown and captured the PIAA District 1 Class AA team title before finishing seventh at states in the team competition.

“It was a great cross-country season, and it was extra special because of the team success that I had with a bunch of my friends who I’ve been running with since our freshman year,” said Lennon.

Now Lennon is right back where he was at the time of his injury, trying to shave enough time off his one-mile and 3,000-meter times to impress college coaches. Lennon wants to attend a school near a major U.S. city—his current wish list includes Fordham (where ex-HGP teammates Patrick Dineen ’15 and Patrick Donahue ’16 currently run), Boston College, Temple, and UCLA (which he fell in love with during a California family vacation this past summer).

No matter which school he chooses, Holy Ghost Prep coach Mike Meistering believes that Lennon possesses the traits necessary to succeed as a collegiate runner.

“Cal loves the sport and has been blessed with a determination to succeed, an amazing competitiveness, and some natural gifts,” says Meistering.

A self-professed fan of the NCIS and Criminal Minds TV shows, Lennon plans to major in psychology and minor in criminal justice in hopes of becoming a real-life criminal investigator someday.

“I take AP psychology at Holy Ghost Prep, and I find it really interesting,” says Lennon, a painter/artist who is also a member of Holy Ghost’s National Art Honor Society. “I think it’ll be a fascinating career path to pursue.”

Holy Ghost Prep received the 201516 PIAA District 1 Sportsmanship Award at the September 14 meeting of District 1 principals and athletic directors at the Westover Golf Club in Norristown.

“This honor is a tribute to our students, coaches, parents, and fans of HGP athletics,” said Holy Ghost Prep athletic director Jim Stewart. “We have a proud tradition of success in athletics, and to be considered a leader in sportsmanship is just as meaningful.”

Holy Ghost Prep principal Jeff Danilak was thrilled to see the school’s athletic program receive this recognition for its collective sportsmanship.

“Congratulations to Jim Stewart and the entire athletic department for receiving the PIAA Sportsmanship Award! Recipients of this award demonstrate, in more than one instance, a special effort that reflects a true understanding of sportsmanship as it relates to interscholastic athletics,” said Danilak.

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AT H L E T I C N E W S

Alumni

2016 Fall Sports Roundups CROSS-COUNTRY The Holy Ghost Prep cross-country team capped off a terrific season with a seventh-place finish at the 2016 PIAA Class AA state championship race in Hershey, Pa. in early November. HGP senior Callahan Lennon, the two-time District 1 individual champ in 2015 and 2016, medaled at states in a time of 16:56. Holy Ghost Prep also captured its 21st consecutive Bicentennial Athletic League (BAL) crown and won the PIAA District 1 Class AA team title. Not surprisingly, the Firebirds were well represented on the 2016 BAL all-star teams at season’s end: Callahan Lennon, Kevin Dineen, Liam Flood, and Sean Dixon were first-team all-league, while Tommy Horgan, Mark Featherstone, and Tony Carbino were second-teamers. HGP head coach Mike Meistering was selected as the 2016 BAL Cross-Country Coach of the Year.

GOLF Holy Ghost Prep’s golf team won the 2016 Bicentennial Athletic League (BAL) crown this past fall. In addition to team success, head coach Mark Walder was tabbed as the league’s 2016 Coach of the Year and five of his golfers were cited as all-league performers. Liam Hart and David Robbins were first-team All-BAL selections, while Jack Bishop, Dan Kovacevich, and Jack LaRosa were second-teamers.

SOCCER Holy Ghost Prep’s soccer team (14-7-1 record) enjoyed a terrific 2016 season, reaching the state playoffs. The Firebirds won the 2016 BAL championship and were the top seed in District 1. The team justified its lofty seed by making it all the way to the district title game before losing to Radnor in overtime, 2-1. As the district runner-up, the Firebirds qualified for the state playoffs, where they fell to Lower Dauphin.

The 2016 Bicentennial Athletic League (BAL) champs had four players earn first-team allleague honors: Connor Fife (the 2016 league MVP), Teddy Barbe, Alex Finney, and Ryan French. In addition, five Firebirds—Nkosi Graham, Luke McDonald, Sasha Rubinstein, Ethan Ruppersberger, and Harry Scuron—earned second-team All-BAL accolades.

ROWING In the first season of Holy Ghost Prep rowing where the team competed on the varsity level, HGP raced in Philadelphia, Massachusetts, and Princeton, N.J. The team raced varsity and JV fours, a double, the occasional varsity eight, and at the end of the season, a novice eight raced at the prestigious Head of the Schuylkill Regatta.

In the final race, HGP’s second-year rowers competed against varsity athletes with four years of racing experience from local and regional schools and clubs at the Frostbite Regatta, finishing 12th out of 32 teams overall and third among Philadelphia schools.

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Matt Dwyer Named New Executive Director of Development Matt Dwyer, a proven fundraiser with nearly 20 years of experience in cultivating major gifts, became Holy Ghost Prep’s executive director of development on September 12.

FIELD OF DREAMS Ryan Abramson ’94 (center), director of admissions at Holy Ghost Prep, caught up with HGP baseball alums Nolan Jones ’16 (left) and Jim McDade ’11 (right) before an Arizona Rookie League game this past summer. Jones, a 2016 second round pick of the Cleveland Indians, hit .257 in 32 games with the Indians’ rookie league team.

McDade, who starred at Millersville University before going pro, was 5-1 with a 1.59 ERA for the Padres’ rookie league team last summer.

Getting Their Hall Pass

In this role, Dwyer oversees all of Holy Ghost’s fundraising and alumni efforts. He is focusing his energies on Holy Ghost’s current major gifts initiatives of raising funds for the new Arts and Athletic Activity Center, the new STEM initiative, and Holy Ghost’s ongoing efforts to endow its forensics program and to increase the number of scholarships available for prospective students.

He is also a member of the Holy Ghost Prep Executive Team.

Dwyer came to Holy Ghost after serving in development leadership roles for the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, Virginia and Catholic Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina. Prior to that, he was a vice president for Guidance in Giving, Inc., a professional fundraising consultant group that led and managed all aspects of multi-million dollar capital campaigns and feasibility studies for Catholic schools, parishes, and dioceses all over the country.

His decision to come to Holy Ghost represents a homecoming of sorts for Dwyer. He grew up in South Jersey and is a 1993 Saint Joseph’s Prep graduate who earned a business management degree from the University of Scranton in 1997.

Eight former Holy Ghost Prep stu-

dent-athletes will be inducted into the HGP Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday, January 28 at the Maltese Room in Bensalem.

Terrific Turnout for Annual HGP Alumni Soccer Game On October 8, a significant number of former Holy Ghost Prep soccer players dusted off their cleats to play in the school’s annual alumni game.

In addition to gathering together to play the game, the event also served as a celebration of the 25th anniversary of Holy Ghost Prep winning the 1991 Eastern Pennsylvania state title.

To commemorate the event, the players—no matter what decade they played in—gathered for a team photo.

The players pictured are (standing, from left to right): Devon D’Andrea ’06, Andy McGill ’82, Bryan Affeldt ’07, Justin Buzogany ’11, Luca Ruggiero ’09, Dan Affeldt ’09, Luke Murray ’09, Pat Dillon ’02, Michael Quinn-Willauer ’04, Larry Scheetz ’98, Matt D’Andrea ’98, Jack Higgins ’92, Joe Collopy ’92, Joe Nick ’92, and Fran Nick.

Kneeling in the front row (from left to right): Jack Shouldis ’89, Tim Ireland ’81, Jimmy Foraker ’97, Brendan Ireland ’03, Steve Buzogany ’09, Chris Deon ’89, Brendan Mastil ’09, Nick Zamparelli ’96, Chris Nork ’96, Steve Mastil ’92, Nick D’Andrea ’95, and Ryan Mastil ’95.

The eight former standouts that comprise the 2017 HGP Athletic Hall of Fame induction class are: Vince Drybala ’72, track and field A. Keith Burrus ’88, tennis Bill Blesi ’95, soccer Nelson Redante ’95, baseball Grant Holdren ’99, basketball and baseball Dennis Murray ’06, lacrosse Nick Seravalli ’08, ice hockey Joe Gunerman ’10, golf

Leave a Lasting Legacy — Consider Naming Holy Ghost Prep In Your Estate Plan Make a gift that costs you nothing today by naming HGP in your will or trust. To discuss estate planning options, please contact the Office of Development: mdwyer@holyghostprep.org or 215.639.2102, ext. 203

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ALUMNI NE WS

HGP’s Golf Outing Was a Rousing Success On October 3 at the Union League Golf Club at Torresdale, nearly 80

alumni and friends of Holy Ghost Prep participated in the school’s inaugural golf outing.

The 2016 Holy Ghost Golf Classic raised $23,000 for Holy Ghost Prep athletics.

The foursome of Eric Holt ’03, Vince Pintimalli ’96, Phillip Holt ’06, and Christian Holt ’11 won the tournament, carding a team net score of 211. The second-place foursome—with a combined score of 216—was Dennis Murray, Joe Lally, Scott Cahoon, and Frank Devine.

Eric Holt ’03 also shot the low round of the day with a 66, while Larry Scheetz ’98 and Carter Young won the closest to the pin awards on the ninth hole and 17th hole, respectively. Ryan Becker ’98 (10th hole) and Tom Holt III ’02 (third hole) captured the longest drive awards.

The 2016 Golf Classic committee was made up of eight alumni (Thomas Holt, Jr. ’81, Anthony Naccarato ’84, Michael Harte ’81, Eric Holt ’03, Lou Petroni, Jr. ’99, Frank Seravalli ’06, John Venne ’86, Mark Walder ’02); four alumni parents (Paula Bosley-Cerbara, Karen Crawford, Chuck Miller, and Dennis Murray); and one current parent (George Rusnak).

Class Notes Please take a moment to send us information for the next issue of Holy Ghost Prep Magazine. We would love to hear from you, and we are all interested in what you are doing with your life. Please send information (including high-res photos) to either Alexis Gettings, director of annual giving and alumni engagement, at agettings@ holyghostprep.org or Bill Doherty, director of communications, at wdoherty@ holyghostprep.org.

1969 Francis Weiss ’69 has five grandchildren and a sixth one on the way, a baby boy due May 14 to his son John and daughterin-law Priscilla. He still works for the Army after 30 years as a soldier (he’s a retired U.S. Army colonel) and nine as a civilian employee. He has four great kids—two in Dallas, one in Florida, and another in San Antonio. Weiss credits HGP for being a platform for his future in education and his spiritual growth.

1974 Gerard Cerkez, Sr. ’74 welcomed his second grandchild in November. Gerard and his wife celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary in April. Cerkez also marked his 40-year anniversary of service in support of the U.S. armed services in 2016.

1976

L to R: Phillip Holt '06, Tom Holt, Jr. '81, Chris Crawford '12, Greg Geruson '79, and Tony Naccarato '84

Jim Musial ’76 lives in Bucks County with his wife, Michele, and their three children: a daughter at Penn State-Abington (Class of 2019), a son in Council Rock High School (Class of 2017), and a daughter in Council Rock High School (Class of 2020).

He practices public school and employment law at a firm in Huntingdon Valley, Pa.

1987

L to R: Larry Scheetz '98, Ryan Becker '98, Drew Sciolla '99, and Grant Holdren '99 20

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John DiPaolo ’87 caught up with fellow Holy Ghost alum George Graffy ’82 at the University of Pennsylvania homecoming weekend in late October.

DiPaolo serves on Holy Ghost Prep’s Board of Trustees and is a vice president and team leader of Prudential Financial’s fixed income structured product research team.

Graffy is the president of Smart Circle

International in Dallas, Texas and is heavily involved at the University of Pennsylvania— serving on the board of overseers at the Annenberg School as well as on the Penn Parents Council and the reunion committees.

1989 Gregory Thompson ’89 is the chaplain of Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington, Virginia. Rev. Father Thompson was appointed by Bishop Loverde in June 2014 to this position.

1992 This past spring, Andre’ Puleo ’92 received the President of Iceland Export Award. Andre’ is the global director for sleep diagnostics and therapy at Carefusion, and he was invited to the dinner and reception with the president of Iceland, Örnólfur Thorsson, for his work on the development, construction, and testing of medical products used for the diagnosis of sleep disorders.

1993 Christopher Gavin ’93 serves as a commander in the United States Navy, stationed at the Naval Air Station in Paxtuxent, Maryland. He is currently the chief test pilot for helicopter and tilt rotor aircraft for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

2000 Things are going swimmingly for Jim Britt ’00— both personally and professionally. Britt and his wife welcomed their first son, Benjamin Warner Britt, on November 9, 2015. Professionally, Britt continues to serve as the director of team operations for the reigning Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penquins. As an integral part of the Penguins organization, Britt’s name is engraved on the Stanley Cup. He was also part of the Penguins’ contingent who visited President Barack Obama at the White House this past fall to celebrate the Stanley Cup win.

2001

2011

After 10 years of federal government service, Matt Glazewski ’01 moved to Portland, Oregon in 2013. He completed his M.P.A. and works in local government in Portland. He also teaches various science courses at Portland Community College.

Andrew Donchez ’11 was a member of Temple University’s first-place team in the National 2016 Spencer-RIMS Risk Management Challenge in April. Eight teams from across the country presented strategic proposals over two days for LEGO’s risk manager in San Diego, California. Andrew is now working at the Trion Group as an underwriting associate focusing on data analytics.

2002 Jeff Brown ’02 and his wife, Varina, welcomed a healthy little boy into the world on May 1. Theodore Norman Brown was born at 2:57 a.m. and weighed seven pounds, two ounces.

2007 Help U Store It, the start-up company that Dave Barry ’07 co-founded with his brothers Brett and Sean, was featured on the front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer’s business section this past September. The Philadelphia-based company helps college students with move-in and move-out and stores their possessions over the summer.

2012

2008 These are busy times for Alexander DiGregorio ’08, who is getting ready to graduate from medical school this year and will get married in August. Currently a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, DiGregorio recently won the U.S. Air Force scholarship in medicine and spent some time in Guatemala. After graduation, he will be promoted to captain and will serve four years in the U.S. Air Force. DiGregorio has chosen to pursue hospital internal medicine with an eye on cardiology when the time comes.

Oat Foundry, the company where three 2008 HGP grads—Mark Kuhn, John Halko, and Michael Courtney—“build cool stuff,” was the subject of a CBS3 feature this fall by TV reporter Pat Gallen.

Kuhn (pictured with President Gregory J. Geruson) also took time out from his busy schedule to speak with HGP seniors on Career Day.

Nicholas DiGregorio ’12 graduated from La Salle University with the top award in chemistry in the spring of 2016. He now attends medical school at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

50-Year Class of 1967 Reunion June 3, 2017 Reconnect with old friends and celebrate this special milestone.

To RSVP or for more information, contact Alexis Gettings at agettings@holyghosprep.org.

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MARK YOUR CALENDAR x March 4 MOTHER–SON DANCE x March 5 FORENSICS PASTA DINNER x April 6 FINE ARTS FESTIVAL x April 27-30 SCHOOL SHOW, ANYTHING GOES x May 6 HOLY GHOST PREP AUCTION x May 7 FATHER-SON COMMUNION BREAKFAST x June 2 BACCALAUREATE MASS x June 3 COMMENCEMENT AND 50-YEAR CLASS OF 1967 REUNION x June 10 FORENSICS REUNION

Save the Date Holy Ghost Preparatory School Spring Auction Saturday, May 6, 2017 6:00 p.m. / Firebird Fieldhouse For additional information, please visit www.holyghostprep.org/2017Auction or contact Christine Seighman, coordinator of special events, at cseighman@holyghostprep.org.