MEMORIES OF MR. DONOVAN
MUHS many times throughout the day, and I think of the years I spent there as the best of my life. And when I think of MUHS,
JOHN BORITZKE ’74 Mr. Donovan was my counselor and inspired me so much as a teacher that I went on to college as a biology major having enjoyed his class immensely. He always had time for you and clearly was passionate about teaching. Forty years later I still look back and consider Mike Donovan to be one of the best teachers I’ve ever had at any level of education. He deserves an enjoyable and fulfilling retirement. GREG WACKER ’85 Mr. Donovan was one of my favorite and best teachers at MUHS. PATRICK SOSNAY ’92 I cannot begin to thank Mr. Donovan enough for all that he inspired. I work at Johns Hopkins as a physician-scientist studying genetics of lung disease. I regularly think about putting together DNA puzzles in his class. This type of information is the foundation for the science that I do every day. Mr. Donovan (and Mrs. Parrott) taught me that biology is a science, but it also is a narrative. I was so fortunate to be exposed to this in such an eloquent way. BILL JONES ’08
I think of the wonderful people like Mr. Donovan who represent that special place. ELI BORG ’17 During freshmen year I had the privilege of being in Mr. Donovan’s Accelerated Biology class. At the time, I was never really interested in science, or even school for that matter, but that changed after a couple of weeks in his class. As the year went on, I started to wonder why a man with such extensive knowledge of biology would opt to become a teacher rather than some sort of doctor or scientist. I came to realize that Mr. Donovan held others before himself, choosing to educate us because he believed that we could achieve big things. PETER AHN ’17 Some teachers help students discover their vocation in life; Mr. Donovan is one of them. He helped me develop an interest in biology, a subject I wish to study in higher education, and helped me to grow as a person and make good decisions, such as whether white or dark turkey meat is better. He is not just a great teacher, but also a great person who wishes to make sure each one of his students becomes a well-rounded young man.
Mr. Donovan was the true embodiment of a Jesuit college preparatory high school science teacher. Not only was he always so passionate about what he taught in class, he also had a genuine appreciation for the Catholic faith and a sincere understanding of its importance in the lives of his students. Regardless of how much material we needed to cover during a class period, Mr. Donovan always made it a point to begin every class with a prayer. This showed me how to find God in all things and apply the Catholic faith to everything I did as a student at Marquette High and in other life events that followed. BEN KRAHN ’00 I remember Mr. Donovan with fondness. I remember him for always being there, for always being approachable, and for always offering quiet, simple, and gentle words of wisdom. I remember him because he never raised his voice and he never lost his temper. I remember him as a great coach and an exceptional teacher, but I remember him well because he didn’t just coach or teach; he listened. And I remember him best as a friend, as someone who offered so much of his time to his players; as someone who cared not about wins or losses but about character, integrity and human development. I think of
The 1982 and 1983 varsity tennis teams were inducted into the MUHS Athletic Hall of Fame last April. Left to right: Jeff Mazurczak ’82, Jack Kraemer ’82 , Rev. Rob Kroll, SJ ’83, Mike Donovan, Peter Schaefer ’83 and Rev. Warren Sazama, SJ ’64. Photo by VIP Photography.
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