Over $30K Raised For Future Stanners at Br. Ron Marcellin Scholarship Dinner
The Molloy community gathered on Sunday, January 18th to start off 2015 by doing more good work. This time, our alumni and friends gave charitably in support of the Brother Ron Marcellin Memorial Scholarship. As many know, Br. Ron, a member of St. Ann’s Class of 1952, was one of the most popular faculty members at Molloy. He earned a prominent place in the hearts of many Stanners because of the respect, dignity, and care he gave to each and every student. His work in and out of the classroom left students feeling more confident and able to face the challenges of their teenage years and young adulthood. His work in SMILE, Something More in Life’s Experience, is particularly revered among graduates who continue to draw inspiration from his lessons. In light of Br. Ron’s passing in 1993 after a battle against cancer, the Molloy community endowed the scholarship in Br. Ron’s name. This scholarship carries on his legacy of care and guidance by affording students facing extraordinary circumstances in their lives the opportunity to attend Molloy. The scholarship also ensures funding for the mental health and well-being of a student in need. It is an important scholarship that has made it possible for students to forge their education in the Marist tradition, which has made it a rewarding endeavor for the members of our community who have supported it for many years. (Pictured: President Richard Karsten ’81, Mike McGuire ’81, Enrica Cotellessa ’15 and Edwin Casmir ’13)
This year’s dinner, hosted at Trinity Restaurant & Bar in Floral Park, saw over 50 alumni, parents, and friends in attendance. Also joining in the celebration were two recent recipients of the Br. Ron Scholarship, Edwin Casmir ’13 and Enrica Cotellessa ’15, who chatted with the men and women who helped make it possible for them to be Stanners. As the event unfolded, attendees purchased 50/50 raffle tickets and bid on a variety of live auction items including St. John’s Red Storm and New York Rangers tickets, a custom embossed Stanner wooden office chair, and floor seats for a U2 concert. Also receiving bids were several wine and bourbon packages featuring top shelf products: Bellavista ‘Alma’ Franciacorta NV, Goldschmidt ‘Hilary’ Cabernet, Chateau Bel Air Haut-Medoc 2010, Jefferson Oceans aged at Sea, Bulleit Bourbon Frontier Limited Release…just to name a few.
Typically the Br. Ron scholarship is awarded to just one individual, selected from a group of qualifying students, every other year. This choice is made after a review of all candidates by the Br. Ron Marcellin Committee, which represents alumni and friends of Molloy. In 2015, there were several students in need that not only qualified, but whose stories touched the hearts of every member of the Committee. As a result, the decision was made to award the scholarship for a second straight year and expand to help two students who truly needed the support of our community. “Because of some extraordinary contributions from people who have given to the Ron fund, we are going to award two scholarships this year. Both children will attend Molloy for four years on full scholarships,” said Mike McGuire ’81, a member of the committee and co-owner at Trinity’s. The ability to award two scholarships was made possible by the generosity of our Stanners and friends who raised over $30K through this year’s event. It is a sign that the respect, dignity and care that Br. Ron gave students throughout his career has endured through those he taught. Molloy extends its sincerest thanks to all who have given so generously to the Br. Ron Marcellin Memorial Scholarship in 2015 and over the past 20 years. Browse some photos below or see the full photo gallery on Facebook. (Pictured: Craig Katinas ’93 unveils a custom chair auctioned off at the Br. Ron Marcellin Scholarship Dinner, donated by Judge David Hawkins ’86)
View Full Photo Gallery from the Br. Ron Marcellin Scholarship Dinner
Marist Brothers Featured in New Diocesan Production Celebrating the Year of Consecrated Life
The Diocese of Brooklyn is celebrating the Year of Consecrated Life, an event declared by Pope Francis to be recognized throughout 2015. “During this special year we celebrate the gift of Consecrated Life to the Church worldwide,” said Br. Mike Sheerin, a former teacher at Molloy who currently serves as the Director of Marist Vocations. “In the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens, there are 100 different communities of Brothers, Sisters and Priests serving the people in the diocese in a variety of ministries.” With more than 3,000 Catholic Marist Brothers around the world, their dedication to making Jesus known and loved through the education of young people is part of the celebration. Marist Brothers are educators, counselors, spiritual directors, social workers, youth leaders and missionaries. Every day they influence and transform the lives and situations of thousands of young people through education and spirituality, challenging young people to live their fullest potential in Christ. “Wake Up the World” is a special video series that celebrates all religious communities and their unique missions during this Year of Consecrated Life. Check out their most recent video below which features Molloy’s own Br. Pat Hogan and Br. Jim Norton ‘63 as well as Br. Mike Sheerin. The video is also being aired on NET, the TV channel of the diocese. More information can be found at the Marist Brothers new and improved website at www.maristbr.com, or if you are a male alum between the ages of 18 and 40 and would like to talk about our Marist Brother vocation for yourself, please contact Br. Mike Sheerin or Br. Dan O’Riordan ‘85 at vocations@maristbr.com.
SMILE to Celebrate 50 Impactful Years
- When: Saturday, March 21st | 4:00 PM
- Where: Archbishop Molloy High School
- REGISTRATION NOW CLOSED
For many current students and alumni, the resource of the SMILE Program is and was a major turning point in their lives. The guidance, love, and friendship of the various counselors in the program have helped many people become who they are today. For many Molloy alumni, feeling Brother Leo’s unconditional love and acceptance was crucial at the most vulnerable point in their lives as teenagers. From 1964 until his death in 1995, Brother Leo gave his life to teaching teenagers about self-esteem and dealing with problems in their lives through a positive mental attitude. His mantra of “loving who you are and being who you are” and his life’s mission of kids helping kids in a community-like setting had a dramatic effect on the lives of students for over three decades. The idea of peer counseling was revolutionary in the early 1970’s and has been a model in the mental health field for many practitioners since then. Brother Leo’s faith in God and trust in the goodness and worth of each human being served as inspiration to us all. Many alumni have entered the teaching or mental health profession because of the SMILE Program and Brother Leo’s legacy. (Pictured: Br. Leo Richard, Mrs. Sheila Murphy, and SMILE students)
Leo’s vision still impacts students today as Mr. Chris Dougherty ’91, SMILE Program Director and Guidance Department Head, is committed to carrying the program forward in the vision of the program’s founders. Once a peer group leader himself, Mr. Dougherty now works with several other counselors including Ms. Kristen DeSantis, Ms. Rachel Galla, Mr. Ted McGuinness and Ms. Christine Loo, to address the needs of a variety of students seeking help. SMILE Weekly, a group discussion held once per week, is open to any students wishing to attend. Topics are voted on and range from current events, to school related stress, to general issues teens face, and more. A recent SMILE Weekly discussion focused on the events in Ferguson, Missouri, and prompted students to talk about what it meant for their world. Alumni are also invited to participate in SMILE activities, many of whom did so when they were students at Molloy. SMILE DC (Dearest Child) United is a bereavement group open to students suffering from the losses of parents or family members. Additional SMILE groups help students dealing with social assertiveness, extraordinary circumstances at home or personally. Whatever the issue, students benefit a great deal from these SMILE meetings and leave with renewed confidence. These are lessons that often aren’t part of any curriculum. (Pictured left to right: Chris Dougherty, Fr. Ed Doran, Dr. Pat Murphy, Br. Stephen Urban, Mrs. Sheila Murphy, and Br. Francis Regis)
Mr. Dougherty and students also keep past SMILE traditions alive as they participate in a walk to the World Trade Center in lieu of the traditional Walkathon each October. “Leo was famous for his transformative walks, so we continue to relive that aspect of SMILE today,” said Mr. Dougherty, who also referenced SMILE teaming with the St. Marcellin Champagnat Society to clean up the Rockaways and Breezy Point following Hurricane Sandy. “In SMILE we try to expose the kids to things they may otherwise not have considered. Having them participate with SMCS promoted leaving their comfort zone and taught them how gratifying volunteering can be.
Above: Chris Dougherty with a modern SMILE group.
“As Co-Chair of the SMILE 50th Anniversary Celebration, my thoughts extend to the “founders” we will be honoring and where the program will go in the next 50 years,” said Joe Egan. “It is a memorial, reunion, and celebration of what has been accomplished and what will be done in the future. It is a one-time, all-time event marking a significant milestone, but also an event to make connections so we can carry forward the longest standing non-athletic program in the Molloy/St. Ann’s history. We want current students and more recent alumni to have an appreciation that they are a part of something bigger.”
SMILE will celebrate its 50th anniversary on Saturday, March 21st here at Molloy. Admission is free, and we would like to see all our alumni who have benefited from the program over the years.
Around the School
Molloy Welcomes New Finance Director
With the end of 2014 came with the retirement of Molloy’s CFO and good friend Chris Nassau. Chris was a member of Molloy’s finance staff for over 10 years and brought great knowledge and consistency to the school’s financial operations. Now in retirement, Chris is enjoying the weather down in sunny Florida. Everyone at Molloy wishes Chris the best of luck in retirement.
Filling Molloy’s new role of Finance Director will be Bob McCormack. Bob previously worked as a financial director with St. Joseph High School in Brooklyn and fulfilled several roles at The Bank of New York Mellon including Accounting Manager, Relationship Manager, and Portfolio Manager. Bob brings a unique perspective and fresh approach to Molloy and joins Controller William Armstrong and Senior Accountant Br. Joseph Sacino in serving Molloy and its community.
Track Athletes Excel
Molloy’s track & field coaching staff would like to publicly congratulate their athletes on more great performances this winter. The boys and girls Varsity track teams have both won the Brooklyn/Queens Sectional Championships. In addition, the Varsity Girls track team earned a milestone win, taking home the first ever NY City Championship, which is the NY and BQ Diocesan Championships that were combined by the league. Individual standouts Sarah Kowpak ’16 and Jared Lovelace ’15 continued to impress and were voted the city meets’ most outstanding athletes.
Stephania Guzman ‘11 and Derek Sokolowski ‘11 (both pictured) presented scientific research at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) in San Antonio, Texas. Stephania and Derek are both currently studying Forensic Science with a Concentration in Molecular Biology and are Honors Students at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. They were given the opportunity to travel to the conference as part of their internship in the Program for Research in Science and Mathematics (PRISM). Stephania presented research on how time of death can be determined by using the microbiome, the bacterial environment on the human skin, which would be considered another tool to the T.O.D. toolkit of body temperature. Derek presented research on a possible revolutionary forensics kit that would be able to identify pollen and leaf samples from plants based on specific DNA sequences. This kit would remove the ambiguity that is present with Forensic Botany, which would be identification based on physical characteristics – something that may not be found definitive among scientists. “I think Mr. Sheldon would be proud,” said Derek.
Steven Rodriguez ’03 is currently located in Washington DC. After recently getting more involved in the DC startup community, Steve participated in the DC Startup Weekend, where the social enterprise he is associated with, called Releventz, won first place and advanced to the final round of a global online voting competition. Releventz is an online and mobile platform that encourages users to raise funds for social causes during parties while connecting brands and consumers. Click here for more on the startup cooked up by Steve and his team. In 2015, Steve’s goal is to develop his own startup that will make web, marketing, and business strategies more affordable for small businesses.
We regret to share news of the passing of Thomas Birmingham, brother of Br. Eugene Birmingham. We ask that the Molloy community please keep the Birmingham family in its prayers during this difficult time.
We are saddened to share the passing of Margaret Ziehl-Thompson, mother of Bill Ziehl ’81 and grandmother of John Ziehl ‘18, on January 23, 2015. Margaret was a resident of Floral park (formerly of Garden City). She was the prior owner of Ziehl Associates and Co-founder with Jeanne and Jan of J-J’s Dance Studio. She was the first woman President of the Floral Park Chamber of Commerce and Floral Park Lions Club. Beloved wife of Philip. Loving mother of Jeanne (Gus) Sawicki, Joan (Janet) Ziehl, Jan (Kevin) Greene, Bill (Karen) Ziehl. Cherished grandmother of Billy, Jess and Chris Sawicki, Heather, Brian, Stephen, Julia and Jaime Greene, Charlie, John and Kiera Ziehl. Please keep Margaret and her family in your prayers.
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