Back Story

A Senior’s Reflection By EDDIE YOUNG ’22

Xavier has always been an essential aspect of my life and it continues to be. I remember going to playoff football games held at Mitchel Field as a child—and although people only knew me as Mr. Young’s son, they embraced me as another member of the Xavier community. Regardless of the score, parents, faculty, and family members cheered and appeared to me as one big family. As I got older, I came to realize that Xavier truly is one big family, filled with generations of men from all different backgrounds.

When the time came to decide where I was going to high school, I was set on Xavier. The interactions I had with students annually on the CFX Mexico trip, which I started attending in the second grade, made it apparent that it was the right place for me. In each small group I was a part of on the trip, I was amazed with the way students spoke and reflected on the interactions they had with the local people. Year after year, as the week progressed, a shift occurred—first in perception, then in language. “Us and them” increasingly became “we.” Students recognized their shared humanity with the people with whom they worked to build homes in the intense heat. To see people undergo that change, let alone high school students, had a significant impact on me and helped me to see that Xavier was somewhere I could go to develop myself intellectually and academically.

I later realized after many lectures from Mr. Raslowsky that students on each of those CFX Mexico trips were living out the principles of the Grad at Grad. Open to growth, intellectually competent, religious, loving, and committed to doing justice are more than just words; they are a challenge to live a particular way. My expectations for Xavier students were high, and over the course of the pandemic, my expectations were met and then some.

When I look back to how we responded to the pandemic I am beyond impressed, but truthfully, not surprised. In the midst of all the chaos, we did what we thought was necessary with the wellbeing of the students at the center. As a Xavier student during the shutdown, I witnessed the level of attentiveness that my peers and teachers brought to every class even though we were remote. The realization for me came when Xavier switched to a hybrid schedule in September 2020. I was one of the students who had to come in every day during the hybrid schedule, and although it was challenging I was not alone. I bonded with my fellow soccer, track, and rugby teammates and other student-athletes who were commuting every day to sit in the gym to attend online classes just to make it to practice. We persevered through the craziness of remote learning, even in the gym. Knowing that we were going through unprecedented times together helped us to overcome the obstacles that came with going to school during the pandemic.

As we transition back to normality, I am appreciative of not only the students’ response but the faculty and staff’s response to the pandemic. Over the past two years, the Xavier student body has been thanked numerous times by the administration for their perseverance in the face of adversity. The Dean of Students set dates for the gradual removal of pandemic restrictions, if the entire student body worked to keep the numbers down. Every goal was achieved, and the school was able to adjust efficiently. Living through the pandemic as a Son of Xavier solidified my perception of who Xavier students really are—resilient, adaptable, committed to the common good.

This year, the 175th year of Xavier, has illuminated many archival stories and accounts of Xavier’s amazing history. The constant switches from mandates and regulations over the past academic year have been rather seamless. The Xavier community as a whole has inspired each other to keep marching forward, and it has been wonderful to be a part of such a historic year.

From the Archives

1938

Until his death in March at the age of 98, Deacon John Maloney ’42 remained deeply grateful for the Xavier scholarship that set him on a path to a fulfilling life of service to others.

Born in Harlem to John Maloney and Margaret Morrissey Maloney P’42, young John excelled at his elementary school, St. Joseph’s, and earned scholarships to several high schools. In a letter dated June 4, 1938, Xavier Headmaster Thomas Coffey, S.J. informed John that he had beaten out 800 competitors to win the full-tuition Mrs. Mary O’Beirne Scholarship. “I hope that you will be happy at Xavier and will profit by your good fortune,” Fr. Coffey wrote. John saved the letter all his life.

After graduating from Xavier, John earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy at St. Joseph’s Seminary and a master’s degree in social work at Fordham University, where he was named the outstanding student in his class. A lifelong social worker, he worked with street gangs and later rose to executive positions at CYO and various childcare agencies. In 1973, he was ordained a deacon of the Archdiocese of New York and elected Councilman for the Town of Clarkstown, New York. He would become the longest-serving deacon of the Archdiocese as well as Clarkstown’s longest-serving Councilman. John continued his service as a deacon, which brought him great joy, well into his later years, bringing Communion to the homebound and those in a local correctional facility and nursing home every Sunday. He also served as chaplain for the correctional facility and the Nanuet Fire Engine Company.

Through it all, he never forgot Xavier. He took pride in making annual gifts to his alma mater, culminating in a gift directed toward financial aid in the final year of his life. And John Maloney’s Xavier legacy continues— shortly after his death, his daughter, Joan Moran, honored her father with a five-figure gift to the school that changed his life.

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