Priory International
The Priory Is Now ‘A Worldwide Community,’ Leaders Say Father Martin Mager (right) and Headmaster Tim Molak enjoyed the hospitality of SangJoon and Wonkyong Park in Seoul, Korea. See alumni photos from Korea, Taipei and Bangkok online.
The last time we broke bread together was in the Priory Dining Hall, when I was their teacher. I look at them now…and I’m very proud of these guys. —Father Martin Mager
Father Martin’s photographic artistry shines in an Asian setting. A selection of photos are posted on the school Web site at www.woodsidepriory.com. Click on Asia trip.
10
The annual trip to Asia is more than just a recruiting trip to the Priory’s leaders. On the surface, they make the trek to meet prospective students at a series of boarding school fairs arranged by TABS, a highly regarded professional association. In reality, Priory leaders also go for multicultural understanding, to re-connect with former students, and to develop a worldwide school community, they say. In fact, the trip is so valuable that the Priory has expanded its presence from a single representative four years ago to three campus leaders this year. Headmaster Tim Molak went for the first time, Father Martin Mager for the second time and Al Zappelli, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, for the third year in a row. Moving from Seoul to Singapore, Bangkok, Taipei and Hong Kong all in the last two weeks of October, the opportunity for cultural understanding could easily get lost in the travel logistics. But with local hosts from the Priory international community at each site, that never happens, said Al Zappelli, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid. “The experience of being the one who is culturally different, who needs some help with the local customs and expectations, is always enlightning. Our hosts are always gracious and accommodating. I come back inspired to help our campus community be equally welcoming and supportive,” he commented. In most of the cities, Mr. Zappelli met with local educators to gain insights into changing practices that
may affect either the students’ preparation or the application process. Far more enjoyable, however, were meetings with parents of current students, who network together locally in exactly the same way as day students’ parents, he said. “The entire trip was spectacular. I have a true sense of a worldwide Priory community, and that community is thriving. ” said Mr. Molak. “Our alumni are pursuing a wide variety of rewarding professional lives. Just a few examples: I talked with a television and movie producer, an architect, a VP of an electronics company, a general manager of an engineering firm, the marketing manager for golf courses, the COO of a camera company, and people from so many more fields. “Even more rewarding was hearing from them the positive impact the Priory has had on their lives and their world view.” Father Martin, Director of Alumni Relations and Superior of the Benedictine Community, treasures the opportunity to see the boys he once knew now grown into admirable men with families and productive lives, he said. “The last time many of us broke bread together would have been in the Priory dining hall, when I was their teacher and we lived in the dorm together. Now, it is as peers—in fact, it would be more accurate to say they become the teachers and I become the student while I am there. “I’m very proud of these guys. I sit with them and think, ‘Wow—they turned out to be great human beings. It is so easy to see how much the students of today build on the foundation of these good people who preceded them,” he added. It all comes together at the boarding fairs, where the support of local Priory families is essential to the success of the staff, Mr. Zappelli explained. The result is an increase every year in the number of well qualified applicants who have talked first-hand with both American staff and Asian families about the Priory experience. These carefully screened students are more likely to benefit from the Priory’s programs and will hopefully, in time, continue the active Priory alumni tradition, he added.
