The Wisterian February 2013
Vol. LXXIX No. 5
La Salle Welcomes Mr. Robert Russell: Scholarship Recipients Forty Years of Dedication to LSCHS Christian Endrigian ‘13
Remember 8th grade taking multiple entrance tests to whatever school you were applying too? The pressure that came with each question? The nerves of whether or not you would be accepted to your dream high school? Well for me personally, these tests were a struggle. Simply put, I was not a good test taker. Time seemed to move faster than usual, my hands were too shaky, and the room seemed to be 100 degrees. These are the vivid memories I have of taking the entrance test. Not to mention the fact that I did not know a single kid beside me. That’s why being at the scholarship dinner for the class of 2017 was quite humorous. On January 10th, La Salle honored 33 young men, along with their parents, at a scholarship reception to highlight the achievements on the entrance exam of these future students. When I was in 8th grade, I was not even close to this scholarship, so now, from my perspective as a senior, I respect this award a lot more. Scoring extremely high on La Salle’s entrance test is not an easy task. The night consisted of a pasta dinner followed by a pair of speeches from current seniors
who received the scholarship back as 8th graders. Patrick May was the first to speak, as he took us through his journey at La Salle. Little did Pat know four years ago that he would end up being in school plays by the end of his senior year. He went on to state how coming to La Salle was one of the most important decisions of his life and how he was glad he made the right decision. Next up was Andrew Stone, who took us through his running career. Although he discussed how he would be attending Notre Dame on a cross country scholarship, Stone highlighted the facts that La Salle is so diverse. Alongside running, Andrew enjoys computers; therefore, he was able to earn Microsoft certifications through our IT department. He also added that he would not be in the position he is in today if it were not for La Salle. A night filled with laughs, questions, and informative talks came to a close after about two hours. Parents congregated around, eager to learn more about the Lasallian culture. Overall, it was a very successful night. Congratulations to all of the scholarship recipients of the class of 2017! A list of the winners can be seen online at www. lschs.org under “Headlines.”
Brendan Keenan ‘14
When Mr. Robert Russell joined the Lasallian community in 1970, typewriters were ubiquitous and computers personal computers were the stuff of science fiction movies. Over the course of his forty year career at La Salle, Mr. Russell said that one of his proudest achievements was the role he played in beginning the school’s computer program. La Salle’s first computer was purchased in the mid-1970s and was the size of a refrigerator. From there, the computer program eventually expanded, and following St. Michael’s Hall’s construction in the early ‘90s, personal computers were brought in and the original computer, affectionately dubbed the “Big Old Monster” was replaced. Although Mr. Russell has since given the reins of the computer department over to others, he expresses his amazement over how “crazily” it has grown over the past decade. Mr. Russell came to what he has called his “first and last teaching job” after leaving graduate school because it did not suit him. Although he was originally hired on as a math teacher, within a few years, Mr. Russell began to branch out into
Photo courtesy of www.lschs.org
Mr. Michael O’Toole ‘68 (left) and Br. James Butler (right) flank scholarship recipients at the reception .
Inside this month’s issue of The Wisterian
P.2--Rugby/Faculty Profile/Joe Ehrmann P.3--Top Ten of 2012/Oscar Predictions P.4--Basketball P. 5--Basketball/Volleyball P. 6--PCL Champions-Winter Sports The Wisterian
Photo by Jimmy Princivalle ‘13
Mr. Robert Russell, member of La Salle’s science department other disciplines. After starting with A.P. Physics C, Mr. Russell went on the become the first teacher at La Salle to teach the newly created A.P. Computer Sciences class in the late 1970s. Forty years later Mr. Russell is still teaching these classes with the addition of a JAVA programing course. Despite rumors that A.P. Physics C could eventually be replaced with a new course, Mr. Russell remains optimistic that as long as there is a student interest in the course it will remain. Regardless of Physics C’s fate, Mr. Russell has expressed his interest in developing and teaching a new course on thermodynamics. Instead of a two week session as part of Physics C, he hopes to create a “twelve week long semester course to explore this fascinating subject” with his students. Mr. Russell’s contributions to La Salle have extended beyond the classroom and into the extracurricular activities. Fifteen years ago he began the Academic Decathlon Club and has been managing it since. Currently, he admits the team is in a slump and is always looking for new members, so, if students are interested in the clu,b he asks they come see him soon. Despite four decades of service at La Salle, while the rest of the world has changed dramatically, Mr. Russell has observed that there has been a consistent trend running through La Salle. According to him it does not matter what year someone is teaching, the students are still the same: there are the dedicated ones, there are the slackers and there are the bright ones. The greatest difference he has observed, however, is that there are fewer students who are not involved in something beyond school. Mr. Russell also lightheartedly mentioned that he
has had fewer “nuisance” students in class, although he also attributes that to the subjects he teaches, observing that only students who enjoy physics take A.P. Physics C. While the internal characteristics of La Salle have remained consistent over the last forty years, its external face has changed greatly. Of the changes, Mr. Russell noted that he was most pleased with the new science wing in Kestler Hall, which has made his job much easier. Over his long career at La Salle Mr. Russell has accumulated a wide berth of interesting stories and events. During an interview Mr. Russell recalled the times during the Christmas Liturgy, before there was a student chorus, the faculty would fulfill the role, and while the teachers sung, Mr. Russell accompanied them on the organ. Although he said it was a lot of fun to do, he concedes that the student chorus and band are much better. During his tenure as Ski Club moderator, Mr. Russell also recalled the various predicaments the club was involved in while on trips to New England. He recounted one time while traveling to New Hampshire during an ice storm, the bus they were in was driving so close to the rails that they could see the headlights of cars that had fallen into the ditch below. Although they arrived safely, he still remembers it as a very tense experience. Mr. Russell said that La Salle is his first and last teaching position, which he jokingly says is because they cannot get rid of him, and he has enjoyed his time at the school. When asked about his future Mr. Russell replied, “This is a great place. The people are terrific—the faculty, the staff and the students—I love it. I think about retirement, but I love it too much. I have too much fun doing this.”
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