St. Thomas Eagles' Nest Spring 2023

CHAMPIONS FOR CHANGE

eagles’ nest

St. Thomas High School Community

713.864.6348

Rev. James Murphy, CSB - President Dr. Aaron Dominguez ’96 - Principal

Daniel Bryant ’93 - Assistant Principal

Mark deTranaltes ’83 - Vice President for Advancement

Patricia Miller - Vice President of Finance

Rodney Takacs - Dean of Students

Keith Calkins - Director of Communications

Steve Cummings ’07 - Alumni Director

KH Studio - Layout + Design

Nathan Lindstrom - Cover Photography

eagles’ nest

St. Thomas High School

DEPARTMENTS

Camp Aquinas instills and salutes life lessons of goodness, discipline, and knowledge while a parade of champion scholars earn elite academic distinction.

Eagle Football racks winningest season since 2015 including Catholic Bowl II appearance.

Awesome response for Eagle Eye Sporting Clays Tournament and the passing of beloved Vincent Mandola ’61 dignified by a statue of St. Joseph in the school’s chapel.

36 Eagle Flight

72 Eagle Pride

54 Eagle Fight

Features

LASTING LEGACY

Andrew Linbeck ’83 and Sam Listi ’60 are embraced at 17th annual Hall of Honor induction as two notable servant leaders who have emphatically showcased the best of the Basilian spirit.

CHAMPIONS FOR CHANGE

Faculty member Danny Hernandez ’08 is catalyst for four-day student immersion into crisis on the streets - the homelessness in Los Angeles.

SELFLESS GIVING, REIMAGINED

SOLDIER FOR CHRIST

NO ORDINARY LOVE STORY

Director Dan Green and his inspired cast of scholar-actors revive one of Shakespeare’s most enduring works - Romeo and Juliet - for a fresh generation.

Invaluable Hall of Honor member

Bill Joplin ’54 is remembered as supreme altruistic advocate who played essential role during a transformational period of the school’s history.

A RIVETING RETURN

Inspirational speaker Damon West captures captivated campus community audience with tale of recovery and the long road to redemption.

MAN FOR ALL SEASONS

Scholar. Baller. Musician. Politico. Jake Pike ’23 is the latest St. Thomas renaissance man without limits.

LIGHTS. CAMERA. ROLLING OUT THE RED CARPET!

Annual Auction & Gala applauds and honors the relentless Basilian commitment to innovative scholarship and the deeper purposes of Catholic higher education.

Legacy graduate Barrett Gregory ’18 places marketplace on pause to pursue student missionary commitment with Catholic outreach program. 6 12 16 22 44

SOLDIER FOR CHRIST

LEGACY Lasting

St. Thomas was proud to celebrate its 17th annual Hall of Honor induction in January by recognizing the exploits of two notable leaders who have emphatically showcased the best of the Basilian spirit.

Distinguished for their stellar achievements and exemplary service, Andrew Linbeck ’83 and Sam Listi ’60 were relished for bringing striking distinction to the school, to their families, and to their communities. Andrew and Sam reflect the range of their St. Thomas experience and their steadfast dedication to living with goodness, discipline, and knowledge.

“My family is here and that means the world that they helped honor me,” an emotional Listi said in the immediate wake of his induction. “I’m low-key and don’t seek individual credit. St. Thomas is a hugely important part of my life. Many students came to me and all they wanted was direction. Some didn’t have fathers, like me growing up. It was vital to me to steer them in the right direction.”

Leo Linbeck III ’79 was among a bevy of family members saluting his deceased brother who succumbed to pancreatic cancer in November 2017. “Andrew was a beloved friend to so many people. And you see that here tonight with so many of his colleagues, associates, and classmates who turned out. He was a master of building meaningful relationships and touched so many people who crossed his path. We are all so incredibly proud and humbled.”

President Fr. James Murphy, CSB delivered a poignant homily during the induction’s Mass that praised Linbeck and Listi as “men who are the examples St. Thomas will hold up for generations to come. These men have lived our ideals so well that they must be remembered and dignified. They represent what is possible for all of us, what is possible for any of the men of St. Thomas, knowing they journey into the world and perform incredible good deeds.”

ANDREW BAIRD LINBECK ’ 83

Andrew Baird Linbeck ’83 belonged to an unquestioned professional pedigree of highest achievement where he was recognized for his own towering personal greatness.

Yet, Linbeck’s most lasting legacy is possessing an unmatched level of caring and philanthropy that could energize a group from Wall St. to Main St. to a neighborhood pocket community. He collected people, uniting and inspiring them through the power of his convictions.

Linbeck was 53 years old when he lost a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer in November 2017, survived by his beloved wife Shanna, and their three daughters, Savanna, Miranda, and Danielle. He was remembered then and forever for his “grace and dignity under extreme circumstances,” as “the most giving person you’ll ever meet.” A “great friend” and “a mentor” with “infectious optimism” whose “signature phrase was ‘what can I do for you?’”

“Many of us try to place others ahead of our self-interests,” says Lyle Eastham, who grew a deep friendship with Linbeck through Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart where their daughters attended. “Andrew exemplified that quality, whether providing water wells for thousands of kids in Africa or handing out coats to the city’s homeless. Agape loveunconditional love - was Andrew’s trademark. It was his license plate. Unconditional - to his family, to my family, to friends and colleagues. I thought I practiced that quality until I met Andrew, then I knew I had work to do.”

Linbeck’s grandfather Leo was a craftsman who founded Linbeck Construction. Andrew followed his father Leo Jr. ’52, a revered Texas business leader, in earning an undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame, and then added his Master in the Executive Management Program at the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University.

In 1987, Linebeck entered the financial services industry, working at Kidder Peabody, Paine Webber, and The Redstone Companies. In 2002, he co-founded Salient Partners, one of Houston's largest investment and wealth management services. The firm had $4.5 billion in assets under management when it was acquired by Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. in November 2022.

“Andrew was a natural born leader from his time at St. Thomas,” says classmate and confidant

Kurt Hanson ’83. “He was undaunted to be successful and to do it with integrity. That was easy to identify.”

Under the surface was a steadfast resiliency that matched Linbeck’s ambition.

“Andrew was dyslexic,” Eastham says. “In some ways, he operated in the shadow of his older brother (Leo III ’79) who was a brilliant student. Andrew always stressed that the world is filled with individuals with average intelligence who could perform extraordinary things if they worked hard enough. That was Andrew. He would want every St. Thomas student to understand that whatever his passion, persevere through the obstacles, follow the dreams until they’re realized.”

Matt Newton first encountered Linbeck for a quasi job interview at the defunct Ale House on West Alabama St. The two would soon launch a business relationship in the unpredictable private equity world that thrived for nearly two decades.

“Andrew’s attitude centered on positivity, passion, and always about people,” Newton says. “He was composed and confident in the face of turbulence. He was a mentor in every sense, both professionally and personally. I saw how Andrew properly prioritized his life. He was driven and work was important, but when family demands warranted, work was turned off. Causes were significant, institutions were significant. Religion. He wanted to be involved, a servant leader by every definition.”

Linbeck embodied his faith by serving many Catholic organizations, but a particular focus was the Margil House of Studies which was founded by his great aunt and godmother, Mary Neal Davis. He took over the organization, dedicated to the work of Fr. Margil de Jesus, a 17th-century Franciscan priest who founded missions throughout Texas.

The devotion was an acute source of comfort and strength during his cancer fight. Hanson took part in a pilgrimage to East Texas that Linbeck organized to fully illustrate the impact of “The Eyes Fr. Margil.”

“As much as it was a healing exercise for Andrew, it was more about him giving his Catholic community of friends an awareness of where their faith originated in Texas,” Hanson says. “Even when fighting for his life, he was searching for ways to influence those around him for the better.”

Months later, a random Hanson phone call found Linbeck in Arizona enduring a series of experimental clinical trials. “He was going through a rough stretch. I told him I was only a Southwest flight away if he needed support. He called back 10 minutes later and said, ‘Earth, Wind and Fire are playing here tomorrow night.

You and (Hanson’s wife) Susan need to come out for that.’ We arrived the next morning. I went with Andrew through his treatment, then spotted a Whataburger for lunch. The manager allowed us behind the counter to make our cheeseburgers. That night we went to the concert (“changing the minds of pretenders while chasing the clouds away.”). Andrew was so real. There was levity even during some dark times. And that’s what he wanted.”

Linbeck was infused and inspired by the renowned Basilian principles of goodness, discipline, and knowledge, and perhaps subconsciously by the ancient Roman poet Virgil, whose Latin “sic vos non vobis” roughly translates to, “Thus do you, but not for you.”

“If you had wanted a representative to talk to students about what it takes to be a Man of St. Thomas, to be part of the brotherhood, Andrew was the prime candidate,” Hanson says. “He embodied the virtues and remains an inspiration to us all.”

Lineback’s journey was a pursuit of spiritual worthiness and personal excellence that required diligence and repetition. He robustly lived and loved, gave without needing to receive in return. He joins patriarch Leo Jr. as the first father/son tandem to enter the Hall of Honor, the school’s most cherished alumni recognition.

“I think Andrew is looking down and saying, ‘Why did you do that?’ He was always modest, never searching the spotlight,” Hanson says. “At the same time, I’m confident he respects the distinction and understands what it means to his family and friends. I know that his presence is felt every day by those who had the privilege to know him.”

“Andrew’s attitude centered on positivity, passion, and always about people.”

SAMUEL ANTHONY LISTI ’60

Samuel Anthony Listi ’60 is rooted in the St. Thomas terra firma.

The son of a tile laborer whose life was silenced all too soon, Listi nonetheless matured to reflect the Basilian commitment to fundamental scholarship that empowers discovery and creativity - from the marketplace to the classroom to the competition fields to fundraising to embracing student needs as if they were his own challenges.

2021 Hall of Honor inductee Colonel Timothy Gatlin ’95, United States Army, describes Listi as “a life-long learner who never misses an opportunity to engage in robust discussions that incorporate competing perspectives and create the space for innovative thought to emerge. Sam is a thinker and his intellectual curiosity has a purpose that has helped him shape a generation of leaders across business, political, and military domains. Sam Listi is the servant leader we all aspire to be.”

The roots of Listi’s monumental ascent date to his Garden Oaks upbringing nearly 80 years ago. Sam’s father suddenly passed away when Listi was seven years old delivering an uncertain future. Fr. Paul Pieri, the first pastor of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church where the Listis were parishioners, injected a much-needed jolt of optimism: “Sam is going to attend St. Thomas, whether I pay for it or we find some other means.”

Fr. Pieri made good on his pledge and launched a relationship that extends well into the new millennium. Listi thrived in the Basilian educational experience. He then earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Architecture from Texas A&M Unversity, becoming the first college graduate in the family while participating in the renowned Corp of Cadets and rising to the rank of lieutenant of Company E-1. Listi Architects, Inc was founded and operated for near a half-century with attention to concept and detail, adept and nimble use of technology, and a commitment to the well-being and sustainability of not only buildings but people. Listi explicitly acknowledged the need to embed ethics in innovation and accomplishment, to consider the societal impact of his work.

“My father always had the utmost integrity,” says Listi’s son, Tony ’89. “He treated business partners and clients fairly and honestly. That’s how he lived his life in every way and is among his greatest qualities.”

In 1989, Listi answered the call from St. Thomas Principal Fr. Albert Gaelens, CSB to return to campus. Listi accepted a faculty position to teach mechanical drawing and soon his fingerprints could be identified across the broad width of campus and student life.

Curriculum. Student yearbook. Golf coach. Round Up executive. Public and media relations. Alumni exchange. Listi pumped the pulse of the Eagle community. Most importantly, he provided St. Thomas scholars with a rich intellectual experience while preparing them to be attentive citizens. A true believer in the vitality of “pay it forward” had discovered a burning intent.

“My father benefitted from role models and was determined to pass that same spirit along. That gave him purpose,” says Tony. “His student experience at St. Thomas fueled him throughout his life. He understood what a privilege it was to attend the school and was his foundation for adult success. It was then important to him that I and my brother (Daniel ’98) and stepbrother (Carlo DeChiro ’92) attend St. Thomas, and that my sister Shelly attend St. Pius X. He made great sacrifices to make that happen.”

Regardless of his defined role, Listi accelerated solutions to address the obstacles of a given day. He harnessed that strength for a time as a faculty member at St. Pius X.

Shelly vividly remembers her initial days of high school, a nervous freshman overwhelmingly welcomed by juniors and seniors as “Little Listi because of what my father meant to them. He was loved by those students and that tells you the impressions he made in a short period of time. He was available, approachable, and willing to be an advisor through tough times, for me, my brothers, and anyone. He was always supportive.”

From designing the blueprint for Granger Stadium to navigating trips to the famed St. Andrews Links in Scotland to establishing meaningful interactions with students that lasted deep into their adult lives, Listi operated in concert with goodness, discipline, and knowledge. His core values defined his measure of success, not what one would unearth today on TikTok, Twitter, or Instagram.

Rarely would Listi command the largest stage or expect the brightest spotlight. His modus operandi was navigating slightly under the radar unnoticed except to the keenest observer or during the most poignant need. When Chadwick Roberts ’94 tragically died in 1996, it was Listi who was instrumental with Tim McConn ’94 in establishing an annual heart and spirit award for Eagle Basketball in Roberts’ name so that he would be appropriately remembered.

In those rare instances of discretionary time, Listi was involved with the Texas Catholic Herald and contributed to the Texas Italian-American Sports Foundation. The organization founded by Hall of Honor inductee Frankie B. Mandola ’65 and Dan Sessions ’65 distributed more than $700,000 to assist student-athletes in continuing their competitive careers after high school.

In later life, Listi relocated to South Padre Island where he served as a city council member. He offered pro-bono services including the layout of the new city park, as well as the future community center and library. Mayor Patrick McNulty says “Sam has proven to have the initiative and intellectual creativity to succeed in any arena. He advanced many architectural projects and developments on the Island. He has demonstrated to be a confident, diligent, and capable leader with a deep commitment to helping others.”

Chamber of Commerce President Alita Bagley says Listi “worked relentlessly developing zoning changes and residential neighborhood improvements. Sam’s architectural expertise was invaluable to the city.”

The 17th annual Hall of Honor induction celebrates notable leadership that showcases the best of the Basilian spirit. Recognized for his stellar achievements and exemplary service, Sam Listi returns to his Eagle Family as an inspiration - a genuine model who thinks boldly, lives passionately, and dreams without limits.

“He believes the Hall of Honor is one of the greatest accomplishments in his life,” Tony says. “He was in tears when he received the confirmation. This distinction certainly confirms all that he’s contributed to the school. He’s come a long way, nurturing four successful children who are products of Catholic education. He’s the patriarch of our family.”

“My father benefitted from role models and was determined to pass that same spirit along.”

SELFLESS GIVING, REIMAGINED

For much of his prosperous adult life, Bill Joplin ’54 was a prominent presence in Houston’s defining industry and champion philanthropist while keeping a relatively low public profile.

In August 2022, the extended St. Thomas Family mourned the passing of its invaluable Hall of Honor member, a supreme altruistic advocate who played an essential role during a transformational period of the school’s history. Joplin died at the age of 86.

“In his extraordinary service to our school, Bill Joplin was a trusted, wise, and valued member of the St. Thomas community,” President Fr. James Murphy, CSB said. “He was a faithful, humble advocate who left an eternal impact on his alma mater, ensuring and enhancing the Catholic character of the institution. Our prayers will always be with Bill’s many loved ones and family members as we remember and celebrate his remarkable life. May God grant him eternal rest.”

Outside the insular world of Texas oil and energy, penetrating professional achievement and anonymity are not mutually exclusive.

William Ferdinand Joplin began his exploits by partnering with his family’s Oil & Gas Supply Company. He and his brother John ’42 then founded, operated, and sold a series of highly profitable entities - Oil & Gas Manufacturing Co., Bush Manufacturing Co., Turbines Hispano Ogasco, Inc., and Sound Optics Systems, Inc. In 1974, their confidence bursting, the brothers acquired Hutchison-Hayes International, Inc., later Hutchison-Hayes Separation, which was brokered and moved in 2008.

In November 2014, Joplin’s identity would be a mystery no more within the St. Thomas campus community. He emerged from the shadows to provide a raging wave of momentum in the final stages of the 4500Forever capital campaign. The staggering $6 million matching donation from Joplin and his wife Jane triggered a seismic shift in contributions. During 11 weeks, commitments worth more than $14 million empowered St. Thomas to close on a property acquisition that would advance future academic programs, vibrant campus life, scholarship, and creative work of consequence to the city, the state, and beyond.

At a time when St. Thomas was working to accelerate its purposeful impact in the world, Joplin thought that “very seldom in life do you have the opportunity to make a real difference. And the campaign needed someone to step up in a big way. And I said to myself, ‘I can do it.’”

Former St. Thomas President Fr. Kevin Storey, CSB, now the current Superior General of the Congregation of St. Basil, recognized in real time that 4500Forever required a thunderbolt jolt to catapult the campaign to completion. “Bill was an answer to our prayers, no doubt about it. He guaranteed the success of the campaign.”

Vice President for Advancement Mark deTranaltes ’83 vividly recalls that when “working with Bill, you quickly learned he was a man of action. If a challenge was presented, he would find the solution, if he couldn’t he would create one. When I look back on the events of the 4500Forever Campaign, like I would for any historical event, there were clutch moments, moments when individuals changed the course of the game. Bill and Jane provided a clutch moment in the history of St. Thomas. We will forever be grateful for their generosity and their friendship.”

Joplin was a consistent St. Thomas financial contributor for decades but had never approached a commitment of such multi-million dollar proportions. He offered not a gift from generational wealth but rather a contribution inspired through self-examination, the generosity from an everyman out of gratitude rather than extravagance.

The Basilian Fathers and the St. Thomas Board of Directors acknowledged the Joplin’s far-reaching benevolence by naming the expanded footprint for the two bold and daring Eagle supporters.

In November 2020, St. Thomas was extremely proud to officially dedicate the Jane and Bill Joplin ’54 Campus expansion. The priority project is promoting the success of Eagle scholar-athletes in competition, in the classroom, and in the community. The Joplin Campus contains four vital components, all different in their use, but all four supplying a superior training and preparation facility. The extensive renovation includes more than 20,000 square feet devoted to enhanced practice amenities and locker rooms for Eagle Basketball and Eagle Wrestling, plus a complex for strength and conditioning, and sports medicine.

The new Fr. Wilson Field is in its completion stages, serving as the next jewel among the school’s ever-expanding athletic facilities and representing one of the premier on-campus high school baseball parks in the region.

“It was a pleasure to work with Jane and Bill on 4500Forever,” deTranaltes said. “And it was even more rewarding after the frenzy of securing the new property was over to have the Joplins on campus, as we began to create a new future for Bill’s beloved St. Thomas.”

In January 2021, Joplin was saluted with the school’s highest alumni distinction. The 16th Hall of Honor event elevated Joplin among the most acclaimed former scholars with exceptional contributions to their professions and communities.

St. Thomas has never let convention limit its dreams. Especially when there’s an opportunity for fearless, enterprising execution.

Joplin possessed a deep passion and distinguished history of benevolence to St. Thomas. His son Richard ’84 is continuing the family legacy, one that carries a stirring and emotional recollection.

Bill often described how during his high school years his family once faced financial stress. His father, unable to meet the next tuition payments, arrived on campus fully prepared to remove his older brother from the enrollment. The Basilians would have none of it, instructing the father to leave John in class and simply pay when the dollars became available.

The loyalty and compassion left an indelible mark embossed within Joplin to his final days. And as the Hall of Honor inductee proudly described, “that was one of the best investments St. Thomas ever made.”

“Bill and Jane provided a clutch moment in the history of St. Thomas. We will forever be grateful for their generosity and their friendship.”

Soldier for Christ

Barrett Gregory ’18 was an eyewitness to the chaos engulfing a generation in crisis - of identity, of purpose, of religious belief. Through the collateral damage accentuated by the COVID-19 pandemic, he endured his own measurable personal pain, yet emerged from the darkness as a prized college graduate primed to advance into an established and thriving family enterprise.

Gregory was armed with a degree in Industrial Distribution Engineering with a minor in Spanish. His plight wasn’t how to leverage his newly-learned skills to support best his future, his lifestyle, and eventually his family. He didn’t question, “Will I be successful?” But rather, “What will my impact be?”

Marketplace or missionary?

Gregory isn’t dramatic when he says that the verdict “until the final weekend was, ‘No, I am absolutely not going to be a missionary.’ I had gone to school my entire life to become an engineer and that’s what I was going to do. But within a 36-hour window while strongly considering the possibility, I completely flipped. My spiritual director asked, ‘What are you holding onto that is preventing you from making this commitment?’ Ultimately, I saw that the Lord was calling me despite everything I had dreamed of beforehand.”

Gregory paused his transition to a corporate position in a company his great-grandfather launched nearly 80 years ago. Instead, he accepted a two-and-a-half year commitment with the Denver-based Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), a Catholic outreach program founded at Benedictine College in 1998. Within weeks of his A&M graduation, Gregory was packing for the University of Arkansas where he’ll anchor an expansion campus and confidently share the Gospel living as an authentic missionary disciple.

Gregory’s gift is a charism, an internal zeal where he relishes “a desire for everyone I come across to know Christ and His love for them. That’s my driving force.”

Gregory is role modeling to others through actions, rather than words, to serve as an apostolic, walking with men and women and bringing about conversion. The choice required steep self-reflection to identify a path for spiritual exercise. Gregory’s faith is no longer what he was taught, but rather who he is and what he is doing through practice in the real world. Think of a boxer undergoing a crucible of physical and emotional training - practice and technique, repetition and discipline - molding confidence to become one with his or her weapon.

Gregory re-enters the front lines embracing a call to a new evangelization with the intent to change the culture for Christ.

“The number of college students suffering from depression is astounding,” Gregory says. “I was there. I’ve seen it. Individuals from all walks are without a solution aside from what the outside world is selling them.

The role for FOCUS and me is to begin building that community where one can feel loved and wanted through Church. And I’m on fire to help provide that for those men and women.”

The Catholic stronghold at Texas A&M where Gregory spent the last four and a half years remains largely invisible in plain sight. The St. Mary’s Catholic Center serves approximately 17,000 students, which represents roughly a quarter of the university’s enrollment. More than 300 students attend daily Mass and more than 5,000 on weekends. There are more than 15 student-led organizations and more than 30 retreats are hosted every academic year.

From this rich, fervent terroir, Gregory’s renewed Catholic beliefs took firm root. But only through diligence and endurance to persist through difficulty did he gain the clarity to focus on progress, not perfection. Gregory unabashedly admits that he “lost his faith for years, left the Church. I realized how empty and how much pain I was in during that time.”

During the fall of the 2020 pandemic year, Gregory was rescued with “a breakthrough, a certain understanding that whatever I was going through, good times and bad, I wasn’t doing it alone anymore. In those tough times when I felt the world was ending, I had someone to go to and lean on - Jesus Christ. And in the joyous moments, I knew He was the source of all goodness that would bring ultimate fulfillment.”

Gregory continued to explore practical ways to witness the Gospel. He joined bible study groups that evolved into his discipleship. He pursued deeper involvement, recognizing that Catholic doctrine is not read once and magically understood at the soul level. It’s a lifelong quest that requires dignity, candor, and most of all unflappable perseverance.

“I was going to Mass and hanging out with a great community of believers,” Gregory says. “Jesus was in a circle of my life but other priorities were still seated in the middle. I was challenged to make Christ the center with everything evolving around him. I began scheduling my life around my faith rather than filling in the leftover blanks with my faith.”

In the wake of his December 2022 commencement at Texas A&M University, Gregory was energized with a surge of anticipation and freedom, his confidence fortified by a reignited Catholic faith. But Gregory was perplexed to be suddenly positioned at an unexpected crossroads.

Gregory’s engagement was compatible with his four-year involvement with Aggie Men’s Club, a non-Greek social fraternity of Christian brotherhood that explores spiritual goals. Through that membership, Gregory participated in a mission trip to Guatemala in 2019.

In 2021, Gregory saw his resolve further strengthened by “a radical trust in the Lord.” He participated in a recruitment weekend for FOCUS and joined a missionary team during his final semester in College Station working 30 hours a week.

Gregory paved the groundwork last summer for his courageous undertaking with an internship of sorts in Ave Maria, Florida with roughly 450 of the more than 860 FOCUS missionaries. In January, he participated in a weeklong SEEK23 conference in St. Louis with nearly 19,000 in attendance. The immersion was more than prayer and inspiration - daily Mass, tutorial, networking, team tactical discussions and workshops, and track-specific sessions on evangelization. Gregory and his fellow FOCUS missionaries then continue training throughout the year.

The ground-breaking FOCUS team at Arkansas is led by director John Paul Hernandez, a Strake Jesuit graduate who recently served two years at Texas State University. Interestingly, Gregory discovered one of his group’s collaborators in Fayetteville is St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish. Each FOCUS missionary fundraises 100 percent of his or her salary, building a team of mission partners. Gregory brings a priceless depth of savvy understanding that any innovative start-up would desire for the ripe mix of success.

“I have the soft skills to embrace stepping into new situations and building meaningful relationships to be long-lasting,” Gregory says. “There are two concepts that I’m keeping in mind first and foremost (in making this move). One, the value of a single soul is infinite and incomprehensible. Second, I may not witness someone completing the journey, steps 1-10. I may only see steps one and two, or only one. But I have an ultimate trust and cooperation with God’s will that I may be an instrument in someone coming to know Christ. And that’s all I can do, all I am called to do.”

Barrett and his brothers Jeremy ’15 and Griffin ’21 followed their father’s educational legacy at St. Thomas. Doug Gregory ’87 is the president of Gregory-Edwards, Inc, a three-generational mechanical contractor company headquartered in Houston and founded in 1946 by his grandfather Kegham ”Greg” Gregory. He was succeeded by Doug’s father Bill who expanded the operation’s premier reputation for dedication to quality, service, and excellence.

For years, Doug and his wife Meryl have been steadfast advocates for the unique mission of St. Thomas and the Basilian Fathers - subtly, overtly, emphatically. They’re consistent contributors to the Round Up and Eagle Eye Sporting Clay efforts which raise significant funds benefiting St. Thomas scholarship programs. Meryl has been a driving force within the renowned St. Thomas Mothers’ Club, serving as president and impacting as an argent volunteer through countless causes, events, and initiatives.

Their sons reflect the Basilian ideals rooted in goodness, discipline, and knowledge. As a senior, Jeremy was the co-recipient of the St. Thomas Principal’s Service and Leadership Award. He then earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Arkansas and is currently a sales engineer at HTS Engineering in Houston. Griffin is studying at the Mays School of Business at A&M and will participate in a student exchange program this summer in Germany that includes his former St. Thomas classmate Luke McLane ’21.

While the three Gregory siblings all display the divine virtues that define a Good Man of St. Thomas, Doug and Meryl are particularly struck by Barrett’s “determination to do a good job for the Lord.”

Doug says that “when Barrett was making his decision, he came to us and asked, ‘What do you think I should do?’ We said, ‘You have to do you.’ And he did.”

Gregory embarks on his journey conveying an irrepressible joy that comes from intent, perspective, and gratitude. In a turbulent world, he humbly relishes contributing as a servant leader. Empathy over ego.

“There’s a void in the lives of thousands of students and they can’t determine what’s missing,” says Gregory. “I can find ways to relate to almost everyone I come across. I’ve experienced loss in my life by any definition - physical, emotional, monetary, a loved one. My perspective is not, ‘I’m Barrett. I’m a missionary and I have all the answers.’ It’s more like, ‘I know what stress or struggle or despair is like, and I want to walk with you through that.’”

In the constant 21st-century crossfire, many of society’s and the Church’s once-thought-to-be accepted tenets are under assault. Barrett Gregory discovered in the midst of the bedlam that his Catholic faith is a fulcrum to transform confusion and complexity into that which is clear and manageable. His focus is now fixed on the process. The task at hand. One action by action. Simply stated, never easy but certainly straightforward. One small gain by one small gain. Inspiring others. Driving impact. Selflessly leading by the Lord’s example.

DURING THE RECENT THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY SEASON, a select group of St. Thomas scholars was inspired with an appreciation for all the many blessings life has bestowed on them.

Instead of flooding stores and retail websites on America’s so-called Black Friday to grab never say die deals in the spirit of materialism, the senior students gave strong consideration to their new-found gratitude, and how to contribute to something bigger than themselves.

THE CATALYST FOR THE ST. THOMAS 14 -

Finnian Charnquist, Paul Dunn, Jackson Guyre, Rocco Hill, Cole Kelly, Nick King, Alex Lynn, Jack Mathis, Oni Mouton, Colton Ritchey, Harry Tardy, Harrison Watts, Aric Weeks, and Victor Zamora along with campus ministry director Andrew Quittenton and Dunn’s father Jason - was a four-day immersion into a crisis on the streetsthe homelessness in Los Angeles.

The venture was the passion of St. Thomas theology faculty member Danny Hernandez ’08 who organized and executed the student-driven participation in conjunction with his Social Justice curriculum. The sojourn through Skid Row, Homeboy Industries, the Los Angeles Mission, and the Ventura Correctional Facility provided riveting accounts of the raw reality evident every dayunsheltered people, often suffering from abandonment, mental illness, drug addiction, struggling to stay safe and stay alive. “Students can be presented with a high volume of facts and textbook examples of extreme hardship but what they experience firsthand is much more powerful,” Hernandez says. “I wanted that practical component outside the classroom.”

The Southern California contradiction is starkly illuminated. Within proximity of glittering beaches and glossy skyscrapers lit by perpetual sunshine, in the shadows of 28 Fortune 500 companies, is the contrast between vibrant wealth and acute misfortune. Perusing iconic locations such as the Hollywood Hills or the Santa Monica pier, visitors are confronted with malnourished bodies wrapped in old coats, the young and old begging for their next meal.

The St. Thomas contingent resided at the Dolores Mission School committed to serving low-income families in Boyle Heights in East Los Angeles. The first day’s four a.m. alarm signaled the start of preparing breakfast and serving through the Guadalupe Homeless Project.

The following day the St. Thomas group took an eye-opening tour of the Ventura Youth Correctional Facility. They walked the prison and heard the affirmation of a corrections officer affectionately known among the inmates as “Family.” His succinct message to Eagle students struck with sledgehammer effect: “First, decide if you’re a participant or merely a spectator. If you participate, be curious about those who are here but not judgemental. Their lives are often filled with despair and without hope. How do you treat those who have perhaps done horrendous things, those who are poor and vulnerable? Treat them with human dignity.”

Homeboy Industries was founded by Fr. Greg Boyle, a Jesuit priest with more than three decades of ministry to gang members in Los Angeles. The local saint of unconditional compassion stokes a mission of redemption and the largest gang intervention and re-entry program in the United States. His vision has morphed into a series of businesses including a restaurant, a bakery, a cafe, and farmers’ markets created to provide optimism, training, and support to previously incarcerated and gang-involved men and women.

Hernandez is driven by Fr. Boyle’s genuine concerns and actions to create lasting solutions to gang violence - people reinventing their lives in forward-thinking, social enterprise endeavors. His book Tattoos on the Heart honed on his work in the ghetto and a breathtaking series of parables galvanized by his faith is a staple in Hernandez’s Social Justice teachings.

During the 2021 academic year, the St. Thomas community engaged in Fr. Boyle’s compelling testimony and riveting example of dedication to God through service to others. He delivered a stirring talk, first to Eagle students, faculty, and staff, and later to St. Thomas parents and supporters. He hoped that the interaction and dialogue would invigorate and inspire the school’s collective spirit to provide relief wherever they may encounter deprivation.

“We are all asked to live as though the truth is true,” Hernandez says. “The real question is do we live our faith? We say forgive others but do we practice it? The messages throughout our stay were of dignity and that we all require forgiveness and reconciliation, to see Christ in those who are on the margins.”

Hernandez is for all practical accounts a lifelong Houstonian but Los Angeles and the West Coast are forever calling to his soul. It is where he and his brothers were born, where his parents met and married before relocating the family to Houston when Danny was five years old.

He laments the history of homelessness in Los Angeles that goes back nearly 150 years, to the late 19th Century. Skid Row’s proximity to the rail station meant the area was many transplants’ first point of contact with the city, and therefore where they settled.

Themes emerged throughout the subsequent decadeseconomic downturns, mass migrations, and a lack of affordable housing led to more and more homelessness - those on the streets, in makeshift shelters, living in tents and cars and RVs. The annual count rises by 14% per year like clockwork, presuming a 2022 total north of 80,000.

Weeks and his Eagle brothers moved in and around the Skid Row encampment, a district directly east of downtown Los Angeles that covers roughly three square miles and spans more than 50 blocks and contains the largest concentration of homeless people in the world.

“I came to Texas from Detroit when I was 14 and was familiar with lower-class housing. Skid Row was shocking,” Weeks says. “The sheer numbers are difficult to describe or comprehend.

“I’ve grown up getting up at 5:00 a.m. to work the soup kitchens for the homeless. The trip reinforced not to forget my roots, and what I was previously taught - look out for the underdog, give back to people, and remember that everyone is equal. We all bleed the same blood. Volunteerism is only a temporary solution. I hope to become successful as an adult and contribute to something more permanent, invest in the quality of life for others.”

At the same time as the immersion trip, St. Thomas faculty member and director of student activities Joe O’Brien spearheaded a Thanksgiving food drive for the Loaves & Fishes Soup Kitchen, a program run by Magnificat Houses, a Christian assistance ministry.

St. Thomas students raised more than $3,000 and generated more than 350 meals largely prepared by Hernandez’s father Jesus at his flagship Arandas Bakery. The remaining funds helped restock the kitchen’s pantry with non-perishable items. This latest interaction was consistent with the multi-tier goals of O’Brien and Hernandez - raising awareness through education and showing solidarity with those who are in dire distress. Affecting short-term relief may fuel continuing answers that address systemic causes.

Hernandez and St. Thomas Campus Ministry emphasize to students that social justice is not merely an opportunity but an obligation. It is a duty to help others. To serve others. To illustrate those virtues of courage and justice toward and for and through others. To assist people who are afflicted. To help alleviate someone’s worry and fear. And at times, that translates into putting food on their table.

Giving without seeking reward.

Hernandez’s pedagogy is built around the Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching - Life and Dignity of the Human Person; Call to Family, Community, and Participation; Rights and Responsibilities; Option for the Poor and Vulnerable; Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers; Solidarity; and Care of God’s Creation. He first established a connection with Fishes & Loaves during his sophomore year at St. Thomas. In recent years, Hernandez has collaborated with Eagle fathers Rafael Garcia and Ed Cordes in leading students to aid the under-served in Honduras. His participation is in the commitment that institutions of higher education have to better the human condition of all people.

In the book of Genesis, Abraham is told that he has been blessed, and thus must be a blessing to others. That’s one essence of Christianity - if given an undeserved gift (life, talent, success), then give freely in return.

“Initially, students often see service as a checkmark, an obligation,” Hernandez says. “And then many seek additional opportunities because the deeds make them feel good. Still not enough. Service is about how we help each other and mutual respect. It can’t be about a provider and a recipient. That causes a disconnect. There’s no equality.

I want our students to understand they are better people because of their participation and are being made better people because of whom they are engaging. The two sides make each other better and save each other.”

Hernandez is boldly continuing a St. Thomas legacy of service, appealing to his senior scholars through activism, volunteerism, and community-based learning.

Embracing a personal responsibility for each individual, based on talents and gifts, to contribute to the common good. And at the same time, promoting a culture of social justice that can flourish when society removes barriers so that each person can contribute fully to the betterment of that society.

Human dignity. A call to family.

“I WANT OUR STUDENTS TO UNDERSTAND THEY ARE BETTER PEOPLE BECAUSE OF THEIR PARTICIPATION AND ARE BEING MADE BETTER PEOPLE BECAUSE OF WHOM THEY ARE ENGAGING.”

DAMON WEST

ARIVETING RETURN

BE A COFFEE BEAN

Today’s tale is of recovery and the long road to redemption.

A ringleader in a rash of addiction-fueled robberies resurrects from his self-created smoldering crater to signal a warning bell and become a beacon of hope.

An outrageous reversal from rock bottom. Reborn. To be a coffee bean.

Damon West, wannabe college quarterback turned fast-talking politico influencer and fast-tracking investment banker, pivoting from coked-up, low-rolling shenanigans to convicted felon to a bestselling author and nationally renowned motivational speaker.

The revival tour captured a captivated campus community audience in Reckling Gymnasium during the St. Thomas fall semester.

West is more than two decades removed from his Catholic upbringing in southeast Texas that included brothers Brandon and Grayson, his mother Genie, a nurse, and his father Bob, the acclaimed Port Arthur News sports editor and writer for a half-century, championing athletes in equal measure with emphatic philanthropic and social justice efforts.

West was an undersized star at once upon a time high school football factory Port Arthur Thomas Jefferson. His heyday crested in the wake of a steady stream of illustrious Friday Night Heroes that included Cotton Speyer, Gary Hammond, Todd Dodge, Brent Duhon, Shawn and Shea Walker, Robert Smothers, Don Holloway, Craig Stump, and Paddy Doyle, plus Super Bowl-winning head honcho Jimmy Johnson and his kosmic rebel classmate Janis Joplin.

West advanced to the University of North Texas, and got into three games in 1996, including some dueling against Jake Plummer and Arizona State on the same field that hosted Super Bowl XXX just seven months before. The next week West went down with an injury at Texas A&M and his college career was abruptly silenced after 12 completions, a touchdown, and 134 passing yards.

West rebounded momentarily after college, steered his passion for politics, and teamed first with former Texas Land Commissioner Garry Mauro, then Dick Gephardt in his 2004 presidential campaign. A career shift took West to the United Bank of Switzerland to become a stock broker. But a dependence on painkillers led to cocaine and then an introduction to methamphetamine. The spiral soon shifted into turbo drive.

To feed his escalating drug habit, West became the mastermind of a long series of brazen break-ins infamously known in Dallas as the Uptown Burglaries involving more than 50 highbrow home invasions and $1 million of thefts.

In July 2008, West was finally tracked and arrested. The condemning evidence was overwhelming. A jury at the Frank Crowley Courts Building in September 2009 required 10 swift minutes to convict the 33-year-old thief to 65 years in prison, a de facto life sentence.

In his autobiography The Change Agent and in a book he co-authored with Jon Gordon entitled The Coffee Bean, West recounts an encounter with a Dallas County jail inmate in those first months of incarceration that proved life-altering. Mr. Jackson laid out to West what he could expect at the Mark W. Stiles Unit, a Texas Department of Criminal Justice men’s facility in Beaumont. West would be consistently if not brutally challenged - physically, mentally, spiritually - unlike ever before, to join prison gangs, to affirm that membership with sleeves of tattoos, to surrender to the violent lockup culture.

“I see myself in these students and more importantly I believe that many of them see themselves in me,” West says. “Their backgrounds are very similar to my own. They’re bright and ambitious, with committed middle-class family support and obvious advantages to be successful in life. If I can free fall and crash, it can happen to anyone.

Mr. Jackson then laid out the analogy of prison and a pot of boiling water. Tossed into those blistering confines, you can become like a carrot, soft and weak. Or like an egg, hardened and shut off from the rest of the world. Or you can be like a coffee bean that changes the water around it for the better.

West believes he was divinely inspired, saved by God’s wisdom through Mr. Jackson, to “not win all my upcoming fights but to fight all my fights.” And properly “pay a debt that demanded to be paid” to both the wronged victims and his parents “who provided the moral compass to guide my life and I chose to ignore.”

Damon West, inmate number 1-5-8-5-6-8-9 spent seven seemingly endless years displaying model coffee bean-like behavior, transforming himself and those around him. He earned his release in 2016 with a parole that is scheduled to last through 2073. His mesmerizing presence and compelling message have built a still-growing reputation and following on the speaker circuit. St. Thomas was but one stop on his crisscrossing of America sharing his testimony with Fortune 500 companies and championship-aspiring college programs, NBA outfits and prison inmates.

To be a coffee bean.

“My hope is always for everyone to know the power of Christ is inside us all to accomplish anything we want in life, regardless of the circumstances on the outside,” West says. “And once you unlock what is inside you, you can change your environment and yourself.

“I met recently with a guy who first heard me as a 17-year-old in southeast Texas. Initially, my only opportunities to speak were at local groups and churches. Now he’s the sales manager of his company and he told me, ‘I use the coffee bean message every day. I’ve used it every day since I was a high school senior. My sales team uses it. Come talk to my company.’ You never know when you can impact someone or when it will manifest. Maybe tomorrow, maybe a decade from now.”

In his stunning, inconceivable phoenix rise from the ashes, West received his Master of Science in Criminal Justice from Lamar University and has contributed as an adjunct professor at the University of Houston-Downtown. His countless interactions continue to mount, his cause and effect producing immeasurable interpersonal results and resolve. His sincere and serious message strikes with ferocity in those in most need and perhaps most forcefully within the messenger himself. “I get to stay sober,” West says honestly without hesitation when describing the most personal takeaway from his new-found calling. “I’m an addict. Every day I have a recovery program that insists I get outside of myself to serve other people. That is how I stay sober. So engaging a group and presenting my story, whether it’s with Dabo Swinney and Clemson football or Nick Saban and Alabama or Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss or St. Thomas or the Los Angeles Dodgers or corporate board members, it’s a call to action. Maybe a chance to help save others while saving myself.”

To be a coffee bean. Now and always.

RollIng out the Red Carpet! LIGHTS. CAMERA.

The red carpet rolled out and commenced the community’s most robust bash of the year.

Not to salute cinema, lure Hollywood’s elite, or parade the fashion prowess of matinee idols and movie moguls.

Rather, for St. Thomas to celebrate its annual Auction & Gala which applauds and honors the relentless Basilian commitment to innovative scholarship and the deeper purposes of Catholic higher education.

On a night when Astro slugging hero Yordan Alvarez detonated

The enthusiastic, overflow gathering of supporters, donors, and contributors embraced an occasion to assure the continued excellence in the tradition of goodness, discipline, and knowledge.

Style with considerable vigor and substance. A ripe moment to make a statement minus velvet Versace gowns or the powder blue Prada that makes one the belle of the ball. Dolce & Gabbana largely given the night off.

Yet a swanning mood with classic and elegant glitz to match. Glam squads galore. Black-tie ensembles, some occasional

PARTNERS IN TRUTH

Religious beliefs shape - and are shaped by - people, events, and eras. Faith and wisdom are often not gained through epiphany or even years of intense study. Rather, the essential qualities are accumulated day by day - action by action - over the course of a lifetime.

St. Thomas approaches Christianity not as a set of abstractions but as a “lived experience” in a particular time and place. Theology can and perhaps should interact with current thinking in science, the liberal arts, and other areas of inquiry in the common pursuit of truth.

A fresh academic year renewed essential Basilian tenants as faith in action and increasingly relevant in turbulent times. And the high-impact St. Thomas stakeholders again fostered the dynamic relationship between spirituality and society. The Eagle House System was in full force for the latest Camp Aquinas, named for the institution’s patron St. Thomas Aquinas, the consummate union of sanctity and intellect. Designed and debuted in 2017 to provide a deeply positive impact on student intellectual engagement and well-being, the five-day immersion for freshmen is rooted in the Basilian credo Teach Me Goodness, Discipline, and Knowledge with a healthy mix of challenging team-building activities.

The bond that develops among the Eagle brothers during the engagement comes from the ability to shape people through community. To understand that an average academic student might be at the center of the social circle. Or that an acclaimed scholar might not be interacting with peers with compassion or humility. Or that one student who is struggling might need encouragement while another who is struggling needs to be briskly challenged. Every interaction matters and requires genuine trust.

The learning liftoff launched from Camp Cho-Yeh 75 miles north of Houston outside of Livingston. The Eagle contingent landed unglued to social media platforms and the latest viral TikTok trend, not surgically attached to smartphones, and not particularly caring whether future political courses are opting for continuity or chaos. Campus Ministry Director Andrew Quittenton and Dr. Grover Green ’04 tirelessly collaborated on the Camp Aquinas blueprint before deciding on the proper model for the St. Thomas mission. The two have emerged as an energetic and resolute momentum partnering with

Camp Aquinas serves as but one path for Eagle scholars to become wiser and stronger and more resilient one step and one day at a time. In one of his most famous letters to Lucilius, Seneca gives a simple prescription for the good life. “Each day,” he wrote, “acquire something that will fortify you against poverty, against death, indeed against other misfortunes, as well and after you have run over many thoughts, select one to be thoroughly digested that day.”

What you read. Who you study under. The routine and rules you follow. How you treat someone. What you prioritize. The habits you cultivate. Day to day, practiced over a lifetime, this is what creates a Man of St. Thomas. This is what leads to a good life.

One of the essential characteristics of St. Thomas as an esteemed Catholic college-preparatory institution is to be a place of scholarship and teaching, studying the world that God created in the beginning, redeemed through the incarnation of Jesus Christ, and calling back to Him in the end. Liturgical life in general and Camp Aquinas, in particular, are emphatically at the heart of the Basilian pedagogy. Lay people, religious, and students are all visibly committed to making God known, loved, and served.

A GRADE ABOVE

Austin Burke ’23 and Damian Wilson ’23 earned semifinal acclaim in the 68th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. The two exemplary scholars represented among the top one percent of scores taken from the PSAT Qualifying Test and joined 39 previous St. Thomas students since 2010 who have reached at least that phase in the nation’s most prestigious and long-standing academic competition.

Burke and Wilson will now compete for 7,250 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be awarded in the upcoming spring.

Seventeen additional St. Thomas scholars were selected as National Merit Commended Students from the Class of 2023, recognized for “the exceptional academic promise demonstrated by their outstanding performance on the qualifying test used for program entry.” The St. Thomas total in this esteemed category grows to 56 since 2017 and now includes:

Benjamin Brown

Isaac Cabello

Caleb Davis

Evan De Anda

James Dickinson

Thomas Erb

Alexander Erickson

Nathaniel Hulvey

Garner Kelling

Vincent Le

Evan McCarthy

Caleb McClure

Charlie O’Leary

Jacob Pike

Caleb Sudkamp

Frans Vingerhoedt

Bradley Wight

CURRENT RESULTS CONFIRM ST. THOMAS AS A LEADING COLLEGE PREPARATORY EXPERIENCE IN TEXAS AND A TOP-10 CATHOLIC INSTITUTION IN THE REGION.

Ten additional St. Thomas scholars were named to the College Board’s National Hispanic Recognition Program. Invitation for the honor was extended to students who scored in the top 2.5 percent among Hispanic and Latino PSAT/NMSQT test-takers in the region.

The latest group bringing the St. Thomas total to 42 in the previous six years includes:

Mateo Albrecht ’23

Eduardo Carstensen ’23

Manuel Cohen ’24

Eldon De Anda ’23

Rafael Joseph ’24

Zackary Parker ’23

Isaac Perez ’24

Adrian Pruneda ’24

Luka Salcedo ’23

William Wittman ’24

Luke Anigbogu ’23 and Samuel Pratt ’23 were selected for the National African American Recognition Program, and Levi Finkelman ’24 and Thomas Roberson ’24 for the National Indigenous Recognition Program.

These current results confirm St. Thomas as a leading college preparatory experience in Texas and a top-10 Catholic institution in the region. Much of a student’s readiness stems from learning opportunities as freshmen and sophomores. St. Thomas builds on those experiences to provide students with a robust application and pedagogy for the SAT, a critical component in becoming a Finalist.

Sponsored by the not-for-profit National Merit Scholarship Corp, the program requires applicants to submit an extensive application that includes recommendations and an essay along with their academic record and subsequent SAT scores, school and community involvement, employment, as well as demonstrations of leadership and awards.

QUEST FOR THE BEST

St. Thomas is proud to celebrate the latest champion scholars earning membership in its prestigious chapter of the National Honor Society.

Commemorating more than 100 years of saluting the nation’s most acclaimed students, the NHS is recognized as the nation’s premier organization rewarding high school students who demonstrate excellence in scholarship, service, leadership, and character - the four pillars of the NHS since its beginnings.

The St. Thomas inductees maintain a superior academic performance while engaging in rigorous college preparatory and Advanced Placement courses. Members are expected to maintain their acclaimed standing and mentor underclassmen while selflessly making a difference in the world, no matter where they are

The St. Thomas NHS officers for the 2022-23 academic year are president Austin Burke ’23, vice president Anthony Equale ’23, secretary Trey Schaider ’23, treasurer Michael Staron ’23, and parliamentarian Bradley Wight ’23.

THE 52 NEWLY INDUCTED NHS MEMBERS INCLUDE:

Gunther Blencke ’24

William Bone ’24

Nicolas Borin ’24

Samuel Brooks ’24, Campbell Brown ’24

William Brown ’24

Cade Church ’24

Lyle Clanton ’24

Aidan Clark ’24

Noa Clifford ’24

Manuel Cohen ’24

Benjamin Dalton ’23

Jacob Davidson ’24

Michael De Jesus ’24

Lucas De Meritt ’24

Frank DeJarnette ’24

Alessandro Diaz ’24

Levi Finkelman ’24

Philip Gallagher ’23

Walker Green ’24

Owen Hartley ’24

Thomas Higginbotham ’24

Hayden Hoover ’24

William Hosman ’24

Rafael Joseph ’24

Peter Kaul ’24

George Lane ’24

Benjamin Lauzon ’24

Rhys Lloyd ’24

Patrick McCarthy ’24

Charles Molineaux ’24

Sam Moore ’24

Jayden Morfin ’24

Philip Morrison ’24

David Neason ’24

Daniel Neason ’24

Antoine Nguyen ’24

Charles O’Leary ’23

Ernest Oppermann ’24

Samuel Peters ’24

Simon Pham ’24

Adrian Pruneda ’24

John Rickert ’24

Patrick Schloegel ’24

Miguel Sequeira ’24

Deldon Sivakumar ’24

Benjamin Thoede ’24

Alex Tidwell ’24

James Ulm ’24

Stephen Visintine ’24

Jake Wakil ’24

William Wittman ’24

Mateo Albrecht

Luke Anigbogu

Nicolas Barriga

Ben Brown

Ben Burch

Austin Burke

Isaac Cabello

Arjun Chahal

Samuel Cornell

Caleb Davis

Evan De Anda

James Dickinson

Colin Dixon

Nathan Doiron

Sean Donovan

Logan DuPlantis

Anthony Equale

Tommy Erb

Alex Erickson

Matthew Fote

John Griffiths

Leo Grover

Jack Guyre

Grayson Haight

Liam Hennen

John Heyburn

Nathan Hulvey

Nathan Hunt

Jonathan Jackson

Matthew Jones

Max Kaase

Jack Keeler

Blake Keller

Garner Kelling

Cole Kelly

Jackson Knower

Vincent Le

Seth Levy

Zeo Lin

Brian Lively

Luka Ljuboja

Alex Lynn

Logan Mahoney

Luke Martin

Evan McCarthy

Caleb McClure

Ryan McGuire

Jorge Morfin

Oni Mouton

Ted Naeher

Aidan Nanquil

Ryan Nguyen

Graham Nieland

Thomas Pham

Jake Pike

Luka Salcedo

Braydan Salinas

Casey Salvatierra

Sam Saman

Trey Schaider

Parker St. Raymond

Michael Staron

Caleb Sudkamp

Collin Tautfest

Jack Weaver

Bradley Wight

Damian Wilson

Jad Zeidan

Involvement in the NHS is an exclusive responsibility, with students expected to continue to reflect society’s high standards, as well as serve the school and their fellow students as academic leaders, ambassadors, and tutors.

Science faculty member Dr. Claire Conboy played a pivotal role in determining the deep St. Thomas NHS participation in her second year as chapter advisor.

“This is significant prestige that demonstrates the depth of the academic achievement thriving within St. Thomas,” Dr. Conboy says. “We are about developing and nurturing our students to reach their potential not only through curriculum but as vibrant contributors to society. And this honor provides a guiding light for all our young men of what is attainable and what should be pursued.”

Previously, Burke and Wilson earned semifinal acclaim in the 68th annual National Merit Scholarship Program while Brown, Davis, De Anda, Cabello, Dickinson, Erb, Erickson, Hulvey, Kelling, Le, McCarthy, McClure, O’Leary, Pike, Sudkamp, and Wight were selected as National Merit Commended Students.

De Anda was also named to the College Board’s National Hispanic Recognition Program along with Albrecht, Cohen, Joseph, Perez, Pruneda, Salcedo, and Wittman.

Anigbogu was selected for the National African American Recognition Program and Finkelman for the National Indigenous Recognition Program.

THESE ACCLAIMED STUDENTS JOINED 68 FELLOW EAGLES FROM THE CLASS OF 2023 WHO HAD PREVIOUSLY DEMONSTRATED THE ABILITY TO EXCEL, SERVE, LEAD, AND SUCCEED WITH A GENUINE QUEST FOR CHALLENGE AND ACCOMPLISHMENT.

No Ordinary Love Story

Romeo and Juliet is a centuries-old Shakespearean classic that’s mostly about teenagers with teenage intensity and recklessness, the impulsiveness of youth, whereby hearts lead and tempers follow as feelings detonate like fireworks.

And as St. Thomas Theater displayed under the visionary ways of director Dan Green, even after all these many years, the kids are alright. What Green and his inspired cast of characters brought to life for an October engagement at Cemo Auditorium at the Moran Fine Arts Center was no extreme stylistic contemporary chutzpah as a nod to Baz Luhrmann and the angelic pairing of Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Daines. Forget an overwhelmingly of-the-moment pop-punk version underscored by the likes of Garbage and Shirley Manson’s haunting “#1 Crush” (I will twist a knife and bleed my aching heart ... And tear it apart)

Rather, Green revived one of the Bard’s most enduring works for a fresh generation, returning the endlessly malleable tragedy to its roots as one of literature’s most heart-wrenching love stories - a throwback to classicism with vividness, spontaneity, and emotional authenticity.

“I have directed a lot of Shakespeare over the years, but I have always avoided Romeo and Juliet. I guess I thought it overdone,” Green says. “I finally embraced the opportunity, and I’m so glad I did. We had 15 teachers, scores of parents, and 80 students who came together to fence, dance, grapple with the language, score scenes, weld actual halberds, and craft leather pouches and scabbards. The actors mastered more than 4,700 lines of poetry, performed on three different stages - one of which spun entirely around - and managed to do all of it in less than eight weeks. I’m immensely proud of our program. We produce great works and that’s only because of all the talented and committed people involved.”

Green and his superlative company of actors injected uncommon urgency into the performances, along with stirring depth of feeling.

You know the drill - two houses, both alike in dignity yet divided. Romeo’s Montagues and Juliet’s Capulets, feuding families in the world of Verona. Forbidden, star-crossed lovers align. Tragedy ensues. This ever-lasting tale routinely stands or falls on the appeal of its fatal attraction, and Green’s young stars brought sweet passion to their immortal roles.

Damian Wilson ’23 in his ninth St. Thomas production and Flinn Burrell (Incarnate Word Academy ’24) were mesmerizing as head-spinning romantics. Their chemistry was instantaneous, fierce, and bright, the poignancy between them palpable. The audience was never doubting the youthful, I-would-die-for-you intensity of their desire. Burrell (fourth STH production) brought a force to match Wilson’s, but her Juliet was no flighty lovebird, rather strong-willed and intelligent. And as the tension narrowed, the ill-fated duo was flooded with feeling.

“Damian was nuanced, poetic, profound, and occasionally comic. Flinn was perpetually sweet, independent, full of vigor and wit,” Green says.

Zoe Yokubaitis (IWA ’23) conveyed a true measure of gravity to the role of Juliet’s nurse, while Casey Salvatierra ’23 was flawless as the compassionate Friar Laurence who goes out on a limb again and again in support of true love.

“Zoe was cast against type - earthy, rustic, and forever comical until the character revealed herself to be untrustworthy, unsympathetic, and foolish,” Green says. “She played the part beautifully for both laughs and for moments of true grief. Casey was the voice of wisdom in the play.

“(Senior) Jorge Morfin was irreverent and amazing as Mercutio. (Seniors) Brandt Peterson (Paris) and Evan De Anda (Benvolio) added plenty of punch as the perfect foils for Damian’s Romeo. Aidan Nanquil (Lord Capulet) was cast against type as well, delivering an aggressive and violent father alongside Danielle Bartholet (IWA ’23) and her traumatized Lady Capulet.”

Additional expertise in full dazzling display was the unrivaled set construction and fluid scenic design spearheaded by invaluable faculty member Phil Gensheimer with Ben Thoede ’24, Christopher Brochu ’23, and Simon Pham ’23 contributing and Paul Dunn ’23 organizing the set crew. Period costumes were simply stunning. Thrilling sword fights and brief bouts of stage mayhem were artfully choreographed by Teresa Stranahan with faculty member and production assistant Chris Patton ’13.

Faculty member Darrell Yarborough instructed 18 students in a beautifully realized gavotte, led by Brian Deavers ’23 (seventh STH production) and Elena Padilla (Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart ’26). The rich talents of music director Josh Wilson, audio/visual coordinator Chris Hodge, and faculty member/art consultant Chau Nguyen were essential.

Romeo and Juliet offered a sharp jolt of exquisite theatrical storytelling, a crisp adaptation with striking familiar beats. Despite its inevitable and predictable conclusion, St. Thomas Theater offered a visual experience fully enticing, its emotional power fueled by the lyrical beauty of the language and the unfaltering command of a first-rate cast.

“We embrace the challenge to be our best as a group,” Green says. “Sometimes that means constructing magical forests with 15-foot trees. Sometimes we build stairs that light up with every step but only for tap dancers. Sometimes we place everyone in slippers and make them fence all over the stage. The latter was the case for this most recent production. The end result was magical.”

“The actors mastered more than 4,700 lines of poetry, performed on three different stages.”

MAN FOR ALL SEASONS

THE SCHOLAR crushes the calculus quandary in a manner to make forever wizkid Will Hunting take notice.

The baller is a working 6’8” paragon of the switchable, floor-spacing, rim-running, spoke-in-the-wheel center archetype, sprinkling himself all over a box score.

The musician delivers a vibrant, beefy full-throttle tone, or quiet and pensive, within a collective wavelength, unifying around a common melody before launching into a cumulative sensation.

The politico relentlessly dives into campus government and seeks other like-minded initiators working toward the same goals of improving student life and representing the student voice.

A National Merit Commended student. A member of the National Honor Society for consecutive years. A rip roaring 4.7 GPA. A self-proclaimed “math guy” excelling through a slew of rigorous curriculum. The demands of the fall semester were Advanced Placement Environmental Science, AP Statistics, AP Literature, Advanced Philosophy, Advanced Economics, Broadcast Journalism. And Orchestra.

Viola anyone?

All for starters.

In the spring, let’s mix in War and Antiquity, and Christ in Popular Culture, just for variety sake. Jake Pike is emphatic when he declares “I’m very competitive at everything I do and it starts within my family.”

Credit Jake’s parents Connie and Troy for setting the high-arcing standard Pike gained to appreciate during his grade school years and the pronounced influence of two older sisters. Izzy Pike is now earning her undergraduate degree in speech pathology at the University of Oklahoma. Frankie is a brand and advertising coordinator at 3rd + Lamar, a sleek Austin-based media company and advertising agency.

The lessons learned were to measure only against potential. Pike’s mantra is “strive to be the best” whether dissecting the motives of Macbeth or pursuing his musical muse or moved by the beat of a bouncing basketball.

“I challenge myself to achieve as much as I can,” says Pike. “At St Thomas, we have the opportunity to pursue a wide range of interests. I organize every day and understand what’s required. Orchestra is built into the academic schedule. I take advantage of study halls. Basketball practice is later in the afternoon. Time management is essential and doable. If you invest in the work, regardless of the interest or expertise in the particular discipline, the results never suffer.”

Pike specifically selected St. Thomas out of Spring Branch Middle School as the canvas to paint his vast technicolor megapixel expressions is a sizable stretch. Kind of sort of.

“My parents made me,” Pike says with a laugh as to how he decided on high school. “Actually, I wanted to go to public school where many of my friends were attending. But when the options were exclusively private, I did choose St. Thomas. It was the most welcoming.”

The fit proved most favorable. And Pike’s turbo-charged senior routine wasn’t complete without serving as the 2022-23 St. Thomas student body president. Pike and vice president John Heyburn successfully campaigned on a “represent the people” platform and are determined to fulfill their manifesto.

“I was involved in student government in middle school and it was always my plan to run for president,” Pike says. “John and I are aggressive in pushing the agenda, whether it’s senior privileges, extracurricular or fundraising activities. We helped generate more than $40,000 for the walk-a-thon.

Our pledge was to have the students benefit and have the best possible year.”

THE FOUR ARE ULTIMATELY ONE. JAKE PIKE ’23 - THE LATEST ST. THOMAS RENAISSANCE MAN WITHOUT LIMITS, THE KING OF COMPARTMENTALIZATION DISCOVERING INSPIRED WAYS TO BLEND HIS ACADEMIC, ATHLETIC, AND ARTISTIC PASSIONS INTO A RARE, BROAD BREATH OF RESOUNDING SUCCESS.

Pike is every college admissions counselor’s dream candidate. Driven. Curious. Amiable and eminently sensible. An ego that rattles in a thimble. And the hoop dreams have delivered his grandest public identity.

Eagle Basketball Head Coach Karnell James knows Jake as “a natural leader. Guys gravitate to him. His energy is contagious. He’s the coach on the court that every championship-caliber team needs.”

Once upon a schoolboy time, a player with Pike’s size would have been parked in the painted area within close proximity to post up, dunk, block some shots, gobble a double-double. But Jake possessed broader horizons and exemplifies the transformation of frontcourt players who have turned the hoopworld inside-out over the past two decades.

Pike has morphed into The Great Enabler. Whatever is demanded, he can make possible. A quick hyper-skilled big man with a feathery jumper and pump-and-go move (he should start a gas station chain). Passing and poise on one end, speed and length on the other.

“He’s developed into a knockdown shooter,” James says. “Great timing defending aggressively without fouling. Positions and rebounds in traffic. Can finish and make free throws. Plus, he’s a mature, stabilizing presence. Nothing rattles Jake.”

Through the swirling chaos of COVID-19, Pike’s sophomore and junior seasons were slammed with the repeated interruptions and shutdowns related to the pandemic. Pike augmented his development on the competitive summer circuit with the Houston Defenders AAU program that featured Chris Johnson and Jamari McDowell, a pair of primo guards who would sign with the University of Kansas. Pike demonstrated he could thrive in the five-out scheme with players running spread pickand-roll and shooters spotting up around an army of nasty drive men.

But Pike’s most emphatic impression on James came days after he accepted his first head coaching position in April 2020.

“We immediately lost three starters. It was man overboard in many instances,” James says. “Jake was a 6’7” ninth grader and could have transferred anywhere in the city. He met with me and said ‘I’m staying with you.’ He believed in the school, believed in the program, believed in me. I cannot tell you what that meant personally. I’m thrilled that his senior year is being rewarded with a season that is making all of us proud.”

Perhaps Pike the math guy is drawn to a game about spacing, the geometry, the puzzle of it all. His hardwood linear solution requires no simplex algorithm to derive the desired - and correct - answer. “State championship. That’s all I want.”

Eyes on the prize. With Pike as the fulcrum pivoting with the feisty, dynamic talents of J’Mar Franklin ’24, Aron Valentine ’24, and Evan Levy ’25, the Red & White roared into the New Year with a gaudy 15-1 win-loss record - one of the best beginnings in program history - and a lofty state ranking among the power elite private schools.

“We have a tight group always looking to improve,” Pike says. “The chemistry is strong. We know we can rely on each other however a game unfolds.”

On the court, in the classroom, in raucous discussions, or in contemplative solitude, Pike is all about testing himself, calibrating his strengths and minimizing his weaknesses in the midst of daily trials, deepening his self-control and commitment. For next.

“He sees the biggest picture and the end game for adult success,” James says. “Jake is taking full advantage of attending a premier college preparatory school. He’s pouring in the work now so that future options will present themselves, in basketball or wherever his talents take him.”

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

THE HILL COUNTRY OF BELL COUNTY SERVED AS THE DEEP AUTUMN BACKDROP FOR THE ECSTASY AND AGONY OF EAGLE FOOTBALL.

First, a wild quiet riot playoff rally in Belton to earn a second TAPPS state semifinal in four seasons and fourth since 2014. Only to be dispatched and nullified by the reigning kingpin in the return visit the following Thanksgiving weekend.

St. Thomas didn’t have to play a perfect game to overcome this version of three-time defending champion Parish Episcopal, but the Eagles had to be much better than their exit offering of 2022. The offense failed to get in gear early, the defense was vulnerable to gash and dash scoring spurts, and it created a mountain that the current roster was not capable of summiting.

The outcome proved inevitable and imminent. A succession of incremental mishaps built into an overarching 42-7 outcome that suddenly silenced the sixth season with head coach Rich McGuire. The most emphatic sabotage since the Beastie Boys unleashed Ill Communication A treasure trove of jagged emotions. Not the dystopia depicted in Mad Max but close. The sport can be cruel that way.

For much of the rip rollicking hard knocks campaign, the title dreams for St. Thomas were fueled by a cheat code at quarterback for which opponents had no counter.

Dual-threat dynamo Donte Lewis ’24 was dazzling in his first season as a varsity starter, rocking a thrill-a-second ride reminiscent of the syncopated single-note riffs, pyrotechnic finger-tapping, elastic dive-bombs, and whammy bar squeals of Eddie Van Halen. The mad-scramble magician was seemingly responsible for a series of darts every game that dilated your pupils. He took part in 37 touchdowns and the Eagles dominated through nine straight decisive romps and stomps. Great playoff expectations hinged on a sensational Senior Night send-off into the money month of November.

Eagle Football was undefeated, unchallenged, and yet largely unproven before an ominous last-minute 38-35 setback to San Antonio Antonian denied a fourth undefeated district title since 2018 after sharing the crown in 2021. The disappointment also prevented the Eagles from cementing their first unbeaten regular season since 2013 (second since 1939) and snapped a 10-game winning streak at Hotze Field inside Granger Stadium.

The good vibes and unfiltered optimism rising for 10 weeks were temporarily stifled. Eagle Football had already absorbed the heavy loss of Humvee running back Johann Cardenas ’24, unable to expand his 1,317 yards from scrimmage and 18 touchdowns in only seven games thanks to a knee injury. St. Thomas still entered the Division I postseason no. 2 in the Houston Chronicle private school rankings after seven consecutive weeks as the unanimous no. 1 and closed no. 5 in the final Dave Campbell’s Texas Football state poll.

McGuire reset the squad during a bye week and Eagle Football fixed its collective focus on the regional final against Addison Trinity Christian Academy.

The irrepressible Lewis lived up to the advance billing, flashing four touchdowns, including a go-ahead score in the final minute of the fourth quarter and the game-winning throw in overtime to scintillating Shaffer Henderson ’23. Donte’s inferno of clutch secured a 27-21 revival that advanced St. Thomas to the biggest big beat strong since the three-chord mayhem of The Woggles. Figuring out exactly how QB1 rescued victory from the jaws of jeopardy should be one of those legendary physics equations that take 100 years to solve.

A lethargic Eagle offense was scoreless since early in the second quarter and faced a perilous 18-14 deficit with less than 5:30 remaining in regulation. Lewis orchestrated a marathon 15-play, 65-yard drive that demanded three thirddown conversions. He recapture the lead after rolling out of pressure and sprinting to the left pylon for his second rushing touchdown of the night and a slim 21-18 cushion with only 57 ticks left in the fourth period.

TCA recovered to force overtime with a 38-yard field goal in the closing seconds. In the words and spirit of Shirley Manson, it was necessary for St. Thomas to “Push It.”

Ray Davis’s demolition defensive crew had racked a body count to rival the merger aftermath of Warner Bros. Discovery. The swat and swarm unit responded rather impressively to tasting its own blood in its mouth. Five times they answered in the game’s elevated atmosphere to force red zone field goals. Then in the extra session, bonecrushing linebackers Tyler Day ’24 and Jack Ward ’23 led a relentless charge that stoned the Trojans three times from inside the four-yard line.

Lewis took over and proceeded to tap into his inner Sam & Dave.

When the day comes and you’re down In a river of trouble and about to drown Just hold on, I’m comin’ Hold on, I’m comin’

On third-and-five from the 20-yard line, Lewis was coming with the shotgun snap and dialing Henderson with a pluperfect pass to the right corner of the end zone. The isolation coverage had zero chance negating “NASA Z Aggie.” Henderson glue-gripped and toe-tapped his second score with the most important grab of his career - and ninth touchdown of the season - to complete the improbable comeback. St. Thomas staked its first 10-win season since 2015.

As Funkadelic might ask - can you get to that?

On the game’s opening set, Lewis tag-teamed with receiver Larry Benton ’24 for a 45-yard explosive and then delivered on a designed draw to the left sideline for 17 yards and a 7-0 jump less than two minutes into the playoffs.

The Eagles’ third possession was their most methodical march of the season - 19 snaps worth 99 yards, overcoming four third downs, a fourth-and-12, plus a holding penalty that required first-and-20. Lewis provided the payoff punch to Henderson with a sign of theatrics to come. The tantalizing twosome exploited a man-to-man matchup on the right boundary for a 33-yard score and 14-3.

The Eagles eventually braved a calamitous evening by mastering the moxie of a properly shaken Cantarito traditionally served in jarritos. A survive and advance escape with the season on life support.

In the encore eight days later, St. Thomas didn’t command the best out of itself, its less-than-grand finale a far cry from those weekly pitch-perfect pyrotechnic performances. The Eagles had stacked jaw-dropping marauding results but not looked the part of a title contender during the bitter regular-season climax. The team didn’t enter the bracket at its apex and couldn’t recapture that level for the final sprint.

Yet it was possible to both appreciate the joys of the previous three months and still feel the pain inflicted by a juggernaut program. A step back, another bump in the road returning Eagle Football to state championship glory. Not seized and savored since 1996. Patience exercised once again.

ROOTED. RELEVANT. RESTLESS.

St. Thomas has enjoyed a long and visible athletic history with team success predicated on developing the total student-athlete holistically. Achievement is without compromising academic standards or mission priorities. No objectives arrive at the expense of remaining true to the strengths of its Catholic Basilian bedrock and the teaching of goodness, discipline, and knowledge.

Scholar-athletes comprise nearly 70% of the St. Thomas enrollment and are encouraged to integrate into the campus community, nurturing meaningful relationships with peers and an identity beyond the realm of sport. That dynamic ethos more than a century in the making made a continued involvement with the Catholic Bowl event a prime opportunity to be seized - engaging in a cultural exchange that salutes genuine religious identity while celebrating faith, freedom, and football.

Catholic Bowl II was a joint venture presented at the state-of-the-art indoor facility of the Dallas Cowboys that included two other rising TAPPS powers and St. Edmund of Eunice, Louisiana. The marquee match-making was the genius of Patrick Steenberge, the founder and president of Global Football, a company that arranges for high schools and small colleges around the United States to play internationally. His supremely optimistic vision and exhausting due diligence with a small group of stakeholders brought the deal together for a second consecutive year.

The Saturday tripleheader commemorated the 21st anniversary of the horrific 9/11 terrorist attacks that killed 2,977 people and injured thousands at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Lives were lost and millions forever changed by the deadliest terrorist act in world history. The Catholic Bowl was designed to climax a series of distinctive activities and recognitions held to mark the occasion.

One of the partners of Catholic Bowl II was the Serve Like A Saint program, a grassroots faith-based initiative dedicated to embracing meaningful ways to serve in marginalized communities. Patrons were treated to an exhibition of exclusive art from Bart Forbes, one of America’s most renowned illustrators and gallery artists, specializing in original compositions of iconic sports figures and moments.

St. Thomas President Fr. James Murphy, CSB was a con-celebrant of the Friday night Mass for the participating teams at St. Martin De Porres Catholic Church in Prosper. The traveling parties then shared a Friday night dinner with an opportunity to connect outside their usual inner circles. The journey to young adulthood is a place begging to be explored.

Once the gridworld took center stage at the Ford Field at The Star in Frisco, St. Thomas turned ravenous and relentless in blasting Fort Worth Nolan Catholic 45-28 with a verdict not as close as the final margin might suggest.

Robust running back Johann Cardenas ’24 battered and bolted for 189 yards with four rushing touchdowns and added a fifth on a flip from charismatic quarterback Donte Lewis ’24. Eagle Football rolled past 40 points in its third consecutive runaway rout and racked up four turnovers for the second straight week in staking its first 3-0 start since 2015.

The dominant Catholic Bowl performance proved a satisfying encore to the last-second pulse-pounding 38-31 triumph over Plano John Paul II in the inaugural 2021 showcase.

The Eagles closed the first half flexing for an 87-yard march with Cardenas converting a pair of third downs, first a screen catch-and-run worth 20 yards, then a 14-yard blast to set up a Lewis payoff to Preston Bowman ’23 that raised the count to 28-7 at the break.

After Eagle Football recovered a fumbled kickoff to start the third quarter, the rampage runner took the second snap and dodged, ducked, and dashed away for 28 yards for his fourth score and an insurmountable 35-7 advantage.

The Cardenas Extravaganza featured repeated end zone residence, cashing in from short range following an explosive 47-yard connection from Lewis (19-38 for 265 yards) to receiver Larry Benton ’24 for 7-0 in the first quarter. On the next St. Thomas possession, Cardenas collected a quick toss from Lewis in the left flat and expertly cut to the sideline for a 48-yard mad dash to give the Eagles the lead for good. He then crashed the right side of Nolan Catholic in the second period for 21-7 with 9:49 remaining before halftime.

Cardenas represented certain success in every high-leverage situation. Late in the third quarter, he stamped his career-best night with an emphatic exclamation - accelerating into breakaway gear and overmatching the final two tacklers deep in the Nolan secondary to finish a 60-yard lightning bolt score. Unbridled euphoria soon had its new poster man-child.

The Eagle defense delivered a strong dose of Armageddon Time to rival any production involving Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong, and Anthony Hopkins. The four takeaways enabled St. Thomas to feast on field position deep into the third quarter when the outcome was being decided.

Eagle Football forced four punts in Nolan’s first five possessions. In the second period, linebacker Jack Ward ’23 (10 tackles) ripped his first interception of the season followed by safety Caleb Davis ’23 stripping a Nolan ball carrier breaking to the end zone with recovery at the St. Thomas 13-yard line.

St. Thomas has now met Nolan Catholic eight times - the first seven in the playoffs - and owns a string of matchups previously dominated by suffocating defense with six victories. St. Edmund opened the Saturday tripleheader with a 40-14 victory over Plano John Paul II. The expanded slate for 2022 included Muenster Sacred Heart defeating four-time TAPPS IV state champion Shiner St. Paul 30-20 in a rematch of the 2021 state title game.

From its founding in 1900, the leaders of St. Thomas have believed that vigorous athletic competition plays a perfect parlay to the educational mission of the institution. The fervor of Eagle Athletics is to inspire and facilitate all its scholarathletes to embrace championship-caliber pursuits with steadfast resolve, to triumph in character as well as spirit regardless of the scoreboard results.

Catholic Bowl II offered yet another glimpse of Eagles performing with integrity, intelligence, and balance - a life lesson that lasts long beyond the deserved, but ephemeral elation of victory.

EAGLE FOOTBALL 43 ST. JOHN’S SCHOOL 28

Electric quarterback Donte Lewis ’24 dropped a dizzy and delightful first varsity start with 477 total yards and six touchdown passes, three to breakout receiver Shaffer Henderson ’23, and running back Johann Cardenas ’24 turned beast-mode in the second half to launch a convincing victory at Skip Lee Field.

The divine display from Lewis was the gaudiest debut since House of the Dragon – 24-36, 399 passing yards plus seven rushes for 78 yards. He paraded an array of mind-numbing arm-angle deliveries and Mahomes-esque escapes from pocket pressure with a too-blessed-to-be stressed vibe and too-new-to-be-nervous nonchalance that defied simple understanding. The uber-athletic package was in full view – accuracy, touch, competitive savvy, and an uncanny ability to make plays where there appeared to be none.

LUMBERTON 24

EAGLE FOOTBALL 42

Lewis mesmerized for the second straight Friday night, dashing and throwing for five touchdowns while Eagle Football’s demolition defense feasted on four turnovers in a commanding victory for its ninth straight home win.

The Eagles pumped and pounded a tenacious D that would have made Jack Black and Kyle Gass stomp with rock steady delight. War-daddies Jack Ward ’23 and Jack Keeler ’23 each took part in 13 tackles. Tyler Day ’24 racked multiple sacks. All-state safety Caleb Davis ’23 piled a pair of interceptions on back-to-back series in the second stanza, including an end zone swipe set up by a contested ball by Keenan Bonner ’24.

THE KINKAID SCHOOL 14 EAGLE FOOTBALL 35

Eagle Football never trailed and hammered a second half shutout on its way to 5-0 for the first time since the 2013 outfit thundered to the program’s first undefeated regular season since 1939.

Daring and darting Donte aired out four touchdowns. Cardenas roared for another with 178 rushing yards. A nasty defense forced three turnovers at Hotze Field inside Granger Stadium. More than enough bang in their ying yang, zing in their zang zang, ting in their tang tang. Come along, come along. And the best boom boom since John Lee Hooker.

EAGLE FOOTBALL 35

SA CENTRAL CATHOLIC 18

Cardenas turned into a one-man wrecking crew with 234 total yards and three touchdowns while Lewis delivered two decisive fourth quarter scoring strikes to Henderson as Eagle Football opened the district race with a slamdance defense that dictated the major moments.

The initial shock of lightning from Lewis to Henderson came four plays into the fourth quarter. The game-breaking receiver took a quick hit in the right flat, pivoted to the outside, and detonated up the sideline untouched for a 44-yard pitch-and-catch that pushed the Eagles in front 28-18. The burst immediately answered a Central Catholic score that had closed the count to a threatening margin.

Following an essential end zone interception from Davis, Cardenas bullied and banged four times in a clock-killing drive that churned more than four minutes of game time before Lewis suddenly dialed in Henderson (six receptions for 147 yards) alone in the Central Catholic secondary for their second 44-yard tag-team explosion for points. Lewis’ 20th touchdown toss sealed the decision with a so long baby goodbye The Blasters could appreciate.

EAGLE FOOTBALL 35 TOMBALL CONCORDIA LUTHERAN 7

Cardenas overpowered for 158 rushing yards on only 16 carries with four touchdowns while a doomsday defense continued its lockdown domination for a seventh straight win to start the season.

The Eagles slapped a 21-point second quarter to effectively decide the outcome by halftime. Cardenas scorched some of the best soloing since rock-guitar gunslinger Eddie Van Halen let loose his slash-and-burn aesthetic “Eruption.” Two minutes into the second stanza, Cardenas exploded into TCL’s second tier and rocketed for a 62-yard scoring bolt. On the second series of the second half, he touched the ball four times in a six-play scoring series, bulldozing the final 22 yards for his final rushing touchdown of the game, his 13th of the season, and his 18th overall for 2022.

EAGLE FOOTBALL 49 ST. PIUS X 24

Lewis danced for 163 yards with three touchdowns, went upstairs for 218 and a fourth TD, and connected with Henderson on a mystifying completion to set up a score as Eagle Football collected its ninth straight knock without a loss.

With an already imposing 28-10 halftime advantage, Grant Stewart ’25 raced 30 yards down the right sideline for a pick six – the grandest return since Liam Gallagher sold out consecutive shows at iconic Knebworth 26 years after Oasis raged in front of 250,000 fans.

After a swift three and out, Lewis roamed to his right near midfield, broke to the outside, and accelerated as if Usain Bolt adding to his precious gold collection. Lewis turned on the turbojets to motor untouched for a blazing 60-yard house call.

Two snaps, one each on offense and defense, and the Eagles instilled enough spooky week fear Scream slasher Billy and his creepy accomplice Stu reeking torment and terror throughout Woodsboro (“Scary night, isn’t it? … Like right out

Linebacker Zach Rocha ’23 and his bash brothers badgered with the intent of midterm election campaigns.

SPEED THRILLS

Ben Lauzon ’24 and David Carbajal ’26 blazed to top-10 results to propel Eagle Cross Country to an impressive third-place finish at the TAPPS 6A state championship meet at the Cottonwood Creek Golf Course in Waco.

Lauzon captured third overall in 16:27.6 and Carbajal ninth in 17:08.6 as a parade of St. Thomas whiz kids improved on last year’s fifth-place state result. Ryan Bordas ’25 (17:57.9) added a top-20 time while Michael Kiefer ’25 (18:00.1) and James Glenn ’25 (18:11.6) contributed to the St. Thomas team total of 77 points.

Jonathon King ’25 ran 19:09.5 and Pablo Ramirez ’24 19.21.7 which means acclaimed head coach Nathan Labus will return an armada of talent in 2023 to attack a state championship pursuit. The steady series of excellence includes three consecutive state runner-up results from 2018-20.

The concluding performance wrapped an impressive season of strong showings routinely fronted by the terrific St. Thomas trio who posted top-five finishes to lead Eagle Cross Country to a runaway title at the GHCAA/Houston Area Championships at Spring Creek Park in Tomball. Carbajal (17:12.30), Lauzon (17:16.10), and Bordas (17:52.70) blitzed the 5,000 meters as St. Thomas easily outpaced The Village School, Tomball Concordia Lutheran, and St. Pius X with a team total of 28 points.

The St. Thomas threesome also led the Eagles to seventh at the 41st St. John’s Maverick Ramble with Lauzon clocking in at 16:38.70, Carbajal at 17:08.30, and Bordas at 17:38.70.

Lauzon raced to a top-15 finish as Eagle Cross Country staked 11th at the Texas A&M High School Invitational. St. Thomas posted the top private school performance among 28 schools and 276 individual participants. Lauzon charged the 5,000 meter Watts Cross Country Course in College Station in 16:37.10. Carbajal (17:55.8) and Bordas (18:02.1) along with Glenn (18:15.2) and Ramirez (18:34.3) added to the decisive St. Thomas performance.

Lauzon, Carbajal, and Bordas launched the campaign with top-five tallies as St. Thomas successfully defended its title at the 13th annual IWA Invitational at Houston’s Willow Waterhole Greenway. Lauzon (10:16) and Carbajal (10:22) placed second and third over the 3,200-meter layout with Bordas (10:35) fifth. St. Thomas dominated the event for the second consecutive year with a team total of 29 points to decidedly outdistance Fulshear, The Woodlands Christian, St. John XXIII, and Bay Area Christian.

HOMECOMING 2022

The St. Thomas campus community was thrilled to honor 2022 Homecoming queen Claire McTaggart (Incarnate Word Academy) and her court of Emma Adamo (Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart), Emilie Chesnutt (DASH), Izzy Lavoie (IWA), Abby Rasch (St. Agnes Academy), and Zoe Yokubaitis (IWA).

Great thanks to all who participated in making our annual Homecoming event another rousing success.

THE EAGLE COMMUNITY ENJOYED AN AWESOME RESPONSE TO THE 8TH ANNUAL EAGLE EYE SPORTING CLAYS TOURNAMENT AT

THE GREATER HOUSTON SPORTS CLUB.

Record participation generated invaluable proceeds benefiting St. Thomas scholarship programs and continuing the unique mission of the Basilian Fathers.

Great appreciation extends to the generous contributors including the Soper Family and title sponsor Legacy Funeral Group, and our patrons for an afternoon of camaraderie, values, and tradition. A brotherhood unlike any other.

On the Feast of All Saints, the campus community was blessed to have former St. Thomas principal Fr. John Huber, CSB participate as the principal celebrant along with St. Thomas President Fr. James Murphy, CSB. Fr. Huber is now the Vicar General of the Congregation of St. Basil. He also serves as the director of Basilian Network for Education and the New Evangelization.

In the spirit of respecting and revering those who came before, alumni who have died in the previous 12 months were remembered. Beloved Vincent Mandola ’61 was also recognized after passing away in July 2020 at the age of 77. The entrepreneur force within one of Houston’s first families of food is now dignified by a statue of St. Joseph in the school’s chapel.

Mandola’s impact on the city’s dining scene began in 1977 when he purchased an early 20th century grocery and drygoods store and created the authentic Italian dining, Nino’s. Mandola later added Vincent’s in 1984 and the trattoria Grappino di Nino in 1996 to form a trio of acclaimed favorites on West Dallas Street. The Mandola expansion later included La Gelateria and a pair of Pronto Cucinino locations.

Vincent’s connection to St. Thomas included Peter Corbett ’21, Vincent’s grandson and the son of his daughter Dana.

ST. THOMAS ANNUALLY HONORS THE SPIRITUAL BOND THAT UNITES EAGLE SCHOLARS AND THEIR FATHERS WITH THE TRADITIONAL FATHER/SON MASS, A MORNING LITURGY AND AFFIRMATION OF FAITH WHICH SPEAKS TO THE VERY FABRIC OF THE SCHOOL’S BASILIAN IDENTITY.

THE ANNUAL FUND

As a part of our community, you understand that our history involves ensuring every student has what he needs and is able to participate in the activities of his choice. But we have never does this alone. The Annual Fund has been able to ensure that students are able to participate in campus activities, attend classes, and have the necessary supplies needed to excel.

Your role in the Annual Fund is important and makes a significant impact in concert with our other families. When our community stands together we are always able to cover the financial gaps created when educating a Man of St. Thomas. We invite you to join us in strengthening our St. Thomas High School community through a gift toward our Annual Fund. Let’s continue to provide Unlimited Possibilities!

Give.STHS.org

THE TICKER FALL 2022

ST. THOMAS PEOPLE IN THE NEWS AND ON THE MOVE.

Doug Horn ’67 is the managing director at The Houstonian Estates. His four-decade career in the hotel industry includes area/ general manager for the 492-room Wyndham Greenspoint Hotel and the 400-room Marriott Greenspoint with annual revenues in excess of 53 million. These two assets are owned and operated by Sunstone Hotel Investors, LLC, a hotel company with 75 assets throughout the United States.

Michael Ragusa ’73 is the market director at BenefitMall headquartered in Dallas. Previously he was a director of sales at Humana and leader of the small business team in Houston, Dallas, and North Texas for nearly two decades. Ragusa also was a recognized sales representative for the New York Life Insurance Company. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the C.T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston in 1979.

John Sicola ’73 is the lead consultant advisor at The Foundation for Financial Education and senior planner at The Lloyd Financial Group, LLC. He has led an acclaimed career as a certified financial planner for nearly a half century, specializing in retirement and asset allocation strategies, estate conservation, and philanthropic gifting. Sicola earned his Bachelor Science in Sociology from Texas A&M University in 1977.

Bill Hoppe ’75 is vice president for business development at Institutional Cash Distributors in Dallas. He previously achieved distinction as a vice president managing director at BNY Mellon and a specialist in investment management for treasury professionals with Arrowhead Financial Consultants. From 2004-11, Hoppe served on the St. Thomas Foundation Board including three years as president. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Management/ Economics/Finance from Sam Houston State University in 1979.

Dr. Chris Hines ’79 is a deputy superintendent with the Conroe Independent School District. He earned his Doctor of Education from Sam Houston State in 2005 and his Master of Arts in English from the University of Houston in 1985.

John Dorrance ‘82 is a senior loan officer at First Centennial Mortgage with previous distinction at Homeowners Financial Group and Houston Capital Mortgage. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of St. Thomas in 1990.

Charlie Vatterott ’82 is the vice president of development for Aspen Heights Partners after serving as vice president for the Medistar Corporation and 10 years as a partner with Partner Commerce Equities. Vatterott earned his Master of Science in Finance from Texas A&M University in 1989 after one season with the NFL St. Louis Cardinals. He graduated from Texas State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Finance where he was an all-conference performer and 1982 national champion.

Fabian Arista ’83 is a chief investigator at the Harris County Attorney’s Office after serving nearly three decades in the Houston Police Department.

Gabriel Bonacci ’87 is an associate general counsel at Cotton Holdings Inc. Previously he was a managing partner at The Bonacci Law Firm P.C. from 2006-12. Bonacci earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence from South Texas College of Law in 1998 and his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from American University in 1992.

Trey DeNina ’88 is a senior talent acquisition recruiter for Jacobs Engineering. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of St. Thomas in 1993.

Steve Vazquez ’89 is a market manager at Green Mountain Energy Company with previous distinction as a sales manager with Tara Energy and business development representative with TXU Energy. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from the University of HoustonDowntown in 1998.

John Rocha ’89 is the founding head of school at Ozark Catholic Academy in Bentonville, Arkansas with previous distinction as director of development at Western Academy in Houston. He earned his Master of Liberal Arts in Literature from the University of St. Thomas in 2003.

Christian Navarro ’90 was the recipient of Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Hispanic Heritage Lifetime Achievement Award (posthumous). Following his St. Thomas experience, Christian attended the University of Texas School of Law and the University of New Mexico. He was a lawyer, restaurant owner, and community philanthropist.

While maintaining his law practice, Navarro promoted the legacy of his late mother, Yolanda Black Navarro. He served on the Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans board, the Gus Wortham Park & Gold Course Steering Committee, and the Mayor’s Hispanic Advisory Council. Navarro’s Villa Arcos was twice listed as a top 100 restaurant by Houston’s two-time James Beard Award winner for restaurant criticism, Alison Cook.

Jeff Madden ’92 is the major gifts development officer at Western Academy. He studied in the Rice University Graduate and Postdoctoral Program in 2016 and earned his Bachelor of Applied Science, Speech Communication and Rhetoric at Louisiana State University in 1998.

Trey Guzzetta ’94 is a business development manager at Georgia-Pacific, LLC after nearly two decades as a senior buyer with Academy Sports + Outdoors. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Merchandising and Industrial Distribution from the University of Houston in 1999.

Paul Hotze ’94 is the founder at Paris Texas Apparel Co. & San Cristobal Guayaberas as well as a principal in the Hotze Group, a video production and marketing strategy firm based in Houston. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Virginia Military Institute in 1999.

Mark Putnam ’96 is the vice president for philanthropy at Texas Children’s Hospital. Previously he served a series of roles at the University of Houston including assistant vice president for University Development-Student Success and University Initiatives and director of corporate relations. Putman was also the assistant director of development at the University of St. Thomas from 2002-05 after earning his Bachelor of Arts in English from Angelo State University.

Greg Gatlin ’98 was named a regional Best Chef: Texas semifinalist in the 2023 James Beard Foundation Awards. Known as the “Oscars of the food world,” the honors recognize the best of American culinary excellence through its Restaurant & Chef, Media and Leadership Awards.

Gatlin’s acclaimed restaurant group includes Fins & Feathers in Independence Heights. The pitmaster/owner opened Gatlin’s BBQ in 2010, moved to its current location on Ella Boulevard in 2015, and earned honorable mention on the 2021 Texas Monthly list of the state’s 50 best barbecue joints.

Chad Lyons ’99 is the Houston-area president of Benchmark Bank after three years as a vice president and banking relationship advisor for the Northern Trust Corporation in Houston. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Geology from the University of Texas at Austin in 2003 and Master of Business Administration in Finance from the University of St. Thomas in 2006.

Glenn Taylor ’99 is the president of Skybound Coaching & Training. He also serves the Rice University Doerr Institute for New Leaders, the Vanderbilt University Graduate School of Management, and is an Adjunct Professor in Arts Leadership at the University of Houston. Taylor spent more than a decade with the Houston Symphony, rising to chief marketing officer. He earned his Master of Science in Organizational Development and Leadership from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and his Bachelor of Music from Loyola University New Orleans.

Sean Cronin ’04 is the superintendent of grounds and facilities at Western Academy. Previously he was the maintenance specialist at Circle Lake Retreat Center owned by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Cronin earned his Bachelor or Science in Political Science from the University of Houston in 2008.

Owner/chef Rafael Nasr ’10 opened his second Craft Pita location north of West University Place in Plaza in the Park, 5172 Buffalo Speedway. His Tanglewood dining venue was ranked in 2019 among America’s Top 100 Places to Eat according to Yelp! and later made Allison Cook’s 20 Most Interesting Restaurants list for the Houston Chronicle Nasr earned his degree in entrepreneurial management from the Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University.

Javier Gonzalez ’13 is a litigation associate at Jackson Walker in Houston after serving as law clerk for the Longoria Law Firm. He earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence from South Texas College of Law in 2021 where he received the Dean’s Outstanding Advocate Award and Outstanding Male Graduate. Gonzalez earned his Master of Business Administration, Accounting and Finance from the University of St. Thomas in 2018.

Drew Guidroz ’16 is an outside sales representative for Revolver Brewing after serving as an area sales manager for Arriba. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from the Rawls School of Business at Texas Tech University in 2020.

Nolan Lundholm ’16 completed his scholar-athlete baseball career at American University where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Marketing at the Busch School of Business in 2020 and is finishing his Master of Science in Project Management.

Payton Pardee ’15 is the wide receivers coach for the XFL Houston Roughnecks. He joined Wade Phillips’ staff after two years coaching tight ends at Texas A&M University-Commerce under head coach David Bailiff. Pardee completed his scholar-athlete football career at the University of Houston where he was a multi-year American Athletic Conference All-Academic selection while earning his Bachelor of Arts in Economics in 2019.

Charlie Vatterott ’16 is an assistant superintendent at Westchase Construction, Ltd after graduating from Texas State University.

Melvin Larkins ’18 is a food services manager with Aramark Sports & Entertainment after earning his Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Houston in 2022.

Dear Alumni, Parents, and Friends of St. Thomas High School,

Once upon a time….

The classic opening for a fairy tale! I always love stories and have trained my ear to pay attention for a good story. As a college student, I studied Journalism and History in part because I love learning about the stories that make up our past while learning who to tell new stories going forward.

Joining the Basilian Fathers, I enjoyed a new collection of stories. Maybe not Aesop’s Fables, but just as important for the sharing of our collective wisdom. Stories about the 10 priests hiding from French troops, stories about the split between our community in Toronto and those still in France. I heard stories of legends like Fr. David Bauer who is enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Fr. Henry Carr who oversaw incredible growth of our congregation in the field of Higher Education. Funny stories are still told of Frs. Pike Murray, E. Leonard Rush, Jack Spratt and more.

When I came to St. Thomas High School in 2011, a whole new set of stories awaited my eager ear. I heard stories of the opposition to Fr. O’Rourke moving the school to Memorial Drive. “You can’t see the courthouse from there”, he was told. Alums from the ‘40s tell stories of the walk to campus and being taught by Basilians who would be out on the fields playing football or baseball. Stories of not having homework prepared for Fr. Wilson’s Spanish class. Getting notes from Fr. Magee about unpaid tuition. Then the stories would be about Fr. Cooper or getting in trouble and having to face the music with Fr. Schaeffer.

More recent stories talk of Frs. Glass, Belisch, Gaelens, and more. In January 2023, St. Thomas inducted two men into the Hall of Honor – Sam Listi ’60 and Andrew Linbeck ’83. That night more and more stories were shared. Every Man of St. Thomas has stories to tell. Like all stories, they can make you smile, laugh, cry, or shake your head in disbelief.

Everything that we do to strengthen the St. Thomas community is to ensure that current and future Eagles can have stories to tell when they gather for reunions and even when they are ready to join the Good ‘Ol Boys Luncheon. No matter how many times you tell your story – keep telling it. St. Thomas has a storied past and we look forward to hearing more stories going forward.

Thank you for being a part of STH and the story we continue to make come alive in our Eagles.

Bright smiles! One and all!

Fr. Jim Murphy, CSB

Dear Fellow Alumni,

It is hard to believe that we are quickly approaching the end of another exciting year at 4500 Memorial Drive. The Alumni Association continues to be busy with this year’s slate of alumni events, as well as making plans for next year.

In December, we welcomed over 130 alumni back to campus for the annual “Good ‘Ol Boys” luncheon. Classes from 1950 to 1987 were well represented as guests enjoyed Pizzatola’s BBQ while telling stories of their time at STH and reconnecting with classmates and friends. While the “Good ‘Ol Boys” luncheon was taking place in Cemo Auditorium, the competition was fierce on the hardwood in Reckling gymnasium as 12 teams representing the classes of 1995-2021 faced-off in our annual 3-on-3 Alumni Basketball Tournament. Thanks to Drew Donohue ’01 for organizing another great tournament and congratulations to Joshua Reece ’14, Jaren Murphy ’12 and Kirk Selexman ’14 for taking home the trophy!

As 2022 drew to a close, the St. Thomas Community gathered to celebrate the birth of Christ at the annual Christmas Eve Mass. This time-honored tradition is truly a sight to see and take part in as nearly 1200 members of the St. Thomas community came together to experience the magic of the Christmas season. I would encourage all alumni to consider making the St. Thomas Christmas Eve Mass part of your family’s annual Christmas celebration.

In January, the Alumni Association hosted over 120 alumni for our annual Casino Night. Our Casino Night committee led by Jeff Madden ’92 put on another spectacular event. If you have not attended a Casino Night before, I highly recommend you mark your calendars for next year because you don’t want to miss out on this fun-filled evening. Congratulations to Barry Smith ’50 for defending his title and becoming a back-to-back poker tournament winner!

It wouldn’t be Spring at St. Thomas without Round Up! At the time of this writing the students have been working hard selling their quotas as they look to shatter yet another record! As a reminder, Round Up is always the first Sunday in March, and as always, it promises to deliver a fun filled day for students, parents, alumni and their families. Join us as the Alumni Association will be hosting our annual Cornhole tournament and beer garden. Stop by and enjoy a great afternoon of fraternity and fun.

Everything the Alumni Association does in support of St. Thomas would not be possible without the hard work of our board made of up of a tremendous group of men who have a passion and love for St. Thomas. I want to personally thank each of them for dedicating their time and talents in support of our alma mater. If you are interested in serving STH, I invite you to join the Alumni Association and consider serving on our growing and dynamic board. If you haven’t been back to campus in a while, I would encourage you to attend one of our events and experience for yourself the spirit that makes St. Thomas such a special place!

EAGLE FIGHT NEVER DIES!

Tommy Schulte ’00 President, St. Alumni Association

ST. THOMAS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Founded by Fr. Donald Cooper, CSB with the mission to embrace and engage STH graduates, Alumni Association membership offers benefits at many alumni events such as Casino Night and the Rooftop Alumni Tailgate, as well as free admission to many on-campus events including football, basketball and baseball games (excluding state playoff games), theatre performances and music concerts.

Membership dues, participation at events, as well donations made by its members allows the association to generously support St. Thomas student scholarships, athletic facilities, and campus construction.

Be an active part of the brotherhood again, join the St. Thomas Alumni Association.

Scan the QR code for more information on how to join >>> or visit sths.org/memberships-donations

in memoriam

James E. Fischer ’39, December 5, 2022

Father of John E. ’66, James A. ’71, Stephen A.’77, Gary M. ’78, and David W. Fischer ’86; brother of John B. ’41 and Charles Fischer ’47; grandfather of Kenneth M. Fischer ’96, Michael R. ’97 and Richard A. Weatherly ’98, and Andrew S. Knepp ’17; uncle of Charles J. ’75, Edward R. ’79, and John T. Fischer ’82; and brother-in-law of Fr. Rev. Arthur E. Roberts, CSB ’45; William R. ’47, Thomas J. ’50, John C. ’50, Walter T. ’56, and James O. Roberts ’59. World War II veteran, Hall of Honor Inductee 1998 and former St. Thomas Board of Directors member.

Francis L. Sachnik ’43, November 2, 2022

Brother of Norman H. ’49 and Edward B. Sachnik ’57.

Marion E. Aucoin ’45, December 17, 2022

Brother of Maurice J. Aucoin ’40, great uncle of Samuel B. ’03 and Isaac J. Duplechain ’04.

Ralph J. Pokluda ’45, September 15, 2022

Brother of Frank J. Pokluda ’39 and grandfather of Joshua S. Pokluda ’07.

John J. Connell ’47, December 6, 2022

Brother of Robert E. Connell Jr. ’44; brother-in-law of John E. ’38 and uncle of Michael P. McGinness ’73.

Fr. Robert J. Matzinger, CSB ’47, September 21, 2022

Brother of Frank G. ’44, John L. ’51, and Thomas E. Matzinger ’52.

Served his alma mater for two decades as a faculty member, coach, and athletic director. Also ministered St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, Sacred Heart of Jesus in Manvel, St. Theresa Catholic Church in Sugar Land, and St. Clare Catholic Church.

Joseph J. Ellis ’48, August 11, 2022

Brother of Thomas W. Ellis ’48; grandfather of Justin M. McConn ’12, uncle of Darryl M. George ’67, cousin of George R. Lyons ’31.

Arland B. Coleman ’49, July 10, 2022

Grandfather of Arland K. ’99, Walter B. ’00, and Braden W. Nichols ’05; uncle of Joseph T. ’85, William F. ’87, and Michael W. Vaughn ’89; great uncle of Jay T. ’15 and Everett W. Vaughn ’18; brother-in-law of Joe Vaughn ’62.

Thomas M. Bazile ’53, August 15, 2022

Brother of Anthony T. Bazile ’49.

Lupe Z. “Champ” Fraga ’53, December 13, 2022

Uncle of Thomas B. Fraga ’73 and Gus Vaeza ’92; brother-in-laws Augustin V. ’59, David M. ’68, Joseph A. Vaeza ’72.

Hall of Honor 1994. First Lieutenant, United States Army. Named Outstanding Alumnus by the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University in 2003. Appointed Texas A&M Board of Regents in 2005 by Governor Rick Perry. In 2015, named a distinguished alumnus of Texas A&M and honored by Lettermen’s Association with Lifetime Achievement Award. Inducted into the Corps of Cadets Hall of Honor in 2017. Honored by the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as its Businessman of the Year in 1991. Recognized by The Rotary Club of Houston with its Rotary Lombardi Humanitarian Award at the 49th annual Rotary Lombardi Award in 2022. Endowed scholarships at the University of St. Thomas, University of Houston, and Texas A&M.

Joe S. Maida III ’55, August 7, 2022

Father of Joe S. ’83 and David M. Maida ’84, and an extensive alumni Maida family tree within the St. Thomas community.

Joseph D. Everitt ’56, December 5, 2022

Brother of John W. Everitt ’67.

Leonard G. Longer ’56, January 3, 2023

Brother of Thomas E. Longer ’67, grandfather of Brandon C. Longer ’14, cousin of Arch E. ’52 and Kenneth W. Smith ’60.

Thomas M. Crisp ’57, August 10, 2022

Brother of David M. Crisp ’58.

Joseph E. Day, Jr. ’57, November 4, 2022

Brother of Thomas M. Day ’62.

Michael Mustachia ’57, December 23, 2022

Thomas E. Cleboski ’58, August 25, 2022

Brother of John R. “Bobbie” Celboski ’56.

David W. Hannah ’58, September 21, 2022

Brother of James H. Hannah ’61.

Harry E. Mach ’58, November 20, 2022

Brother of Richard J. ’73 and Thomas J. Mach, father of Harry E. “Butch” ’85 and Steven P. Mach ’88, uncle of Thomas B. Mach ’98.

As CEO orchestrated exponential growth of Mach Industrial Group, a manufacturer and fabricator for the petrochemical industry, recently celebrating its 65th anniversary and named one of its top 25 family-owned businesses by the Houston Business Journal.

James F. Pinero ’58, June 30, 2022

Anthony R. Zinnante ’58, November 18, 2022

Nephew of Samuel Schillaci ’45.

William H. Cook, Jr. ’59, September 6, 2022

Uncle of David L. ’94 and Michael E. Fritsch ’97; brother-in-law of Lawrence T. ’64, Joseph P. ’67, and Edward V. Fritsch ’74.

Pierre H. Charrin ’60, August 26, 2022

Harry M. Flavin ’60, November 28, 2022

James R. Piper ’61, November 14, 2022

Brother of John P. ’66, Joseph T. ’69, and Jay A. Piper; uncle of Richard T. Piper ’99.

Albin F. Smith ’61, June 6, 2021

Dennis P. Altenburger ’62, July 4, 2022

Son of Herman M. Altenburger ’28; brother of Robert M. ’59, Carl E. ’60, and Marcus J. Altenburger ’64; uncle of Michael A. ’85, William H. Altenburger ’88; and Mason L. ’14, and Riley E. Lane ’16.

James H. Askins ’63, November 17, 2021

Rev. Stephen R. Horn ’63, August 10, 2021

Brother of Douglas M. Horn ’67.

Michael R. Sheehan ’63, October 25, 2022

Louis F. Aulbach ’66, December 28, 2022

Brother of Charles E. Aulbach ’64.

Charles A. “Cas” Caspersen III ’66, September 2, 2022

Brother of Steve A. ’73, Kevin M. ’75, and John V. Caspersen ’77; brother-in-law of James A. Jamail ’64, Michael J. Dewan ’67, and Paul Cashiola ’70; uncle of Michael A. Jamail ’05; nephew of Andrew J. Caspersen ’09 and his great uncle Andrew Caspersen ’15.

Thomas W. “Bill” Bartlett ’69, September 19, 2022

Uncle of Joseph T. ’13 and Patrick C. Aucoin ’15.

Nick A. George ’72, August 19, 2022

James W. Peet ’80, June 22, 2022

Aaron M. Jablonksy ’95, November 20, 2022

David A. Perez ’12, November 21, 2022

Brother of Andres R. Perez ’06.

Stanley J. Briers, October 10, 2022

Brother of Joseph E. ’69 and John A. Briers ’73; father of Harry J. Briers ’81; grandfather of Ryan E. ’14 and Zachary J. Hanse ’22; uncle of Michael J. Briers ’02 and Chris M. Wilson ’02; cousin of John Niscavitz ’48; father-in-law of Patrick E. Hanse ’86.

Mary T. Dufilho, October 30, 2022

Wife of Dennis L. Dufilho ’58; grandmother of Avery C. ’14 and Cater B. Dufilho ’16; sister-in-law of Stephen M. ’62 and Gilbert G. Dufilho ’68.

Charles Frazier, August 17, 2022

Father of Hal E. Frazier ’88.

Bernice Tristan, December 9, 2022

Mother of Brandon Tristan ’89.

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