St. John's Prep Today Spring 2012

s t . joh n ’s p r e p S P R I N G

2 0 1 2

Today

 A Medical Mission to Nepal A Career Inspired by Service  Eagles in Flight Gala Alumni Programs Survey  Behind the Scenes with Peter Van Wagner ’69



Calendar

April

May

24 St. John’s Prep Speakers Series presents Andre DuBus, III, author of “Townie,” Kaneb Theatre, 7:00 pm

27-28 A Cappella Concert featuring SwingTown! Kaneb Theatre, 7:00 pm

1 Alumni Association Meeting, Xavier Hall, 7:00 pm

10 Meet Coach Kelly: A reception with Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly ’79, Danversport Yacht Club, 6:00 pm

18-20 25th Reunion for the Class of 1987 and 50th Reunion for the Class of 1962

19 Baccalaureate Liturgy and Senior Class Awards Ceremony

20 Commencement for the Class of 2012

22-24 Underclassman Awards Convocations

31 Portsmouth, NH, Alumni Reception, 100 Club in Portsmouth, 6:00 to 8:00 pm

Kevin Doherty ’14 and Mr. Robert Marinelli are all smiles in the main office of Brother Benjamin Hall.

June

11 Summer Institute classes begin

18 Ray Carey ’67 Diversity Fund Golf Tournament, Ipswich Country Club.

Morning start this year!

July September

14

Fenway Park Tour for Prep Alumni Families, 4:30 pm

23 Walk for Hospice of the North Shore

30 Admissions Open House

October

1 Brother Linus Memorial Golf Tournament, Kernwood Country Club, Salem

13 Prep Rally, a day for alumni and families. See back cover for details.

17 Grandparents Day for the Class of 2015

19 Headmaster’s Reception, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum, Boston

20 Admissions Open House Be sure to check www.stjohnsprep.org or call 800.292.0227 for more information about Prep events and programs.

An Evening with Notre Dame Football Coach Brian Kelly ’79 From football player at the Prep to coach for the Fighting Irish, Brian Kelly will talk about the journey that led him to coaching at the highest level of collegiate football for one of the most prestigious universities in the country.

Thursday, May 10 Danversport Yacht Club, 161 Elliott Street, Danvers Special Reception, Dinner and Speaking Program 5:00 pm $100 per person

6:00 pm Dinner and Speaking Program Only $50 per person

Register at www.stjohnsprep.org/briankelly or call Mary Carol Vitolo at 978.774.6727 x417.

Headmaster’s Message

B

y the time this issue of St. John’s Prep Today reaches you at home, the last of the college admissions letters will be filling the inboxes and mailboxes of our seniors. The longawaited letters have been arriving for weeks now, and already the Class of 2012 has received good news from an impressive range of colleges and universities across the country and overseas. The Prep boasts a long history of preparing students for college, a legacy that holds true in an admissions environment that is far more complex than ever before.

The college admissions process has changed significantly in the last two decades. Globalization and the quality of higher education in this country attract a growing number of applicants from all over the world. Colleges and universities have become international institutions, and Prep students compete for admission with students from all over the world, whether they apply to schools in New England or anywhere else in the country. One highly competitive university told high schools recently that they reserve 44 percent of their seats for state residents and international students, a step that heightens competition for the remaining places.

Our school counseling team knows this landscape well.

They work closely with students to ensure that every student identifies schools where he will be challenged to reach his potential and take advantage of all he has learned at St. John’s – academically, spiritually, personally. To facilitate the process, school counseling uses the latest technology resources to help students research schools and organize the application process. They also work directly with college and university admissions officers to make sure that schools know St. John’s and appreciate the rigor of our program. In a new initiative, a member of our school counselor staff travels during the summer months to meet with college admissions officers around the country.

We stay in touch with graduates as they journey through their undergraduate years, and we know that good things are happening. More than 40 members of the Class of 2010 visited

St. John’s this winter to talk with seniors about college life. As I spoke with these recent grads, I heard a consistent refrain: St. John’s Prep prepared them exceedingly well for college, and it was their relationships with teachers at the Prep that made the difference. When I visited with Prep grads attending the University of Notre Dame last fall, Brendan Moran ’10 told me, “My teachers at the Prep really cared about me. They got to know me and they were interested in my success. The relationships I had with my teachers gave me the confidence to talk to my professors, and that has allowed me to get more out of my college experience.” Relationships between faculty and students remain fundamental to the Prep experience.

In addition to working with college and university admissions officers, supporting families during the college process, and helping students find the college that is best for them, we have introduced curriculum initiatives to position students for success in college. During the last two years, we have developed a freshman global studies course that focuses on Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. This new full-year course integrates content with study techniques and technology skills. We have also developed a highly successful Mandarin Chinese program, and next year, we will welcome a group of full-time exchange students from China. The exchange program will help students deepen their understanding of other cultures, foster relationships in a global world, and enrich the Prep experience for all students. Finally, we will launch a school-wide iPad program in September 2013. This new initiative offers enormous potential, allowing students and teachers to access an unlimited range of information, take advantage of online textbooks, and expand critical thinking and analysis skills.

The Prep has a long and well-deserved tradition of preparing graduates to succeed when they leave St. John’s. As the college admission landscape changes, we continue to expand on our legacy of success. Building relationships, providing a challenging academic program, and giving students every opportunity to achieve more than they thought possible ensures that Prep students will prosper and thrive in college and in life.

Peace, Edward P. Hardiman, PhD ehardiman@stjohnsprep.org

s t . joh n ’s p r e p Today

A publication of St. John’s Preparatory School A Xaverian Brothers Sponsored Secondary School for Young Men Established 1907 Comments and contributions to this publication, as well as address ​ updates should be directed to: Office for Institutional Advancement St. John’s Preparatory School 72 Spring Street, Danvers, MA 01923 800.292.0227  978.774.6727

 Headmaster

Edward P. Hardiman, Ph.D. ehardiman@stjohnsprep.org

Time to Make Plans for the Summer!

Summer Institute Engaging, coed courses on the Prep campus for students entering grades 7 to 12 Camp Christopher Eight week-long sessions for girls and boys ages 5 to 12 New! Half day option offered

Eagles Skills Camp Sport specific skills camps for girls and boys ages 12 to 15 New! Half day option offered

SJP Strength & High intensity core strength and conditioning Speed Camp for girls and boys in grades 8 to 12

LEAR N MOR E AT: WWW.STJOH NSPR E P.ORG /SU M M E R PROG RAMS

Principal

Keith A. Crowley, Ph.D. kcrowley@stjohnsprep.org Chief Financial Officer

Cynthia R. Fanikos cfanikos@stjohnsprep.org Chief Advancement Officer

Michael Newhall ’80 mnewhall@stjohnsprep.org

Director of Advancement Operations

Dorothy Dolan ddolan@stjohnsprep.org

Director of Alumni Relations

Jeffrey Connolly ’80 jconnolly@stjohnsprep.org

SJP Today Editor and Director of Communications

Elizabeth Forbes eforbes@stjohnsprep.org

Director of Planned and Major Gifts

Debra R. Marino dmarino@stjohnsprep.org

Class Notes Editor and Advancement and Gift Services Manager

Kathie Flatley kflatley@stjohnsprep.org

Communications and Projects Manager

Contents Hilltop Highlights....................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Feature A Medical Mission to Nepal.............................................................................................................................................. 4 A Career Inspired by Service........................................................................................................................................... 5 Course Catalogue: Neuroscience............................................................................................................................... 7

Around Campus Campus Briefs............................................................................................................................................................................. 8 Finding Hope Among Somali Children................................................................................................................... 9 Eagles in Flight Gala.............................................................................................................................................................. 10 Distinguished Alumnus 2012: Thomas W. Haas ’74..................................................................................... 12

Sports Long Drive to Success......................................................................................................................................................... 13 Sports Summary........................................................................................................................................................................ 14

Alumni

Denise DeChristoforo ddechristoforo@stjohnsprep.org

Alumni Events: Fall 2011-Winter 2012.................................................................................................................... 16

Stewardship and Special Events Manager

Helping Young Grads Get Ready for the Job Search................................................................................. 18

Lauren Ritchie lritchie@stjohnsprep.org

Advancement Coordinator

Mary Carol Vitolo mvitolo@stjohnsprep.org

Administrative Assistant

Kay Maurice kmaurice@stjohnsprep.org

 Design

Caruso Graphic Design Printing

The Power of the Prep Network................................................................................................................................... 18 We Asked and You Answered! Alumni Programs Survey........................................................................ 19

Advancement A Planned Gift Can Change a Student’s Life.................................................................................................... 20 A Day in the Life of Your Annual Fund Gift......................................................................................................... 21

Class Notes...............................................................................................................................................................................0 22 In Closing Behind the Scenes with Peter Van Wagner ’69.............................................................................................. 36

Flagship Press Photos

Lifetouch Denise DeChristoforo

2

www.stjohnsprep.org

On the Cover: Above, Dr. Monahan treats a local woman for pneumonia during a clinic in a Tamang village in Nepal. Below, Dr. Monahan with volunteers at one of the medical clinics they held for brick factory workers in Nepal. In the background is one of the kilns workers use to fire the bricks.

Speaking of Books Best-selling author Andre Dubus III comes to campus April 24 as a part of the PREP Parent Council Speaker Series. His latest book, “Townie,” is a critically acclaimed memoir about growing up in a mill town on the North Shore of Massachusetts. The author of “House of Sand and Fog,” “The Cage Keeper and Other Stories,” “The Garden of Last Days,” and “Bluesman,” he also teaches at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Now, That’s Interesting!

Exciting new courses, long on creativity and innovation, are being offered next fall.

Wouldn’t you like to dive into any one of them?

Introduction to Algorithmic Thinking and Computational Technologies • Ceramics – Hand Building with Clay • Principles of Aviation Science and Aeronautics • Design for Theater • Stage Makeup and Mask Making • Music Technology • AP Human Geography

H I L L T O P

Two for the Record Books

highlights

Deklan Robinson ’12 broke the Prep’s indoor high jump record with a cool 6'6" jump during a meet at Boston’s Reggie Lewis Center in January. Josh Nicholson ’94 set the previous record 18 years ago, when he cleared 6'5" in 1994.

Cole Malatesta ’13 set a new school diving record, when he scored 252 points for six dives in a meet with BC High. Michael Gauthier ’91 held the previous record with 225 points.

A Crafty Collaboration Handmade crafts from Ecuador and Maine are on sale in the Prep bookstore now, thanks to campus minister Heather Angell, who came up with the idea of offering goods made in two of the places where Prep students travel with In Ryken’s Footsteps on cultural immersion and service trips. Much more than a business arrangement, it’s a way to highlight the culture and skill of the people students meet in their travels.

Beware Macbeth!

The Prep Drama Guild won the 2012 Massachusetts High School Drama Festival with a powerful, modern interpretation of Shakepeare’s “Macbeth.” This marks the 15th win for St. John’s in the statewide festival, an annual event involving 114 high schools in three rounds of performances. Members of the cast and crew also won individual awards, including acting honors for CJ Diorio ’15, Peter Kennedy ’12, Brendan Leonard ’12, Taylor Maxfield ’12, Kyle Mitchell ’12, Dan Milaschewski ’13, and Matt Steriti ’14. Design awards went to Brenton Bockus ’12, David Bradburn ’13, Jamie Catalan ’14, Bill Farley ’13, Vasili Frangias ’12, Paul Hurton ’14, Kevin Ing ’15, Greg Lane ’13, Nick Lawton ’12, Seamus McGorray ’14, John McKeon ’13, Chris Reed ’13, Tyler Rossi ’12, Liam Viles ’14, and Tom Willwerth ’13.

Undeniable Pride Who ranks at the top of the state for school pride? St. John’s Prep, of course!

The Prep won that honor handily after entering Finding Undeniable, a contest sponsored this year by the clothing maker Under Armour. Matt Censullo ’14, PJ Fallon ’12, and Brian Poirer ’13 led the effort to rally the campus, complete a series of challenges (create original video and upload images of the Prep in action), and gather votes (Facebook and Twitter came in handy). “We really wanted to showcase Prep pride. Everyone got excited about it and that made it fun to do,” says Fallon. The plan for next year? Ramp up the get-outthe-vote strategy to an even higher level. Take a look at the Prep’s entry here: http://findingundeniable.com/school/927.

ST. JO H N’S PR E P TO DAY

3

Feature

As physicians, nurses, dentists, physical therapists, technicians, and other

professionals, Prep graduates are well represented among health care clinicians. In this issue of St. John’s Prep Today, we profile David Monahan ’62, a physician and global volunteer who will celebrate his 50th reunion in May, and Michael Donlin ’99, who became a nurse practitioner after studying business in college.

We also highlight the neuroscience course that became a springboard for many careers in health care.

About Nepal

A Medical Mission to Nepal

Capital: Kathmandu, population 990,000 Population: 29,391,883 Government: Federal democratic republic Legal System: English common law and Hindu legal concepts Religions: Hindu 80.6%, Buddhist 10.7%, Muslim 4.2%, Kirant 3.6%, Other 0.9% Occupations: Agriculture 75%, Industry 7%, Services 18% Unemployment: 48% Population below poverty line: 30.9% Area: 147,181 sq km (about the size of Arkansas) Elevations: Lowest point is Kanchan Kalan at 70 m, highest point is Mount Everest at 8,850 m From the CIA World Factbook

ags packed with stethoscopes, blood pressure cuffs, and medicines, Dr. David Monahan ’62 and his wife, Sally, will make the long journey from their home in southern California to the rugged mountains of Nepal in October.

To Learn More

B

It’s not the first time during his long medical career that Dr. Monahan has worked in remote, underserved parts of the world. He was still in medical school at Northwestern University when he went to Durban, South Africa, to work with Zulu tribespeople in the only hospital there that trained non-white doctors. More recently, he spent several weeks a year in Brazil’s rain forest, where he was part of a medical mission that traveled by boat to small villages along the Amazon.

The Monahans decided to go to Nepal after a neighbor in Del Mar, California, told them about the children at Chhahari, an orphanage in Kathmandu. This fall will mark the Monahan’s third visit to Kathmandu, where they also volunteer with the Care and Development Organization, a local non-governmental organization that provides education, training and medical care for the poor and displaced, particularly women and children.

Chhahari was founded in 2007 to provide a safety net for some of the thousands of Nepalese children whose families died, disappeared, or are too poor to care for them after a decade of political unrest and Maoist insurgencies that ended in 2006.

Following the war, many children became victims of human trafficking or were forced into slavery, according to Dr. Monahan. The orphanage now provides a safe home and schooling for some two dozen of these girls and boys.

Pictured above: Wearing his stethoscope and Buddhist prayer beads, which he finds comfort people, Dr. Monahan takes notes while seeing a patient in a one-room schoolhouse in the mountains. Arati Bassett, founder of the Care and Development Organization, sits in the foreground, while, Dawa Tamang stands at Dr. Monahan’s side to translate. Dawa is president of Chhahari and also runs a family lodging service and a mountaineering company that leads climbers up Mt. Everest and Anapurna.

A Medical Mission, continues on page 6

4

www.stjohnsprep.org

“Little Princes” by Conor Grennan: David Monahan recommends this powerful account of the time Grennan spent volunteering in an orphanage in Nepal and his subsequent efforts to rescue some of the children he met. More can be found at www.nextgeneration.org.

Chhahari: For more about this orphanage in Kathmandu, visit www.chhahari.org.

Care and Development Organization: Explore www.caredevelopment.org to learn about the economic and social development work being done by this organization.

International Medical Assistance Program (MAP): This group supplies Dr. Monahan with the medications and paperwork he needs to bring supplies to Nepal. Find details at www.map.org.

Visit Dr. Monahan’s website at www.drmonahan.com or email him directly at monahanmd@att.net if you would like to learn more about his work.

A Career Inspired

by Service

M

any paths can lead to a career in nursing. For Michael Donlin ’99, it was a circuitous route that included getting an undergraduate degree in management at Boston College before deciding on nursing school. That business background serves him well now that he is a nurse practitioner working on ways to redesign patient care systems and hospital operations.

Donlin went to business school for the same reason that he later decided to become a nurse: he wanted to use his skills for social good and to make a Michael Donlin and his wife, Marissa, with their two sons, Liam, 2, and Noah, 7 months difference in the lives of others. Learning about when this photo was taken. business, he reasoned, would put him Donlin went on to become a nurse in a position to encourage investment practitioner because it gave him the in initiatives that help people Opportunities in Nursing opportunity to develop his own practice but living at the margins of society – still retain his identity as a nurse. As Donlin those without the educational and The numbers never change: explains it, nurse practitioners train in the economic opportunities many take men consistently account nursing model of care, a holistic approach for granted. that focuses on how patients respond to for only 4 to 7 percent of The sense of purpose that inspired illness or disease. Physicians are trained in Donlin began at St. John’s. In all nurses, an imbalance the medical model, which focuses on the particular, Dave Malaro’s world diagnosis and treatment of disease. that Donlin says offers religion and ethics courses gave him “What you do as a nurse practitioner looks a “profound sense of responsibility,” tremendous opportunities very much like what a doctor does, but Donlin says. The two weeks he spent for men interested in health it’s rooted in the culture of nursing. Your in Duran, Ecuador, with the Rostro de connection with patients is different,” he says. care. “It’s never good for Cristo program reinforced his desire to do something about the corrosive Today, Donlin works at the VA Boston any profession when the impact of poverty.

Healthcare System, where he is embedded numbers are that lopsided.” with an academic medical team of “When I graduated from St. John’s, I residents from Boston’s teaching hospitals. was out to save the world one person Interestingly, Donlin has worked with two at a time,” he says. former classmates during their rotations through the VA: Eric After four years in college, however, Donlin decided that a Kerns, MD ’99 (at the time, a resident physician from Beth career in business wasn’t taking him in the right direction.

Israel Hospital) and Hilal Abu Zahra ’99 (a medical student at He felt compelled to do something more hands-on and Boston University Medical School). found himself thinking about nursing, in part because of the Because the residents rotate on and off the teams, the healing calm he knew that nurses bring to life’s most stressful hospital’s nurse practitioners provide continuity that benefits circumstances. patients, according to Donlin. “The residents we work with “I wanted to work with people,” he says. “I knew a few come from some of the country’s top residency programs, and nurses and I saw in them talents that I knew I had and they have a lot to offer, but having a nurse practitioner on the wanted to develop in myself.” team makes for a better experience for our patients.”

Donlin enrolled in an intensive nursing program at the MGH Part of Donlin’s work at the VA now includes looking at ways Institute of Health Professions in Boston. While he was in to redesign the hospital’s systems and operations, and that is school, he worked as a nurse’s aid at Mount Auburn Hospital where he plans to focus his career in the future. in Cambridge. That experience taught him a lot about the “The special bond with patients will be hard to give up, demands of his profession, and it made him grateful that he but my vocation will always include bettering patients’ lives had waited a few years to begin. through systems design. I couldn’t have done that without “Nursing is very intimate; you work with people at their most clinical experience,” he says.  vulnerable,” he says. “I don’t think I would have had the emotional intelligence to handle it before.”

ST. JO H N’S PR E P TO DAY

5

F E AT U R E

After two years with regular medical care, the children at Chhahari are healthier, and the vaccination program Dr. Monahan began two years ago promises to prevent many of the childhood diseases that have all but disappeared in the developed world.

A Medical Mission, continued from page 4

On their initial visit, Dr. Monahan did full medical evaluations of every child at Chhahari.

For most, it was their first encounter with clinical medical care. The baseline data Monahan gathered allows him to follow the children’s health from year to year, and it helps determine the type of medications and supplies that will fill his luggage on future visits. While Dr. Monahan sees patients, his wife is nearby, helping to organize and run the clinics.

When he offered to make rounds with a mobile medical clinic run by the Care and Development Organization, it was the first time that a physician had been part of the team.

Operating out of tents, the clinic provides care for carpet weavers and workers in the brick factories that dot the villages and landscape of the Kathmandu Valley.

The carpet weavers, most of them children and young women, work 12 hours a day, produce colorful, intricately patterned rugs that are sold in the markets of Khatmandu.

Workers in the brick factories also include many young women and children. Their job is to turn bricks in the hot kilns and carry the finished product in loads that weight as much as 110 pounds. The weavers and brick factory workers earn less than two dollars a day. While men work in the brick factories, many leave the valley to find work and send remittances home to their families.

Apart from the back, neck, wrist and knee problems that are common among these workers, most of the illnesses Monahan sees stem from what he calls “the usual third world misfortunes of extreme poverty and malnourishment.”

“These people are among the one-third of the world’s population who exist on a $1 a day or less. They often have no shelter, no food and no source of fresh water. Doctors and health care are just not a part of their experience,” he says.

6

www.stjohnsprep.org

Dr. Monahan buys medicines in the United States to bring with him because they are not easily available in Nepal. Hospital facilities are ill equipped. The facility where one of Dr. Monahan’s patients underwent an appendectomy for example, looks like “hospitals in Boston 150 years ago,” he says.

At the same time, however, Dr. Monahan sees progress as a result of what he, his wife and other volunteers are doing. After two years with regular medical care, the children at Chhahari are healthier, and the vaccination program Dr. Monahan began two years ago promises to prevent many of the childhood diseases that have all but disappeared in the developed world.

The harsh reality of the poverty that defines the lives of many of its people stands in stark contrast to the beauty of Nepal’s dramatic mountains and lush valleys, according to Dr. Monahan.

“The people of Nepal are stoic, but the environment is harsh, particularly if you have no home, no family, and you make only a dollar or two a day. If you don’t work here, you don’t eat,” he says.

And so while he continues to run his busy family medical practice back home in Chula Vista, Dr. Monahan looks forward to returning to Nepal each year to check on his patients there.  Pictured above, Sporting his “July 4th golf shirt,” Dr. Monahan is surrounded by the children at Chhahari. “I think it is important the children see the Stars and Stripes and associate it with all the goodness that comes from America,” he says. Below, Dr. Monahan sees eight year-old Keshari for a migraine. When her parents died several years ago, Keshari’s family scattered. Her brother found his way to Chhahari and told the people there about his little sister. Against long odds, they were able to find Keshari and bring her to the orphanage. She had been enslaved and was working 14 hours a day in a hotel restaurant.

Course Catalogue Neuroscience When St. John’s introduced a neuroscience elective in 1997, it became the first neuroscience course to be offered at the high school level anywhere in the country. Initially one semester, it quickly developed into a full-year course that adds depth to the Prep’s Science Department offerings, and has inspired many Prep graduates to go on to careers in health care, research, and a host of related fields.

Meet the Teacher Dianne Carey developed the idea for the course in the late 1990s, when she was finishing a PhD program in neuroscience. Graduate school, teaching biology at St. John’s, and raising four energetic children would add up to a full plate for most people, but Carey found the science of the brain so compelling that she wanted to introduce it to the curriculum at St. John’s. She felt sure that her students would be as taken by it as she was.

“When I was in grad school, people in medical schools would say that students weren’t being adequately prepared in college, You’ve Got to Read This!

A Student’s Perspective and people in college would say Carey uses “Neuroscience: Exploring the “Dr. Carey’s course showed me that that students weren’t getting a good Brain” by Bear, Connors and Paradiso as the neuroscience was an open field, foundation in high school. Given the main textbook. Additional reading includes where new discoveries were being strength of the science program here “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat” made frequently and the mysteries at St. John’s, I knew that our students and “The Anthropologist from Mars” by Oliver of the brain were still being could handle it and would benefit Sack; “How the Brain Changes Itself” by unlocked. Going into biomedical from a course in neuroscience.”

Norman Doidge, MD; and “Fractured Minds” engineering, I didn’t have a specific

by Jenni A. Ogden, PhD. This year, Carey and math and goal, but when I started to specialize, science teacher Seann Tulloch began I found myself in a position where From Neural Pathways to a collaboration as team teachers for I could do neuroscience research the course. Carey focuses on clinical Career Paths and I took it,” says Dante Smith ’08, topics, while Tulloch devotes his Carey’s passion for her subject matter is who is set to graduate from Boston time to the lab side of the course, an palpable. Some of her enthusiasm stems from University in May. “I recently applied approach they both believe adds a the wide range of opportunities it offers for to PhD programs in computational valuable dimension for students. careers in everything from clinical care and neuroscience. When I was in taking research to bio-medical engineering and Dr. Carey’s course in high school, The Syllabus in Brief public policy. And at least one of her students I’m not sure I could have said I would The course explores the delicate has applied his interest in neuroscience to have been here today.” intricacies of the human brain on the video work. Eric Gaffney ’00 took Carey’s molecular and cellular level. Students course at St. John’s, and today he works for the Society study the nervous system, systems within the brain, and of Neuroscience making educational and professional alterations in the brain caused by neurological and mental development videos. It’s not uncommon for Carey to run into disorders. former students when she attends professional development

My Brain Does That?

In studying how and why the human brain works the way it does, students learn about the acquisition, storage and use of information; the role of the brain in regulating the body; how the brain helps us express rhythms, drives and emotions; and how it influences our perceptions, learning, memory, language and mood. The course also looks at emerging diagnostic methods and therapies for neurological disorders.

conferences.

“It makes my heart sing when I see former students present the work they’re doing now in front of my professional colleagues. The field of neurology crosses all lines in terms of career opportunities, and it is just so exciting to see the doors that open for them.”  Pictured above, Dr. Carey in the lab with Wing Ho Mitchell ’13 (left) and Nick Nasser ’13.

ST. JO H N’S PR E P TO DAY

7

Around Campus

Campus Briefs If we’re lucky, we all know someone whose spirit, wisdom and compassion makes a difference in our lives. St. John’s honored three such people in recent months. Amir Ghali, who became the technology department’s first desktop support specialist in 2005, received the Ryken Award in December. On a campus that depends on everything from laptops, iPads and SmartBoards to high speed Internet access, Ghali’s warmth and patience stands out as much as his ease with technology. Tess Witwicki, who has taught Spanish at St. John’s since 1988 and has done much to make St. John’s welcoming to students of all backgrounds. Cathy Carroll, who works in the main office and sees to it that the Brothers living in Xaverian House receive handmade gifts at Christmas each year, received the Brother William Drinan, CFX Staff Appreciation Award.

Now, that’s creative! John Kasarda ’14 was one of only 20 students in the country to win a gold medal in printmaking at the national level of the Scholastic Art & Writing Award program. Six additional art students were recognized by the program this year, and Aidan Breen ’14 received a gold key in writing. Pictured (back row, l to r) Kent Parsons ’14, silver key in printmaking; Benjamin Sword ’14 honorable mention in printmaking; and Ryan McKechnie ’12 honorable mention in ceramics; (front row) John Kasarda ’14, gold key in printmaking; Adeeb Shaji ’14, honorable mention in printmaking; Jack Giblin ’13 gold key in printmaking. Not pictured is Austin Woolman ’13, who also received honorable mention in printmaking.

More than 425 students from 20 Massachusetts high schools converged on the Prep campus this winter for a Model UN conference organized by the Prep’s Model UN Club. As hosts of the conference, club members researched and wrote briefing papers to pave the way for informed debate about a wide range of issues including everything from Internet security and Palestinian statehood to development in Haiti and the international drug trade. “Our students did an excellent job.

They’ve earned a great reputation on the high school Model UN circuit, and they are often recognized at college conferences for their work on the conference at St. John’s,” said club moderator Pamela Bronder-Giroux. Congratulations to club President Chris Hartnett ’12, conference Secretary General Pat Smith ’12, conference Director General Jerry Crowley ’12, and all members of the club.

Twenty-five students followed In Ryken’s Footsteps during February break, going on weeklong service trips to Ecuador and the Dominican Republic, and a peace and justice experience that began in New Jersey and ended on the Capitol steps in Washington, DC. At a Mustard Seed Community for disabled children in the Dominican Republic, students helped care for the youngsters and took them on an outing to the beach, a rare treat because of the many hands needed to make it happen. Students from the Prep have visited Rostro de Cristo in Duran before, but this trip to Ecuador took the group to nearby Mt. Sinai, where they helped to build a home for a woman and her five children. Closer to home, students spent time with urban advocacy groups in Camden, NJ, Baltimore, MD, and Washington, DC. The culmination of this experience was a peace and justice vigil with Pax Christi and calling on the offices of Senator Scott Brown and Congressman John Tierney to press for legislation that would expand the definition of homelessness to include underserved youth.

Shown standing in front of a sign they built and painted (back row, l to r): Lyndon Ambrefe ’13, Eamon O’Leary ’14, Adam Demoulas ’14, Cameron O’Meara ’13, Adonis Langumas ’14, and Henry Nicolas ’13; (front, l to r): James Cranney ’13, Anthony Provenzano ’13, Dan Enos ’12, Mark Pelletier ’13, Zachary Paglione ’13, and Andrew O’Connell ’14.

Read the article at www.stjohnsprep.org/pulse During the course of the year some 80 juniors participate in PULSE, the Prep Urban Life Service Experience. Described as life changing by many, this four-day retreat is offered eight times a year and takes students into Boston to stay at the Chinese Catholic Pastoral Center and work at sites like the Greater Boston Food Bank. Heather Angell of the Campus Ministry staff and Chris Messinger ’95 wrote about the power of the experience on the Prep website recently.

8

www.stjohnsprep.org

Finding Hope Among Somali Children

Greg Hill (back row, third from left) with children of the Transit Center on International Human Rights Day in December. With the support of Save the Children staff, the children had just finished putting on a play about the importance of human rights for more than 100 refugees.

I

am standing at the front of a temporary classroom that my team recently constructed from wooden poles and plastic sheeting.

Seventy children sit scattered in front of me, while a child next to me begins to sing a Somali melody.

Greg Hill ’01 works with the international relief agency Save the Children in Dolo, Ethiopia. The Kobe refugee camp is one of five camps that have been set-up there to receive hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees who have fled the devastating famine in the Horn of Africa region. Hill manages the logistics and a team of engineers who build temporary and semi-permanent facilities like classrooms, schools, feeding centers and secure play spaces for children. After receiving his master’s in international affairs at Catholic University, Hill was awarded a fellowship in emergency logistics that sent him overseas as a humanitarian aid worker. He will return home to Washington, DC, in June and will be married this July 4th. He wrote this reflection about his experiences in Ethiopia.

difficult to breath and see.

I can feel the dust scrape against my eyes every time I blink. I check my temp gauge – it is a little over 103 degrees today – sweat is dripping down my forehead and is mixing with the clay.

I live in Dolo, Ethiopia, about one mile from the Somalia border.

I can hear the happiness in his voice as he sings. One As I look out the window, of our national staff leans children are everywhere, over and tells me that he The camps are vast – flat, rocky and barren. and in every direction. In is singing about how the almost 88 percent of Somali children are their Strong winds often whip through the blocks Kobe, the refugees are under the own hope. In the Kobe age of 18. As my vehicle refugee camp hope might of thousands of white, cylindrical tents. drives down the road, seem a strange thing to find. children burst out of their tents with their hands in the air, But if you were here, you would see it. hoping for a wave – I find it similar to the way that I used As the session ends, many of the children begin to surround to stand on the side of the road hoping a truck driver would me, reaching out their hands to shake mine. They pull me honk his horn. I wave back, and this sends immediate smiles over to view the works of art they have just colored. The first onto their faces. For a moment I forget about the surrounding one is a Maroodi, the Somali word for elephant – they have environment, and I hope they do too. hung it in their makeshift museum. As we gather around the drawing of the elephant, they all recite the word together and wait patiently for my response. I turn around and I say “Maroodi” and they burst into laughter. They lead me to each drawing that they have hung up – proud of their work. We view other drawings of a donkey, goat, hyena, a ladder, and a house before saying our goodbyes.

We may only read about Somalia in the news. But the Somali people are very much like you and me. They might live in a different culture and in a world that is vastly dissimilar than the one we grew up in, but in many ways our values are the same. We value our children and families, we find importance in education, we hope for good health and a better future.

The Kobe refugee camp now provides refuge for almost 30,000, but that is a small fraction of the almost 150,000 refugees who have sought refuge from Somalia in Ethiopia – most are women and children. As I weave through the blocks of the Kobe refugee camp, I wonder how I got here.

Although the headlines about Somalia and the Horn of Africa famine are devastating, I believe there is possibility for a better future. The Somali youth want so much more, and they haven’t seen anything but famine, war and poverty for far too long. The youth are the future of Somalia and they are their own hope. After what I have seen here, that is a very encouraging thought. 

The camps are vast – flat, rocky and barren. Strong winds often whip through the blocks of thousands of white, cylindrical tents. The winds force me to cover my eyes from the dust, which is inescapable. It envelops me, making it

Pictured: Emergency Education structures under construction in the Melkadida Refugee Camp in October.

ST. JO H N’S PR E P TO DAY

9

AROUND CAMPUS

Eagles in Flight Gala

I

t was first class travel all the way at Eagles in Flight, the gala auction to benefit St. John’s on March 17. In a nod to St. Patrick’s Day, the evening began with music by the Prep’s Celtic Band in an Irish pub styled setting. With a record 460 people in attendance, the evening ended with warm, heartfelt video tributes to Distinguished Alumnus Thomas Haas ’74, Donna and Elliot Katzman P’01,’05 and Brother Ron Santoro, CFX.

ST. JOHN’S PREP HALL OF HONOR It was their shared commitment to faith and family that led Donna and Elliot Katzman to choose St. John’s Prep when it was time for their two sons, Matthew ’01 and David ’05, to start high school. At St. John’s, they found a community that celebrated the rich traditions of both Donna’s Catholic faith and Elliot’s Jewish tradition. The Unity Circle, an outdoor space that links Xavier Hall with the Administration Building, is a gift from Donna and Elliot to “celebrate the particular unity of purpose in the Catholic and Jewish faith traditions” that they found at St. John’s. As Prep parents, they became involved in school life in myriad ways, Donna as a volunteer and member of the Guild of St. William, and Elliot as a member of the Board of Trustees since 2003. “Elliot and Donna are more than friends to the Prep. They are stakeholders, stewards, and believers in our mission. We owe them our gratitude,” says Headmaster Emeritus Skip Shannon.

Donna and Elliot met as students at Chelsea High School and both graduated from Salem State College.

Donna taught at St. Mary of the Assumption School in Lawrence, and volunteered as a tutor for students in the Merrimack Valley. Elliott has spent 25 years as a senior executive in the high technology industry, building some of New England’s most successful software companies. A general partner with Commonwealth Capital Ventures now, he has served as a member of the Board of Fellows at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. He also serves on the advisory board of the Center for Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations at Merrimack College in North Andover.

10

www.stjohnsprep.org

Left: Eagles in Flight Gala Chair Denise O’Conner P’12 and Vice Chair Michael Prisco P’14. Right: Dennis and Sharon Hanson P’05, ’07 with Debbie and Bernie Caniff ’72, P’98, ’00. Dennis and Bernie are current trustees.

Left: John’ 75 and Christine Murtagh P’05, ’07, ’09 (left) with class of 2007 parents Pamela Burch and David Ives ’75. David serves as a trustee. Right: Christopher and Charleen McCarthy P’12,’15 with fellow Prep parents Michele and Coley Rybicki ’78 and P’15.

Left: Principal Keith Crowley and his wife, Patty, with Kara Hardiman and Headmaster Ed Hardiman.

Right: Master of ceremonies Kim Carrigan with her husband, Randall, and their son, Austin, a freshman at the Prep.

Left: Nick Nasser ’13 shows Jody Meyer, Mathematics Department chair, how text2bid works with an iPad! Right: Kevin and Rosemarie ’77 Bottomley with son Taylor ’02 and his wife, Emily.

ST. JOHN’S PREP HALL OF HONOR

Brother Ron Santoro’s Fine Arts Department colleagues gathered for the big event; pictured l to r are drama teacher Alicia Greenwood, Brother Ron, art teacher Harriet Malone, ceramics teacher Dale Bryant, and music teacher Michael Hamill.

Above, left: Tom Dolan ’72 and his wife, The Honorable Carmen Ortiz.

Right: Paul & Lorraine Soucy P’13 (left) with Mary and trustee Joe Carlucci P’05,’06,’14. Left: Mary and Brian Ambrefe flanking their son, Lyndon ’13.

Born and raised in New York, Brother Ron Santoro, CFX, found his calling when he was a student at Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, where many Xaverian Brothers served as teachers. Inspired by their dedication, humility and faith, Brother Ron decided that he wanted to become a brother himself. After entering the novitiate, he went on to earn a degree in French at Catholic University in Washington, DC, and later studied educational theatre and music. His vocation brought him to Danvers in 1972, when he began to teach religion and French at St. John’s.

That marked the beginning of a journey that has defined his life and enriched St. John’s Prep. Throughout a life devoted to teaching, Brother Ron has cultivated many interests beyond the classroom. A gourmet cook, avid gardener and traveler, he found his main passion in theater, and he devoted himself to the Prep Drama Guild. Brother Ron believes in the power of the arts to nurture self confidence and spark intellectual curiosity in students.

“Brother taught me what it means to pursue excellence. I think it starts with his contagious passion for all things theater.

He knows how to pull the best work out of people and he inspired me to learn as much as I could,” said Chris Dukich ’07.

Brother Ron has led the Prep to many wins in the Massachusetts High School Drama Festival, awakening students and audiences to the questions a play can provoke and the many different forms of theatre. As a teacher, artist, mentor and Xaverian Brother, he has educated and inspired all those around him in unimaginable ways and will always continue to do so.

ST. JO H N’S PR E P TO DAY

11

AROUND CAMPUS

Distinguished Alumnus 2012: Thomas W. Haas ’74

An avid pilot and flight instructor, Tom shares his professional expertise with members of the Prep’s Aviation Club. He also provides the resources that make it possible for the club to offer flight training at Beverly Airport, a rare opportunity for high school students.

T

here is nothing Tom Haas loves more than putting his passion for aviation to work making a difference for the organizations and issues he cares about. A businessman, pilot, and philanthropist, he brings a hands-on style and personal commitment to his efforts on behalf of many educational, social service, and cultural organizations, including St. John’s Prep. Whether it is piloting a plane to help conservationists survey endangered wildlife, or giving students at the Prep an opportunity to learn to fly, the 2012 Distinguished Alumnus at St. John’s Prep believes in giving back.

Tom’s generosity at St. John’s can be seen in both the academic and co-curricular life of the school. An early advocate for the arts and for using technology to enhance education across the disciplines, he provided support for the renovation of the Ryken Center for the Arts in 1995, and for the addition of SmartBoards and technology resources in Brother Benjamin Hall and the A. E. Studzinski Library in 2003.

An avid pilot and flight instructor, Tom shares his professional expertise with members of the Prep’s Aviation Club. He also provides the resources that make it possible for the club to offer flight training at Beverly Airport, a rare opportunity for high school students. In characteristically hands-on style, Tom makes it a point to meet with club members on campus every

12

www.stjohnsprep.org

year. He also invites the students to make an annual field trip to Premier Aviation in Portsmouth, where they can take a close-up look at a variety of aircraft and learn what it takes to run a flight school and train new pilots.

The wide ranging scope of his activities at the Prep and elsewhere reflects Tom’s commitment to community, education, the arts and aviation.

“Tom has become a leader in the New Hampshire Seacoast philanthropic community. He is truly a man who has committed himself in a very personal way to improving our community,” says fellow Prep graduate and Seacoast resident Paul McKeon ’79.

Tom serves as a trustee of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, vice president of the New Hampshire Aviation Historical Society, and trustee of Lighthawk, an environmental aviation organization that donates flights to conservation groups all across the country. An incorporator of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, he is actively involved with the Music Hall in Portsmouth, and Crossroads House, a homeless shelter, also in Portsmouth. A graduate of Nathaniel Hawthorne College, he is also a trustee emeritus at Kieve Wavus in Maine, which offers experiential learning programs and outdoor camps.  Pictured: A group of Aviation Club members visited Portsmouth International Airport with Haas in 2008. Pictured are (l to r): Tom Haas, Jonathan Bartus ’08, Bro. Tim Paul, CFX, Christopher Bartus ’09, Thomas Houghton ’09, Ben Marcaurelle ’09, John Kordis ’09, Andrew Jacob ’09, Michael Ortins ’08, Jacob Blaquier ’08, Jeffrey Pan ’08, and Bob Marinelli.

Sports

Long Drive to Success

T

he varsity golf program at the Prep has gone on to achieve great success since it began in the mid 1920s. In the latest chapter of the program’s long and storied history, two members of the Class of 2012 will play golf in college next fall – Nick McLaughlin at the University of Virginia and Nick Pandelena at Boston College.

“Over the years we have been fortunate to attract outstanding golfers to the Prep, says longtime varsity coach Larry O’Neill. “The school itself is the main attraction, but the desire to be part of the most successful high school golf program in the state, and the ability to play with and be pushed by other top players brings talented golfers to the Prep.”

The Prep golfers compete in the always tough Catholic Conference, where BC High is the team’s most formidable rival.

This year, the two teams shared the Catholic Conference title, and at the State Team Championship, St. John’s finished second, while BC High finished third.

Nick McLaughlin (middle) and Nick Pandelena (right) walk the course at Salem Country Club with a player from Malden Catholic.

Golf Stats Accurate team records date back to 1964, and during those 49 seasons the stats show an impressive legacy:

former player Bob Flynn ’80, director of golf at Far Corner Golf Course in West Boxford, for making his course available for tryouts and JV matches.

It was back in 1950 that Ed Whalley ’50 became the first Prep golfer to win the State Individual Championship. Since that Among the many strengths of the program 624-82-16 record for a winning time, individual champions have included is that it offers opportunities for players at percentage of over 88% Peter MacDonald in 1968, Nick McLaughlin all levels, says O’Neill. In addition to the 36 of 49 League titles in 2009, and Nick Pandelena in 2011. Many 10-player varsity team, there is a 12-player of our graduates have gone on to play junior varsity team, and an intramural 19 of 38 State Sectional titles collegiate golf and a number of others golf program open to all players in the 12 State Team Championships: have gone into the golf profession. Among fall season. ’81, ’87, ’88, ’89, ’95, ’96, ’97 (spring), the alumni pros are Ed Whalley ’50 “A student who wants to play golf and ’97 (fall), ’00, ’01, ’02 ’10 and his son, Ed Whalley ’78, Toby certainly can do it at the Prep at Ahern ’82, Tim Frazer ’82, Bob Flynn ’80, 116 match unbeaten streak from whichever level suits him,” says O’Neill.

Mike O’Keefe ’81, Lou O’Keefe ’88, 1976 to 1982, a national record The varsity team plays eight matches Joe Rocha ’88 Dave Lazarakis ’90, and noted in Sports Illustrated against its Catholic Conference opponents, George Zolotas ’04. Several other former as well as a rigorous non-conference players have excelled as amateurs such schedule against the best teams available. In recent years, top as Bob Mielcarz ’67, Ken Whalley ’80, Kevin Rourke ’82, John non-conference rivals have been Central Catholic, Barnstable, Gilmartin ’90, and Jim Donnelly ’96. David Fay ’68 served for Concord-Carlisle, Billerica, St. John’s Shrewsbury, and local many years as executive director of the USGA. rival Danvers High School.

The golf program has been fortunate to have many talented “Challenging ourselves with a tough schedule makes us a coaches contribute to the sport and set a high standard for better team and sets us up well for state tournament play. players. These coaches include Brother Linus, 1964-1977; We set the bar very high by entering each season with Larry O’Neill, 1978-1989, 1991, 2002-2011; Bob McKenna, three goals: win the Catholic Conference title, win the 1990; Tom Rourke, 1992-1994; Peter Dalton, 1995; and Paul Division I North title, and win the State Team Championship,” Zaido, 1996-2001. says O’Neill.

“Our players learn important values at the Prep – The varsity plays their home matches at Salem Country Club sportsmanship, hard work, honesty, and making team and Kernwood Country Club, and the opportunity to play ten success more important than individual success,” says O’Neill. matches each season at two great golf courses is a real benefit “It helps them become better students and better people for to the varsity players, according to O’Neill. He is grateful to today’s world.” 

Athletic Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony | Wednesday, November 21 | Danversport Yacht Club We’re looking forward to inducting a new slate of outstanding Prep athletes into the Hall of Fame in November. Check the website later this spring for details! The Hall of Fame recognizes athletes and individuals for outstanding athletic achievements and contributions. If you would like to submit a nomination for future induction ceremonies, please download the nomination form from www.stjohnsprep.org/halloffame and mail the required information to Larry O’Neill, 3 Rindge Road, Beverly, MA, 01915, or loneill4@comcast.net.

ST. JO H N’S PR E P TO DAY

13

SPORTS

Sports Summary: Fall 2011 Soccer Coach: Dave Crowell Captains: Ken Fryer ’12, Jack Gourdeau ’12, Deklan Robinson ’12 The Eagles qualified for the state tournament and finished their season with a record of 14-3-4. The team won the Catholic Conference title for the second straight season, and also won the Furstenburg Cup against Xavier from Middletown, CT, for the seventh time in eight years.

Golf Coach: Larry O’Neill Captains: Nick McLaughlin ’12, Nick Pandelena ’12 Prep golfers finished second in the Division I North Tournament and had four players qualify for the Individual Finals. The Prep also finished as the runners up in the DI State Tournament. Nick Pandelena ’12 became the DI State Individual Champion, while teammate Nick McLaughlin ’12 earned the Catholic Conference Championship.

Water Polo Coach: Tony Padvaiskas Captains: Ryan Fortin ’12, Paul MacMullin ’12 With the highest participation level ever since the program began, the Prep water polo team finished the year with a 2-3 record. Exuberance and teamwork characterized the team’s trademark outlook for the season.

Cross Country Coach: John Boyle Captains: Tim Contois ’12, Jacob Smith ’12 The Prep finished their dual meet season with a record of 3-1, good for second place in the Catholic Conference, losing to conference champs Xaverian by only six points. Season highlights included a fourth place finish at the Ocean State Invitational and a third place finish in the Manhattan College Invitational.

Football Coach: Jim O’Leary Captains: Tommy Gaudet ’12, Kyle Kaneb ’12, Owen Lynch ’12 The football team finished their regular season with a final record of 4-6. Four out of the six losses were by less than a touchdown, and the team showed steady improvement throughout the course of the season. The future is bright for the football team with numerous starters returning over the next few years.

14

www.stjohnsprep.org

Winter 2012 Winter Track Coach: Ray Carey ’67 Captains: Bryan Browne ’12, Tim Contois ’12, Morgan Johnson ’12, Jake Smith ’12 Ended their season with a final record of 4-2.

In the end, sent two track members to compete in the New England Tournament.

Basketball Coach: Sean Connolly Captains: Mike Carbone ’12, Steve Haladyna ’12, Owen Marchetti ’12, Freddie Shove ’12 Finished their season with a final record of 13-8. Earned #10 seed in DI North Tournament, before falling to Lawrence in a hard-fought First Round battle.

Hockey Coach: Kristian Hanson ’94 Captains: Sam Kurker ’12, David Letarte ’12, Nick Pandelena ’12, Brian Pinho ’13 The Prep ended their season with a record of 16-6-2 and earned #3 seed in DIA Super Eight Tournament. Made it to the Semi-Finals before losing a thrilling 3-2 game to BC High.

Fencing Coach: Jim Carter Captains: Dan Burke ’12 (Foil), Alex Charow ’12 (team), Dan Garey ’12 (Sabre), Owen Huzar ’12 (Epee) Captured their 8th straight State Championship.

Finished their season with an impressive 17-0 record.

Wrestling Coach: Manny Costa Captains: none Won their 18th straight Catholic Conference title, and finished their dual meet season with a record of 36-2. The Prep qualified seven wrestlers and four alternates for the DI North Sectional. Also, finished runner-up in the Division I State Tournament.

Skiing Coach: Tim Broderick 05, Nick Carlucci ’06 Captains: Mark Corvi ’12, Brendan Powell ’12, Chris Simeone ’12 Ended their season with a final record of 12-0.

Sent eight kids that competed in MIAA State Championship, and finished in second place, only three points shy of the top spot.

Swimming & Diving Coach: Anthony Padvaiskas Captains: Aaron Athanas ’12, Peter Fallon ’12, Ryan Fortin ’12 Finished their regular season 8-0, won a seventh straight DI North Sectional Title. In doing so, broke four school records, three North Sectional records, and claimed a 7th straight Division I State Title.

ST. JO H N’S PR E P TO DAY

15

Alumni Events | Fall 2011-Winter 2012 Enjoy these pictures of Prep alumni gathering at recent events in Danvers and beyond.

Members of the class of 1979 Ralph Cecere, Brian Currie, Kevin Pierce, and Rob Kennedy before teeing off in the Homecoming golf tournament in October.

Proud fathers and sons Jack Burke ’13, Jay Burke ’82, Joe Bernstein ’82, and Brady Bernstein ’15 at the Legacy luncheon held over Homecoming weekend in October.

John Duff ’81 and Brian Santin ’81 catching up at their 30th reunion over Homecoming weekend in October.

Chris Murtagh ’07 and Tom Culkeen ’07 working the Registration Tent at Homecoming in October.

Barry Cronin ’80, Don Cavett ’51, and Kevin McCarthy ’83 at the Greenwich Alumni Reception in November.

Sean Birmingham ’80, Brian O’Shea ’81, and Brian Birmingham ’81 reconnect at Homecoming in October.

Mike DiChiara ’07, Mike Carroll ’03, Headmaster Hardiman, and Brendan Bergson ’07 at the New York City Alumni Reception in November.

Tom Wu ’07, Andrew Flynn ’07, and Peter Dangelmayer ’05 at the Speed Networking Event in November.

Alumni

Bob Furlong ’72, Headmaster Hardiman, Fred Sullivan ’62, and Jon Malay ’69 at the Washington DC Alumni Reception in November.

Paul Richards ’06, Dan Fabrizio ’06, James Salerno ’06, Andrew Leonard ’06, and Prep teacher Chris Lynch enjoying their 5th reunion in November.

Bob Hogan ’71, Wally Lang ’72, and Mark Sullivan ’73 at the Chicago Alumni Reception in December.

Walter Colsman ’85, Mike Kennealy ’86, Shawn Pothier ’76, and Paul McNamara ’69 spreading some holiday cheer at the Boston Alumni Christmas Reception in December.

Spencer Canny ’11, Caleb Bower ’11, Headmaster Hardiman, Pete Trainor ’11, Ryan O’Leary ’11, Eliseo Veras ’11, and Colin Mageary ’11 at the alumni reception held on the Boston College campus in February.

Headmaster Hardiman’s travels took him to Hong Kong in March, where he met with a group of alumni for dinner. The group included John Chow ’68, Alfred Chow, Ricky Chen ’01, Jeff Sudati ’92, Dr. Hardiman, Matthew Galvin ’95, Peter Ford ’91, and Crispin Chow ’71. John Chow, who organized the gathering, said “It was great to learn from Dr. Hardiman about our Alma Mater. It brings back a lot of good and fond memories.”

Headmaster Ed Hardiman, David Kohl ’75, Matt Hogan ’88, and Joe Purtell ’53 at the Delray Beach, FL, Alumni Reception in March.

Host John Doyle ’60, Kathleen Nealon, and Emmett Nealon ’44 at the Naples, FL, Alumni Reception in March.

ALU M N I

THE POWER OF THE

PREP NETWORK

In every issue of St. John’s Prep Today, we highlight an example of the Prep network in action. In this issue, we spotlight a professional networking group and the success it has met since its inception in March 2008. Please continue to share news of how the Prep network has aided you.

Above: Pat Fouhy ’05 speaks to the college-age audience.

Right: Toby Danforth ’64 chats with Chris Newsome ’09.

(L to r) James Kossuth ’94 and Trevor Findlen ’94 with Michael Delaney ’87 at a Prep Lawyers Network meeting.

Classmates James Kossuth ’94 and Trevor Findlen ’94 formed the Prep Lawyers Network to bring Prep grads in the legal field together to network and share insights into the practice of law. Their goal was to create a visible online presence and offer networking events featuring speakers of particular interest to the group. They formed the Prep lawyers subgroup as part of the Prep’s Alumni Network on LinkedIn, and held their inaugural event at the John Adams Courthouse in Boston featuring Associate Justices David Mills ’60 and Joseph Grasso ’64 of the Massachusetts Appeals Court.

Jay Wexler ’87, professor at Boston University’s School of Law, and Michael Delaney ’87, New Hampshire Attorney General, have spoken at subsequent events.

The success of this group has spawned other professional groups on LinkedIn, including the Scientists and Engineers Network and the Non-Profit Professionals. If you are interested in starting a profession-based group, we would be happy to help. Please contact Jeff Connolly ’80, Director of Alumni Relations, at jconnolly@stjohnsprep.org.

18

www.stjohnsprep.org

Helping Young Grads Get Ready for the Job Search

T

he school day had ended several hours earlier, but on an early January evening, the A.E. Studzinksi was packed with nearly 100 college-age Prep graduates who had returned to campus for a seminar designed to help them prepare for the job search process.

A talented panel composed of recent college grads, seasoned executives, and recruiting professionals shared advice about building professional networks, internships, resumes and interview tips, as well as other insights into the hiring process. Two Prep grads who are human resources professionals took part in the evening by offering to critique resumes in advance of the seminar.

On the subject of resumes, Coley Rybicki ’78 exhorted the group to include their high school and other associations they may have in common with people reading their resumes. “The first thing I noticed was that 75 percent of you didn’t show the Prep on your resumes,” he told the group.

Dean Fanikos ’92 highlighted the importance of managing your online presence, urging people to pay close attention to the way they portray themselves on Facebook, YouTube and other social media sites. “Before I interview a candidate, I always do a Google search,” he cautioned.

Special thanks to our panelists for making this first Prep College Age Alumni Career Seminar so informative: Toby Danforth ’64, director, human resources, Mass Insight Corporation; Dean Fanikos ’92, senior account executive, Jenzabar; Pat Fouhy ’05, investment banking analyst, Lazard Freres & Co.; Coley Rybicki ’78, director of human resources, BAE Systems; Kevin Tierney ’05, teacher, Melrose Middle School; and Chip Tuttle ’81, partner, Conover Tuttle Pace, and COO, Suffolk Downs.

The event is just one of the valuable parts of the Prep Networking Toolkit, a resource available to all graduates of St. John’s. These resources include everything from Speed Networking events, Business Breakfasts, and regional receptions to the Prep Alumni Portal (with a complete alumni directory and career forums) and the Prep Alumni Network on LinkedIn (boasting more than 1,600 members and several professional subgroups). We plan to expand our networking and career building offerings, and use technology like webinars to extend the reach of these tools to our alumni base. 

We Asked and You Answered!

A lumni P rograms S urvey

We surveyed Prep alumni last fall to find out how you feel about your connection to St. John’s and to ask what alumni programs you would like to see in the future. What follows is a summary of your responses.

A Point of Pride: A whopping 90% said that you feel proud to be a graduate of St. John’s Prep.

What you value about St. John’s: It is a tribute to Prep faculty from all generations that 80% of you ranked education first and foremost among the things you value most highly about your Prep experience.

You also place significant value on the personal, professional and spiritual strength you derive from St. John’s. See the chart at the bottom of this page for an illustration.

What you would like to see: Professional development, business trends, life skills and financial planning top the list of topics for future alumni programming. You would like to see more profession-specific groups

Our Plan

(like the Prep Lawyers Network), more networking events for young alumni, more Prep-based service opportunities, and more class-specific events (in addition to reunions).

Making it easy: You made it clear that after work is the best time to schedule alumni networking and social events, and 84% of you said you would be willing to pay for these programs. 57% said you would participate in webinars on topics related to professional development.

Reunions and Homecoming: About 50% of you report having attended a class reunion, while significantly more of you have come back for Homecoming (67%). On-campus reunions in the fall are most popular, although summer is a popular time for alumni who do not live in the Boston area.

“I am extremely proud of my link to SJP and it has certainly helped me professionally and personally as life is all about having and making connections. Everywhere I go there is a Prep connection. Everywhere!”

– Survey Respondent This chart illustrates the value St. John’s alumni place on their Prep experience, educationally, personally, professionally, and spiritually. We asked survey respondents to rank each of these four aspects of their Prep experience on a scale of 1 to 5 (highest value). The responses make it clear that the Prep plays a significant role in the lives of our graduates long after they leave St. John’s.

We’ve already taken action on some of your suggestions and others are in the works. For example, in January we sponsored a seminar to help college age alumni get ready for their first job search (read more on page 18). Also coming up, we plan to: xpand professional development E and networking opportunities n Offer life skills programs on topics like financial literacy n Kick off a webinar series with a session on Resume Writing n Create a Prep Non-Profit Professionals group on LinkedIn n Explore ways for alumni to participate together in community service projects n Aim for a more predictable reunion schedule; focus on increasing participation n Revamp Homecoming into Prep Rally, a day with new and different activities n

Educationally

Personally

Professionally

Spiritually 0% 5

25% 4

3

2

1

50%

75%

100%

Alumni ranked four aspects of their Prep experience on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 having the highest value.

ST. JO H N’S PR E P TO DAY

19

Advancement

A Planned Gift Can Change a Student’s Life

they planned to continue giving annually to the Fund for St. John’s, Mike and Felicia wanted to make a significant gift that would provide the Prep with additional tuition assistance resources. They knew it was something they could do with a gift through their estate.

M

ike Waldron ’73 grew up knowing that he would attend St. John’s Prep.

The Waldrons talked with their attorney, In fact, his parents were so determined to and drew up a will to include a provision make it a reality that they bought a home stating that St. John’s would receive a right behind Brother Benjamin Hall on gift from their estate to support students Ledgewood Drive. The Waldrons moved at the Prep whose families need tuition there from Lynn, when Mike was still in assistance. When Mike shared the grade school. He grew up playing on the plans with the Office for Institutional Prep’s athletic fields and got to know some Mike Waldron ’73 and his son, Shawn ’14.

Advancement, he said, “With everything of the faculty and staff. He fondly recalls the Prep has done for me, and what Buster DiVincenzo, the athletic director at the teachers, coaches, and administrators have done, and that time, chasing him and other neighborhood youngsters continue to do for Shawn, I can state categorically that the out of the gymnasium when it was time for the Prep teams Prep lives what it teaches – values, work ethic, discipline, to practice. He didn’t realize then how much it would mean family, and community. To give is to help ensure that the to him when his son, Shawn ’14, followed in his footsteps to Prep’s mission continues and becomes stronger.” the Prep.

Before Shawn came to St. John’s, Mike had the opportunity to reflect on his own experience at the Prep. He had learned a great deal from many Brothers, teachers, and coaches.

Mike fondly recalls his time as a student with Brother Keefe and Coach McKenna, both of whom he credits for teaching him valuable lessons about hard work, commitment and self-discipline. He is pleased to see that Shawn is enjoying a fulfilling experience, much like his own. Mike has continued to stay involved as a volunteer and an active alumnus for many years, keeping his connection with St. John’s strong.

When he was back on campus almost ten years ago, Mike talked with then Headmaster Skip Shannon about the need to increase tuition assistance for students whose families do not have the means for them to attend the Prep. It prompted Mike and his wife, Felicia, to think about how they could give back and make a difference in the lives of students who would not otherwise have the opportunity to attend St. John’s. Although

Mike is now a member of the 1907 Society, the giving society that recognizes individuals who have included St. John’s in their estate plans. He is also actively involved with the Headmaster’s Council committee. 

Planned Giving at St. John’s If you are interested in learning more about supporting St. John’s through planned giving, please contact Debra Marino, Director of Planned and Major Gifts, at dmarino@ stjohnsprep.org or 978.774.6727 x358. You can find additional information at www.stjohnsprep.org/plannedgiving. If you have already named St. John’s Prep as a beneficiary of your estate, charitable remainder trust, life insurance policy, retirement plan asset, or made other arrangements to support St. John’s through a planned gift, please consider sharing your plans and joining the 1907 Society.

Golf Tournaments in June and October!

20

Enjoy a great day of golf to benefit the

Kernwood Country Club!

Ray Carey ’67 Diversity Fund at St. John’s!

27th Annual Brother Linus Tournament

Monday, June 18 • Ipswich Country Club 7:30 am shotgun tee time

Monday, October 1 Kernwood Country Club in Salem

$200 per player includes greens fees and cart, cookout and award ceremony, 50/50 raffle, longest drive contest, and closest to the pin challenge.

Play one the of the most beautiful and historic courses on the North Shore!

Register online at www.stjohnsprep.org/careytournament.

For more information, please contact Lauren Ritchie at lritchie@stjohnsprep.org.

If you would like more information, please contact Mary Carol Vitolo at mvitolo@stjohnsprep.org.

www.stjohnsprep.org

Sponsorships are available.

A Day in the Life of Your Annual Fund Gift From early in the morning until long after the last bell rings, your gift is busy making a difference in the lives of students.

This timeline illustrates the important work your gift does on a typical day at St. John’s. Annual giving supports the people, programs and resources that make days like this happen all year at St. John’s.

7:30 am This timeline tells the story of a day in the life of your annual fund gift. It’s not flashy and it can often go unseen, but nothing is more important to the quality of the education at St. John’s than a strong annual giving program.

In ways large and small, annual giving supports and enriches every aspect of a student’s experience at the Prep. These gifts help to pay for everything from light bulbs, Internet access and petrie dishes to professional development for teachers and tuition assistance for students.

In fact, gifts to the Fund for St. John’s account for more than $1.3 million of the school’s annual operating budget.

We hope you feel good about your gift. We couldn’t do without it and we are grateful for your continuing generosity.

It’s easy to make a gift to the Fund for St. John’s Give online at www.stjohnsprep.org/giving Call 800.292.0227 Mail your check (payable to St. John’s Prep) to the Office for Institutional Advancement, 72 Spring Street, Danvers, MA 01923 For more information about annual giving at St. John’s, please contact Dorothy Dolan at ddolan@stjohnsprep.org or 978.774.6727 x337.

8:35 am

The lights are on, the computers are up and running, and the library fills with students preparing for the day ahead.

A biology teacher illustrates today’s lab with original data he gathered during a research trip to the Arctic last summer.

9:31 am

10:37 am

A junior meets with his school counselor to talk about colleges where he can study both biology and journalism.

The SmartBoard in a math class makes it possible for students to work together on a complex algebraic equation.

11:19 am

12:38 pm An insightful debate about the Paris Peace Accords engages everyone in a history class, aided by easy access to original news reports of the time.

2:45 pm Engineering Club members use a sophisticated microcontroller to program the weather station they designed and built earlier this year.

In Campus Ministry, student leaders meet to discuss plans for an upcoming sophomore retreat.

1:34 pm The sound of piano chords fill the Ryken Center as aspiring musicians work on original compositions in a songwriting class.

5:30 pm The wrestling team listens as the coach discusses strategy for an upcoming quad meet.

ST. JO H N’S PR E P TO DAY

21

Class Notes

W

e hope you will enjoy these updates received from your classmates. Should you be inspired to get in touch with anyone, their contact information is now available on the Prep website’s alumni directory. We encourage you to use the directory and to keep your own profile up to date. It’s a resource available only to alumni!

1947

Dick Vincent writes from his home in Falmouth, “Life continues. Little did I dream in ’47 that I would be alive on the cusp of my 83rd year … with 5 children, 6 grandchildren and twin great grandsons.

I am grateful for the bounty that life has given me and the joy of every sunrise and sunset.”

1948

Don Slaven is retired and living on Cape Cod, but he maintains a very busy life. He has served as director of Special Olympics for the Cape and the Islands and is also a member of the Knights of Columbus, a former president of the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Association, and a trustee with the Leukemia Society. His successful basketball coaching career brought him Coach of the Year honors as well as induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. He has completed work on a 300-page book called, “The Mystic of Michael,” a view of the world through the eyes of Don’s autistic son, Michael.

1953

John Flynn reports that the fifth generation of Flynns will be attending the Prep in the fall with the arrival of his grandson, Trevor Curtis Gowdy, as a member of the Class of 2017. John lives in Middleton and is in the venture capital business.

1955

1950

The Oregon Mediation Association at their annual convention awarded The Shannon Steward Award for Excellence to Charlie Young for outstanding service to mediation in Oregon.

1952

to plan a gathering, or if you’d like to submit a newsy update and, perhaps, a candid photo for a class newsletter, you can contact George directly at gwinchester@partners.org.

Rev. George Winchester and a few other ’52 stalwarts are beginning to contact classmates to encourage a 60th class reunion in September and/ or a written class newsletter to bring everyone up to date on their classmates.

If you’re interested in attending or helping

After graduating from St. John’s, Hank Beliveau attended Northeastern University and then went to work in the semiconductor industry. He has spent his entire career in sales and marketing of capital equipment and materials used to manufacture semiconductor chips. He says that although he should have retired a few years ago, he enjoys what he does, so he continues as an independent sales representative for a few companies. He and his wife, Barbara, now split their time between Wakefield, N.H. and North Fort Myers, Florida. He regrets having missed both his 25th and 50th reunions, and would love to hear from classmates. He can be reached at hank@pinriverproducts.com.

Orphanage in the Diocese of Montego Bay, Jamaica. Students and faculty from the Prep visit the orphanage each year. In February 2012, he visited the orphanage which houses 35 handicapped children and where he and his friends are establishing a computer room for classes.

1959

After retiring from Newport News Shipbuilding in May, George Christian and his wife, Ann, have been busy doing a lot of traveling. In July they spent two months sailing from their home in Virginia to New England on their Bristol 47-7.

Along the way they visited friends and explored various ports of call including Annapolis, Cape May, Block Island and Newport in Rhode Island, Harwichport, Marion, and New Bedford, Mass., Stonington and Mystic, Conn., Huntington, New York, and Manasquan, New Jersey.

“Needless to say we had a blast. We hunkered down in Mystic for Hurricane Irene. Two weeks after we returned home in September, Bonnie and George (Bud) Rickus visited us for a couple of days on their way to Florida. Bud and I renewed our friendship at our 50th reunion in 2009. We had a great time including

1956

Rev. Leo Shea reports that in January 2011, he finished his four-year assignment in Jamaica, West Indies. During 2011, he served as chairperson of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers Centennial Celebration. Now that he is retired, he continues to support Blessed Assurance

Classmates Bud Rickus (left) and George Christian on the Chesapeake Bay last fall.

In Memoriam Please remember in your prayers these members of the Prep community who have passed away recently.

Richard D. Batchelder ’51 James J. Pollard, Sr., M.D. ’51 Henry T. Grant, M.D. ’52 Richard E. Cox ’53 Peter F. Rush ’57 Donald L. Goodwin ’58 John E. Beirne, Sr. ’60 Michael J. Martini ’72 Peter L. Regan ’72 Nicholas P. DeMauro ’74 Patricia Mattuchio ’74 James M. Rice ’87

22

www.stjohnsprep.org

James M. Rice ’87 On December 23, 2011, firefighter James M. Rice ’87 died heroically while battling a Peabody house fire. He was an eleven year veteran of the Peabody Fire Department.

Jim was a graduate of Bentley College who left a career in banking to devote his life to community service. He is fondly remembered as a person with a very giving spirit and a ready smile. His greatest pleasure was spending time with his family and friends.

He is survived by his wife, Amy, of Peabody with whom he shared 16 years of marriage and three children, Alyssa (12), Katelyn (9) and Ryan (7).

Mary and Jim Yemma ’59 at their winter home in Defuniak Springs, Florida.

a day sail on the Chesapeake Bay. On December 13th we left for a seven-week trip to Australia to visit our youngest son and his wife for Christmas and New Year’s. We flew into Adelaide where our daughter-in-law’s parents live and then traveled in their caravan from Adelaide to Canberra where the kids live. What a blast!

We looked like two hippies from the 60s.

We did lots of wine tasting at some of the best wineries in the world and spent six days camping until reaching Canberra.

The remaining two weeks were spent visiting and helping around their beautiful home. We flew back on January 29th.

Cheers to all.” John Moran and his wife, Margie, enjoyed the mild winter in North Carolina. Over Thanksgiving in Tampa, Florida, they had a visit with their oldest son who lives in Alaska. While they were there they had lunch with John Crowley and his wife, Jo. They visited their daughter in Detroit in early April which happened to coincide with the opening weekend game between the Red Sox and the Tigers. Go Sox!

1960

Jack Hayes reports that he is not very good at staying in one spot. Before the class of ’60’s 50th reunion, Jack and his wife, Gwen, had traveled to Egypt. Since then they have been to China and down the Amalfi Coast of Italy. Most recently, they visited Honduras and Guatemala where they visited the Mayan Pyramid of the Jaguar where he worked on an archaeological dig 47 years ago. He was surprised to find that many more pyramids and temples have been revealed in the interim. In September they will travel to Moscow, Novgorod and St. Petersburg in Russia and to the Balkans. Since the reunion, Jack has been working with Tom Dennen on illustrating Tom’s book, “The Animal General Meeting,” available on Amazon

and at book sellers. They are plotting a 75th class reunion to be held in an odd little bar they know that is built into the trunk of a 6,000-year-old Baobab tree in Limpopo, South Africa. Tom spent the year following the 50th reunion in Maine lobbying local legislators for a bank bill similar to one in North Dakota. He succeeded to some degree in that a bill is somewhere in committee and, his work done, he returned to his home in “darkest Africa.” He is preparing to play the lead in “Beggar,” a one-act play for pay-TV in South Africa.

1961

Rick Boudreau has written his first novel, “Mulligan,” which has been published and is now available on Amazon as well as in bookstores.

“What I tried to do,” Boudreau says, “is create a story that – I hope – will let people see that second chances do exist and that, even if we have failed ourselves in the past, there is no reason ever to despair when life is not going well. No matter how late in life, each of us can commit ourselves to striving to fulfill our potential.” Retired for the past six years, and a resident of North Kingstown, R.I., since 1974, Boudreau spent his professional career in journalism, public relations, and corporate communications. He is currently working on a new novel, scheduled for completion later this year. Peter Weston continues to teach calculus I, II, and III as an adjunct professor at UMass Lowell. This semester he has been asked to teach a Special Topics in Honors course and has chosen what he says is his dream course. His theme is consciousness and the class will cover “The Radiance of Being” by Allan Combs, “The Phenomenon of Man”

by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and “The Ever-Present Origin” by Jean Gebser.

Frank Dodge is still practicing law in Phoenix at his 21-attorney firm. He also serves as a mediator, arbitrator and judge pro tem for the Superior Court. He is starting his 23rd season of triathlon in May. He and his wife, Stefania, celebrated five years of marriage by renewing their vows in February. He says, “We very much enjoyed our trip back to the Prep last year for the 50th reunion. It was great seeing old classmates, seeing all the changes to the campus and walking down memory lane, as it were. All our best to the Prep family and we look forward to hearing from any Prep classmates coming to the Scottsdale area.” Ron Michaud

Ron Michaud ’61 at the podium with Dr. Regina Benjamin, Surgeon General of the United States.

participated in the national launch of the National Consumers League “Script your Future” public education program in Washington, D.C. The program is intended to encourage patients with chronic disease to properly and consistently take their medications and to raise awareness about the consequences of not taking medication as directed. Ron’s presentation at the webcast was to give a patient’s viewpoint on the importance of medication adherence.

1962 5 0 TH R E U N I O N Y E A R The 50th Reunion Committee for the Class of ’62 is hard at work contacting classmates and encouraging them to be a part of what promises to be a terrific weekend on May 18-20. Led by Joe Milano, the committee consists of: Art Buckley, Bob Erbetta, Brian Flatley, Doug Ford, Bob Kelly, Tom Kelly, Bob Ledoux, Spike Michaud, John Millane, David Monahan, Dan Mullane, Jim Ronan, and Gerry Sarno. If you haven’t already replied to your invitation to be a part of the festivities, please send it along soon. You won’t want to miss it !

Bill Kleine checked in to tell us that he and his wife, Judy, live in Lancaster, Penn.

They met twenty years ago and married fifteen years ago. They each have two children from previous marriages and 8 grandchildren collectively – all of whom they are close to and who keep them very busy. Bill retired five years ago from a career in technology services during which he worked first for IBM and then for HP. They enjoy gardening, golf, fly fishing and travel. Anyone visiting the Philadelphia, Baltimore, or D.C. area is welcome – they love to entertain visitors and Lancaster is a great tourist destination featuring quaint and charming farm country and one of the largest Amish populations in the U.S. Bill says they plan on attending the reunion and he is looking forward to reacquainting himself with old friends. Gerry Sarno received the 2011 Gold PRISM Award at the annual Builders Association of Greater Boston competition in October.

ST. JO H N’S PR E P TO DAY

23

CLASS NOTES

George Carofino ’62 is a retired dentist living seven months of the year in Antigua, Guatemala, but he doesn’t spend his days in a hammock, soaking up the sun. He’s on the board of directors of several local non-profits and life has never been busier.

He began working as a volunteer with health organizations in 1981, partnering with Maryknoll priests in Taiwan to bring health care to the Aborigine people in the country’s mountain areas. In 1996, he teamed with Ak’ Tenamit, an organization in the Rio Dulce area of Guatemala, to establish a medical and dental clinic in that remote part of the country. With the help of his son, they introduced the first floating dental clinic in the region.

Carofino, whose dental practice was based in Connecticut, served on the board of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and their Commission on American and International Schools Abroad.

It was in this context that he visited the Mayan School in Guatemala City and became even more committed to improving education there. Guatemala is a culturally diverse country whose population includes indigenous Mayans, Ladinos, and Hispanics, and where 21 different languages are spoken. “If Guatemala is to improve the quality of life for its population, then it has to start with education,” says Carofino. He serves on the board of Open Windows Foundation, a children’s educational center, located in San Miguel Duenas, ten miles from the capital of Antigua.

The foundation provides education services and programs for more than 2,500 children in the community. He is also one of the founding members of Antigua International School, an institution that is accredited in the U.S. and Europe and offers world-class educational programs to local students, according to Carofino.

24

www.stjohnsprep.org

The recognition came in the Best Attached Single-Family Home area, for his unique community development at Deer Path Farms in Hudson, Mass. His latest project is the design of two single family homes in Newton. Kevin Benoit wrote to update us on life after St. John’s. He says, “After leaving the Prep I received a BA and MA from Northeastern University; an MPA from Suffolk University and I am a fellow of the Institute for Court Management in Denver. My wife, Susan, a successful interior designer and now gallery artist, and I have two boys: Eric (Harvard, Ohio State Medical School) and currently a general surgery resident at the BI Deaconess Hospital in Boston and Colin (Cornell), a layout supervisor with George Lucas’s Industrial Light and Magic in San Francisco. He recently was honored by the Visual Effects Society in LA for his work on the movie Rango.

As for my work history, I spent a dozen years in the public sector, culminating with the position of first deputy director, Department of Probation in New York City. I then made the transition into the private sector as director, strategic human resource planning for GenCorp.

This involved a move to Ohio where our family spent 17 years. It is also here that I chose to leave the corporate world for the ultimate risk of starting a business. With two other partners, we formed a medical device company where I was CEO and president. We were eventually acquired by a European company and this allowed us to move back East, buy an antique house in Duxbury and invest in a start up biotech device company which prepares a composition of stem cells to treat various orthopedic, cardiac and vascular diseases – Brother Cephas would be so proud. We were recently acquired by a Japanese medical device company, Terumo Corp. I am currently VP / general manager, strategic business development and direct the company’s clinical initiatives in cardiology and diabetes. Seems like a long and winding road from the Danvers campus. I am looking forward to reconnecting with classmates at the 50th.”

1964

Barry Sullivan is proud to announce that his son, Barry, Jr., has passed the state bar examinations in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey and is now qualified to practice law in both states. Barry, Sr., is the manager of Democratic floor information service for the U.S. House of Representatives and lives in Alexandria, Virginia.

1965

Maurice “Mo” Gauthier has held the position of C.E.O and C.O.O. of VSE Corporation, a technical services company based in Alexandria, Virginia, since 2008 and in 2009 was appointed to their Maurice Gauthier ’65 Board of Directors.

VSE’s principal clients are agencies of the Federal Government. Mo is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and received his masters in systems engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. He is also a graduate of the Defense Acquisition University’s Defense Systems Management College and of the Advanced Executive Program and the International Marketing Program offered by the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

He served in the U.S. Navy from 1965 to 1997, retiring in the grade of Captain.

He and his wife, Sandra Yates, have four grown children, Aimee, Melanie, Christopher and Jonathan. They reside in Falls Church, Virginia. Last April, Ed Coffey attended a Notre Dame Club of San Antonio luncheon featuring Coach Brian Kelly ’79. With a bit of advance planning and some help from the Prep alumni office, Ed was able to present the coach with a Prep hat, telling Kelly that because he spent a lot of time at events like that in place after place, they wanted him to feel a little more at home.

Ed reports that he beamed and said, “You guys are everywhere!” and seemed as happy to get the Prep hat as he was to receive the Stetson the ND club gave him later.

1966

Brother David Mahoney is spending his second year living in Nairobi, Kenya, after ten years in Western Kenya. He reports, “ Last year, after too many years without a firm foundation in the language, I spent August to December as a student of Swahili at Makoko Language School, formerly the Maryknoll Language School, on the eastern shore of Lake Victoria in Tanzania. In Nairobi I am teaching in the Xaverian Brothers’ third-year International Postulancy program and I live with four Kenyans and four Congolese. Community prayers are recited or chanted at various times in English, French, or Swahili. I spend a good deal of time translating Xaverian Brothers’ documents and teaching materials between English

and French. I am now pleased to feel comfortable going in either direction.

My homage to Br. Edwin, Mrs. Hegarty, and the late Nicodemus. This September marks the 50th anniversary of our class’s arrival at the Prep. Just recently I had an email from the French penpal with whom I started corresponding during freshman year. I’ve met him six times over the years, on both sides of the ocean.

I expect to visit the States this summer, when my mother will be celebrating her 90th birthday.”

1967 4 5 TH R E U N I O N Y E A R Michael McLaughlin is practicing law with the firm of Shaheen & Gordon in Concord, N.H. with a focus on government relations, representing state and national clients in Concord and Washington.

1968

Joe McDonough has accepted a position as a partner in the law firm of Holland & Knight and will be based in their Abu Dhabi office working throughout the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern

Joe McDonough ’68 in Abu Dhabi

Asia. He is charged with expanding their legal services in the region and will specialize in cross border transactions, electronic commerce. He will also be continuing his efforts in legal education.

He is joined in Abu Dhabi by his wife, Gerry. Ed Graf lives in New Orleans where he is a college counselor at the Isidore Newman School. He was college counselor to both Eli and Peyton Manning and taught Peyton algebra when he was in the eighth grade.

1970

Jim Siegel sends his best wishes to the Prep community. He reports that he has been elected to the board of trustees of Inwood Academy for Leadership, an award-winning New York City public charter school. Jim is director of marketing

Class of ’71 classmates (l to r) Jim Bradley, Bob Attridge, Hank Healey Mike Maxey, Coach Fred Glatz, Joe Keefe, Dana Hughes, Bob Hogan, Steve Krause, and Mark Occhipinti.

and communications at the nonprofit HealthCare Chaplaincy in New York, a leader in the research, education and practice of multi-faith spiritual care and palliative care. Andrew Demeter reports that classmate Patrick Finnegan retired in 2010 from the U.S. Marshal Service, but is still working in a part-time capacity in the Tucson Federal Courthouse. Pat and his wife, Eileen, live with their two boys in Tucson. Michael Niedermeier was elected chairman of the Greater Bridgeport Regional Business Council.

The BRBC is active in coordinating the region’s elected officials and business leaders to promote growth opportunities and jobs. He and his wife of 35 years, Cindy, have been actively involved in many area volunteer organizations. He works with the Knights of Malta, St. Vincent’s Medical Center and the Cardinal Shehan Center among others. He says that his commitment to community was received from his parents and fostered

by St. John’s Prep, the Xaverian Brothers and The College of the Holy Cross. He and Cindy were married by several Jesuit friends from Fairfield University. They believe that you live the life of community and service with the understanding that you only get what you give. He says St. John’s was a very important experience at a critical time, dramatically influencing his life. They have three children Jaime, Michael, and Allison and four grandchildren. Michael is a partner at Blum Shapiro, a CPA firm with which he merged his business in 2009.

1971

71’s 41st! Hank Healey, Dana Hughes, Bob Attridge, and Bob Hogan would like to remind all of you that they are organizing a gala 41st reunion this fall on Saturday, October 13 at the Marriott in Peabody. More than 41 of your

classmates have already expressed interest in attending (Bob Attridge, Tom Ball, Rich Biagiotti, Richard Blake, Jim Bradley, Dave Breen, Ed Cahill, Kevin Callahan, Joe Collins, Art Coviello, Jim Daly, Tom DiGiuseppe, Dennis DiPaolo, Paul Driscoll, Todd Driscoll, Peter Fallon, Craig Faretra, Joe Ferris, Ed Furey, Peter Haley, Dave Handy, Lloyd Harris, Hank Healey, Bob Hogan, Dana Hughes, Dave Jean, Joe Keefe, Steve Krause, John Lawrence, Joe Loring, Tom Lynch, Mike Manoogian, Mike Maxey, Mike McCloskey, T.J. McDermott, Jim McNulty, Charlie McShane, Jack Miniter, Mark Occipinti, Joe Orlando, Richard Pena, Brian Powers, Dave Resca, John Rowan, Tom Scally, John Spakas, John Suslak and Bob Tanner) and they would like to see another 41+ do the same. “True, one does not ordinarily celebrate a 41st reunion, but the Class of 71 is no ordinary class. The objective of this event is to get as many of us together as we possibly can over the course of a fall weekend to share past experiences, catch up with each other, learn more about what the Prep is doing these days, and have a great time. We would like 71’s 41st to smash the attendance record for any one class making it back for a reunion. For those of you who would like to learn more about the 41st, just contact Hank Healey at fhh@rti.org or (919.412.0706). Let’s do our best to increase this number by at least a factor of 9 for the 41st.” Pictured above are most of those who made it to the 40th. Charlie McShane and his wife Sherry are now living in Columbus, Ohio.

Charlie has taken a new position there leading the business insurance division of State Auto Insurance. Previously, he was the regional president of their eastern region, based in Baltimore. He’s looking forward to the Class of ’71’s 41st reunion ST. JO H N’S PR E P TO DAY

25

CLASS NOTES

Public service and politics have always played an important role in the life of Colleen McGee Kavanaugh ’76. This continues to be true today in her work with a political technology firm and a nonprofit foundation that helps to keep at risk children in school.

She and her husband, Gerry, live in New Bedford and Washington, DC, and founded South Coast Connected, a Massachusetts-based non-profit to address the disturbing fact that four out of ten local high school students in New Bedford drop out, a rate three times higher than the state average. The foundation provides elementary and middle school children with after-school programs with tutoring, mentoring and athletics. “We started South Coast Connected because we felt it was important to intervene early with programs and activities that engage kids and stress the importance of staying in school”, said Kavanaugh. In order to participate in the program, students must have solid grades, good attendance, and also good citizenship and behavior.

Kavanaugh is also chief executive officer of DCS Internet Strategies, a technology firm in Washington, DC, working with Democratic members of Congress, candidates and progressive organizations.

“Our job is to help voters and constituents understand what is taking place here in Washington, and to utilize the latest technologies to reach them.”

As the daughter of former Massachusetts Speaker of the House Thomas W. McGee, Colleen learned early to think of public service as an honor. She hopes that young people today will want to get involved in their communities and government.

“Political campaigns are always looking for young volunteers and they can make a real difference in their communities.”

When she looks back, Kavanaugh feels that the Prep played a significant role in preparing her for her professional career and non-profit work. “My time at the Prep was a real gift; the education that I received was extraordinary and as a young woman gave me the confidence to compete at the highest levels.”

26

www.stjohnsprep.org

celebration in October. Peter Robinson is living in The Hague, Netherlands, where he serves as defense lawyer for Radovan Karadzic, former President of the Bosnian Serb Republic, on trial for genocide at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Ed Furey is looking forward to the reunion in the fall. He reports that he reinvented himself at the end of last year by leaving sales and marketing at a surgical device company to open his own business, Floor Coverings International in Medfield. He and his wife, Barbara, are living in Hopkinton. Barbara will receive her master’s in psychology in May and plans to be a psychological counselor. They have two daughters: Kate is married and works for Mercer Consulting in Boston; Erin is graduating from Northeastern with her clinical doctorate in physical therapy in May.

1972 4 0 TH R E U N I O N Y E A R Reunion time! Clete Kijek, Bernie Caniff, and Brian Harrigan have volunteered to head a committee to coordinate the 40th reunion being planned for September.

Other members of the class of ’72 are welcome to participate. Contact the Alumni Office at 978.774.6727 if interested. G. Wayne Miller’s eighth book, “An Uncommon Man: The Life and Times of Senator Claiborne Pell,” was published in October of 2011. He is at work on his next. The third documentary movie he has written and co-produced, “Coming Home,” about veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, had its broadcast premier in March on Rhode Island PBS.

1973

Jeff Hoffman and family have moved back to Marblehead after years of living on the west coast. He has formed a digital media company, Squash House Media based in Marblehead. The company creates corporate identity videos for businesses as well as media packages for academics, scientists and inventors who wish to bundle their intellectual property, making their written and spoken work available worldwide.

Jeff is an award-winning producer and cinematographer with extensive film, television, documentary and commercial experience. He was asked by the former mayor of Cranston, R.I., Stephen Laffey,

John Shottes ’73, Kevin Morrison ’73, and Mark Berman ’74 on the links in Scotland.

to be director of photography on his film, “Fixing America,” which opened in March. His work has taken him around the world. Over the years, he and his family have lived in New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Vancouver.

Joe Guidi had a small world moment while tailgating at a Patriots game last fall. One of the gang of “regulars” with whom he tailgates mentioned that he would be going to his 50th high school reunion this year. When Joe asked where he went to high school, he replied, “St. John’s Prep.” Joe says, “In all the years I’ve known him, I never knew that “Bob McMann ’62 was a fellow graduate. He mentioned being on the track team with Brian Flatley, who was a classmate. Of course, I told him I knew Coach Flatley from my Prep days and had played golf with Brian at the most recent Brother Linus Tournament.” Kevin Morrison, John Shottes and Mark Berman ’74 traveled to St. Andrew’s in Scotland to watch the 2010 Open Golf Championship.

In the week following the tournament, they played golf at Gleneagles, the Old Course at St. Andrew’s and Kingsbarns.

Mark lives in Prescott, Arizona, John lives in Arlington, Virginia and Kevin lives in Portsmouth, R.I.

1975

Brian O’Leary is still in New Jersey, still working in publishing and still rooting for the Red Sox. In the last year his wife, Liz McCarthy, has been named senior vice president for corporate communications for New York Life, while their middle child, Anne, became a 2011 graduate of Emerson College. Their oldest, Frank, is an artist based in northern New Jersey, while their youngest, Charles, is applying to art schools and finishing his senior year in high school.

1976

Classmates Kevin Kiely, Chris Manzi, and Phil Richard got together in January to hear Paul Corrado’s rock and roll group, The Loud Mouth Band, perform and report that they were fantastic. Paul’s day job is his dental practice in Danvers.

Phil is also a Danvers businessman. Phil Richard Insurance is in its 23rd year and has grown from one person to 13 and more than 3000 clients. Phil has four daughters: Jacqui works at Mt. Snow, Jenna attends Clemson University, Jordan is a high school junior and Janelle is in the fifth grade. Phil’s wife, Patti, a former Prep hockey cheerleader, is the controller of the insurance business and manager of the Richard household. Pat Thornton lives in Chandler, Arizona, and is in her 18th year as the school nurse at Laird School, a high poverty, high minority, high achieving K-8 school down the street from Arizona State University. She also works with international students at Church on Mill in Tempe. In the summer she returns to New England to work at Camp Cedarbrook, a Christian girls’ camp in Maine.

1977 3 5 TH R E U N I O N Y E A R Kiri Baga, daughter of Brenda and John Baga, finished in tenth place at the 2012 U.S. Figure Skating National Championships. The 16-year-old, who was a novice national champion in 2009, made a strong senior debut, having been injured and out of competitions for almost 18 months prior to this event. In 2010 she placed seventh in the World Junior Figure Skating Championships and prospects look bright now that she is finally injury free. The Baga family lives in Bloomington, Minn., where John practices emergency medicine. Kevin MacDonald works with the St. Vincent de Paul Society which is of service to anyone in need and is always in need of volunteers. Brian Lapointe reports, “After a few career changes, I finally found my greatest joy as an industrial design engineer. After founding my present company, Great Original Designs, in 1989, I have enjoyed great success developing a variety of consumer products from medical and electronic items to toys and sporting goods, with more than 400 items licensed worldwide.

Great to be able to live and work on Cape Cod, where it feels like vacation all year long. I started composing music as a sideline for my 8-year old daughter. Her performances are set to begin airing this summer with a new record deal. Thank you, Bro. Santoro. Eight in the house keeps us plenty busy and old age is my only complaint, but this Prep grad would

still rather burn out than fade away. Can’t say enough about how St. John’s prepares one to achieve great success in such a competitive global marketplace.”

1978

Rocco Ciocca and his wife, Lauren, are moving to Seattle where he will assume the position of chief of vascular surgery at Swedish Medical Center, the largest not-for-profit medical system in Seattle.

Their daughter Caroline will graduate from Bowdoin this spring and is captain of the crew team. Their younger daughter, Margaret, is a freshman at Trinity College and also a member of the crew team.

When Ted Bettencourt was elected mayor of Peabody last November he populated his administration with Prep alums.

Mike Smerczynski is the city solicitor, Don Conn ’77 and Brian Barrett ’77 are assistant city solicitors, and Rich Iorio ’77 is the city physician on the indemnification board. Mark Cormier tells us, “At the recent Prep gathering in San Francisco, I ran across John Lynch, a great friend from St. John’s days and a classmate who I had not seen in many years. My wife, Catherine, and I mentioned that our daughter, Josephine,16, sings with the San Francisco Girls Chorus and that our son, Samuel, 12, sings with the San Francisco Boys Chorus. It turns out that John works academically full time with the Pacific Boychoir, another one of the great choral groups here in the Bay Area. It’s a small world!”

1979

Frank Gorrell will take part in Beethoven Found Presents: Memorial Day Tribute to Wounded Warriors on May 27, 2012 at the Great Meadow Event Center in The Plains, Virginia. As many as 30,000 people are expected to attend the daylong event that will include more than 200 members in an All-Star Symphony Orchestra compiled of members from the New York Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony, and The National Symphony.

Plus, there will be more than 500 singers in the chorus; six (or more) additional musical acts, and an air show. Frank has participated in other fund raising events for The Wounded Warriors’ Trust at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Meanwhile, Frank mixes his work with his passion for singing in northern Virginia.

Stephen Doty wrote and produced a short documentary film on alcohol entitled “Lay Off the Sauce.”

1981

Joe Shinnick is a retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Colonel living in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. A graduate of the U.S. Air Force

Kristin and Joe Shinnick ’81 with daughters, Mackenzie and Ashlyn.

Academy, Joe spent 20 years flying T-38A Talon and F-15C Eagle aircraft. His career included two combat deployments to Saudi Arabia maintaining air superiority in the No Fly Zone in southern Iraq. He was Director of Operations for the 60th Fighter Squadron at Eglin AFB when he retired. He now flies for FedEx – a different experience, but one that has allowed him to travel the world, from the Pacific Rim to Europe and South America. Joe and his wife, Kristin, have two daughters, Mackenzie (12) and Ashlyn (10) who keep them very busy.

Kristin is a dentist in Fort Walton Beach.

Joe says that he owes a great deal to the Prep and visits the campus when he’s home to see his parents who still live in the neighborhood. Christopher Wood and his wife, Eileen, will celebrate 25 years of marriage this summer. They have six daughters: Bridgette (23), Samantha (21), Caitlin (18), Vanessa (14), Anastasia (10) and Lorna (5). Last summer, Bridgette got married and they are expecting their first grandchild this summer. Both Christopher and Eileen are graduates of WPI. They started their own company, FireLink, LLC, in 2007. It focuses primarily on forensic engineering related to fires and explosions along with some specialized design and teaching.

Christopher also has a law degree from Suffolk University – a credential that helps in the understanding of forensic work and the legal process. They have lived in Tewksbury for 24 years and are active members of St. William parish. Ted Waz is living in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

He recently completed two years as the senior director of revenue, acting CFO and finance task force chair for Mubadala Development Corporation’s Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi initiative. He and his wife, Agnes, and their son Alec (7) have been soaking up the adventure. They are learning Arabic, going on desert safaris, riding camels and embracing the diversity and majesty of that region of the world.

Ted’s daughter, Aubrey, is completing her ST. JO H N’S PR E P TO DAY

27

Wedding Bells

From left: Lauren and Jeff Schiller ’02 at their July wedding in Annapolis, Maryland. ! Wayne Campbell ’99 and Catherine Mitchell were married in the Prep chapel in August. Pictured are: Andrew Yanchus ’99, Garrett Larivee ’99, best man Brian Campbell ’02, Wayne and Catherine, Jon Freni ’99 and Michael Buckley ’99. senior year at Woodstock Academy where she competes in lacrosse and track. His son, Sam, is a sophomore at Pensacola High School’s magnet law program and recently participated in a national youth leadership forum where he was recognized for superior skills in research and the construction of legal arguments.

Mark C. Nickerson has firmly planted his roots in southeastern Connecticut.

Mark and his wife, Marlene, and his two sons, Ryan (16) and Andrew (13), call East Lyme home. After many years of service to the town on various boards and commissions, Mark now serves as deputy first selectman. His wife is on East Lyme’s board of education. This December, Mark celebrated his 21st year of representing GEICO Insurance. His two franchises/agencies are located in Groton serving eastern Connecticut, and in Warwick, R.I., serving all of Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts. Additionally, Mark maintains his Connecticut real estate license. During his spare time, Mark enjoys golf, skiing, traveling, drumming in two bands and coaching various sports.

While at St. John’s, Mark was a founding member of WSJP “intercom radio”. He says, “My radio career didn’t amount to anything after college, however, I still play drums in a couple bands in the area and fondly remember playing in the orchestra pit in various Brother Santorodirected musicals (and Battle of the Band competitions too).”

the Prep, to help bring social networking and media focus to their efforts to encourage people to address their personal needs for cognitive health.

1983

Keith Laezza lives in North Andover with his wife of 22 years, Michele, and their 13-year-old son, Nicholas. They enjoyed a recent open house tour for prospective students held at the Prep; Nick hopes to be a member of the class of 2017. He says, “It was great to re-connect with Bill Mackinson, Larry O’Neill and Jim Stager, who have not aged one bit, as well as ’83 classmate David Hennessey, now a distinguished member of the faculty and a coach on the hockey team.” Michele runs a successful import business of Italian luxury products based in New York City. Keith is a technical recruiter, working presently for Raytheon as manager of executive recruiting in Tewksbury.

He was involved in the recruiting of a former U.S. Navy astronaut for a vice president position at Raytheon. His job has also resulted in a friendship with David Lucey ’87, who is also a recruiter.

He sends his best wishes to the Prep

1984

1982 3 0 TH R E U N I O N Y E A R Stephen Shinnick is president and co‑founder of Medicare Solutions, Inc. Their core product is Dakim BrainFitness, a software program that helps counteract age-related cognitive decline and prevent memory loss. He has been working in the dementia prevention area for five years.

He has engaged his son, Max, a junior at 28

www.stjohnsprep.org

community. Derron Darcy welcomed a daughter, Cameron, on the day before the Bruins game seven Stanley Cup win last June. He reports that his first feature film is in post production and will be ready for the film festivals of 2012-2013.

It’s a drama called “Human Nature.” He produced, co-wrote and even had a small acting role in it – as did his daughter, Nina, who is an aspiring actress. He is scouting locations and arranging funding for a second film – a horror/thriller this time – with hopes of filming in the fall.

Brad Dinerman is living in Ashland with his wife, Davida, and children, Abby (14) and Ari (11). He runs his own business, Fieldbrook Solutions, which provides IT and security consulting services. He is the founder and president of the National Information Security Group, a non-profit organization with chapters around the country. His work with this organization has earned him the designation of Microsoft MVP in Enterprise Security for nine years running. In his non-work moments, he has started an online humor column called Uber and Under. He says he also plays a bit of softball and volleyball when the snaps and pops from his bones allow him to.

Keith Laezza and family at Fenway Park.

Mark Houle has been appointed to serve as a judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. He was described by Chief The Honorable Judge Alex Kozinski Mark Houle ’84 as “an experienced practitioner who comes to the bench with a thorough understanding of bankruptcy court operations.” The court he serves is one of the nation’s busiest, reporting 139,882 filings in fiscal year 2011. Mark is a summa cum laude graduate of Salem State College and holds a law degree

CLASS NOTES

from Boston College Law School. He served in the U.S. Air Force and the Massachusetts National Guard. Mike Teeling lives in the San Francisco Bay Area where he has run a successful software marketing practice for the past ten years, consulting to startups in Silicon Valley. He has been married for 11 years to his wife, Amy, and they enjoy raising their son and daughter in the wooded hills of Oakland. Mike invites alums to find him on LinkedIn. Ronald Kowalski is a partner with Cacace, Tusch & Santagata in Stamford, Conn., focusing his practice on civil litigation.

In February, Ron was program chair and speaker for a Connecticut Bar Association seminar entitled Real Estate Tax Appeals in Connecticut – Proactical Perspectives and Developments in the Law. Eric Goldberg is a civil trial lawyer at Kenney & Sams PC in Southborough.

He says that he remembers his Prep days fondly, but hasn’t been back to campus in ages. He is a graduate of Brandeis and Suffolk University School of Law. Joel Glickman is entering his ninth year as a mathematics professor at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY. He says, “I have truly discovered my passion in teaching and hope to expand my horizons in this area by becoming a CFI (Certified Flight Instructor) over the summer months. Aviation continues to be my prime activity outside of the office and I fly a single engine Piper Cherokee just about every weekend. In the winter months, I frequently find myself landing on frozen lakes in upstate NY and Lake Winnipesaukee in NH, a real flying adventure. I continue to be connected to St. John’s through Brother Tim Paul and the SJP Aviation Club and look forward to another opportunity to share my experiences with the club.” Stan Jaros has a new job as projectionist for the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California.

1985

After nine years as a senior pastor in central Maine, Michael Nerney and family recently moved to Bel Air, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore, where he is now serving as associate pastor at Calvary Baptist Church of Bel Air. They already have tickets to see the Sox play the O’s at Camden Yards. Rick Conway has completed 23 years of service with the Nashua fire department. He is a captain currently assigned to head the training and safety division. He says, “ My responsibilities include assuring that the department meets national standards, recertification of required qualifications, training program development and delivery, liaison to other city and state

organizations, oversight of the city’s contract with our private ambulance provider, and research and development of new methods and equipment. I also serve as the department’s Health and Safety Officer and recruiter. I am a staff instructor at the N.H. Fire Academy specializing in the Firefighter 1, Firefighter 2, Rapid Intervention, and Company Officer Development programs. I live in Nashua with my wife of 14 years, Kathleen, a Nashua school teacher; my son Dylan (12) and daughter Meghan (8).” Art Resca was married in August 2011 to Colleen Dwyer.

After a wedding trip to Italy, they are now living in Holden, Mass.

1986

Michael Westlund sends greetings from the sunny Portlandia, where he lives with his wife, Gina, and their kids, Lena (9) and Rafe (5). He spends time with Scott Weissman and family in Seattle and recently had a visit from Rob Walker who was on a visit to the University of Oregon. His work has taken him from Wall Street to a steel company to his current job at Jive Software. He gets back to his Danvers hometown regularly and walks by the Prep campus whenever he gets a chance. Sean Kennedy and his wife, Liliya, are expecting a baby boy in July. Sean’s daughter, Alexandra, is 14.

They are presently living in Revere, but are planning a move to a bigger home to accommodate their growing family. Colin Keefe and his wife, Andi and son, Sam, are living in Philadelphia after spending 13 years in Brooklyn. Colin is a project manager at IT Solutions Consulting, an employee-owned application development and manager IT services company serving the tri-state area. He continues to create art and exhibit in New York, Philadelphia and elsewhere. You can learn more about his art on his blog, www.colinkeefe.net.

He and his wife also co-direct an artist-run exhibition space called Mount Airy Contemporary Artists Space in northern Philadelphia. Tedd Taskey has a private practice in psychotherapy in Denver known as Epic Counseling. The name comes from Tedd’s favorite Greek philosopher, Epictetus who said, “It’s not what happens to you but how you react to it that matters.”

1987 2 5 TH R E U N I O N Y E A R Michael Lyons will be opening his first restaurant in July. Called Accent, it will be pan Asian in style and Michael will be the executive chef as well. Michael is the author of “A Cook at Heart – A Recipe for Transforming your Life.” He resides in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Matt Kimble reports

Jay Wexler ’87 was an undergrad at Harvard when he knew that he wanted to become a teacher and a writer.

“I always thought that the combination of helping students understand complex material and writing about that same material would be a great way to spend a career.” As professor at Boston University’s School of Law since 2001, he is able to pursue both interests.

After graduating from Stanford Law School, Wexler clerked for Judge David Tatel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the U.S. Supreme Court. He later became an attorney/ advisor in the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel, experience in practicing law that he finds valuable in the classroom today.

Rather than write books for lawyers and academics, Wexler, who is an authority on law and religion, enjoys writing for “smart, curious people with a sense of humor who are interested in learning about law,” he says. His first book, “Holy Hullabaloos: A Road Trip to the Battlegrounds of the Church/State Wars,” details his experiences going to places where some of the important church/state cases originated. His second book, “The Odd Clauses: Understanding the Constitution Through Ten of its Most Curious Provisions,” was published last fall and focuses on 10 important, but little known clauses.

In 2011, when Prep classmate and New Hampshire Attorney General Mike Delaney ’87 was to argue a case before the United States Supreme Court, he asked Wexler to help him prepare. Wexler organized a moot court with BU faculty as judges. The exercise was beneficial for Delaney and for Wexler’s students, who watched and spoke with Delaney about the case.

“Mike did end up winning the Supreme Court case 9-0, and I take full credit for that,” Wexler laughs. “That was a joke.

I only deserve 90% of the credit.”

ST. JO H N’S PR E P TO DAY

29

CLASS NOTES

that all is well with him and his family in Middlebury, Vermont. Matt is teaching at Middlebury College. He and his brother, Eric Kimble ’85 had a great time last summer playing together in the Ray Carey Golf Tournament at the Ipswich Country Club.

1988

Brett Jaffe completed his first Ironman Triathlon at Lake Placid in July 2011 – a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, and full 26.2 mile marathon. In addition, after running an IT solutions practice for over 19 years, he has recently launched a new cloud startup called PointClickWork.

Brett resides in Billerica, MA, with his wife Yvonne and daughters Kaitlyn and Melea.

1987

Eric Patel started a book club last fall that is now an online course at http://skl.sh/tNlc8B. They are reading about lifestyle change in “The 4-Hour Workweek.” Participants not only read the book, but share insights during a weekly Skype video call and online discussions.

A second club will evaluate investment strategies that are getting double-digit returns, even in this economy. Prep grads are welcome to participate in either club.

Eric also serves as a career coach.

and Rhett (9 mos.) Braden and his family live in northern New Jersey. He has recently joined NPS Pharmaceuticals, a startup specialty pharmaceutical company, as its executive director of marketing responsible for the launch of its first product for a rare gastrointestinal disorder.

Outside of work, Braden enjoys coaching his sons’ soccer teams and has recently joined the board of trustees for the Somerset Hills Soccer Club, a non-profit youth soccer organization supporting approximately 200 children.

1992 2 0 TH R E U N I O N Y E A R Chris Moradi is the director of West Coast radio promotions for Interscope Geffen A&M records. The highlight of 2011 was the launch of Lady Gaga’s second album and hugely successful 2011 tour which broke airplay and ticket sale records by a single female artist.

Upcoming are records from American Idol stars Pia Toscano and Haley Reinhart.

Then and Now: Danny Peluso, Taidgh McClory, Tim Goldberg, Kevin Jeske and Tom Weber recreate their senior prom picture.

1990

In an interesting note during this Presidential election year, Steve Chaggaris is the new executive director for elections at Yahoo News. He is overseeing Steve Chaggaris’ 90 Yahoo’s coverage of everything from the primaries and the conventions right up to election day.

Previously, he had been political director at CBS News. Scott Olson has passed his licensing exam and is now a licensed mental health counselor. He is starting his own practice as well as working as a staff clinician at Union Hospital’s pediatric inpatient psychiatry unit. He and his wife, Bridget, recently celebrated their son Parker’s second birthday, which puts him on target for the SJP class of 2028. Scott shares his enthusiasm for the Patriots and the Bruins with classmates Dave Lazarakis and Dave Ridley. Jamieson Terelak and his wife, Mary, welcomed their third child, Jackson, on October 20, 2011.

They’re now quite busy with a trio that also includes Charlie (5) and Catherine (8).

1991

Braden Parker will celebrate his tenth wedding anniversary with his wife, Ryan, this year. The couple has four children: Jack (8), Heath (6) daughter Bryce (3) 30

www.stjohnsprep.org

Chris Moradi ’92 (right) with Lady Gaga!

1993

Todd Weiss and his wife, Amy, are expecting a baby girl in June. Their daughter Marlie Abigaile (3) can’t wait to be a big sister. The Weiss family lives in Malden. Todd has been working for SG Industries in Beverly selling semiconductors for the past eleven years.

Tony Polimeno and his wife, Kerri, are the proud parents of two daughters, Allison (6) and Grace (1). The Polimeno family is planning a trip to Disney this spring with Marc Silva ’91, his wife, and their twin daughters. Tony completed his MBA at Curry College in August of 2011. Kevin Pike has recently formed a new pharmaceutical and biotechnology consulting firm, BioPoint, Inc. He was formerly director of delivery services at Orbis Clinical, responsible for the growth of their consulting practice and helping the company be successfully sold to Maxim Healthcare. He and his wife, Melissa, recently welcomed the arrival of twin baby girls, bringing the total count of daughters to three. They live in Topsfield.

Laura and Brian Lee ’93 with son Andrew.

Brian Lee and his wife, Laura Lee, are the proud parents of a son, Andrew, born in July 2011. They set him on the road to being a Red Sox fan when they took him to see the 2004 Red Sox World Series Trophy when it was on display in Vermont in January. Danny Peluso and his wife, Heather, are proud parents of a new daughter, Maria. He says, “She has been a daddy’s girl from the get-go. For an infant she has quite a photo portfolio given that her mom is a photographer and subjects her to weekly shoots.”

1994

Timothy M. Bresnahan and his wife, Laura S. Dominici, welcomed their first child, Kieran Timothy Bresnahan, on July 26, 2011. Michael McCann and Kara Guide are being married in April.

Michael is a tenured professor of law and director of the Sports Law Institute at

Vermont Law School. He is also a legal analyst for “Sports Illustrated” and the on-air legal analyst for NBA-TV. Mike Ruggiero just finished his first year as the owner of a Fitness Together franchise in Newton Centre. He had worked there as a trainer and manager for five years before buying the franchise. He was married in November of 2008 and he and his wife, Arielle, are living in West Bridgewater.

Their first child, Luca Anthony, was born in February and is already dreaming of a hockey career. Richard Shaheen and his wife, Jill, welcomed their first child, Skylar Amanda, in November. Richard is director of sales for Add-On-Data in Wilmington.

1995

Paul Auffermann and his wife, Kristin, have moved to London with their two children, Claire (4) and Charlie (2). Paul has taken the role of managing director of EMEA for NetSuite, a cloud software company he joined through acquisition three years ago. They are having a great time exploring the UK and travelling throughout Europe. Matthew Velluto and his wife, Amanda, welcomed their second child, Oliver Fitzgarrald, in October.

Peter Davekos has recently returned to his North Shore roots with a move to the Folly Hill development in Danvers. He and his wife, Mia, have a son, Parker (5) and a daughter, Piper (3) and are immersed in their school, hockey and gymnastic activities. Peter has been working with the office supply and furniture vendor W.B. Mason Company for twelve years

and is their director of sales. When not engaged with his family or career, Peter tours the globe as the world’s 14th ranked professional eater. Known as “Pretty Boy” in the professional eating circuit, he had competed for the last four years on ESPN as part of the Nathan’s Famous 4th of July Hot Dog Eating World Championship and has also had the gratifying opportunity to entertain the U.S. military in Guantanamo Bay as part of a MWR (USO-like) program. Peter says, “The years at the Prep and the many solid relationships that were formed there were pivotal in helping shape my character and tenacious mentality. I can only wait for my son to enter as a member of the class of 2025.” Jeff Simard reports, “After receiving my Ph.D. in pharmacology in 2005 from Boston University School of Medicine, I took a job in Germany and lived there until December 2010. I worked as a project leader at the Chemical Genomics Centre of the Max Planck Society. My research focused primarily on kinases, enzymes which frequently drive tumor growth in all types of cancer. I was able to patent a unique high-throughput assay technology which is capable of identifying new types of inhibitors for these enzymes and partnered with several pharmaceutical companies to implement this assay technology into their drug discovery efforts. At the start of 2011, I married my long-time girlfriend from Germany and we moved to the Boston area where I now work as a scientist in lead discovery at Amgen in Cambridge.”

OH BABY!

Top row, l to r: Maria Peluso, daughter of Heather and Dan Peluso ’93  Kieran Bresnahan, son of Laura Dominici and Tim Bresnahan ’94  Luca Ruggiero, son of Arielle and Mike Ruggiero ’94  Skylar Shaheen, daughter of Jill and Richard Shaheen ’94  Bottom row, l to r: Thomas and John Nelson, sons of Anne and Jim Nelson ’96  Charlotte McManus, daughter of Nancy and Phil McManus ’97  Declan Li-Shen Gregory, son of Junelle and Seth Gregory ’98  Mackenzie and Jackson Kavanagh, daughter and son of Kimberly and Matthew Kavanagh ’99  Nico Mancini, son of Carolyn and Mark Mancini ’03

1996

Kevin McNelly and his wife, Ashley, welcomed a son, Hunter, to their family on Thanksgiving Day 2011, making it the best Thanksgiving they’d ever had. They are living in Winthrop. Kevin works with The Retirement Financial Group in Danvers doing employee benefit and financial retirement planning for businesses and individuals and Ashley is a senior trust accountant at First Marblehead Corporation in Boston. Luke Conlin is finishing his Ph.D. in science education at the University of Maryland, College Park, and getting ready to start a postdoctoral research position at Tufts University. Rob Anderson and his wife, Laurie, are now the parents of three children, Emma (4), Liam (16 mos.) and Patrick ( 2 mos.). Rob was recently elected to the position of treasurer of the Sutherland Pipe Band in Newton and has been working on Oracle’s Hyperion Business Intelligence team for

Ashley and Kevin McNelly ’96 with baby Hunter

ST. JO H N’S PR E P TO DAY

31

CLASS NOTES

over a year. The family of P.J. Infurna and his wife, Jennifer and son, Tucker (3) has grown to include a new daughter, Grayson, born last September. They live in Winchester. P.J. is a director at the Huron Consulting Group with a focus on enterprise software for hospitals and universities. Jim Nelson and his wife, Anne, welcomed a second son, John William, to their family in August. He has a big brother, Thomas.

1997 1 5 TH R E U N I O N Y E A R Greg Gagnon ’00 happily navigates the intersection of art and technology in his job at Philadelphia’s Fabric Workshop and Museum (FWM). As head of visual media and technology, he directs and produces video and performance pieces that many artists there integrate into their work. “It’s intellectually stimulating, and I like being in the position of problem solver, helping remove constraints so that artists can think more freely,” he says.

Despite its name, the museum showcases work in a variety of media – everything from sculpture and photography to ceramics and painting, as well as textiles – and it presents art in the making “from conception to completion.” A vibrant artist-in-residence program provides studio space and support for artists throughout the creative process. This approach allows visitors to see artists at work, adding another dimension to the museum experience. FWM also offers an apprentice program that brings students from all over the world to Philadelphia to learn from artists working at the museum.

Gagnon also develops promotional and educational videos for the museum.

He especially enjoys coming up with projects for children. “I had a remarkable experience recently, observing a group of about 50 very excited six-year-olds watch a video I made. Since then I’ve been daydreaming a lot about the potential of educational media,” he says.

Gagnon logged many hours with the Drama Guild at the Prep, and he studied filmmaking and studio art at Harvard.

That background serves him well today. “I find myself in a surprisingly logical place. I am using my training in filmmaking to document the institution and produce educational media, drawing on the breadth of my studies to support artists working in a variety of modes, and producing live performances. Otherwise, I fly by the seat of my pants to keep the computers and the website running.”

32

www.stjohnsprep.org

Chris von Rueden received his Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He and his wife, Helena, are new parents to a daughter, Lucia. They are living in Goleta, California.

1998

Paul D’Amore and his wife, Teresa, recently bought their first house in Andover, taking the brave leap from Back Bay. Paul recently became vice president, finance, for the Royal Bank of Scotland. In November he completed the New York City marathon – his second marathon. Dan Charette is working full time as an economic development specialist for the Washington D.C.-based international consulting firm DAI and part-time as an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of International Public Affairs. His consulting job has taken him on more than 20 trips to Africa. In 2011, he completed an assessment of the economic policy and regulatory framework in Somaliland (a semi-autonomous region in northwestern Somalia) for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a study on the availability of finance and business services for small- and mediumsized businesses in Ethiopia, and a report on economic policy reform progress in Mozambique. At Columbia, Dan teaches a graduate level course on enterprise development in low-income countries. He lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. with his girlfriend, Trish. Seth Gregory and his wife, Junelle, welcomed their first child, Declan Li-Shen Gregory, born on January 19. Seth has been working for the past ten years as a software applications developer at Harvard University and is currently pursuing a master’s degree there in computer science.

2011. Dan recently began his doctoral studies at Northeastern University. This past October he attended the Great American Beer Festival with his brother, Chris Donato ’01, who lives in Colorado.

Ryan Leahy is now the showcase team and college prep director at Legends Baseball in Middleton and also works as an associate scout for the Los Angeles Angels. For the past two summers, he directed Bobby Valentine’s All-American high school baseball team. Patrick Devlin works in Boston as an assistant district attorney for Suffolk County. He is assigned to the sexual assault and domestic violence unit and works out of Suffolk Superior Court. He is also assigned to the homicide response team. He prosecuted his first homicide trial in March. He stays in touch with his Class of ’99 friends and passes along congratulations to Andrew Shessler who is being married in September. Matthew Kavanagh and his wife, Kimberly, welcomed their second child, Jackson Ray, in October. He joins his big sister Mackenzie at the Kavanagh home in Clarksburg, Maryland.

2000

Jim Cormier is living in Swampscott with his wife, CJ. They are expecting their first child, a son named Jackson. Jim opened Cormier & Cormier, LLP, a new law practice, in Lowell with his father in 2011, where they practice criminal defense, family law, and civil litigation. Drew Johnson-Skinner completed a clerkship with the Honorable Chester J. Straub of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 2011. He is now an associate at Lankler Siffert & Wohl LLP, a New York City law firm. Michael Hartigan has begun writing a monthly travel column called Wherever It Takes that appears in a group of Massachusetts Wicked Local weekly newspapers, including the Danvers

1999

Dan Donato is currently a college counselor at Mystic Valley Charter School and lives in Marblehead. He and his wife, Eleanor, welcomed their first child, Virginia Cooke Donato, in April

Elio Nicolosi ’00 and fiancée, Danielle.

Those Who Serve

We wish to recognize and thank those among our alumni who are serving their country. We acknowledge that there are others presently serving who are not noted here and hope that they or their families will let us know where they are and what they are doing so that we can include them in future magazines. The entire Prep community is grateful for their efforts on our behalf.

Scott Sanborn ’95 and family are still enjoying life in Port Angeles, Washington, where Scott serves with the Coast Guard.

Emma (9), Joshua (7), and Luke (4) are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their newest sibling in May. His wife, Reba, teaches birthing classes to expectant couples and home schools their children.

Scott is the head instructor pilot and assistant operations officer at the Coast Guard Air Station.

Ryan Conboy ’03 and his fiancée, Margaret Hutton.

Lieutenant John Kuconis ’05 with his mother at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Okla.

Herald. You can also follow his travel adventures at www.whereverittakes.com.

Elio Nicolosi and his girlfriend Danielle traveled to Europe last summer. They visited London, Madrid, Rome, the Amalfi Coast and then spent time with his family in Sicily. While they were in Madrid, Elio proposed and they are getting married in Boston in October 2012.

2001

In February, the Irish Echo, the largest Irish/Irish-American newspaper in the country, recognized Sean Carlson as one of its Top 40 Under 40 for 2012. Sean is manager of global communications and public affairs at Google in New York, and sits on advisory councils for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and the

Ryan Conboy ’03 is a LTJG in the U.S. Navy. He received his naval aviator wings in December at a ceremony in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he completed advanced multi-engine pilot training. He is now stationed at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Fla., flying P-3s with the Navy’s Fleet Replacement Squadron. In July he will transfer to his ultimate duty station, Whidbey Island, Washington, where he will fly EP-3s. He and his fiancée, Margaret Hutton, plan to be married on June 23rd.

Lieutenant John Kuconis ’05 received his USAF pilot wings at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Okla. in January. John is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy.

He will fly the C-17 Globemaster and is stationed at Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina.

Ensign Ryan O’Connor ’06

2nd Lt. Thomas Hathaway ’05 is a 2010 graduate of Norwich University, currently deployed to Helmand Province in Afghanistan where he is a Jump platoon commander with the 3rd Battalion 3rd Marines based out of Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Tom was married to Ensign Kelli Wisniewski, USN in October of 2011. Kelli is stationed in Hawaii.

Ensign Ryan O’Connor ’06 is deployed with the U.S. Navy to the Mediterranean Sea conducting maritime interdiction operations onboard USS Vella Gulf (CG‑72), a guided missile cruiser based out of Norfolk, Virginia. They have traveled to the Black Sea, with visits to the ports of Constanta in Romania, Sevastopol and Odessa in Ukraine. He provided training to Romanian Special Forces on the topic of Visit, Board, Search and Seizure, as well as in counter piracy operations which are taking place off the coast of Somalia and Yemen. They also provided training for the Ukrainian Navy in Sevastopol.

Committee to Protect Journalists. He has been working for several years on a non-fictional book about his mother’s life as the fifteenth of sixteen children raised in the southwest of Ireland. Justin Sharaf and his fiancée, Jillian LaRosa, will be married in June at a winery in New Hampshire. Among those in the wedding party are Jeff McMahon and Patrick McLaughlin. After living and working in Stamford, Conn. for five years, Justin was ready to return to Boston.

He now lives in Medford and works at Vistaprint in Lexington, where he manages an acquisition marketing team.

Jillian is a graduate student in library science at Simmons College. They met in college – Justin at Amherst and Jillian at Mt. Holyoke. He attended his 10th

Reunion and was very impressed by the improvements made to campus, including the library, the new athletic fields and the renovation of Xavier Hall. Domenic Sideri and his wife, Claire, welcomed their first child, Evelyn, in January. They are doing their best to adjust to life as new parents. They live in Arvada, Colorado.

Domenic works as quality manager at CCX Corporation and spends his nights pursuing an MBA at the University of Colorado. He attended the Prep alumni reception in Denver last fall and says it was good to see Brian O’Connell ’99 among the alumni who attended. Jack Gould is planning to be married in July to Claudia Culbertson of Hamlin, NY. They are living in South Boston. Chris DiNapoli will be part of the wedding party.

ST. JO H N’S PR E P TO DAY

33

CLASS NOTES

2002 10 T H R E U N I O N Y E A R Michael McLaughlin participated in an independent research opportunity and international conference on global education in Munich and Vienna last winter. On his return he was asked to write an article for the local cultural magazine, South Mississippi Living.

His article, “Bringing the World into a Classroom” appeared in the January 2012 issue. Michael teaches history at St. Patrick’s High School in Biloxi. Jeff Schiller was married last July and he and his wife, Lauren, are now living in Washington, D.C. They met six years ago while attending Wake Forest together.

On hand for wedding festivities were Mike Malley, Eric Conrad, Adam Hart, Michael Moylan, James Fitzgerald and Jeff Legendre.

2003

Tom Fellows tells us that his band, That Nobel Fury, has recorded their debut album at the famous New York City studio The Cutting Room, home to the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jay-Z. He says, “We have a number of great musicians backing us on the album, including Jack Daley (Lenny Kravtiz’ bass player), Steven Wolf on drums (Katy Perry, Avril Lavigne, Britney Spears, Rufus Wainwright), Thad DeBrock on guitars/

Tom Fellows ’03 in the recording studio.

soundscapes (Spring Awakening), and special guest spot by Phil Setzer – 9 time Grammy winning violinist of The Emerson String Quartet.” Tom’s brother, Mike Fellows ’07 also appears in vocals and their indispensable mentor and friend Patch Culbertson ’04, has been guiding the whole process. The self-titled album will be released in April. Check it out on Facebook/That Nobel Fury. Mark Mancini and his wife, Carolyn, are the proud parents of a son, Nico. Nico’s uncles are Nicholas Mancini ’06, Gregory Mancini ’13 and Doug Ryan ’08. Bob Ryan ’72 is Nico’s grandfather. Mark and family are living in Beverly. Peter 34

www.stjohnsprep.org

2005 classmates gathered in Nantucket over the holidays to celebrate the safe return of Ian Merry from Afghanistan. L to r: Drew LeBlanc, Will Maier, Austin Carr, Ian Merry, Frank Bertini, and Conor Maguire.

Kelleher is living in Charleston, S.C., where he is production coordinator for the Boeing Company working on the design and build of their latest innovation in commercial airplanes, the 787 Dream Liner. After spending the past couple of winters in snowy Chicago studying social science and working in politics, Matt Eckel, has settled in Washington, D.C. to undertake a Ph.D. in political science at Georgetown. He says, “Someday I’ll stop being a student. That day has not yet come.” Michael Cullinan is living in New York where he is doing business development for a Boston-based private equity firm since returning from Beijing in 2010. He is enrolled in a master’s program at the New School’s Graduate Program in International Affairs. He and his fiancée, Charlotte Howard, a fellow Trinity grad, are being married in Nahant in September 2012. Stephen Miles is living in Los Angeles and working in experiential marketing with BeCore, Inc. His clients include Nike, Xbox, Barefoot Wines, Red Bull, Vail Resorts, BBDO SF, Powerbar and Columbia Sportswear. He is the account manager for both Columbia and BBDO. He says, “I have had a blast running everything from US Freestyle Ski Team events to fashion shows to award winning trash mosaics. Lots of travel, lots of work, and lots of fun. Can’t complain.”

Chris Horwood will graduate from the DePaul College of Law in Chicago in May and hopes to begin practicing law or enter the Navy JAG Corps. He is moving to Miami and plans to be married to Gilliam Valdes on October 13. Colin Devlin is in his second year of medical school at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 2007 and received his master’s in pharmacology from Tulane in 2009. His brother, Patrick reports, “Colin loves New Orleans, but it isn’t easy to study in a city known for Mardi Gras.” Richard Williams is the

executive director of the Blaire House of Tewksbury Assisted Living. He is living in Chelmsford where he has purchased a home. Brian Hubbard and his wife, Amy, welcomed their first child, Colton Brian, in January.

2004

Neil Scott is working as finance director of the Scott Brown Victory Committee in his re-election bid for the U.S. Senate.

Erik Appareti graduated from the University of Denver and is now an associate at Philpott Ball & Werner, an investment bank based in Manchester, Mass., that provides M&A advisory and business valuation services to companies in the aerospace, defense, industrial and medical markets. Jonathan Hartnett is living in Salem and working for Business System Consultants, Inc. in Beverly. He recently became engaged to Jean Snow and plans to be married in October of this year. Liam Powell has moved to New York to begin a masters of fine arts at Columbia University. Mike Pitt and Neal White have been working to assist our wounded soldiers and their families through the Disposable Heroes Project.

In June they are holding their third annual Harbor Cruise for Heroes, a charity cruise around Boston Harbor. Darin Gibbons has graduated from Suffolk University Law School. While a student he worked for Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler of the United States District Court and for Justice Cordy of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. He plans on taking the Massachusetts bar exam this summer. He is living in Cambridge and plans to remain there as he begins his legal career.

2005

Matthew Webber has worked in a biology lab at Massachusetts General Hospital for the past two and a half years and is now applying to Ph.D. programs.

The Turkey Fry crew (back, l to r): James Salerno, Jeff Phaneuf, Paul Gangi, Dan Fabrizio, Pat Durkin, Nick Pace, Joshua Peary, Kreg Moccia, and Matt Selinger; (front, l to r) CJ Gangi, Andrew Leonard. CJ is Class of ’01, while the others are all Class of ’06.

This past fall, Matthew was the co-first author on a scientific paper published in the journal Endocrinology. The paper was titled “Visualizing microtubuledependent vasopressin type 2 receptor trafficking using a new high-affinity fluorescent vasopressin ligand.” David Gershaw is the co-owner and president of RemPhos Technologies, located in Danvers. The company designs, engineers and manufactures LED lighting for medical and general lighting applications.

The manufacturing takes place both in Danvers and in Shenzhen, China. David is the son of Scott Gershaw ’74. Mike Moulison completed his M.A.T. at the University of New Hampshire in 2010 and is now teaching English at Swampscott High School. He is also the freshman class advisor and GSA advisor. He reports that he loves teaching and couldn’t be happier with his job. He says, “In my free time I work on antique steam locomotives at Edaville USA in South Carver and at the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum in Portland, Maine. This is something I began learning about in 2004 when I was still at SJP, and I’ve been doing it ever since. I’ve done railroad museum type work in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Colorado.

I am currently on the Board of Trustees at Maine Narrow Gauge and an assistant operations manager; but most of my time is spent doing repairs, operating the trains, qualifying personnel, and providing interpretation of our exhibits for guests.”

2006

After undergoing Tommy John surgery, Stephen Peterson is back on the pitching mound, this time with the Milwaukee Brewers organization. Steve tested his repaired arm with great success at the University of Rhode Island in the 2011 season and is now ready to show the majors that he is as good as he was when he was originally drafted and

potentially even better. Steve has been working with aspiring young pitchers since 2010 sharing all that he has learned. Joe Jasinski is an English teaching assistant at Lycee Andre-Malraux in Montataire, France, located about 20 miles north of Paris. He’s looking forward to visiting the Prep campus again when he returns to the States this summer.

2007 5 TH R E U N I O N Y E A R Mike Caruso graduated from Bentley University in 2011 and is now working as an operations analyst for eCommerce at Reebok World Headquarters in Canton.

He specifically works for the Adidas group supporting their backend operations globally. He says it’s a great place to work offering free tickets to professional sporting events, Reebok and Adidas clothing, and the opportunity to travel. In the coming year he is scheduled to travel to Amsterdam and Germany as well as to Portland, Oregon and Spartanburg, N.C. The trips will enable him to meet colleagues and visit distribution centers.

Josh Cormier is living in Manhattan finishing a marketing internship at Sawyer Studios, an entertainment advertising company that works with independent films. He’s hoping to find full-time employment in the entertainment or marketing fields. In March, Dylan Kline began serving as a small business advisor with the Peace Corps. He will be working in Madagascar until May 2014. Austin Bonnar is living in Washington, D.C. where he is an intern for Senator Scott Brown.

2008

Three members of the Class of 2008 have assumed leadership roles as team captains this year at Bowdoin College.

Sean Bishop captained the soccer team in the fall, Ryan O’Connell was cocaptain of the basketball team and Jordan

Edgett is captain of the baseball team.

In addition, Marty Robledo ’09 will be captain of the Bowdoin football team next fall. In February, Ryan O’Connell scored a game-high 21 points against Williams College and became the 22nd player in school history to surpass 1,000 career points. Well done! Neal Goodwin is a senior at Vanderbilt University carrying a double major in engineering science and economics. He is captain of the Vanderbilt rugby team for the second year. Last year the team won the SEC Championship.

Zachary Richardson will be finishing his bachelor’s degree in organic/ pharmaceutical chemistry at WPI in either May or October this year, and preparing to enter the pharmaceutical industry. John Whitney was on campus during spring break to visit with faculty members. He majored in theater and government at Hamilton College, and after graduation in May, he’ll start work on an MFA in acting at the University of Iowa.

2010

Dan Walsh is working as a manufacturing engineer at Depuy, part of Johnson & Johnson, as his co-op position through Northeastern University.

Brian Kirby ’11 at his Eagle Scout Court of Honor in December.

2011

Brian Kirby is attending Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, where he is majoring in theology and catechetics.

In October, he was appointed to the Bishop’s pastoral planning committee for the city of Salem and hopes to use what he is learning in school to serve the church and the Archdiocese of Boston.

He was honored with scouting’s highest youth award at his Eagle Scout Court of Honor in January. Terence Healy, is lead guitarist of One Step Away. One Step Away has been chosen as a winner in the national Clear Channel Radio Get Discovered! Contest and will be on national TV on September 4th during the MDA Telethon. One Step Away was also one of the youngest bands in the competition.  ST. JO H N’S PR E P TO DAY

35

In Closing

BEHIND THE SCENES WITH PETER VAN WAGNER ’69 Actor Peter Van Wagner ’69 was one busy guy last year with roles in three movies and the HBO series “Boardwalk Empire.” He lives in New York City with his wife and daughter. We caught up with him and asked about his work.

Family and friends tell me I have reached a new level of success, but I think of myself as having been successful for many years.

2011 was quite a year for you.

How does it feel? I have been on an incredible roll for the past year or two. I made three movies – “Arthur,” “Tower Heist” and the soon to be released “Syrup.” I also shot season two of “Boardwalk Empire” and won a Screen Actors Guild Award for my part in the ensemble on the show. To have all this happen at my age (a very young 60) is the most exciting thing I can imagine. I had expected that my career would be slowing down by this time. Family and friends tell me I have reached a new level of success, but I think of myself as having been successful for many years. I have been a “working actor” all this time in a profession that at any given time has an unemployment rate of about 90%.

What was it like working with Steve Buscemi on “Boardwalk Empire”? Steve Buscemi is an actor I have been in awe of since I saw his work in movies like “The Big Lebowski” and “Fargo.” He made me feel very welcome and treated me as a peer when I secretly felt very much like an inexperienced novice. I loved playing his lawyer and we very quickly developed a rapport that I think came through on the screen.

Where do you see Martin Scorsese’s influence on the series? His presence looms large on the “Boardwalk Empire” set. He has casting approval on the series and has approved every actor on the show. As we all know Martin Scorsese isn’t afraid of portraying violence or sex in the movies and that is certainly the case on “Boardwalk Empire.” The show is shot with the idea that we are making a one-hour movie about gangsters and politicians every week. The bar has been set very high and everyone on the show is well aware of that bar.

We all try very hard to portray the truth of that world – to make Scorsese proud.

What’s it like working on a period piece like “Boardwalk Empire”? My favorite part of working on this period is the costumes. We have the most amazing costumes that are handmade for us by a small tailor shop in Brooklyn.

36

www.stjohnsprep.org

How did you prepare for your role as Isaac Ginsburg? I read the book, “Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times and Corruption of Atlantic City” by Nelson Johnson, which is the basis of the series. I also began watching past episodes of the show to learn who the characters were and what the atmosphere of the show was. I wanted to study the acting style and look of the show. Then I began to develop a physical posture for the character – how I would stand and comport myself. That, along with the words of the script, became the foundation of my Isaac Ginsburg.

You’ve acted in movies and on television series. Do you prefer roles that evolve over the course of many episodes, or roles that play out in the length of a single movie? I really like the way you can develop a character over the course of a season. You can build in conflicts and complications and create complexities in a character in every episode. Films have given me a chance to create a believable character that appears whole in one or two scenes.

What does the coming year have in store for you? This is a question you never ask an actor. We go from job to job to unemployment. The future is never secure, but that’s part of the deal. On the other hand our lives can change for the better with a single phone call. I’ll never forget the day I got the call to audition for “Boardwalk Empire.”

What keeps you busy when you’re not in front of the camera? I play in a rock & roll band that has been together for 25 years. The band, Riffmaster & The Rockme Foundation, includes Prep alumnus, Maurice Cleary ’69. I also have a standing Friday morning jam session with Dominic Chianese, who played Uncle Junior on The Sopranos and is a fellow cast member of “Boardwalk Empire.” We meet every Friday at 10 am in a little Italian deli in our neighborhood and play old standards, folk, country, ethnic songs and have the time of our lives.  Pictured ahove: Peter Van Wagner with Steve Buscemi in a scene from “Boardwalk Empire.”

It’s Your Turn!

Take the handoff and help make St. John’s #1.

Make your gift to The Fund for St. John’s and help the Prep take over the top spot in alumni giving in the Catholic Conference.

Give online at www.stjohnsprep.org/gameon, call 800.292.0227, or send a check (payable to St. John’s Prep) to the Office for Institutional Advancement, St. John’s Prep, 72 Spring Street, Danvers, MA 01923.

Thank you for supporting St. John’s Prep!

GAME ON!

St. John’s Preparatory School 72 Spring Street Danvers, Massachusetts 01923

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage

PAID Permit No. 39 Danvers, MA

AD D R E S S S E RVI C E RE Q U E STE D

Prep Rally!

A Day on Campus for Alumni, Families and Students Saturday, October 13

Mini Classes with Prep Faculty n Cookout Campus Tours n Alumni Soccer Game Varsity Football and Soccer Games n Mass of Remembrance n Special Alumni Reunion Events Gold Eagle Luncheon n Reunion Dinners for Classes of ’67, ’71, ’72, ’77, ’82, ’92, ’97 and ’02 Details will follow, but save the date and look for your invitation in August. Contact Mary Carol Vitolo at mvitolo@stjohnsprep.org or 978.774.6727 x417 for more information. See you at the Prep!