Measuring Success in the Shadows that We Cast: Shining a Spotlight on the Moreno Family

How Do You Measure Success?
By John Schuster at Age 16
1926 – 1975

How do you measure success?
Is it as the Pharaohs of old,
By the size of their caskets of gold?
How do you measure success?

Is it as the knights of yore,
By their deeds of lust and gore?
How do you measure success?

Is it as the Philosophers, always deducive
In their search for truth, ever elusive?
How do you measure success?

Is it by the shadows you will cast
To carry on when you are past?
—In this it must all rest—
How do you measure success?

When John Schuster ’44 wrote this poem during his time as a student at Loyola High School, he did not yet know of the shadows he would cast, and yet it is something that his daughter, Lee Schuster Moreno, mother to six Loyola Dons—Joseph ’12, Daniel ’14, Nicholas ’16, Gabriel ’18, and Michael ’21—thinks about quite often. “I didn’t really know my father because he died of cancer when I was young, but it’s amazing to think that he wrote that in high school,” said Lee, who has a copy of the poem framed in her house. “It means so much to the generations that followed.”

Born and raised in Maryland, Lee attended Franklin High School in Reisterstown and fondly remembers one of her first encounters with Loyola Blakefield. “We used to debate students from Loyola. I had my little index evidence cards and they came in with suitcases, and they would just handily defeat us, but they were always so nice while doing so. I thought to myself, if I ever have boys, I want them to go there.”

Her husband, Virgil, was born in the Philippines, and his family immigrated to Illinois when he was in kindergarten. He went on to attend the University of Illinois and obtained a degree in Electrical Engineering. He landed a job in Baltimore with Westinghouse Electric Corporation’s Linthicum-based defense and electronics systems business, which was eventually bought out by Northrop Grumman. He recently took a job with Carroll County’s local government within the past five years.

Lee met Virgil at Harry’s in downtown Baltimore during a happy hour one evening, and the rest is history. They had seven children together—six boys and one girl (Mary Patricia). One thing they never overlooked was the value of education. “My oldest sister always told me, ‘Give your kids the best education you can, period.’ Obviously home life matters most, but their education is what they are going to carry with them for the rest of their lives. It’s the hardwiring that happens early on,” said Lee. “I know a lot of parents save for college, but we didn’t. We told our kids that we would help them with high school with the hope that it would prepare them to be able to make their way through college.”

Gus was initially interested in attending Loyola because his cousin, Colin Schuster ‘09, was a freshman there while he was in eighth grade at St. John Catholic School in Westminster. “I think Gus’s Shadow Day went really well,” said Lee. “When I pulled up to campus to pick him up, I could just see a different light in him. He was happy, sitting there talking with total strangers, and I’ve never seen him do that before. I just felt like the Holy Spirit was telling me this is where I need to send him. My husband just about dropped to the floor when I said we need to send him to Loyola. He asked me how we were going to do it. At the time, I didn’t know how, I just knew that we needed to do it.”

That strong sense of faith that Lee and Virgil carried with them was passed down to each one of their children, and it was noticed by their teachers and coaches as well. “The entire family—mom, dad, the boys, and their sister—are totally grounded in their faith,” said Loyola Blakefield Physical Education Teacher and former Aquatics Director Keith Schertle. “They take that faith and apply it to all that they do, never giving less than one hundred percent. That’s why it’s no surprise that each one of them excelled in their studies and their respective sports. It all centers back to their faith.”

Sports were a big part of the Moreno family. Dan and Gabe took to the pool as swimmers, while Gus, Joe, and Nick had great careers at Loyola as wrestlers. “The Morenos are an incredible family,” said Loyola Blakefield Wrestling Coach Steve Truitt. “I had the privilege of coaching several of them. They were talented, dedicated, hard-working, and extremely coachable.”

The Moreno brothers garnered several accolades during their tenure on the mat. Gus was crowned both MIAA and State Champion during his senior year, Nick was an MIAA Champion and a National Prep Wrestling runnerup, and Joe earned 99 career wins and later served as an assistant coach for Truitt. He even had the chance to coach Nick in 2015–16 when he placed second at nationals. “That’s one of my favorite Loyola memories of all time,” recalled Joe. “Just being there for Nick as he qualified for nationals that year, then pinned the state champion to get to the national finals—it was just a great experience.”

Michael, the youngest Moreno brother, discovered his calling elsewhere at Loyola. He served as president of the Latin Club for three years and was heavily involved in theatre. He even dabbled in Speech & Debate and Cyber. Even though he didn’t follow in his brothers’ footsteps with sports, he still felt their presence. “Just having my older brothers there as an example was everything, because there’s a lot going on at Loyola, and sometimes it’s hard to find what path to walk, so that was so important especially with the discipline and just always doing the right thing when my brothers were there.”

Gabe felt a similar way about having his older brothers to look up to. “It was just comforting knowing I already had brothers who were in my situation, who had gone through the same things before me.”

“I know they really love each other and care for each other,” added Lee. “Knowing that they were in the same position at one point and having the comfort in knowing that they could go to each other for help—I think that was something they were able to pass down to each other without really knowing it.”

As far as family traditions go, you could always find the Moreno boys on the benches outside of the chapel before school. “Colin (Schuster) and I would always get there at 6:45 in the morning and just crash on those benches and do homework all morning,” said Gus. “It became a tradition more so out of a habit. When I graduated, I know Joe was always there with our other cousin Ben, and then it just kind of continued with the rest of the Moreno boys.”

“That was definitely our thing,” added Nick. “We would leave our house by 6:20 and get to Loyola by 6:55 and be at the chapel by seven, and if we didn’t have homework, we’d go to morning Mass.”

Outside of sports and clubs, it was the faculty and staff who left the biggest mark during their time at Loyola. For Gus, it was Mr. DuSel and Mr. Albornoz. For Joe, it was Coach Truitt, Mrs. Brune, and Mr. Korrow. For Dan, it was Coach Schertle, Mr. McCaul, Mr. McDaniel, and Mr. Ray Brown. For Nick, it was Coach Chris Jones and Coach Dan Thomas. For Gabe, it was Mr. Flanigan and Mr. Bailey. For Michael, it was Mrs. Pongchit, Mrs. Wise and Ms. Love. “Without the teachers and coaches, the place falls apart,” said Lee. “They helped us raise our kids by going above and beyond in so many different ways and providing an environment where they could learn to think critically and logically and voice their opinions and questions. They wouldn’t be where they are today without Loyola and the amazing faculty and staff.”

Gus, Dan, Nick, and Gabe all went on to attend the United States Coast Guard Academy, Joe attended UMBC, and Michael is currently at Christendom College in Virginia. “What I think drew most of the boys to the Coast Guard, besides the free tuition, was this idea of protecting,” said Lee. “Our whole belief is based on cherishing life, and I think the Coast Guard is a good representation of that. It’s a different mission than the other branches of the military.”

Regardless of where their paths take them, their faith and the foundations that they built during their time at Loyola will be their guiding light. “If the Lord wants you to do something, he puts it in your heart, and he helps you do it,” said Lee. “You have to work really hard at it, but it is always attainable. It was not easy, but I wouldn’t trade Loyola for anything. The experiences the kids had there, the men they turned out to be—it is such a gift. They are our life’s work. They are our everything.”

Gus majored in Electrical Engineering at the Coast Guard Academy and attended grad school at the University of Maryland for Cyber Security. He currently works as a team lead on one of the cyber protection teams at the Coast Guard Cyber Command in Washington, D.C. He is married and just had his sixth child—a boy, along with five girls.

Nick majored in Electrical Engineering at the Coast Guard Academy. After he graduated, he was assigned to a 225-foot cutter out of Pensacola, Florida, however, the boat was dry-docked so he was temporarily placed on two other cutters before being transferred to the USCGC Sanibel, a 110-foot patrol boat out of Woods Hole, MA, this July. He got married last December. Joe graduated with an accounting certificate from UMBC. He coached wrestling at Loyola until 2017 when he got an accounting job with Merritt Properties, a full-service commercial real estate firm. He got married in 2020.

Joe graduated with an accounting certificate from UMBC. He coached wrestling at Loyola until 2017 when he got an accounting job with Merritt Properties, a full-service commercial real estate firm. He got married in 2020.

Gabe graduated from the Coast Guard Academy this past May with a degree in Cyber Systems. Gus was onhand to present him his commission as an officer. He is currently stationed on the USCGC Hamilton in Charleston, SC. He hopes to get in to flight school in the next two years.

Dan majored in Operational Research & Computer Analysis at the Coast Guard Academy. He just finished up his first year at the Command, Control, Communication, Computer, Cyber, and Intelligence Service Center (C5ISC) in Portsmouth, VA. Prior to that, he served on the USCGC Northland out of Portsmouth. He got married last August and is expecting his first child this November.

Michael is in his sophomore year at Christendom College in Virginia. He is currently studying Classics and Early Christian Studies, but also has an interest in pursuing teaching, law, or medicine.