| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ALUMNI | | | | | | | | | | | | | |NEWS | | | | | | | | |& | | | NOTES |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Jim Gannon ‘83, founder of the Common Sense Program, mentored four Prep students and guided them in their participation in the The High School Fed Challenge. It is a competition designed to bring real-world economics into the classroom. Teams play the role of monetary policymakers by analyzing economic conditions and recommending a course for monetary policy. It’s an unforgettable experience in economic analysis, monetary policy decisionmaking, public speaking and teamwork. Fed Challenge participants develop skills—the ability to think analytically, to make effective presentations, to work as a team, to think on their feet—that are valuable in both their academic and professional careers. To compete, teams of three to five students offer a 12-minute presentation on the economy and participate in a 13-minute Q&A with the judges. Judges are New York Fed economists and staff who are experts on economics and monetary policy. Pictured are: Jewel Chavis ‘17, Brandon Florez ‘17, Mark Milian ‘18 and Tyler Hartman ‘18.
Congratulations to Claudia DeFrank-Guinness ‘84. Her son, Robert McGuinness ‘17 officially signed for baseball at Fairleigh Dickinson University! Pictured (back row, l-r): SFP Athletic Director, Sal Fischetti ‘83; Director of Guidance and College Counseling, Robyn Armon; Alumni Director and Baseball Coach, Brother Robert Kent; SFP Principal Patrick J. McLaughlin ‘73.
Congratulations Salvatore G. Gangemi ‘86! “Best Lawyers”, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession, has announced that the attorneys from his firm, Murtha Cullina LLP have been selected to be included in the 2018 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. Sal is among three Murtha Cullina attorneys selected as 2018 “Lawyers of the Year” in their respective practice areas. Sal practices in the area of employment law and litigation. He has devoted his entire career to the area of employment law, and has successfully represented clients in employment discrimination, harassment, wage and hour, and compensation cases and matters. He argued the case of Pachter v. Bernard Hodes Group, Inc., before the New York State Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court. His advocacy succeeded in the New York Court of Appeals recognizing that all employees, including highly compensated individuals, are protected by New York’s unlawful wage deduction statute. Since 2010, Mr. Gangemi has served on the Board of Advisors of the St. John’s School of Law, Labor and Employment Law Center. Since 2009, he has served on the Executive Board of the National Employment Lawyers Association - New York. In addition, in 2008, he was Chair of the Employment Law Committee of the Trial Lawyers Section of the New York State Bar Association.
FDNY Capt. Thomas Regan, SFP Class of 1990 was among three of NYC’s Bravest in Ladder Company 163 who rescued a 43-year old marathon runner from a fire that ripped through her Woodside home in October 2016. She was unconscious on the 6th floor when they found her in the burning building, the Daily News story reported. In an emotional firehouse reunion a day before Thanksgiving she visited the firehouse to say thank you. “They saved my life” said Claudia Hernandez. “The main thing that we’re proud of [is] that Claudia made such an outstanding recovery, because you kind of lose track of a victim of a fire. You don’t know if they made it or not,” said Regan. Capt. Tom is the second from the left in the photo on the cover NY Daily News.
Rutgers University Names New Practice Facility in Honor of Marco Battaglia, SFP Class of 1990 At St. Francis Prep, Marco Battaglia starred as a wide receiver and free safety for the Terrier football team. As a junior, he totaled 31 receptions for 542 receiving yards and six touchdowns, which earned him a berth on the All-City team. The following year, he was voted Player of the Year after compiling nine interceptions and three fumble recoveries as a free safety. However, he said his greatest memories of playing football at the Prep were being part of back-to-back CHSFL city title teams in 1989 and 1990. After Prep, Battaglia went on to play his college football at Rutgers University. As a junior, he led the BIG EAST with 58 receptions for 779 yards. But it was his senior season of 1995 that alerted the country’s college football scene to this tight end’s talent. That fall, he led the nation’s tight ends with 69 catches for 894 yds. and 10 touchdowns – which set a single-season Rutgers record. He was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and became the first-ever consensus First-Team All-American in Scarlet Knights’ program history. Years later, Sports Illustrated would name him as the top college football tight end on the All-Decade Team of the 1990s.
48 ST. FRANCIS PREPARATORY SCHOOL
In the 1996 NFL Draft, Battaglia was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals. He spent six seasons in orange and black before playing stints with the Washington Redskins, Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In his final season in 2003, he played for the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVII. Coincidentally, the offensive coordinator on that team was Dan Henning, a 1960 St. Francis Prep graduate. After a successful college and professional career, Marco has yet another great memory to cherish. On August 6th, Rutgers unveiled a new $8.5 million dollar Practice Complex, named in his honor. It features two new Kentucky Bluegrass fields equipped with a state-of-the-art drainage and irrigation system
and a separate FieldTurf playing surface. “I’ve played a lot of football in my life,” said Battaglia, who spent eight seasons in the NFL, “and I can honestly tell you, the places I’ve been, my travels in the NFL, the different universities that I’ve been to visiting, this is the best in class by far.” Athletic Director, Pat Hobbs noted the significance of connecting the history of the Rutgers football program with Marco Battaglia’s name on it: “Going back to Marco Battaglia, you saw the effort of one individual on that football field and it’s a message to our team today that everyone has to exert themselves, everyone has to own their own piece of the 100 yards.” Marco is the assistant athletic director for development at Rutgers. His responsibilities include fundraising, athletic development and engaging former Rutgers’ athletes and alumni to get recommitted to the sports program. For the current St. Francis Prep team, Battaglia serves as the perfect example of a local guy who worked extremely hard to achieve his football dreams. Through it all, the tight end has always remained true to his roots. “I try to go back [to St. Francis Prep football games] because the program means a lot to me,” Battaglia said. “The coaching staff means a lot to me.” Pictured (top left): SFP Terrier Football Team photo; (Center): Marco and his family at the ribbon cutting ceremony at Rutgers and the artist’s rendering of the new practice facility.