DelEX 2021 Recap

2021

Building Careers:

DelEx 2021 RecapBy Tom Brady

From June 9 through June 28, over 80 rising seniors participated in DelEX 2021, the sixth year of Delbarton’s externship program.

This year’s program was conducted entirely through video conferencing platforms. Virtual meetings, each one hour in length, were scheduled and hosted by Delbarton’s alumni and parents including architects, attorneys, Wall Street mavens, entrepreneurs, law enforcement agents, surgeons, and representatives from the United States military. Students signed up to learn about careers in education, agricultural innovation, real estate and construction, tech, our local political system, non-profit, and sports management.

Popular host Kevin O’Malley P’24 characterized his students as “smart and inquisitive” and says: “Connecting with young men as they think about their careers is soul-affirming.” Scott Ruesterholz ’10 concurs: “Sharing career experience and advice to rising seniors as they think about college and career paths is an easy and fulfilling way to welcome them into the community’s powerful alumni network.” Indeed, a primary DelEX goal is to practically reveal just how important the “long green line” can be.

Host Dr. Anuj Tolia ’93 also sees the value of the program: “DelEX is one of my favorite speaking engagements of the year. The opportunity to promote one’s profession to such an intelligent group of students at the earliest stage of their careers is truly impactful.”

This year’s program began with a Coaching Session on May 24 presented by career counseling experts Elizabeth Ricciardelli P’19, ’21 and Michele Biamonte P’22 who shared lessons on personal branding, self-assessment tools, creating LinkedIn profiles and networking. Next, 60 externship opportunities were shared via the DelEX website, and students researched prospective hosts and selected opportunities that fit their unique interests and schedules.

Host Alex Thew ’07 says, “When I was a student, I had a strong idea that I wanted to serve in the military, but not many mentors to guide my decisions. DelEX has

been a great vehicle to both stay connected with the Delbarton community as an alum and (hopefully) inspire some clarity in the students’ minds about their desires and next steps.”

Evan Dolan ’22 participated in 17 different sessions (more than any other student) and noted that “very few hosts were exactly where they imagined themselves decades ago.” Andrew Maguire ’22 sums up his experience this way: “I learned a lot about the reality of certain occupations versus how those occupations are usually depicted. I also learned about the nuances between different jobs in a certain field, such as working as a lawyer in a pharmaceutical company versus an insurance company. More specifically, however, I would say the biggest theme that carried through each meeting was the importance of flexibility in your career — being comfortable with not settling for one job for the rest of your life or having a certain set path in mind but instead looking for opportunity and being willing to try new things.”

As Chad Heal ’12 says: “The DelEX program accentuates the value of the ‘brotherhood’ we preach throughout our larger Delbarton community, and I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of it.”

This year, DelEX administrators Tom Brady, John O’Brien, and Neil Murphy hope to create a hybrid platform for students and hosts to enjoy virtual and/or in-person sessions. For more information on hosting a DelEX session, contact Tom Brady at tbrady@delbarton.orgor John O’Brien at jobrien@delbarton.org.

Sailing and Surfing Clubs Ride the Waves

In mid-October, The Green Wave rode the water as our Sailing and Surf Clubs were called to compete on the Atlantic Ocean and in Connecticut’s Black Rock Harbor.

Three Delbarton students competed in the JV Invitational State Surfing Championship in Spring Lake, NJ. John Hager ’23 and James Zupa ’24 participated in the longboard division while Paul Quense ’24, pictured here,competed in both the long and shortboard divisions. Quense advanced to the second round in the shortboard division. In the longboard tournament, he advanced to the semi-finals, and Zupa and Hager made it into the quarterfinal round of the longboard tournament. Surf Club moderator Mr. Matthew White says, “It was a very good showing for Delbarton, and we look forward to competing again next year!”

At Fairfield University, Delbarton Sailing placed 3rd overall at the Catholic Cup Regatta. “A” Boat skipper James O’Gwen ’23 and crew Julien Dietrich ’24 placed 1st in the A Division. “B” Boat skipper Jack Tonzola ’25 and crew Jonny Lang ’23 placed 3rd in the B Division.

Twenty Years Later, Delbarton Remembers

On September 10, 2021, the eve of the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Delbarton remembered the victims during a prayer service in the Abbey Church. Delbarton father Mr. Chris Royse shared his experience escaping from the 51st floor of the South Tower as firefighters ascended the stairs. Each year, Delbarton remembers the eighteen 9/11 victims who had a connection to the Delbarton community, including Bryan Bennett ’94, Tommy Clark P’18 (son of Richard Clark ’53), David Campbell P’02, ’04, Francis X. Deming P’07, John Doherty (uncle of Nicholas ’03 and PJ Cirella ’05), Michael Finnegan (brother-in-law of Brian McDonnell ’84), Debra Fischer Gibbon (aunt of Adam ’09, Kyle ’11 and Chad Fischer ’17), Kevin Hanaford, Timothy R. Hughes, Richard Madden (brother of Josh Madden ’82), William J. Martin (brother and brother-in-law of Laura and Matt Davis P’22, uncle of Owen Davis ’22), Matthew T. McDermott P’20, Patrick McGuire P’09, ’12, Thomas Reinig P’99, ’00, Frank Skidmore P’91,’92, Timothy P. Soulas P’08, ’10, ’12, Jimmy Swazzo (uncle of faculty member Daniel McHale) and Peter West P’90.

Delbarton and St. Benedict’s Prep Host Inaugural Catholic School Diversity Conference

On Saturday, October 23, Delbarton School and St. Benedict’s Prep (SBP) in Newark partnered to host the inaugural NJ Catholic School Diversity Conference, a one-day event that attracted seventy-five participants from nine schools and included cohorts of school heads, administrators, students, faculty, parents, alumni and board members. On October 22, eleven Delbarton student leaders and several teachers spent the day at SBP to finalize Conference plans. The Conference was organized by Delbarton DEI Moderators Jenna Gomez and Tony Negrin with the enthusiastic support of Headmaster Fr. Michael Tidd, OSB and SBP administrators.

During the Conference, Delbarton and SBP students shared news of on-and-off campus programs and curriculums designed to promote diversity, equity and inclusion. Catholic schools have a special opportunity to build from foundations of their individual missions and core values with equity and justice, a message emphasized by keynote speak Fr. Mario Powell, S.J., President of Brooklyn Jesuit Preparatory School. All agreed that this first Conference was a major success and the start of a new semi-annual shared experience for New Jersey Catholic schools.