Survey Follow-Up
by Craig Katinas ’93, Alumni Development Director
In the June 29th issue of The Beehive, the Stanner Alumni Center conducted an online survey for alumni, family and friends to contribute their opinions and help us make improvements to better serve the Stanner community. We are truly grateful to the hundreds of you who took the time to participate in this survey. We thank you for the overall high marks the Stanner Alumni Center received in regards to sharing Stanner stories from the classroom all the way to the boardroom. The Beehive would not have had consistently solid stories without you taking a hands-on role in sharing what is going on in the lives of our 20,000+ Stanners. We encourage our alumni, faculty, parents (past and present) and friends of Molloy to continue to contact us, attend one of our many events, and visit Molloy whenever you have the opportunity. The Stanner Alumni Center learned that you…
- … are enjoying the many current and new opportunities for Stanners to connect personally and professionally.
- … would like to see more information about our professional networks, class reunions, and social events as they become available.
- … prefer communications from Molloy to be provided through the Beehive, then Direct Mail, followed by our Social Network Groups.
- … would like to learn more about volunteer opportunities to help Archbishop Molloy High School with events for alumni, open house, and beyond.
- … 25% of survey takers did not receive the annual magazine – Stanner Life.
With such a staggering number of responses indicating many of you are not receiving our largest publication, it caused the Stanner Alumni Center, and our IT Department, to analyze our database and determine how we can make improvements. It was concluded that we need your help to ensure that we have the most up-to-date information available for you to receive our communications throughout the year. With the help of our current students we will be conducting a Data-Thon via telephone this Fall to contact as many of our Alumni, Parents (Past and Present), and Friends to confirm the information we have on file is accurate. We ask all of you to please answer this call from our students and help us update our records.
Our Friends at the Columbus Citizens Foundation
Archbishop Molloy High School is fortunate enough to work with several different organizations throughout the school year in an effort to help its students succeed. One of Molloy’s stronger relationships exists with the Columbus Citizens Foundation (CCF), a non-profit organization based in NYC that is committed to “fostering an appreciation of Italian-American heritage and achievement.” How is this accomplished? While their philanthropic efforts are certainly multifaceted, one of the biggest ways in which they help the Italian-American community at large is through its young people. The CCF has provided up to $2 million per year in scholarship awards for the benefit of 650 Italian-American students at various education levels – an ambitious endeavor that includes a number of students here at Molloy.
This year, 4 incoming freshmen have received significant 4 year scholarships from the CCF thanks to their wonderful generosity. Also offering his support once again is Mr. Frank Fortino, a proud sponsor of Molloy students through the Foundation. Though not an alumnus, Mr. Fortino, as well as the CCF at large, believes in the mission of Archbishop Molloy High School and wishes to help give qualifying students the right to CCF scholarships. It is easy to see why the CCF would be impressed with Molloy considering some of the prestigious Stanners that have supported the CCF over the years. The late Cesar Taormina ’47, a very dedicated Molloy alumnus, was also a very distinguished member of the CCF, who in 1967 contributed to the renovation of the organization’s Manhattan townhouse. Recently, Molloy President Richard Karsten ’81 visited the CCF to discuss further building a lasting relationship with our school. Representing the foundation were President Frank Fusaro, organizational ambassadors David Iommarini and Carl Simoni, and Daniel Cavagnaro, Scholarship Program Coordinator for the CCF. Each member expressed their pleasure in working with Molloy and its students and look forward to helping more Italian-American Stanners achieve their academic goals. “The Columbus Citizens Foundation is a strong ally of Archbishop Molloy High School,” says President Karsten. “They believe in our Stanners because of Molloy’s tremendous track record for produce some of the top minds in the professional world. Everyone at Molloy is very gracious for their tremendous generosity and support.”
Around the School
A Celebration
The beginning of every school year always presents its fair share of challenges. Freshmen must adjust to their new surroundings, sophomores attempt to avoid resembling the “wise fools” their title implies, juniors prepare for their toughest academic year, and seniors realize they must truly cherish their remaining time at Molloy. Alumni thinking back to their high school days will recall how tough the school year can be. Between exams, athletics, after school activities and trips to Esopus, there is always something going on. While getting through it all can be exhausting and sometimes cause one’s focus to wane, Molloy offers students some perspective in September to help them stay on track. Each class year gathers for its own Liturgy, which offers a few moments to reflect on where they have been, where they are going, and how important it is to help each other along the way.
Fr. Robert Whelan, of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament in Bayside, described the Junior Liturgy as a celebration like any other. It is a time to come together joyfully in Jesus’ name and to pray for each other as they embark on facing the many challenges on the road ahead. Student speakers during each Liturgy emphasized that their classes celebrate Mass together only a handful of times over their 4 years at Molloy. In this way, they must never take for granted the time they have together. Special thanks to Director of Campus Ministry Mr. Mike Germano ’93, our senior Eucharistic Ministers, Celebrants Fr. Whelan, Fr. Lachlan Cameron of St. Rose of Lima and Fr. Tom Pettei of St. Nicholas of Tolentine, Molloy’s junior/senior chorus and Mr. Jim Sheehan for all of their work preparing this week’s Liturgies. You can view a performance of Stanner favorite, “Envia Tu Espiritu”, sung by our talented junior/senior chorus in the video below:
PRESS RELEASE — National Merit Scholarship Awards
Brother Thomas Schady , Principal, announced this week that Joseph R. Ingrassia, Aislinn M. Messina, Manpreet K. Sachdev and Mario S. Stefanidis have been named Commended Students in the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program. A Letter of Commendation from the Molloy and National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), which conducts the program, has been presented to these scholastically talented senior students.
About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2013 competition by taking the 2011 Preliminary SAT/Nation Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). “Recognizing academically talented students plays a fundamental role in the advancement of educational excellence within our nation,” commented an NMSC spokesperson. “The young people recognized as Commended Students represent some of the best and brightest minds in the country as demonstrated by their outstanding performance in our highly competitive program. We sincerely hope this recognition will provide them with additional educational outlets and motivate them in their pursuit of academic achievement.”
Non scholae sed vitae
“We tend to look and be conscious of God in the big things in life, but almost every experience we have, good or bad, can be thought about in spiritual terms – and we find that God is with us.” These words describe the perspective of Bob Corrigan ‘63, a Stanner Hall of Famer and an individual deeply rooted in faith. Bob is also the author of Always With Us: Recognizing God’s Presence in Everyday Life, a reflective piece in which Bob explores his own personal experiences as well as the experiences of others to identify how and why God can be present in our everyday lives when we may not expect it. “My intent in writing this book is to get people to think about God in their own lives – to not only look for him in significant events such as birth and death, but in the everyday occurrences of life. It’s based on Jesus’ promise to be with us always,” explains Bob, who learned much from the Marist Brothers at Molloy. “There are a number of Molloy stories in the book involving Br. Leo Richard, Br. Terence, my track coach Frank Rienzo, and even my good friend Tom Konchalski ’64.” Bob also makes references to Pope John Paul II, former Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson, and British Triple Jumper Jonathan Edwards. Bob explores how these people dealt with certain circumstances in their lives and how God was always present even in the darkest of times.
“Every story in the book is true. In fact the epilogue deals with September 11th, 2001, and somehow finding God within that terrible day,” explains Bob. “The book itself came from a difficult situation in my life, but working on it reminded to turn to God, and once I did that, everything fell into place.” This is at the forefront of Bob’s writing, and it was built by the faith he was instilled with at Molloy. Other Stanners helped Bob with the book along the way, including Msgr. John McGuirl ’63, a classmate of Bob’s who wrote the Foreword, and Fr. John Serio ’71, who read an early draft and provided suggestions. Joe Adamec ’63 also provided thoughts to Bob after reading early drafts of the book. Br. James Maher also provided a ringing endorsement for the back cover. All of the men just referenced, by the way, sit alongside Bob in the Stanner Hall of Fame. “Their reactions were very helpful,” says Bob, whose trust in and support of the Stanner community has never been in doubt. Bob’s book is available for purchase on Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com.
Class Updates
Have you ever wondered how the federal government has been able to grow so large, cumbersome, and intrusive? Doug Lising ’63 is the author of Remember Roscoe Filburn, a book that answers that question and suggests an amendment to tighten the Commerce Clause, the section of the Constitution that has been most often used by Congress to in Doug’s words, “(over)regulate many areas of the economy.” Book reviewer Steven Laib, of the Intellectual Conservative, called this “a serious work of legal and political importance.” Doug is now trying to further spread the word. The book may be downloaded for FREE at www.rememberrf.com or purchased as a physical print on Amazon.com for $10. Doug would be happy to receive any feedback regarding the book at dlising@rememberrf.com.
Mike Gaertner ’69 and his wife Marianne are proud to announce the birth of their first grandchild, Charlotte Nina Gaertner, on 8/16/12 in San Francisco. Charlotte is the daughter of Katie and Mike Gaertner Jr. Back at Molloy, Mike Sr. had one of the longest daily commutes to Molloy for four years, traveling all the way from Huntington, Long Island. And as much as the new grandpa would like Charlotte to become a future Stanner, Mike thinks the commute from San Francisco may be a bit much. Congrats to the Gaertner family! Congrats to the Gaertner family!
This past summer, Johannes Knoops ‘80, now an Assistant Professor at FIT, was selected for a highly competitive 5-week Summer seminar with the National Endowment for the Humanities. Held at the American Academy in Rome, one of our country’s most prestigious institutions of independent-research abroad, the NEH carefully chooses 16 scholars representing widely varied disciplines – from Archeology to Philosophy and Judaic studies. Titled “Communications, Empire and the City of Rome” this rigorous seminar was an interdisciplinary non-stop dialogue through readings, seminar discussions, field trips and guest lectures. In addition to the group’s collaborative work, each participant pursued their own independent research under the guidance of two seminar directors.
We are saddened to share news of the passing of Mr. James Gambino ’77, brother of John ’79 and faculty member Frank Gambino ’74. James passed on September 15th. The Gambino family asks of the members of our Stanner community to pray for James.
Mr. Jose Sanchez, father of senior Sean Sanchez ’13, has passed away. Please pray for Mr. Sanchez, Sean and their family.