Xavier Magazine: Spring 2011

Eyes on the Prize Xavier Robotics is the team to watch

Spring 2011

Xavier MOMENT

Beefsteak veterans Tim Crowe ’74 and Rich Scheller ’74.

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>> Classic Good Time With “enough unlimited steak to satisfy Homer Simpson” in the words of one alum, the 2011 Beefsteak Dinner set a new attendance record. Five hundred twenty-five alumni turned out for the all-you-can-eat fête held on Jan. 21 in the Xavier cafeteria.

Asked why the tradition is so popular, alums like Matt McLean ’87 weighed in on the Xavier Facebook page this way: “It’s just nice not to have to wait five or 10 years for a major reunion to touch base with Sons.” Others enjoy the opportunity to catch up with graduates from class years other than their own.

A tradition since 1939, the evening, like the 72 that came before it, ended with a rousing rendition of “Sons of Xavier.”

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From the PRESIDENT Dear Sons and Friends of Xavier, Over the past few months I have met with hundreds of Xavier alums in Washington D.C., Chicago, Houston, California and the Beefsteak Dinner here in New York City, and no matter what the occasion, the question posed by alumni is always the same: How is Xavier doing?

Having spent these many months telling you how well Xavier is doing, I’m pleased to be able to show you the growth and strength of this great institution with the launch of the new Xavier Magazine.

This magazine certainly highlights our tradition of forming men who are intellectually capable, spiritually aware and physically strong. But you will also see some new things.

Our cover story examines our little-known but extraordinarily successful Robotics program that is not only winning national and regional championships, but also teaching our students important life skills.

Other articles examine the many ways our Xavier students grow spiritually into Men for Others — including a survey of the robust spiritual journey experienced by so many Sons of Xavier today as well as our first-ever participation in the national Ignatian Family Teach-In. Supporting all of this progress is an exciting plan that will extend the footprint of

“Having spent these many months telling you how well Xavier is doing, I’m pleased to be able to show you the growth and strength of this great institution.”

Xavier High School to an adjacent facility on 15th Street and ensure that we fulfill our mission of educating men who will lead and serve others for the greater glory of God. I continue to be impressed and amazed by the energy and spirit of Xavier, here on 16th Street and across the U.S. Our ability to keep the Xavier mission thriving is grounded in the steadfast support of our loyal alumni for which I remain deeply grateful.

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For Xavier,

John R. Raslowsky

President

Xavier Magazine

Xavier

In this issue

>> Spring 2011

Spring 2011 Volume 14 Number 1 Xavier High School John R. Raslowsky President Michael LiVigni Headmaster Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations Rev. John Replogle, S.J. ’51 Assistant to the President Joseph F. Gorski Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Relations Mark A. Mongelluzzo, Esq. Director of Annual Giving and Planned Giving Michael L. Benigno ’00 Managing Editor of Xavier Magazine and Director of Communications

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ROBOTICS The Xavier Robotics team emerges as a regional and national powerhouse.

12. MR. MORONEY’S OPUS Brian Moroney was born to be in the classroom. After a 43-year love affair with Xavier High School, the retired teacher reflects on discovering his true passion for the arts.

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Xavier Moment From the President News from 16th Street Maroon and Blue Class Notes Back Story

14. OPENING EYES AND HEARTS Spiritual growth is a journey.

Today’s Sons of Xavier speak about their faith and relationship with God.

Shane Lavin ’04 Director of Alumni Relations Helene Strong Parents’ Association Coordinator Barbara Ciulla Advancement Office Manager Norma Piecyk Administrative Assistant to the President and to the Vice President for Advancement Editorial & Design Services Erbach Communications Group How to Reach Us Xavier Magazine Managing Editor Xavier High School 39 West 16th Street New York, NY 10011-6302 e-mail: benignom@xavierhs.org To submit a Class Note email classnotes@xavierhs.org

18. STEPPING INTO OUR FUTURE Xavier seizes a “once-in a-lifetime opportunity” with

plans for a new facility on

15th Street.

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News from 16th Street HAVE a Xavier-chino CFX Coffeehouses Raise Funds for Service Trips

For the first time, Xavier students participated in the Ignatian Family Teach-In in Washington D.C.

“There is injustice in the way people speak and the way companies act...It’s eye-opening because there are ways that we can respond to these issues.”

Eyes Wide Open Ignatian Teach-in for Justice at Georgetown University Eight Xavier students and five faculty members traveled to the campus of Georgetown University on Nov. 13 to attend the Ignatian Family Teach-in for Justice, a dynamic three-day gathering at which more than 1,200 Jesuit high school and university students united with Jesuit social justice activists from ministries across the nation.

This year’s theme, “Prophetic Lives: Caminando Juntos,” drew inspiration from the six Jesuit priests murdered in El Salvador 21 years ago for their unwavering defense of the poor. Ursuline Sr. Diana Ortiz and Dead Man Walking author St.

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Joseph Sr. Helen Prejean, CST addressed the gathering, while smaller sessions invited students to learn about injustice in the world.

“It opens your eyes to the injustices that are taking place every second,” said Zach LaRock ’12.

“There is injustice in the way people speak and the way companies act and the way governments treat their citizens. It’s eye-opening because there are ways that we can respond to these issues. Sr. Helen Prejean, in particular, challenged everyone to find something they are passionate about and that is worth fighting for, and to pursue it.”

Coffee ice cream, milk and a lot of steam. The specially brewed Xavierchino, plus robust ticket sales to the Companions of St. Francis Xavier (CFX) Acoustic Coffeehouse, will help fuel the CFX service immersion trips this summer. Two coffeehouses held in December and February raised more than $7,000 that will enable students, faculty and staff to put Catholic social teaching to action by helping those most in need. The popular coffeehouses, launched in 2004, featured nearly two dozen of Xavier’s most gifted musicians and performers.

“The coffeehouse not only brings students, faculty, families and friends together for an evening of entertainment, but also greatly supports our CFX service program by raising much-needed funds that will benefit our service work with lowincome families,” said Joseph Petriello, director of Ignatian Service Programs.

Last year, 120 members of the Xavier community traveled to Tennessee, Maryland and Mexico, where they built homes that strengthened neighborhoods and harvested food that was shipped to food pantries in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore.

New Leadership for National Honor Society

Four new officers of the Xavier chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS) have initiated new service opportunities and leadership lessons for some of Xavier’s brightest students. Shiv Patel ’11, president, senior officers Frank Ragusa ’12, Gabriel Delaney ’11 and Nicholas Costagliola ’11, maintained a daily peer tutoring service, and during the second half of the school year, a NHSorganized dress-down fundraiser that allowed the group to provide a generous donation to a HOLT-sponsored orphanage in Ethiopia.

Xavier in the Media

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Next Generation Classroom Technology New projectors can transform an existing wall into an interactive learning area Technology has come a long way since the 1990s, when the late Rev. Russell J. Sloun, S.J. wheeled Xavier’s first laptop-to-television display into his classroom on the fourth floor of the Lynch Building. Then came digital overhead projectors that displayed VHS and DVD programs that were later modified for computer and Internet capabilities.

Last September Xavier unveiled the next generation in classroom technology. Two new classrooms used for Science, History and Math were equipped with Epson

Brightlink projectors create an interactive learning area.

Brightlink projectors that can transform an existing wall into an interactive learning area.

Using a digital stylus to open programs, draw and navigate the Internet, the new projectors are versatile and engaging.

“Basically it’s a board-less SmartBoard,” said Michael Chiafulio, who uses the new technology in courses such as Integrated Physics and Chemistry. “I can project an image on the wall and it’s the pen interacting with the projected image that makes it interactive.”

Xavier faculty members have also integrated the Brightlink projectors with software that enables “clicker quizzes,” which are paperless and use serial-coded remote controls.

The combined technologies have enhanced teaching and learning. “It makes the learning experience more visual and not just in a Power Point kind of way,” Mr. Chiafulio added.

“Students can come to the board and interact with visuals in a way that a traditional projector doesn’t allow.”

. team circa 1896 School football The Xavier High

The Wall Street Journal’s 2.1 million readers were treated to a story on Nov. 24 that documented the history of New York City’s oldest football rivalry — the annual Turkey Bowl played between Xavier and Fordham Prep nearly every Thanksgiving since 1927.

Fordham Prep won the 87th edition of the Turkey Bowl, 17–7. Note to Fordham Prep: wait ’til next year.

>> “I’m thrilled we did it. It’s one of those plays that has the potential to be a springboard to discussion. If you do ‘The Mousetrap’ or ‘Brigadoon,’ you’re not going to be discussing issues of good and evil.”

– Xavier President Jack Raslowsky in the December 17 New York Times. In “A Catholic School Meets a Challenge,” the Times profiled Xavier’s production of “The Laramie Project.”

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“Today in New York” coanchor Mike Gargiulo ’77 was tasked with interviewing an influential educator from his past.

Mike Gargiulo ’77 Mr. Gargiulo selected Rev. James Keenan, S.J., former teacher and headmaster, and the segment entitled “Education Nation” aired on Sept. 27.

To view the NBC segment, visit www.xavierhsalumni.org/ xaviermedia Xavier Magazine

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News from 16th Street They love Teaching

Welcome to Xavier Middle schoolers experience the Knight for a Day program

New educators at Xavier High School.

Xavier welcomed 11 new faculty members and one new administrator to its ranks. They are: Laura Amigone Guidance Department Evan Bernstein Math Department

Kathleen Concannon English Department Luciano Lovallo Dean of Academics Eric Ostrow (not pictured) Fine Arts Department Colleen Rober Foreign Language Department Marc Rugani Religion Department Deena Ann Sellers Foreign Language Department Elena Fiorenza Sergio Foreign Language Department Johanna Tanzman Science and Technology Jennifer Unger Science and Technology Lindsay Willert Religion Department

Middle school students from all over the New York area got a taste of the Xavier experience last fall as part of the Knight for a Day program.

More than 400 prospective students particpated in the popular program that pairs each middle school student with one current Xavier freshman to provide an authentic portrayal of a day in the life of a Xavier student.

session held on Nov. 3 reflected on the highlights of the day. One commented on an English class in which students learned to write persuasive essays. Other prospective Sons of Xavier recalled dynamic classes or marching lessons in a JROC session.

“By walking in the shoes of a 9th grade student for a day, the Knights

“By walking in the shoes of a 9th grade student for a day, the Knights get a true feel for what it’s like to be a student here.”

The middle schoolers attended a full day of classes with their assigned freshman and finished the day with a brief tour and information session with Ben Hamm, Xavier’s director of admissions.

Seven young men from one

get a true feel for what it’s like to be a student here,” said Mr. Hamm.

“At the same time, many current students actually look back to the day they spent as eighth graders as the experience that convinced them that Xavier was the school for them.”

Heavy Hitters XBC speakers address the future of TV news The Xavier Business Council (XBC) held its third panel discussion on Oct. 14, featuring Michael Gargiulo ’77, coanchor of WNBC’s “Today in New York,” Mike Sheehan ’66 and Michael Gargiulo ’77 at Mike Sheehan ’66, reporter for PIX11 the XBC panel discussion.

News and trustee Frank Comerford ’73, president, NBC sales and new platform development. Mr. Comerford acted as the host for the discussion, adding his insights from the business side of TV news, while Mr. Gargiulo and Mr. Sheehan explained the two paths that led them to their current positions in front of the cameras. In addition, all three guests discussed where they thought TV news and other forms of media might be headed in the future.

The XBC comprises graduates working in various fields of business who gather throughout the year and support Xavier’s bi-annual Hall of Fame Dinner. For information on the next XBC event, email xbc@xavierhs.org.

ONLINE GIVING SOARS Xavier donors love to make their gifts online. Web-based donations increased 68 percent in December 2010 to class years; graduates from the 1950s to the 2000s appreciate the ease and convenience that online giving affords. The 2011 Annual 6.

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Creating a Legacy $2.5 million gift is one of the largest in Xavier history Kay Shirey never set foot on the Xavier High School campus, yet she created a legacy that will have a lasting impact on current and future Sons The late Kay Shirey in an undated photo. of Xavier. Last fall, Xavier announced the receipt of a $2.5 million legacy gift from The Kay Shirey Trust, one of the largest gifts in the institution’s history. The Trust was established by Mrs. Shirey, a resident of Alexandria, Va., and a longtime friend of former Xavier President Rev. Daniel J. Gatti, S.J. ’59.

Mrs. Shirey passed away on July 5, 2010 at the age of 87 following a long illness. She and Fr. Gatti met 25 years earlier, when he was director of pastoral care at Georgetown University Hospital.

A physicist who had worked at several

government agencies in the Washington, D.C. area, Mrs. Shirey became interested in the ministries of the Jesuits when Fr. Gatti assumed the presidency of Xavier in 1997.

“Kay was a loyal and generous supporter of Xavier,” said Fr. Gatti. Even though illness prevented her from visiting the school “she thought of Xavier’s students as her many grandchildren.”

The legacy gift will be used for student scholarships. The gift was

“It is a wonderfully generous gift,” said Xavier President Jack Raslowsky. “It will support Xavier students today, and for years to come, and serves as a real testament to an enduring friendship.”

“It is a wonderfully generous gift. It will support Xavier students today, and for years to come, and serves as a real testament to an enduring friendship.” also part of Xavier’s successful capital campaign, “Stand So All the World Can See,” that raised critical funds to increase endowment for financial aid and faculty development opportunities, as well as provide resources for facility and technology improvements.

Christmas Drive Sets New Record When all of the Legos and stuffed animals were finally tallied, the annual Christmas Toy & Clothing Drive at Xavier High School achieved its most successful record to date.

A total of 727 toys and 173 articles of clothing were collected by the Xavier community and distributed to Youth Services, Inc. in Philadelphia and TRE Community Outreach Project in Baltimore. Both organizations work with at-risk

Fr. Gatti and Kay Shirey in 1993.

children and teens, including many homeless and runaway youth. Toys and clothing were also donated to New York City agencies including Kids in Distressed Situations (K.I.D.S.).

“It is important that society sees the impact of teaching charity and compassion,” said K.I.D.S. President Janice Weinman. “We celebrate the pride everyone can feel when we see these values manifested in those who are on the path to adulthood.”

top $66,000, the highest level of online support in the school’s history. Online donors span all Fund goal is $2.0 million. To make your gift online, visit xavierhsalumni.org/annualfund

Xavier was one of two institutions to benefit from Mrs. Shirey’s generosity. The Trust, whose founder was described as a woman remarkable for her intelligence, privacy and kindness, also named Georgetown University Medical Center as the recipient of a $1.7 million gift.

DIALING FOR SONS OF XAVIER

Matt Strong, P ’99, ’04 was one of more than 40 members of Xavier’s current parent body who participated in the annual Parents’ Phonathon.

The effort raised a total of $110,775 in pledges for the 2011 Annual fund and set a record $70,000 in pledges the very first night.

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Inside Xavier Robotics Mithuun Kanapathipillai ’11 with science and technology teacher Michael Chiafulio.

To the casual observer, the mission looks simple: cross the table, lift an object, relocate its position and return to base. But as members of Xavier’s championship Robotics team can attest, the process of designing and engineering robots to perform even the simplest of tasks is quite complex.

“Right now, I’m programming the robots to do as they’re told and go through a set objective,” explained Michael Mondragon ’11, who plans to study civil engineering after graduation from Xavier. Using LEGOs, wire, computer touch screens and other mechanical parts, the team has been working on specially designed robots programmed to “rescue” a plastic duck and place it in the robotic vehicle. The work is intense, but ultimately gratifying, as the Xavier Robotics team has emerged as a powerhouse, winning regional and national competitions.

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Team to Watch For a young program, the track record is impressive.

Through the years, Xavier’s Robotics team has dominated competitions, which often focus on specific areas of robotics to spur students to investigate realworld applications in a wide range of fields, from space exploration and medicine to farming and Web design.

Xavier has won the New York/New Jersey Regional Botball tournament three times and twice has emerged as champion of the Channel 13 Chase Multimedia in

ACADEMICS

the Classroom Awards and the National Research and Design Website Contest. The team recently scored first place for the KISS Institute for Practical Robotics Video Showcase for a project that promoted the field of robotics with a student-produced video starring a Xavier robot entitled “Join Us.” The team also placed extremely high in national competitions sponsored by the Global Conference on Educational Robotics.

Several years ago, the Public Broadcasting System featured the Xavier Robotics program in its documentary series, “Learning Curve.”

Up for the Challenge Students receive academic credit for joining the team, which attracts mostly seniors. While mandatory sessions

are twice a week after school, when “build season” gets underway, team members can be found on the third floor of the Lynch Building five afternoons a week.

They work on everything from project planning to robot construction and even video production.

Michael Chiafulio, a science and technology teacher at Xavier, said the team attracts top students who have an interest in building, technology and/or programming.

“I think it’s certainly a challenge intellectually,” said Mr. Chiafulio, who founded the program in 2005 when Xavier sought to strengthen its technology offerings.

“This is something a lot of kids have never tried to do, combining the building aspect and the programming aspect. Most American kids like playing games, but when they have to solve problems that are a little more Xavier Magazine

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Michale Gaponoovich ’11 programs a robot.

The 2009 team won the New York/New Jersey Regional Botball Tournament.

technical and require programming, they tend to shy away. It’s not in their comfort zone.”

That challenge is what attracts many Xavier students to join the Robotics program. Clifford Keeling ’11 became interested in the team during an Open House at Xavier.

“The Robotics program stuck out,” he recalled. “It appeared to be a fun and exciting way to learn how robotics is progressing in our world. Even though what we do is considered simple programming, 10 years ago it would be considered impossible.”

Mr. Chiafulio presents the students with problems their robots must solve, such as finding their way

through a maze, picking up items and identifying colors.

As the year progresses the problems become more complex, with many requiring robots that can work together to solve the task.

“What I love most about being in Robotics is the

“We’ve won regionals in three out of six years we’ve competed, so we’re definitely the team to beat.” great degree of freedom we are given,” said Andrew Ferg ’11. “After we are given a task to follow or an obstacle we have to overcome, we are at liberty to design virtually any type of LEGO robot we can think of in order to tackle the problem at hand.”

Creative Problem Solvers Along the way, the students absorb important life lessons in creative problem solving, teamwork and persistence — skills that also support “Grad at Graduation” goals of intellectual competence and openness to growth — the standard for excellence embraced by many Jesuit and Catholic secondary schools.

“The fact that they have to work with other people comes with a whole host of social and interpersonal skills 10.

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that are outside the realm of actual science,” explained Mr. Chiafulio. “But those skills are extremely important when it comes to solving actual science problems and working in real-world teams. There’s not a robotics class in existence where people work alone. Collaboration is a real-world skill that’s important for any profession.

You’re going to use those same team-oriented strategies to solve problems.”

Robotics team member Michael Gapanovich ’11 says teamwork involves learning to communicate with and trust others. “I am drawn to building things and finding out how they work. Naturally, the Robotics course offers that and more,” he explained.

“There is teamwork that is involved as well, making communication and trust a must if we are to succeed.

I get to express my passion for construction while honing my people skills at the same time.”

Teammate Ken Jean-Baptiste ’11 agrees. “I like Robotics because it provides me with opportunities to be more creative and to develop my problem solving and critical thinking skills,” he noted. “No matter what one does in life, these traits are essential in order to be successful.”

Mr. Chiafulio added that conquering challenges now prepares Xavier Robotics team members for the rigors of college later.

“Even though what we do is considered simple programming, 10 years ago it would have been impossible.”

“We try to keep even the most challenging things achievable so the guys don’t get overwhelmed at first,” he explained. “They say, ‘I can do this’ and then go ahead and solve the problem. When they go off to college they can tackle meatier issues because they’ve been given the tool set to overcome those problems.”

Xavier alumni have also played a leading role in the program. Mr. Chiafulio credits alumni support with providing the capital needed to help fund the team’s efforts, which is also funded through small stipends won in competitions. Several years ago, Mr. Chiafulio even teamed up with two Xavier graduates, Alphonso Cozzo ’05 and Michael Gorini ’05, to win second place in a national Botball tournament in Oklahoma City.

“It’s been a great ride,” said Mr. Chiafulio. “We’ve won regionals in three out of six years we’ve competed, so we’re definitely the team to beat. I have to say watching our boys win those tournaments has been a highlight of my teaching career.”

Winning Ways In just five years, the Robotics program at Xavier has racked up a track record of success.

New York/New Jersey Regional Botball Tournament First place overall: 2005 First and second place overall: 2007 First place overall: 2009 Second place overall: 2010 Global Conference on Educational Robots National Botball Championships Fourth place overall: 2005 11th place overall: 2007 15th place overall: 2009

National Research and Design Website Challenge First place overall: 2007 Second place overall: 2009 First place overall: 2010 National Botball Tournament Second place overall: 2008 Channel 13 Chase Multimedia in the Classroom Awards First place: 2008 First place: 2009 KISS Institute for Practical Robotics Video Showcase First place: 2011

A Xavier-designed robot.

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Mr. Moroney’s

Opus

Brian Moroney today, on the steps of Lincoln Center.

B

rian Moroney has had five operations on his vocal chords, though you’d never know it. The most recent was four years ago. And on the drive to Manhasset to see his surgeon that March day in 2007 he says he knew in his gut it was time to leave teaching.

“I was already starting to think of what I would say when they ask me to speak to the faculty.”

His life, up to that moment, had been a love affair with Xavier High School, where for 43 years he taught French, English and co-founded the Fine Arts program.

“I loved the act of teaching,” the now-retired teacher recalled during a recent visit to his former home on 16th Street. “If I was born to do something it

was to be in a classroom. I do believe that.”

“Although,” he adds, “when I consider correcting essays for 45 years I really have to admit I am crazy.”

The tongue-in-cheek comment is pure Mr. Moroney — no sugar-coating.

The son of Irish immigrants (his father was a maintenance man for the IRT at Willets Point), Mr. Moroney began his teaching career at Brooklyn Prep, where he may have learned more than he taught. After two years he got his “walking papers.” A rigid grader, he may have appeared on the “headmaster’s radar” for failing too many students.

“It was the Camelot years, Kennedy was president and I was so happy there,” said the venerable faculty

Over the years, Brian Moroney (third from left) brought legions of Xavier students to meet New York Philharmonic composer Leonard Bernstein (third from right).

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Xavier PEOPLE

member. “And then to be rejected. I had this knot in my chest. Being fired at 23…I thought nobody loved me.”

The knot didn’t last long. The rookie teacher soon found his way to Xavier High School.

At Xavier he began as a “utility infielder” teaching English, History and the institution’s first conversational French course. But his undisputed “claim to fame” was that he started taking students to see plays, beginning in 1967 with Philadelphia, Here I Come.

In the mid-’70s Xavier Headmaster Rev. James Keenan, S.J., approached Moroney and Rev. Robert Lynch, S.J., about creating a Fine Arts program. Mr. Moroney agreed on the condition the program would be for-credit, “not cheap filler.”

Then, in a twist on Mr. Holland’s Opus, the 1995 film that chronicled the life of a composer who develops a passion for teaching, Mr. Moroney became a teacher possessed by a passion for the arts.

He was soon bringing legions of students to

still don’t believe me. Thank you for that.’ It was a joy to know that these boys would have a memory for life.”

Speaking of memories for life, Ray Lustig ’90 was among a group of students who went one Friday afternoon to hear the New York Philharmonic. After the concert, Mr. Lustig says, Mr. Moroney “just got this crazy idea” to bring the students backstage, uninvited, to meet the conductor, Leonard Bernstein, who not only welcomed them but soon knew many of them by name.

When Mr. Moroney told Bernstein that Mr. Lustig was also a composer, Bernstein asked Mr. Lustig, “Well, why don’t you show me something?”

“I almost melted into the ground,” recalled Mr. Lustig, who prepared a piece to be critiqued by the legendary conductor. Last year, the Xavier alumnus earned his doctorate in composition from The Julliard School, where he now teaches.

The trips to the Philharmonic and the opera were “an amazing lifeline” to the arts for Mr. Lustig and

>> “I loved the act of teaching. If I was born to do something it was to be in a classroom.” concerts, plays and even to free dress rehearsals at the Metropolitan Opera (Xavier was the only Jesuit school with a membership and Mr. Moroney earned the moniker the “King of Opera”). “These are the days before English subtitles. I said, ‘Guys, when those golden crystal chandeliers go into the ceiling and the lights go out you’re on your own.’ They saw Pavarotti for nothing.

They saw Domingo for nothing. One year I took 60 kids to La Boheme. Those were the glory days.”

The experiences made a deep impression.

“When I retired I got this email from a guy from the class of ’72 who said, ‘I tell my friends that when I was 17, in one year I saw Helen Hayes and Henry Fonda. They

generations of students. “There’s not a day when I walk across that plaza at Lincoln Center,” he said, “that I don’t think of that younger 15-year-old version of me being there.”

Until his death in 1990, Bernstein and the “King of Opera” remained good friends. “Lenny loved the kids,” said Mr. Moroney.

As he knew it would, the time did come for Mr. Moroney to speak to the faculty, to try to reflect on a lifetime of teaching thousands of young men at Xavier High School.

“So I said to my colleagues, but especially to the younger ones, ‘You do what you do every day, and it’s sometimes pretty hard to have a sense that it matters.

The kids take it for granted, and they’ll forget a fair amount of what you teach. But the one thing that you will teach them, day-in and day-out, is that you have discovered what it is that your talent is, and you have made of your love, your life’s work.

And they’ll remember you for that.”

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The Campus Ministry team (L to R): Rev. Ralph Rivera, S.J., Joseph Petriello and Dee Kittany.

Opening eyes and hearts Growing Spiritually at Xavier

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Speaking on Faith You’re 14. There are many more important things going on in your life than “going to church and being religious.” Like worrying about your friends. And fitting in at a new school.

That’s what Pat Klein ’11 remembers thinking when he arrived at Xavier High School four years ago.

It’s a common starting point for students who describe their early religious experience as more obligation than enlightenment.

“In grammar school prayer was words on a page that you memorized and said before every class,” said Tim Kelly ’13.

“I came from a public school system on Long Island,” said Dillon Burke ’13, “so my faith before was something I did on Sunday for an hour just to get it out of the way and get done.”

Zachary LaRock ’12 agreed. “When I was younger it seemed a lot more forced. It was very structured in religion class. But I think here it’s a lot more about personal growth and kind of growing as an individual, but also growing spiritually, growing closer to God.”

A Spiritual Journey Growing spiritually at Xavier is not an elective. It is the core around which school life revolves. “We hit it from different angles,” explained Rev. Ralph Rivera, S.J., director of Campus Ministry. “We try to make the Ignatian dimension part of their lives.”

“Xavier doesn’t make things easy,” said Klein, recalling the first step of his spiritual journey, the freshman retreat. “They definitely make you challenge yourself. They did it in a way that wasn’t directly aimed at the whole religious thing — God and Mass and prayer. It was first about who are your friends, who are your real friends.”

The next year Klein and all sophomores attended an overnight retreat that focused on values. “That was definitely a big jump start,” remembered Klein, “taking a look at my values and what kind of person I want to be in the world as I get older.”

Academic instruction is also part of the early mix.

Xavier students take four years of religion (Old and New Testament for freshmen, The Church and Discipleship for sophomores, Faith, Theology and Ethics in junior year and finally, Social Justice, Philosophy and Ignatian Spirituality for seniors).

“In religion class they’re going to be confronted,” said Fr. Rivera. “It’s not enough to say that ‘I believe in God.’

It’s also — ‘What do you mean when you say that?’ ” Jonathan Kelly ’11 says he was “quite the cynic” when he arrived at Xavier. “I had a cynical view of the world, religion especially. It really changed for me junior year because I had Fr. Rivera for a religion teacher. His religion class really opened my eyes.”

If opening eyes is part of the spiritual program at Xavier, opening hearts is the ultimate goal — one seemingly attained regularly on the junior Kairos retreats. More than 95 percent of all Xavier students voluntarily go on a retreat before they graduate. And in a development that might bring a smile to Ignatius of Loyola, the Jesuits’ founder, nine seniors recently petitioned the Campus Ministry Office to organize a silent retreat.

“Before I even went on the retreat,” said Michael Powis ’11, “I watched the kids come back from it. I saw one of the kids that went on it and he was, like, glowing.

I realized in Xavier how well everything works.”

Greg Stelzer ’11 calls the retreat program “probably the best part about Xavier. It’s about getting to know

FACT: More than 95 percent of all Xavier students voluntarily go on a retreat before they graduate. yourself, where you are with other people.”

“At first a lot of people didn’t want to open up,” added Felix Espinosa ’11. “They don’t feel comfortable.

They don’t want to talk. But as it moves on, as they hear the stories and everyone else’s experience, they realize, ‘These people won’t judge me.’”

Sacraments and Service Xavier also offers a robust sacramental life that regularly gathers a thousand students into the Church of Saint Francis Xavier for school-wide liturgies. All students also perform Christian service projects such as working in homeless shelters or soup kitchens during their sophomore, junior and senior years. And hundreds also sign up to serve the poor on trips to Maryland, Tennessee, Alabama and Mexico. On these immersion trips students blend long days building houses or working on farms with reflection and contemplation about their experiences.

“Xavier has this very strong focus on service and Xavier Magazine

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In their own words Xavier students speak about faith, spirituality and developing a relationship with God.

view things, your faith and helps you grow as a person.”

David Taveras ’12 “We have a lot of school Masses.

I think the Masses here are good because they relate to us here.

The homilies are in context of our problems or the kind of things we might be facing. I think you have to kind of do what it says instead of just hear it. I think God would prefer us to take a Sunday to help somebody if somebody needed it instead of going to Mass, in my opinion.”

Tim Kelly ’13

Jonathan Kelly ’11

Pat Klein ’11

Michael Powis ’11

“When I came to Xavier I knew absolutely no one. Now I have so many amazing friends who I confide in and trust and I legitimately love. Xavier changes your whole perception of the world…how you

“Before I came to Xavier I always thought that the feeling you were supposed to have was complicated because God is ‘all-powerful’ and he created everything. But it’s just so… simple. It’s never very complicated.

“I was unable to go on any service trips but I realized if [CFX volunteers] can go to Mexico and build a house, I can go on a Midnight Run in the middle of the city. I’m a lot more involved in my

Jonathan Kelly ’11

helping others,” says Ken Jean-Baptiste ’11, who will be attending Princeton next year. “And that’s what I like. Before, I was concerned just with my own personal goodness.”

“They’re on their own journeys. They’re seeking.

They’re questioning,” said Joseph Petriello, director of Ignatian Service Programs. “We allow them the space to question and allow them the space to, dare I say, doubt.”

“The best part about what Xavier does,” said Powiss, who is also a student coordinator in the Campus Ministry office, “is nothing is forced on anyone. It allows you to develop your own spiritual sense.”

Turning to prayer The final retreat for seniors is the smaller, more intimate Magis retreat.

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It’s very hard to describe. Very simple words such as you’re loved and God cares for you.”

Xavier Magazine

“I was always asking the question Why? I feel that freshman and sophomore year Religion has helped to answer those questions.

We learned about the Councils of Jerusalem and Nicea and we learned about the history of the Church, which I think is one of the most important things you can learn about your own religion.”

“Magis allows us to open up about our prayer life with each other,” said Powis, “how do we pray, what our struggles are.”

“One of the things I learned here is that prayer can be experienced in many different ways,” added LaRock, “not just sitting down folding our hands saying a Hail Mary. I think we have a tendency to think that God is in some faraway place. You know, we pray to God like he’s up in the clouds making decisions about our lives.

But we encounter God more often in our everyday lives than we even stop to realize.”

“You learn to meditate,” said Espinosa, “to reflect on the day — the wrong, the right and what you can build upon. Try to see what God’s trying to show you.”

“When I used to say my prayers I would just feel like ‘all right, let’s get it over with,’ ” noted David

Speaking on Faith

Michael Powis ’11

parish to the point where I’m no longer just my parents’ kid. I am now my own person in the parish. And that’s Xavier. It’s pretty heartening to see we do have a lot of kids going on retreat even though in this day and age you don’t get many teenagers, especially men, who express their faith openly.”

Zachary LaRock ’12 “In October we were volunteering at a homeless shelter in Hoboken.

Before we served the meals to the

guests a young man got up to bless the meal and he spent the whole time expressing his gratitude for us and the fact that we were there and the fact that we could be sitting in our homes sipping hot chocolate.

That just brought it into perspective how much the less fortunate really need us and really depend on us.

And I think Xavier has done a great job for me deepening my faith and helping me realize we need to go out into the world and help these people.”

Greg Stelzer ’11 “Magis was about praying, about different ways to pray. You always think you have to go like this to pray (folding hands) but it was about finding what’s right for you, how you can connect with God.”

Dillon Burke ’13 “On CFX it showed me that there’s so much injustice in the world and you can’t just sit around and not do anything. I saw how much it meant

Taveras ’12. “Say an ‘Our Father’ after confession. Just breeze through it — if we say it, that’s what counts.

But now I think prayer is your deepest desires. Not just for material things like ‘I want to pass this test’ but things that you really want inside your heart — things that you know you need. Like praying for your family.”

to so many people. It really opened my eyes. Started thinking what would God want me to do instead of what would suit me best. So I have to be more active. Right now I work in a soup kitchen on Long Island.”

Felix Espinosa ’11 “My parents were really religious so I had to go to church. I thought the only way you can see God or God can hear you was at church. God was kind of scary, always out there trying to watch you. When I came here, it’s a different idea. They show you that God’s everywhere. You learn new ways to pray to talk to him.”

Ken Jean-Baptiste ’11 “I grew up with the kind of God that was always watching you, waiting for you to slip up so he can write it down and say, okay, gotcha!

Here God is more personal. He’s going to judge how righteous I am, yes, but he’s not necessarily out to find the bad in me, he’d rather find the good.”

don’t pay anything extra for doing that. If you help on a retreat you’re going to be out of your home for three full nights and an extra day. In some schools they have to scurry around to find adults willing to do this.

We don’t have that problem. I actually have to turn people down.”

In the end, in ways big and small, the

“That’s the best part of what Xavier does. Nothing is forced on anyone.

It allows you to develop your own spiritual sense.”

The responsibility for transforming disengaged eighth graders into spiritually-aware seniors is embraced by the entire Xavier community. “There is an incredible involvement by not just the faculty, but the administration and staff,” said Fr. Rivera. “We

transformation extends beyond 16th Street. “Last year after a retreat,” recalled Fr. Rivera, “I got a call from a parent saying, ‘I don’t know what the heck you did to my son, but he’s actually nice to his sister now.’ ” Xavier Magazine

17.

Stepping Into Our Future

Xavier will own and occupy six floors of a luxury condominium adjacent to the current campus. Rendering courtesy of FXFowle.

n any given day at Xavier High School faculty, students and administrators improvise for space. Classrooms do double and even triple duty. Staging a play can shut down the Commons area for a week, forcing extracurricular activities into makeshift areas.

And if Headmaster Michael LiVigni wants to meet with the entire senior class, basketball practice is going to be delayed for an hour.

Those days will soon be over.

The Xavier Board of Trustees has approved a development deal with Alchemy Properties Inc. that will expand the school’s footprint to the adjacent building 18.

Xavier Magazine

at 31-35 W. 15th Street, also known as the union hall.

When the hall is demolished later this spring, work will begin on a 27-story condominium; Xavier will own and occupy the first six stories of the new luxury building.

Xavier President Jack Raslowsky said the plan will increase the physical campus by 23 percent, adding approximately 35,000 square feet of space. “Right now we are bursting at the seams,” he said. “Thirty years ago we didn’t need computer labs or space for robotics. We didn’t need a MacLab for a filmmaking program. But now we’re doing all of those things in less than optimal space.”

“This is a daring and bold move on our part,” said Chairman of the Board of Trustees Richard Nolan

Advancing XAVIER Esq. ’83. “I think it demonstrates the ambition of our president and Board of Trustees in advancing the mission of Xavier High School.”

Plan for Expansion The forthcoming expansion, which will be connected to the main building on 16th Street, contains a new lobby, plus purpose-built space for science, technology, music, drama, numerous co-curricular activities and more.

Designed by Beyer, Blinder, Belle Architects & Planners LLP, highlights include:

Stair Stg Stg

M Corridor

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Lynch Connection

Stair

• A dedicated facility for the school’s growing music program (second floor) that features a large band/ orchestra area for performances and rehearsals, practice rooms, a control room for recording, a classroom and office space for faculty.

• A large multi-purpose space on the combined third and fourth floor. Built for flexibility and with a 25foot high ceiling, this would accommodate a host of purposes, from performances and large gatherings to intramurals, athletics and practice drills for the JROTC Regiment. With so many uses, this new area is also intended to relieve scheduling pressures and free up additional space in Xavier’s main building.

• Four new classrooms (fifth floor), plus a project room where students can study, collaborate and socialize.

Additional gathering spaces or Common areas are also planned for the second floor music facility.

“... this truly was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the institution.”

The Right Opportunity Funds to embark on the ambitious project were made available by the sale of the school’s air rights to Alchemy, a real estate company that specializes in condominiums.

Though Xavier had considered another option involving the sale of its air rights several years ago, former trustee Michael J. Tierney ’69 said the board acted proactively and charged a Union Building Task Force to determine the highest and best use of the site. The task force, co-chaired by Tierney and Trustee Jennifer Mussi, identified several scenarios and evaluated the value Xavier would extract from any potential deals.

Ultimately, the task force recommended and the Board of Trustees approved an arrangement that involved

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Multipurpose Room

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Stg Classroom

Floor plan for the 3rd/4th floor of the new facility.

Xavier participation on the former union building site.

“Here was an opportunity for a landlocked campus to expand our footprint with this very sizable site adjacent to the campus,” said Tierney. “When you cut to the chase, this truly was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the institution.”

The acquisition of six floors of space of the proposed condominium also triggered the start of a master planning process. Meetings were held with faculty, members of the Jesuit community and trustees to assess needs and determine priorities in developing space to accommodate Xavier’s 1,000-plus student body.

The master plan also identified existing opportunities such as the cafeteria. Once the Music Department (currently adjacent to the cafeteria) is relocated to the new facility, the basement underneath the Church of Saint Francis Xavier could be primed for a renovation that includes dining, a student lounge and workspaces.

“This expansion allows us all sorts of possibilities that never existed before,” said Mr. Raslowsky. “It’s exciting and energizing for the entire Xavier community.”

Once the union building is demolished, excavation of the site could begin as early as this summer. According to project estimates, Xavier students could be utilizing the new facility by Fall 2014. “This plan ensures that the needs of the institution are served,” Mr. Nolan said. “It very effectively equips us to be the outstanding Catholic Jesuit secondary institution we have long been and will continue to be.”

Xavier Magazine

19.

Maroon and blue

We Run as “Men for Others�

Last fall, seven cross country striders from Xavier honored the legacy of Brooklyn Prep at the Jesuit Cross Country Championships.

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P

hil Nolan, Brooklyn Prep Class of 1949, never thought he’d see the day.

Nearly 40 years after it closed, Brooklyn Prep placed first among New York City Jesuit schools at the Jesuit Cross Country Championships held on Nov. 20 at Van Cortlandt Park. Xavier’s varsity team ran a valiant race, but lost to their teammates who honored the legacy of Brooklyn’s Jesuit school, which closed its doors in 1972. Seven Xavier seniors donned Brooklyn Prep jerseys for the meet and outran their teammates, Fordham Prep, Regis and Christo Rey. The Brooklyn runners finished seventh overall.

Mr. Nolan said it was an honor to hand out the medals at the finish line. “It meant a lot to me,” he said.

“I was thrilled to see the BP jerseys again.”

Xavier Head Coach Pat Dormer (Brooklyn Prep Class of 1971) teamed with the Brooklyn Prep Alumni Association to allow top senior runners hailing from the Borough of Kings to wear the ceremonial blue and white at each year’s Jesuit Cross Country Championships.

“Any runner from any Jesuit school who would have gone to BP or is the son or grandson of a BP grad will have the opportunity to run for Brooklyn Prep — symbolically, that is,” he said. “The goal is to have a complete team at the meet, to have Brooklyn Prep score on all levels and to wear the white and blue uniforms to remember the school that served the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn for 64 years.”

The team didn’t stop there. At the All Hallows/Manhattan College Invitational last fall, the varsity cross country members also unveiled shirts reading “This One is for Jim Scott,” a tribute to the history teacher and coach whose career at Xavier began in 1948 and would span the next 45 years.

In 1956, Mr. Scott became head coach of cross country and track, a position he held until his retirement in 1993. Two of his sons, James ’79 and Daniel ’84, attended Xavier, and in 1986, he became chairman of the Track and Cross Country League for the New York Section of the CHSAA. Two years later he was inducted into the CHSAA Hall of Fame, and in 2000 he became a member of Xavier’s Hall of Fame.

Until his death in 2008, Mr. Scott remained a patriarchal founding figure for track in the New York City region and was a regular presence at most Xavier cross country races.

“This year, the last batch of runners that would actually remember meeting Jim Scott are set to graduate, so we needed to remember his constant dedication

to this sport,” Mr. Dormer said, “He was a staple at events in one capacity or another for literally decades and decades, and he was a true Xavier gentleman,” Mr. Dormer said.

While inspiring the Xavier community as “Men for Others,” track and field athletes also rewrote the record books. In January, Keith Mesidor ’11 was named MVP at the NYCHSAA varsity Championships after his long jump of 22 feet, 1.75 inches set a new meet record.

Mesidor is currently ranked eighth in the nation for the long jump.

At the Molloy Stanner Games, held in Manhattan, the Varsity shuttle relay of Andrew Cheah ’11, James Kondrat ’12, Zack LaRock ’12 and Dom DeNiro ’12 set a school record of 33.34 seconds.

Earlier in the year, Eliot Kaufmann ’14 won the CHSAA Freshman Intersectional Championship, while breaking the school record set in 1974 for the mile-and-a-half with a time of 8:35 — an amazing accomplishment for a freshman.

In March, Xavier’s runners will compete at several state and national championship events.

Varsity cross country team members paid tribute to legendary coach Jim Scott.

Xavier Magazine

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Maroon and blue toward the city championship, finishing 17–3 after falling to Stepinac in the semi-finals. JV also progressed to quarter-finals, finishing 12–8.

“Tryouts were very competitive this past November and I knew right from the start we had some talent,” said freshman coach Jim O’Hara. “But our goal each year is to win a city championship so that takes more than just talent. So far these guys have shown tremendous work ethic and focus for freshmen in high school. They bring it every day in practice and that is what has impressed me most so far.”

Swimming Sets New Records

Pat O’Grady ’11 goes in for a lay up.

The Season of Sweeps Even though the Varsity Knights basketball team finished with a division record of 8–7, this was the season of sweeps for Xavier ball as a whole, as our three teams smoked Regis, St. John’s Prep, LaSalle, Cardinal Spellman, Bishop Ford, St. Agnes and McClancy in a series of exciting double- and triple-header matches held at home in January and February.

At the Juggler Classic held in Utica, N.Y., over Martin Luther King weekend, the team, led by Eddie Sullivan ’11, defeated host school Notre Dame (Utica) and topped Liverpool (Syracuse) 65–54 in the final, returning to 16th Street with the gold.

Xavier Coach Joseph McGrane, currently in his 20th year as Xavier’s head coach, told Chelsea Now newspaper that Sullivan was his most consistent player, averaging 12 points, eight assists, four rebounds and three steals per game. Other standout players include Pat O’Grady ’11, who has also averaged seven rebounds per game, and Brendan Ferguson ’12, who was named part of the all-tournament team following the Utica matches.

Ferguson, Sullivan and Matt Crockett ’13 were named all-division by CHSAA coaches.

The freshman team has gone on to steal more than its share of the season’s limelight, with an impressive run 22.

Xavier Magazine

The Xavier swim team finished 11-0 for the season and was named division champ, ranking fifth overall — up from 10th last year and 12th the year before. The highlights of this year’s exciting season were the records broken by Pat Kilgallen ’13, who beat his own school record in the 500-freestyle (4:47.69) and set a new Xavier record in the 200-freestyle (1:46.56). Kilgallen will be swimming in state championships this March.

Coach Dennis Murphy was named Coach of the Year by the CHSAA for the second consecutive year and, following the B-Division win, Xavier’s team will move up to Division A next year.

Senior co-captains Ryan Dougherty and Michael Scala.

Hockey Program Grows The Xavier hockey team has come a long way, moving up the ranks in recent years through both the C and B Divisions. Several key players who helped bring the team to the championship round of playoffs in two of the last four years graduated in May 2010, so this year’s rebuilding season ended in February with a record of 12-13-1.

Last year’s league leader in scoring, Tommy Ferro ’11, teamed with fellow captains Joe Gilhooly ’11 and John Cosenza ’11 and a strong showing of underclassmen to lead strong offensive charges this season. “Our goaltending has continued to improve with each game and our predominantly young crop of players promises that we’ll continue our winning ways in future seasons,” DiMauro said.

One highlight of the season was an exhibition game against Regis High School, which does not normally have a hockey team. Before a crowd of gathered alumni from both schools, Xavier defeated the Regis squad of students, who play for private clubs in the New York area, by a score of 7–4.

Wrestling Rebuilds The wrestling team graduated 16 seniors last year and has been working with a promising group of underclassmen including Dee Giorgio ’12, Joe Vitale ’12 and Mike Prendergast ’12, who will be competing in future seasons. The three standouts each have more than 20 wins, with fewer than than six losses. Vitale and Prendergast placed fifth and eighth in January’s Mayor’s Cup.

Three Winning Football Seasons All three football teams had winning seasons this fall, and the varsity squad (6–5) fared well, considering the loss of senior star Chris Mattina ’10 and several other key starters.

The varsity team broke the 200-point mark for the season for only the 10th time in Xavier football history, and strong defense helped keep opposing completion rates to an average of just 41 percent. JV went 5–2 and secured a playoff berth, while the freshman team stole the limelight with an undefeated 8–0 season that earned them the title of CHSFL City Division champions.

Xavier fell to Fordham Prep at this year’s Turkey Bowl, but as early as midterms, Coach Chris Stevens was already announcing the starting dates for next year’s spring and summer training sessions.

Cameron Neeley ’13 fires a shot at the goal.

Ruggers Set for More Wins Training has already started for the 2011 season, but during the year three Xavier ruggers — Adam Duignan ’11, Joseph Corrado ’11, and Patrick O’Grady ’11 — were selected to take part in the Boys High School All-American selection camp held on the campus of the University of California - Santa Barbara.

The post-Christmas snowstorm prevented the boys from traveling to California for the camp, but, as in previous seasons, athletes can still be named part of the All-American team based on actual season performance.

Xavier coaches and athletes remained optimistic going into the start of the season. Last year, Xavier clinched its fourth national title in the first all-eastern team final.

Baseball Preview The Xavier varsity baseball team finished runner-up for City Champs last year and this year 14 returning players — including pitchers James McCool ’11 and Sean Meekins ’11, who have signed to play for Lafayette and Trinity, respectively — will try for another successful spring season.

Following the 2010 season, a number of players were named All-City and All-Manhattan athletes in the New York Post and Varsity Head Coach Rich Duffell was named All-Manhattan Coach of the Year.

Practice begins in March for the 2011 season, with the first league games taking place in April. “If we can avoid injuries, we should be in really good shape,” said Duffell.

For the full schedule, visit xavierhs.org.

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Hall of Fame Dinner 2010

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Attended by more than 440 guests, the Hall of Fame Dinner raised $160,000 to benefit the Ignatian Scholars Program.

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1. The 2010 Hall of Fame honorees, with Xavier President Jack Raslowsky. 2. Art Cashin ’59. 3. The Xavier Color Guard. 4. John Countryman ’50 with guests.

5. Xavier faculty and staff Members. 6. Rev. Vincent Biagi, S.J. ’67. 7. Dennis Baker, S.J. and Rev. David Ciancimino, S.J. ’77, Provincial of the New York Province of the Society of Jesus.

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Xavier Magazine

Class notes

X

avier High School welcomed seven exceptional graduates to its Hall of Fame at the annual dinner held on Nov. 5 at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers: Rev. Vincent Biagi, S.J. ’67, Arthur D. Cashin, Jr. ’59, Thomas Conniff, Esq. ’52, John Countryman ’50, Rev. Robert Lauder ’52, John Spollen, Esq. ’62 and Msgr. Arthur Scanlan 1900, posthumously. The paths taken by these alumni are diverse and extraordinary; the group is comprised of a former U.S. ambassador, leading attorneys who have made outstanding contributions to Catholic educational institutions, one of the youngest brokers ever to hold a seat on the New York Stock Exchange and Roman Catholic and Jesuit priests who have led by their example of compassion, tolerance and love.

The new inductees all expressed gratitude to Xavier for setting them on their life’s journey. “From my time at Xavier, I gained the conviction that there is no more meaningful way to spend one’s life than in the service of others,” said Fr. Biagi. “Most importantly, in helping others to see that they are in Christ so infinitely precious and lovable, and that they cannot nourish themselves only on bread, but that they also need desperately the word of God.” Attended by more than 440 guests, the Hall of Fame Dinner raised $160,000 to benefit the Ignatian Scholars Program. It was the annual event’s second largest crowd ever — superceded only by the Sesquicentennial Dinner in 1997.

To view the speeches given by all of the 2010 honorees, visit www. xavierhsalumni.org/hof2010.

1941 70th Class Reunion on May 13–14 Fred Cole, a Collegiate All-American in the 1940s, competed in the 2010 small bore 3-position and the small bore prone position at the NRA Camp Perry (Ohio) Competitions and Awards Ceremony.

Match Director H.Q. Moody introduced him to the audience as “our senior perennial champion forever and one of our sport’s finest.” Mr. Cole, a Stony Brook, N.Y., resident, ended the week remarking, “I started shooting in 1937 on the Xavier High School Rifle team.”

1942

On behalf of his family, Rev. Vincent Novak, S.J. ’42 thanks all the alumni for their many tributes to his brother, Rev. Joseph Novak, S.J., a remarkable man and true Son of Xavier, who died on Jan. 10, 2010.

At a ceremony in Orlando, Fla., on Nov. 11, 2009, Donald Dawkins was awarded the French Legion of Honor for meritorious combat service for France during World War II. Presented by the president of France, it is the highest honor France bestows. Mr. Dawkins served with the 26th “Yankee” division, which also served in France in World War I.

1945

Sam Falvo keeps in touch with classmates Jack McGoldrick of Brevord, N.C., and Frank Corella of Silver Springs, Md.

1950

Joseph Brostek has retired from Queens College as executive director of events following a 60-year association, starting as a freshman in 1950, then on the Alumni Board after graduation. He has been a consultant and administration member since 1986.

Richard Byrnes has just finished writing a book, Finding Cerqueux, about buying and renovating a building in a French village, Les Cerqueux-sous-Passavant.

The book spans the time from his wife’s death in 1999 to the present. He spends each spring and summer studying French painting and printing.

1951 60th Class Reunion on May 13–14 Robert Kramer is completing his 50th year of teaching Art History and German Literature at Manhattan College. His recent publications include scholarly works, poetry and literary criticism.

Rev. Mario Gallipoli, C.P., will celebrate the 50th anniversary of his ordination as a Passionist priest on April 7, 2011. Fr. Gallipoli entered the Passionists the year he graduated from Xavier. His father, Dominic Gallipoli, graduated from Xavier in 1920.

1952

Frank Notaro says hello to all his classmates and can still be contacted at (845) 565-7345.

1946 65th Class Reunion on May 13–14

William McCaughey and his wife, Arline, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at the end of 2009.

1947 Cedric J. Priebe, M.D., has retired from clinical practice of pediatric surgery and now has a part-time job handling quality and safety issues for the Department of Surgery at Stony Brook University Medical Center.

While traveling to Texas for a meeting of emergency service officials, Mark A. Delaney and his wife, Rose, recently visited with Frank Hanigan and his wife, Peggy, in their home in Montgomery, Texas. Mr. Delaney is a commissioner in Cormal County, Texas, for emergency services.

Joseph Holland has retired from three auto dealerships, one Carvel franchise and his position as general manager for the Cadillac/Chevrolet franchise in Eastport, N.Y.

John and Alexandra Spizziri celebrated the birth of their great-grandson, Anthony Xavier Quinn, who joins his brothers, Christopher and Elijah, in Belgrade, Mont.

1953

John Hetherington and his wife, Nora, celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary.

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Sons of Xavier

Beefsteak 2011

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1954

Ed Shalhoub, M.D., has retired from private practice in internal medicine in New York City and moved to Sea Girt, N.J.

1955

Francis Spera and his wife, Peggy, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Sept. 17, 2010.

Eugene Bozzo, now retired from Macy’s since 1996 and from teaching at Suffolk Community College since 2003, is spending the winter in the Sarasota, Fla., area.

John Gallagher was nominated by SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher to a term as chair of the quality assessment review board for the University Hospital at Stony Brook. His nomination was confirmed by the SUNY Board of Trustees at a June meeting in Albany.

1956 55th Class Reunion on May 13–14 Tom Gallagher attended the Holy Cross 50th reunion in Worchester, Mass., and celebrated 50 years of marriage with his wife, Paulette (Morel) Gallagher, on Dec. 31, 2010.

Anthony Cusumano had the honor of playing taps at the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach, Normandy, France on Aug. 28, 2010. Mr. Cusumano’s latest book, Compressor Handbook: Principles and Practice, was published by Fairmont Press in June 2010. His previous book, The Gas Turbine Handbook: Principles and Practice, was published by Fairmont Press in 2009. Mr. Cusumano continues to work as a consultant to the utility, gas and oil industries. He writes, “Retirement is not being considered.”

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1. Joe Buongiorno ’75, Tony Murljacic ’75 and Jim Palumbo ’75. 2. Matt Frank ’97 and Matt Dory ’97. 3. Phil Ambrosini ’62, William Grubb ’62 and Louis Nunez, M.D. ’62. 4. Frank Gregory, longtime dean of students.

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Pat Hickey reports the birth of his third

grandson, Luke Daniel Hickey. In June, 2011, he will complete his 20th year as director of development for Notre Dame University. On Aug. 1, he was awarded with Notre Dame’s Spirit Award, the first ever honoree.

1958

Stephen McCabe was named to the “Irish Legal 100” by the Irish-American Magazine.

Bernie Harrigan writes that he is looking forward to the annual reunion in May 2011. He has attended the last three events, including his 50th in 2008. He thanks Xavier for providing this venue for communication.

1959

Drew Bauman was recently elected to the Saint Peter’s College Athletic Hall of Fame.

Albert Rosa has co-authored the seventh edition of an electrical engineering text. He is retired from teaching and is

Class notes enjoying life with his wife of 47 years, Kathy.

1961 50th Class Reunion on May 13–14 Tony Vivolo recently authored a book, Growing Up in New York’s Italian South.

1962

Rocco J. Iacovone is still running the Xavier Alumni Band, “Band of Brothers.”

They play at charity and alumni events throughout the year. If anyone needs or would like to join the band, contact Mr. Iacovone at iacovoner@xavierhs.org.

Thomas F.X. Foley, co-captain of the ’61–’62 swimming team, wrote to congratulate Xavier’s swimming coach and team on winning the City Championship in 2010. Mr. Foley writes that the ’61–’62 team did well at the Catholic High School National Swim Championships at Villanova. He also lettered in football and tennis.

Bill Grubb announces the birth of his 13th grandchild, born in Oswego, Ore. On Jan. 15 at the Fordham University Church, a memorial Mass was celebrated for Larry Kennedy, who had died the week before. Rev. Daniel Gatti, S.J. ’59, now chaplain to the Fordham Alumni Association, celebrated the Mass. Rev. John Replogle, S.J. ’51, assistant to the president of Xavier, concelebrated. A good number of Xavier and Fordham alumni were present.

1965

Robert Posteraro, M.D., MBI, was named Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year in the Clinical Practice Management Program at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Allied Health Sciences. After 30 years of practice in radiology, he has segued into full-time teaching at Texas Tech.

1966 45th Class Reunion on May 13–14 John Walsh has founded Walsh Management Consulting, specializing in certification to ISO 9001 and related standards such as ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001.

1968

James Tucci is living in Grand Rapids, Mich., and serves as the president and CEO of Spectrum Health Medical Group, one of the country’s largest multidisciplinary medical groups with more than 530 providers.

1969

Rafael Martinez writes that his son, Daniel, graduated from the University of Miami with two bachelor’s degrees — Aerospace and Electrical Engineering. After working this summer for Boeing, Daniel will go to the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) for a master’s degree in Aerospace.

He was named Student of Distinction in Engineering and was a recipient of a NASA competition award.

1970

Capt. Derek Francis Offer, USN (ret.), has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the USO of Metropolitan New York.

1971 40th Class Reunion on May 13–14 An e-mail from John Frank to Mark Mongelluzzo, Xavier’s director of annual giving: “I’ll give another $500 today; with times so tough for so many, I feel I need to do a little more this year.” Mr. Frank also started a new blog with a friend on the subject of eating well and good health. The Web address is: www. goodguysandgoodhealth.wordpress.com.

He also started a Facebook group for the Class of ’71 members so they can begin discussing reunion plans for next May. Class members who want info can e-mail John at john_n_frank@yahoo.com.

Gerry Conticchio, CEO of Debt Free At Last, is providing the wings of financial reform for many in the N.Y./N.J. area by teaching the biblical principles of debt and money.

1973

Next June, Frank Musso will be married for 30 years to Eileen Maher, sister of Joe Maher ’67 and Michael Maher ’84. His son, Joseph, is a grad student at Columbia, while his son, Robert, is a 2nd Lt. at Fort Benning, Ga. Victor Vallo, Ph.D., is the new chairman of the Music department at Georgia College and State University, where he is also the conductor and music director of the GCSU Wind Symphony.

After 66 years, a soldier is laid to rest For Fred Salerno ’61 and his family, the whereabouts of Sgt. John Simonetti had hung over their hearts for the last 66 years.

The last anyone ever saw of Mr. Salerno’s uncle, he was firing The late Sgt. John Simonetti a rifle grenade at an attacking German machine gunner in the small French town of St. Germain-d’Elle shortly after the D-Day allied invasion in 1944.

Moments later, he was mortally wounded, but there were conflicting reports of what actually happened to his body.

In 1994, to mark the 50th anniversary of D-Day and to investigate the unresolved matter, Mr. Salerno visited St. Germaind’Elle. He had no idea that his travels would pay off years later.

Last year, work being done near the battlefield in St. Germain-d’Elle unearthed human remains and a set of military dog tags, which matched the name Mr. Salerno had left on a business card during his trip. DNA specialists later confirmed that Sgt. Simonetti had indeed been found.

After 66 years, a lingering family mystery had been solved and news of the discovery was published around the world.

Sgt. Simonetti received a proper military burial before a group of nearly 100 family members at Arlington National Cemetery last October. “[There are] two miracles here,” Mr. Salerno told NY1 News. “One, that we found his body and got closure, and I know my grandmother and my mother and their siblings would feel so good about it. But the miracle of the family coming together as it used to be in the ’40s and the ’50s is equally as large.”

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Sons of Xavier

On the Road

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Frank Di Cola’s son, Paul, has joined Patsy’s Restaurant, making it the fourth generation now. Paul is the new social media director and has taken over all online operations. Mr. Di Cola invites all to visit at Patsys.com, as well as the restaurant’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

Bill Scorza, M.D., left UMDNJ for Lehigh Valley Health Network to become chief of obstetrics with maternal fetal medicine as a sub-specialty.

Tom McDonnell recently completed certification at the Institute for Preparing Heirs and has been named senior portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.

1974

Ernesto Marrero has a new title as of April 2009: corporate compliance officer for New York City Hospitals and Health Corporation.

1976 35th Class Reunion on May 13–14 Kevin Moynahan and his wife, Jane, live in Dallas, Ore., with three of their six children still living at home. Kevin has 28.

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Xavier President Jack Raslowsky and administrators have met with alumni, family members and friends throughout the country. Pictured here are alumni area receptions in: 1. Houston. 2. Atlanta.

3. Charlotte, N.C. and 4. Raleigh, N.C.

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been in Oregon for 30 years with a detour back east to work for the state of New Jersey in the late ’80s and early ’90s.

Mr. Moynahan currently works for the Army Corps of Engineers in Portland, Ore.

1977

Reid Muller, M.D., has moved to Albany after 21 years in the Syracuse area. His wife, Shelley, is in academic medicine in private practice. Their daughter, Aislinn, is finishing her junior year in pre-med at the University of North Carolina. His son, Reid, Jr., is a freshman at R.I.T. on a four-year marine option NROTC scholarship.

Thomas A. Becket married Diane Lewis in Grand Teton National Park on Aug. 9, 2010.

1979

Chris Perini as been named chief market officer at Verisk Analytics, Jersey City, N.J.

1981 30th Class Reunion on May 13–14 1982 John Polis has recently been named president and CEO of MergeSkills. com, a professional networking and matchmaking service for skilled professionals, entrepreneurs and investors.

1985

1978

Kevin McNamara is joining LG Electronics as vice president (commercial air conditioning business) and is relocating to Atlanta in 2011.

Dominick Gadaleta., M.D., was elected president of the New York State Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery Society.

While coming out to support the Xavier alumni runners taking part in the Tour of Duty charity run that finished in New York on Sept. 11, Mike Tolkin and Tim Walsh ran into former Australian Prime Minister John Howard. “We met him outside the Marriot before we all walked across

Class notes the Brooklyn Bridge at sunrise,” Tolkin wrote. “He was an avid rugby man in his younger days!”

1986

25th Class Reunion on May 13–14 Roberto Suarez was featured on the cover of the September 2010 issue of Benchmark Column, the alumni magazine for the Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

Mr. Suarez completed an 18-month assignment with the Marines as a military negotiator in Iraq gathering intelligence on misallocated funds. He received the Bronze Star and a letter of recommendation from General David Petraeus and is currently working at Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge, a law firm in Grand Rapids, Mich.

1987

Peter Mullen writes, “I stopped by Xavier today with my 6-year-old son, Patrick, and the JV basketball team was warming up. I got chills watching them! Those were special days and we are lucky to have those memories.”

1990

Michael and Karen Glynn and their children, Sean and Emily, are living in Rockville Center.

Lt. Col. Doug LeVien became a battalion commander at Fort Lewis, Seattle, Wash.

1991

20th Class Reunion on May 13–14 Anthony LaFia was promoted to senior vice president in finance in 2010 at Citigroup, where he recently reached the 10-year milestone.

John Giordano and his wife, Doreen, are living in Maryland near Fort Meade with their children, Caroline, 13, Catherine, 9 and Patrick, 2.

1992

Jimmy Ryan is serving as a sergeant/patrol supervisor with the Isle of Palms, S.C., Police Department. He is newly engaged to Lauren Ann Russell, a deputy with the Charleston, S.C., Sheriff ’s Office.

1993

Maj. Bernard J. Harrington and his wife, Jennifer, welcomed their first child, Jeremy Francis, on Aug. 10, 2010.

Maj. Harrington is currently deployed

as the operations officer for the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

1996

15th Class Reunion on May 13–14 1997

Brian McDermott writes that he is currently doing construction work at 1 World Trade Center, the Freedom Towers, as this great memorial to those who lost their lives on 9/11 is known. Mr. McDermott says it is inspiring to know that those who perished will finally have a place to be remembered.

2000

Jared Marinos is currently serving as assistant operations officer in 4-3 Avn. at Hunter Airfield in Savannah, Ga. He recently returned from Afghanistan after serving a second tour of duty as a UH-60 pilot in command.

2001

10th Class Reunion on May 13–14 Steve Mulvey is a police officer on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. He has two sons, Edward, 7, and Anthony, 4, and is happily married to his wife, Lauren.

2002

Mike Petri has signed a contract to play for the Newport Gwent Dragons rugby team in Wales. Mr. Petri told the South Wales Argus that he made the switch in hopes of getting more game time, something that, back at Xavier, his former coaches were very excited about.

2003

David del Cuadro-Zimmerman was promoted to captain and is serving as a helicopter pilot in Sharana, Afghanistan.

Andrew McCulloch, after graduating from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor with an Engineering degree, served as a lieutenant in Iraq and later in Afghanistan. He finished his service in December, 2010. After a brief time in Honolulu, he has returned to NYC. He plans to study for his MBA.

2004

Bobby Lynch is working as a registered nurse in the emergency room at Richmond University Medical Center,

Sullivan, the sister of 1st Lt. Neil Bucken USMC ’00, in front of the ice sculpture of her brother.

Finding a Way Home for the Holidays There was no way 1st Lt. Neil Bucken USMC ’00 would make it back to Staten Island for the holidays. For the better part of 2010, Bucken served with the Marines in southern Afghanistan and kept in touch with friends and family by phone, e-mail and Facebook.

When he heard that the only Christmas wish of his 11-year-old sister, Sullivan, was to have him back home, the Marine did something bold. Using a phone card, he reached Vincent Nuzzolese at Nuzzolese Brothers Ice Corp. in Hicksville, N.Y., and quickly explained his idea before the phone call cut off. On Dec. 23 at the Staten Island home of one of Lt. Bucken’s relatives — where his mother and sister were staying for the holidays — the Nuzzolese Brothers delivered a seven-foot-tall ice sculpture of him in uniform, and Sullivan got to see her brother right there in the backyard, holding a red rose.

“Neil kept asking his sister what his sister wanted for her birthday and Christmas but all she wanted was to see him,” said Lt. Bucken’s mother, Donna Sliwowski. “Even though he’s in the middle of a war, he’s thinking about making his sister feel loved, and we’re really proud of him.”

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Sons of Xavier Staten Island.

Jonathan Judge is president of the Brooklyn Young Republicans Club and was profiled in Brooklyn Tomorrow, a newspaper that featured young people from that borough who are destined to be movers and shakers in the future.

2005

Sgt. William P. Lembo, serving in the U.S. Army 2nd Airborne Division, is scheduled to be deployed for a second time to Afghanistan late summer/early fall of 2011.

Max Fucci recently gave Xavier a donation in memory of his father Bill, who died in January, 2010. Mr. Fucci currently works for Major League Baseball and looks forward to many seasons to come.

2006

5th Class Reunion on May 13 Christopher Foo graduated from Fordham University with a bachelor’s degree in Finance in May, 2010.

2007

Seamus Campbell was named the deputy director of communications of the New York State Democrats.

Joseph Caputo, a senior Biology major at Stony Brook University, is currently applying to medical schools and already has some acceptances.

Cadet Lt. Michael Chiaia received his first branch choice, Aviation, at West Point.

He is looking forward to attending flight school after graduation and hopes to fly the Apache Attack helicopter.

Nicholas Hendra is playing his final year of Division I basketball at American University in Washington, D.C., and is hoping for a Patriot League title one more time.

Mergim Selimaj is in his second year at Fordham University and works as a volunteer EMT on campus. He writes, “It’s tough, but extremely rewarding in the end because you have the opportunity to save someone’s life. That’s something not a lot of people get to say very often.”

2008

Vincent Azzarelli is at Scranton University studying Communications. He has his own radio show at the university, a 30.

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variety/talk show he hopes will lead to him becoming a talk show host someday.

Jerome Bivona is a student in the Business School at Fairfield University.

Mike Larkin is studying Communications at Scranton and is a news anchor on the university news program. He also has a talk radio show that covers everything from sports to movies.

Stephen Vorgolakos is a student at Lafayette College and is still looking out for his brother, a sophomore at Xavier.

Charles Pepe will be interning on Wall Street with Barclay’s Capital this summer.

Michael Rees, in his junior year at American University, will be studying abroad in London for the spring 2011 semester.

Daniel Guzzino is attending the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, majoring in Sports Medicine.

2009

Stephan D’Urso is participating in the Army ROTC and is a Legal Studies major at Niagara University.

Patrick Cortes is a sophomore at Pace University and is majoring in Computer Information Technology.

Patrick Burbano is working with Senior Care EMS while studying Pre-med at Hunter College.

Jordan Elie-Vieux is at Penn State University working toward a Business major in the Smeal Business School.

Benjamin Hom started his own video production company, DLT Productions, doing comedy sketch videos on the Internet.

Liam Navin is majoring in Linguistics and Fine Arts at Boston College and will be in Venice this summer studying Philosophy.

Serge Efap is studying at Syracuse University, where he claims it is way colder than he ever could have imagined.

David Campmier is attending Adelphi University Honors College and is an NCAA athlete in track and field.

Michael Kaye is a Finance major at Saint Joseph’s University.

Thomas Bedard received training from Accuweather and the Weather Channel in broadcast meteorology recently and now broadcasts the weather for the Penn State campus weather service and Penn State TV (Channel 14). He also forecasts on the Campus Weather Service for the State of Pennsylvania.

Christopher Corrado is at Stevens Institute of Technology studying Computer Engineering.

Andrew Murano is on the wrestling team at Franklin and Marshall University.

Christian Guignard is studying nursing at City Tech, Brooklyn, N.Y. Peter Orphanides is a freshman at Syracuse University.

Nicholas Ciminelli worked as a lifeguard over the summer and helped his brother adjust to freshman year at Xavier.

Peter Insdorf writes, “College is a great time, and I felt that Xavier definitely prepared me.”

Keith Zoufaly has been studying Technical Theater at Ithaca College, where they recently closed “Chicago.” Broadway designer Tony Menda returned to work with the Ithaca students.

Andrew Fitzgerald writes, “I spent the summer relaxing, but now I feel like Stephen Hawking in college!”

Bradley Rhyins is a sophomore at Old Dominion University in southern Virginia and is enjoying being what he suspects is the first Xavier student ever to go there!

2010

Khorese Mendoza is studying Engineering while he is getting his license in Real Estate.

Raphael Henriquez is an English major at Saint Peter’s College.

Evan Espinoza writes, “Xavier graduation was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I will always cherish walking down that long line in Saint Patrick’s.” ________________________________ Have you submitted a Class Note lately?

If not, submit one for an upcoming issue of Alumnews by emailing classnotes@ xavierhs.org.

Class notes

Mileposts Births Keren Victoria-May Riddick, born Nov. 2, 2010 to LaKisha and Carlton Riddick ’88.

Aaron Miguel Rodrigues, born Oct. 5, 2009 to Dolores and Kenneth Rodrigues ’89.

Kyle Aiden Tartaglia, born May 7, 2010 to Mike Tartaglia ’82.

Michael Connor Triscuizzi, born Sept. 1, 2010 to Michael Triscuizzi ’96.

In Memoriam Alumni Patrick T. McGirr ’41, July 7, 2010.

John B. Hart ’43, Aug. 8, 2010.

James T. Molloy ’43, July 22, 2010.

John L. Vorbach ’43, July 8, 2010.

Leonard J. Cummings ’45, May 13, 2010.

Raymond Walsh ’45, Oct. 17, 2010.

Frank Maguire ’51, April 12, 2010.

Stanley Joyce ’52, Aug. 4, 2010.

Patrick F. Foley ’55, Nov. 17, 2010.

Daniel J. Healy ’57, June 29, 2010.

Michael J. Stiso ’59, July 31, 2010.

Lawrence J. Cahill ’60, Sept. 9, 2010.

Lawrence X. Kennedy ’62, Jan. 1, 2011.

Douglas R. White ’65, Aug. 28, 2010.

Daniel McCarthy ’71, Feb. 14, 2011.

Sean F. Sullivan ’73, Sept. 15, 2010.

Carolyn Leigh Sottnik, born May 27, 2010 and Lillian Rose Sottnik, born May 28, 2010, to Tara and John Carolyn Leigh and Lillian Sottnik ’88.

Rose Sottnik Matthew John Brenkovich, born June 8, 2010 to Stacie and John Brenkovich ’87.

Jason Alexander Guster, born July 3, 2010 to Keri and Edward Guster ’89.

Edwin Dinsmore, father of Robert ’66, Brian ’69 and Stephen ’72, Dec. 15, 2010.

Rose Mirabelli Facelle, wife of Thomas Facelle ’46, Sept. 12, 2010.

Michael Gilmartin, father of Patrick ’11, Dec. 24, 2010.

Lorraine Glanowski, mother-in-law of Michael LiVigni, Xavier headmaster, Sept. 27, 2010.

Enrique Gonzalez, Sr., father of Enrique ’01, Nov. 16, 2010.

Kenneth Haines, father of Daniel ’03 and Jonathan ’06, Oct. 24, 2010.

Robert Higgins, father of Thomas ’09, Oct. 11, 2010.

Dorothy Maguire, mother of John ’77 and Robert ’73, July 16, 2010.

James McDonough, Sr., father of James ’85, on Dec. 11, 2010.

Delores McElligott, mother of John ’68, July 4, 2010.

Edward Roget ’75, Aug. 13, 2010.

Judy McLane, mother of Bruce ’85, June 21, 2010.

Capt. Juan (Murphy) Lightfoot, USA ’95, Dec. 12, 2010.

Ann Catherine Scavullo, sister of Robert ’60, Sept. 1, 2010.

Family

Dr. Margaret Smith, mother of Matthew Ferguson ’76, Terrence Ferguson ’77 and Timothy Ferguson ’82, July 5, 2010.

Battista Alberti, father of Giovanni ’06, Nov. 21, 2010.

Richard Brown, brother of Barbara Ciulla of the Xavier advancement office, Aug. 10, 2010.

Carole Callahan, wife of Thomas ’62, June 21, 2010.

Edward Paul Dandorph, father of Kenneth ’63, Oct. 4, 2010.

Theresa and Michael Ferguson, sister-inlaw and brother of Matthew ’76, Terrence ’77, and Timothy ’82, July 5, 2010.

Cecil G. Woehling, mother of Henry ’55, Oct. 11, 2010.

REMEMBRANCES Capt. Juan E. Lightfoot, USMC ’95 returned to Xavier on Nov. 24 for the first time in several years. Capt. Lightfoot, who was known as Juan Murphy while attending Xavier, spent more than two Capt. Juan E. Lightfoot, USMC ’95 hours talking with the regimental command about his recent commission as a Green Beret. Just two weeks later on Dec. 8 he suffered an injury during a training exercise at Fort Bragg. N.C., that led to his death four days later. He was 34.

It was in the Xavier Regiment where Capt. Lightfoot first felt the call to serve.

The highly decorated officer attended the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course in 2008, resulting in his transfer in 2010 to the Army 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group — known simply as the Green Berets.

Capt. Lightfoot leaves his parents, Denise Carter and Damian Gennino, sister Lenette Battista, grandparents Earl and Loretta Carter and aunt, Lynn Laws.

Daniel McCarthy ’71, a leading prosecutor in New York City for more than 30 years, died of a heart attack on Feb. 14. He was 57 years old.

In legal circles the Xavier alumnus was respected and admired for his empathy, trial strategies and moving closing arguments. Awarded the prestigious New York State Prosecutor of the Year award in 2005, McCarthy won hundreds of cases.

While many of his colleagues sought more lucrative work in private practice, McCarthy, who served as assistant district attorney in Queens and the Bronx, said he could not stop seeking justice for victims.

McCarthy leaves his wife, Veronica, as well as two brothers and four sisters.

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Back STORY

Raiders Dominate

Xavier Raider Unit Commander Jonathan Kelly ’11 and Executive Officer Randy Valencia ’11.

There are no woods or obstacle courses in Downtown Manhattan, yet when it comes to Land Navigation competitions, the Raider Unit at Xavier dominates.

Raider Commander Jonathan Kelly ’11 and Executive Officer Randy Valencia ’11 say the physical fitness branch of the JROTC has to be extremely resourceful. Pillars in the cafeteria substitute for trees in training for the Rope Bridge portion of competitions and Raiders’ navigation 32.

Xavier Magazine

skills are well honed from riding the subway each day.

The team won the City Championships in 2010, beating outer borough rivals with plenty of open space, and qualified for the Brigade Championships in Fort Dix, N.J. for the first time in Xavier history. Describing their regimen as “sometimes strenuous, most times tiring, but always exhilarating,” the Manhattan Men are training for a repeat in 2011.

X

Maroon and Blue saw Rodger Shay ’54 through.

That’s why he gives to the Annual Fund.

Rodger Shay ’54 thought he would have to leave Xavier when his father passed away

the summer before his junior year. Instead,

the Jesuits of Xavier stepped in and made it

possible for Rodger to complete his education.

The Son of Xavier never forgot what Maroon and Blue did for him and has supported the Annual Fund every year since its inception in 1982. “I’ve tried to do as much as I could,” says Rodger, “to allow others in a similar situation to complete their education at Xavier.”

To join Rodger in making a gift to the 2011 Annual Fund, call (212) 901-5151, or visit xavierhsalumni.org.

Xavier High School

2 0 1 1 A n n ua l F u n d

Rodger Shay ’54

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