VOLUME VIII, ISSUE I
2012-2013
S T. SMEBASTIAN’S
AG A Z I N E
2012 Varsity Football
An undefeated season and a
NEPSAC Championship Title
2012-2013
Board of Trustees
Seán Cardinal O’Malley, OFM. Cap.
Chairman
James L. Elcock ʼ77, P’08
President
William L. Burke III P ʼ95,’97,’00,’04
Executive Officer, Headmaster
Douglas A. Kingsley, P’10,’10,’12,’13
Secretary
Timothy J. McCarthy, Jr. ʼ81, P’10
Treasurer
22
Features
Departments
22
An Eternal Brotherhood
4
25
We’re All in this Together
8Discourse
38
Growing Together
12
Arrows in the News
39
My Second Family
18
Science, Math & Library Center
42
Guest Speakers
New Faces on Campus
48 Fine Arts
50Athletics
58
In Memoriam
J. Devin Birmingham ʼ84, P’14
David M. Calabro ʼ78, P’16
Devin C. Condron ʼ92
William T. Connolly, Jr. P’10,’12
John DeMatteo II P’11,’13,’16,’18
John P. DiGiovanni ʼ84, P’14
Mark E. Donovan P’07,’09
Kevin F. Driscoll ʼ72, P’05,’09
Sr. Janet Eisner, SND
Patrick J. Hegarty ʼ89
Jane M. Hoch P’07
Edward J. Hoff P’11,’13
Wayne M. Kennard P’08
Rev. Brian R. Kiely
John A. Mannix ʼ74
Mark L. O’Friel ʼ79
William A. O’Malley P’09,’10,’13
Stuart D. Porter
Kristin E. Reed P’15,’17
Robert M. Wadsworth P’10,’15
Stephen P. Ward ‘96
Celeste E. Wolfe P’09,’12
Arlene F. Marano P’13
President, Guild of St. Irene
St. Sebastian’s School Mission Statement
A Catholic independent school, St. Sebastian’s seeks to engage young men in the pursuit of
truth through faith and reason. By embracing Gospel values in an inclusive, nurturing community and by inspiring intellectual excellence in a structured liberal arts curriculum, St. Sebastian’s strives to empower students for success in college and in life. The ideal St. Sebastian’s
graduate will be a moral and just person, a gentleman of courage, honor, and wisdom, a lifelong learner who continues to grow in his capacity to know, to love, and to serve God and
neighbor.
Credits
St. Sebastian’s Magazine publishes 3 times a year.
Photos by Peter Breslin ’13, Marshall Goldin,
Sean Hennessy, Dan Tobin.
2 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume V, Issue I
St Sebastian’s School
1191 Greendale Ave
Needham, MA 02492
Brian S. Strachan P’11,’14
President, Men’s Association
John E. McNamara ʼ81, P’14,’18
President, Alumni Association
Most Reverend John P. Boles ʼ47
James A. Cotter, Jr. ʼ57
J. Brad Griffith ʼ58
Frank M. Ward P’96
Trustee Emeriti
From the desk
of the headmaster
Wil l ia m L . Bu rk e I I I
“Whoever loves God must also love
his brother.”
—1 John 4:21
T
he Greeks knew to the full how bitter life is as well as how sweet. Joy and sorrow,
exultation and tragedy, stand hand in hand in Greek literature, but there is no contradiction involved thereby. Those who do not know the one do not really know the
other either. It is the depressed, the gray-minded people, who cannot rejoice just as they cannot agonize. (Edith Hamilton ~ The Greek Way)
I am happy to report that we don’t have “gray-minded” people at St. Sebastian’s. We
experience and express the full range of emotions, rejoicing and agonizing and sometimes
just sitting together. We work through what must be worked through, and we labor not
alone.
In his Corporate Chapel address on January 2, 2013, Tommy McCabe ’13 shared that
although he had suffered much through two hip surgeries and seemingly interminable
recovery periods during his time here, there was always a fellow Arrow to carry his book
bag, to push his wheelchair, or to get him lunch, and he offered these words: If you’re an
Arrow, you’ll never have to go through anything alone for the rest of your life. What a perfect
expression of theme for this issue of our magazine, which celebrates the unique Arrow
brotherhood! With granduncle Gerry Giblin ’51 and uncles, Tom Giblin ’75, Walter “Bud”
Giblin ’76, and Jim Giblin ’78 and younger brother Jimmy ’17 experiencing the beautiful
truth before him and with him, Tommy knows well of what he speaks.
And what a happy ending! After missing several seasons of sports, Tommy was able to
play on our ISL and New England Bowl championship football team this year, and did he
ever rejoice with his teammates!
Along with testimony of the integrity, the beauty, and the truth of the St. Sebastian’s
brotherhood, you will read of high academic achievement and of great successes in the arts, in
athletics, and in a host of extracurricular programs and activities, you will be treated to photos
and copy of dedication ceremonies in our phenomenally beautiful new facilities, which
continue to exceed our highest expectations, and you will read of engaging guest speakers and
of other exciting aspects of life at your School.
Please know how much we appreciate all that our students, their families, our faculty
and staff, our trustees and alumni, and our many friends do to advance our most important
mission: the pursuit of truth through faith and reason.
May God continue to bless you all.
Sincerely,
William L. Burke III
Headmaster
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NEW FACES ON CAMPUS
New to the Board and Classroom
St. Sebastian’s School welcomes the newest members of the Board
of Trustees and Faculty.
Trustee
David Calabro ’78, P’16
D
avid was graduated from St. Sebastian’s in 1978
as a three-sport athlete, competing for the varsity
football, hockey, and baseball teams. He went on to
play varsity hockey and baseball at Williams College,
graduating in 1982 with a B.A. in Economics. In
that same year, David began his career in financial
services with Fidelity Investments. He is currently
the Managing Director/Portfolio Manager at Putnam
Investments, having worked at Fidelity for ten years and
MFS Investment Management for ten. David and his
wife, Kathy, live in Andover with their four children.
Trustee
Patrick Hegarty ’89
P
at joins the Board after serving for three years as
the Alumni Association President. A 1993 graduate
of Harvard University, Pat went on to earn a graduate
degree in accounting at Northeastern University.
A special agent in the Defense Department, Pat
conducts financial fraud investigations for the federal
government. In addition to his duties at the Defense
Department, Pat also works as a professor at Stonehill
College. He is a frequent speaker at Admissions events
for St. Sebastian’s. He and his wife, Melissa, reside in
Needham with their three children.
Trustee
Arlene Marano P’13
A
rlene serves on the Board as the Guild of St.
Irene President. She and her husband, Chris,
live in Canton with their two children. Arlene has
co-chaired the silent auction and Grandparents’ Day
at St. Sebastian’s. She has also done volunteer work
with Newton Country Day School, St. John’s School in
Canton, Hellenic Nursing Home, and Father Peyton
Center at Stonehill College. Arlene holds a B.S. from
Assumption College and has worked in the banking
industry in investment operations.
Trustee
John McNamara ’81, P’14,’18
J
ohn serves on the Board as the Alumni Board
President. A 1981 graduate of St. Sebastian’s on
Nonantum Hill, John is the VP of Arlington Coal
& Lumber Company, a 75 year old family-owned
company he joined following his graduation from
Worecester Polytechnic Institute in 1985. John and his
4 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
wife, Lisa, are the proud parents of twin girls, Meghan
and Anne, and two boys, Johnny ’14 and Billy ’18. John
enjoys boating, skiing, golf, and spending time at his
children’s athletic events all over the state.
NEW FACES ON CAMPUS
Trustee
Mark O’Friel ’79
M
ark serves on the Board as a member of the
Investment Committee. A graduate of Harvard
College, he is the Managing Partner of MOF Capital. He was
with Steel Partners Japan as managing Director from 2008
to 2009. Previously, Mark jointly led Morgan Stanley’s U.S
proprietary trading business in North America from 2002
to 2005. He serves on the board of the Kennedy Child Study
Center in New York City. A member of the Leadership
Council of the Harvard School of Public Health, Mark is
active with the Harvard School of Public Health China
Initiative, Room to Read, and Math for America. He and his
wife, Yoko Murai, live in Scarsdale, NY, with their two sons.
Trustee
Kristin Reed P’15,’17
K
ristin joins the Board after having served on
the Long Range Planning Committee. She and
her husband, Tyson, both active volunteers, live in
Westwood with their three children. An alumna of
Dana Hall School and Villanova University, Kristin
also serves on the Board of the Newport County Boys &
Girls Clubs.
Faculty
Richard Connolly
R
ichard teaches sophomore and junior English.
A Concord native and a graduate of Davidson
College, Richard spent four years at St. Alban’s School
in Washington, D.C. after earning his master’s degree at
Teachers College at Columbia. Having returned to his
home state of Massachusetts, Richard is delighted to be
working at St. Sebastian’s, a school he has admired since
he was a high school student at fellow ISL institution
Middlesex. When not running or golfing, Richard enjoys
traveling, most recently to the southwest of Ireland. Like
any great English teacher, Richard always keeps a book
on his nightstand and tries to read as much as possible.
Faculty
Josef Cressotti
J
oe teaches philosophy, religion, and Latin. After
graduating from Yale with a B.A. in Philosophy,
Joe went on to obtain his MPhil from the University
of Glasgow in 2004, and he is currently finishing up
his dissertation for a PhD in philosophy from UCRiverside. When not writing his dissertation, Joe enjoys
running and watching sports—especially football
and soccer. He is also a silent film enthusiast who
particularly enjoys the work of Buster Keaton and
Charlie Chaplin.
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NEW FACES ON CAMPUS
Faculty
Andrew Digan ’04
A
ndrew, a double major in English and Spanish at
the University of Notre Dame, teaches Spanish
and coaches football and lacrosse. He taught for four
years in and around Louisville, Kentucky, earning his
master’s in teaching at the University of Louisville in
the process. A six year survivor at St. Sebastian’s and
a graduate of the Class of 2004, Andrew is overjoyed
to have returned to his alma mater. Outside of school,
Andrew enjoys exercising, watching sports, and
travelling.
Faculty
Michael Lawler
M
ichael teaches two sections of eighth grade English
and two sections of tenth grade English in addition
to serving as offensive line coach for the varsity football
team. A native of Milton, he attended Roxbury Latin School
before matriculating to Harvard College. Michael played four
years of football at Harvard, graduating in 2010 with a B.A.
in English. After a semester teaching English in southern
France, Michael spent a year as a French teacher in Duxbury.
He is excited to be working at a small school that emphasizes
a strong moral education as well as an academic one. When
he is not teaching or coaching, Michael enjoys running,
playing tennis, creative writing, and exploring New England.
Faculty
James O’Brien ’06
J
ames is the School’s new Assistant Director of
Communications. He also teaches tenth grade
English and acts as the assistant coach for varsity
cross country and varsity basketball. A 2010 graduate
of Middlebury College with a B.A. in English, James
arrived at St. Sebastian’s after spending the better part
6 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
of two years in San Francisco working in both finance
and education. When not playing tennis, reading, or
working on his novel, James enjoys spending time with
his classmates from the St. Sebastian’s graduating class
of 2006.
NEW FACES ON CAMPUS
Faculty
James Tull
J
ames comes to St. Sebastian’s from Woodbury Forest
School in central Virginia, where he taught History
and Religion. He holds a B.A. in History from Brown
University, where he was also an All-Ivy offensive tackle
for the Bears. At St. Sebastian’s, Tull teaches 8th, 9th,
and 10th grade religion, while also assisting on the
coaching staff for varsity football and varsity wrestling.
As an alumnus of an all-boys Catholic high school in
Cincinnati, Tull is excited to be teaching at a Catholic
school.
Faculty
Adam White
A
dam teaches Freshman Writing and junior English
in addition to coaching hockey and lacrosse. He
holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.F.A.
from Columbia University School of the Arts. While
at Columbia, he taught an undergraduate course in
writing and produced a healthcare documentary, Escape
Fire, which is currently in theaters. Adam is thrilled and
honored to be teaching at St. Sebastian’s School.
Faculty
Silas Wong
S
ilas teaches ninth grade biology and seventh grade
science, and he serves as an assistant coach with the
varsity football team. Originally from Needham, Silas
came to St. Sebastian’s by way of Middlebury College.
A 2012 graduate, he was a three season athlete, playing
football and two seasons of track and field for the
Middlebury Panthers. He is thrilled to be working in a
community that focuses on character-building as well as
intellectual growth. In his free time, Silas enjoys fishing,
cooking, and watching sports.
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DISCOURSE
Headmaster William L. Burke III
It’s Right to be Honest and
Wrong to be Dishonest
W
“Earn each grade.
Win each moment of truth.
Turn to the good.
Turn away from
every temptation
to cheat, to lie, to
steal.”
hat consonance there is in the wonderful messages we just heard from Father
John and from Mr. Chambers! Father
John urges us to lift up our hearts and our souls and
hopes and sorrows and our dreams to our gracious
and loving God, and Mr. Chambers reminds us
that the Lord upholds our lives. Our job then is to
cooperate with God, to lift ourselves up to Him who
upholds us.
We are so very blessed to have our outstanding
Board of Trustees President, Mr. Jim Elcock, and our
new trustees with us. Many years ago, when I began
my career as a teacher and coach, I didn’t really
understand the vitally important role that the trustees
play in a school. Over time, my responsibilities have
changed, and I have been blessed to see up close their
function. A board oversees the strategic plan of a
school and devotes itself fully to strengthening the
institution in every possible way, and our board is
truly outstanding.
When an institution has integrity, every person
is doing his and her job to near perfection. When
I was in college and shortly after, the Red Sox had
this terrific left-handed pitcher named Bill Lee. A
USC graduate and a very intelligent man, Lee was
also a way out there kind of guy, who well earned his
nickname: Spaceman. I remember an interview in
which Spaceman talked about the thrill he received
by playing his role as part of the team. He painted
a picture of throwing the ball, with one out and a
runner on first, inducing a grounder to the shortstop,
8 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
Rick Burleson, who threw to Jerry Remy at second,
who threw on to Yaz at first to complete an inning
ending double play. Poetry in motion! A glorious
symphony! Well, that’s what we have here with
the Board leading the way and the faculty and staff
and the parents and grandparents and other family
members working in sacred partnership, all focused
on the same goal: helping each young man become
the best he can be in body, mind, and soul, with our
alumni and our many friends pitching in to help in
any way possible. What a thrill it is for each of us to
play our parts!
We know that integrity is all about wholeness
and that which is unbroken, and we know that like
individuals, teams can have integrity or be broken.
What the Patriots and the Red Sox am I talking
about?
Last Friday, we discussed the connection Father
John made between integrity and Unbroken, the title
of our All School Read. Afterward, Mr. Nerbonne
pointed to the cross and reminded me that scripture
teaches that not a bone was broken. Jesus Christ, our
Lord and Savior, who loves us first is our true and
eternal model of integrity.
Now for the prepared remarks:
This is a strange talk to give because I don’t
think that I’m going to tell you a single thing that
you don’t already know. Oh, there might be a few
images, definitions, and quotations that are new to
you, but the essence of this speech about integrity
has been known by every one of us for as long as we
can remember. So here’s this morning’s and this
year’s theme: It’s right to be honest and wrong to be
dishonest. There. I’ve said it. I could sit down now
and let everyone get an early jump on first period, but
I won’t.
As I shared last week in our opening faculty
meeting, when I think of integrity, I think of its close
association with integration, and with integer, and I
think of the number one, no gap between appearance
and reality; what you see is what you get; one person
– the same in word and in deed.
A fully integrated person is the person of
unity and integrity whom the imprisoned St. Paul
encourages the people of Ephesus – and, I believe, all
of us – to be in Ephesians 4, 1-6:
I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to
live in a manner worthy of the call you have
received, with all humility and gentleness, with
patience, bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through
the bond of peace:
one body and one
spirit, as you were
also called to the one
hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith,
one baptism; one
God and Father of
all, Who is over all
and through all and
in all.
unquestionable integrity who give their best,
most honest effort in the classroom and in all
areas.
In my annual letter to Arrows beginning their
college careers, I include this four word sentence:
Hold sacred your integrity.
It is said that there aren’t many guarantees in life,
but I have one. I guarantee that there isn’t a student
here who wants to overhear any of these things said
about him:
He says one thing and does another.
You can never depend on him.
I don’t trust him.
He has no integrity.
How does one gain the trust, respect, admiration,
and affection of others? How does one become a
man of integrity?
The answer is two four letter words, memorably
spoken by Tom Hanks
to Matt Damon in the
movie: Saving Private
Ryan. Hanks, playing
the dying Captain Miller,
grabs young Private Ryan
by his coat, pulls him
close, and utters: Earn
this!
Of course, Captain
Miller was talking about
Ryan living a virtuous life
to justify all the sacrifices,
including Miller’s own
last full measure of devotion. May each of us hear and
respond with conviction to this passionate call: Earn
this.
Earn each grade. Win each moment of truth.
Turn to the good. Turn away from every temptation
to cheat, to lie, to steal. Countless times a day
important choices must be made. There is a right and
there is a wrong. God has blessed us with the freedom
of choice, and every choice we make strengthens or
weakens our characters.
Take to heart the message expressed by that great
headmaster, Dumbledore:
It’s our choices, Harry, that show what we truly
are, far more than our abilities.
Choose to be an honest
man, and you will be one.
Choose to be a man of
integrity, and you will be
so. Earn this - every graced
moment of every graced
day.
And I love these
powerful dictionary definitions of integrity:
Adherence to moral and ethical principles,
soundness of moral character, honesty…the
state of being whole, entire, or undiminished…
a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition…
rectitude, probity, virtue… a sense of
uncorrupted virtue.
In our catalogue and on our website, you will find
these phrases that include the words integrated and
integrity:
We seek to inspire the integrated, happy, healthy,
holy life that God wants us to live.
And
The Honor Code, at the core of our academic
program, calls each young man to pledge on
his sacred honor that the work he turns in is
his own. Hence, students are reminded several
times a day that they must be young men of
Choose to be an honest man, and you will be one.
Choose to be a man of integrity, and you will be so.
Earn this – every graced moment of every graced day.
I remember playing golf with my good friend,
Norm Walker of blessed memory. Now Norm was
the most competitive person I have ever known. It’s
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DISCOURSE
Pictured: Headmaster
Burke’s longtime
friend Norm Walker,
who is mentioned in
his address before the
School.
the last hole of a very close match, and Norm has lost
his ball in the thick rough to the right of the fairway.
After stomping around for a bit, he announces that
he has found a ball. He reaches down, picks it up,
and raises it for inspection. The two other members
of the foursome and I stand nearby awaiting the
announcement. And I knew, in every fibre of my
being, that only the truth would come out, only the
truth could come out: “Nope. It’s not mine.” Had it
been his, no inspection by the rest of us would have
been called for.
Last spring, when we dedicated the Nerbonne
Study, I was privileged to share these words:
Mr. Nerbonne’s supreme devotion to Jesus Christ
and to his Roman Catholic Church emanate
from the core of his being. He loves God, and he
loves God’s people. My hope…is that you will
find yourself working with a person for whom
you have total respect and admiration and in
whom you have consummate faith, someone
like Mr. Nerbonne…If Mr. Nerbonne tells you
that something happened, then it happened, and
everyone knows it.
What do Mr. Norm Walker and Mr. Nerbonne
have in common? They are both motivated to do
10 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
the right thing from the inside out, not the outside
in. It’s not a fear of bad consequences that motivates
them, but doing right for its own sake that naturally,
powerfully flows from their true heart’s core.
Several years ago, in his Commencement
remarks, then Board of Trustees President, Mr. Jack
Birmingham, another paragon of unquestionable
integrity, turned our attention to a passage in
Anthony Trollope’s 19th century novel, The Duke’s
Children. It occurs after one character suggests that
he allows the law to be his guide. The Duke explodes
in these words:
You should live as not to come near the law –
or have the law to come near to you. From all
evil against which the law bars you, you should
be barred, at an infinite distance, by honor, by
conscience, and nobility…between you and me
there should be no mention of the law as the
guide to conduct.
The law, then, is a floor, not a ceiling. The rules
in our Student Guidelines are baselines only. It is
our great hope and high expectation that each of you
375 gentlemen will be motivated by forces far greater
than fear of getting caught.
Our reading of UNBROKEN underscores the
importance of faith, hope, love, and integrity.
I share two brief passages from our heroes’ time
on the raft.
Louie’s and Phil’s optimism, and Mac’s
hopelessness, were becoming self-fulfilling.
And
Mac’s body grew weaker, following his broken
spirit…
Mac was never described as having less ability
than Louie or Phil, just less hope.
Integrity is all about truth, and truth is all about
inside out simplicity and
clarity, as celebrated in
Mark Twain’s famous
piece of advice:
If you tell the truth,
you don’t need to
remember anything.
And we’re all in this together. I love this dialogue
between Sir Thomas More and young Rich in Robert
Bolt’s great play A Man For All Seasons. More is
very much the wise mentor to Rich, who is uncertain
about what career he should pursue.
More says: Why not be a teacher? You’d be a
fine teacher. Perhaps even a great one.
Rich replies: And if I was, who would know it?
More answers: You, your pupils, your friends,
God. Not a bad public, that.
We’ll hear much more about integrity when we
communicate with Mr.
Louie Zamperini next
week and throughout the
year, and we’ll draw one
another’s attention to the
truth that good buildings
such as our new building
have integrity, too.
Let’s cooperate with
our gracious and loving God, with our parents and
our mentors who love us, and with one another to
make this the best year of our lives – until next year.
I close with these words from Psalm 25:
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me: For I
wait on thee. (Psalm 25:21) n
Integrity is all about truth,
and truth is all about
simplicity and clarity.
What an easy way
to live! Tell one lie, and we need to come up with
another, and oftentimes we forget the first lie.
A few years ago, the then Dunkin Donuts CEO,
Jon Luther, when speaking at Bentley College’s
Commencement, shared these helpful words:
Be honest with employees and customers, even
when you make a mistake. You can always
recover from the truth.
We’re human beings, so we make mistakes all the
time. I’m bound to make at least ten mistakes today,
but I intend to face each one of them honestly and to
strive for atonement.
Many a person over the years has compounded
his or her problems by failing to tell the truth right
away. We’re all sinners, striving to be saints, and,
as Oscar Wilde reminds: Every saint has a past and
every sinner has a future. The more we turn from
error to truth, the more consistently we become
people of faith and honor and integrity, the brighter
our futures become.
Famous investor, Warren Buffett, says that when
hiring, he looks for three things: Intelligence, energy,
and integrity, and asserts that if the candidate doesn’t
have the third quality, the first two will kill you.
And who will know if we stray from truth? Who
will know if we tell a lie or cheat on a quiz or a test?
Who will know if we plagiarize? Two audiences
always, I submit, and a third one a lot more often
than we can imagine. First, God will know. Second,
you will know. Third, others are bound to find out,
so we do damage to both our character and our
reputation. What we are and what others think of us.
Editor’s Note - Headmaster Bill Burke offered these
remarks on this year’s theme of Integrity during
Corporate Chapel on Monday, September 10, 2012.
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| 11
ARROWS IN THE NEWS
Around Campus
A brief look at the people and events that have helped to shape
the St. Sebastian’s School Community.
Forty Inducted into National Honor Society
H
eadmaster Bill Burke, Assistant Headmaster Mike Nerbonne,
and National Honor Society moderator Sean Albertson
inducted 40 students into the Sr. Evelyn C. Barrett, O.P. Chapter
of the National Honor Society during a ceremony on Thursday
morning, October 25, 2012. The National Honor Society aims to
create an enthusiasm for scholarship, stimulate a desire to render
service, promote leadership, and develop character. Students with
a minimum 85% grade average, who complete an essay application
and have the support of their teachers and advisor, are eligible to
apply for this honor.
Class of 2013 Inductees
Joseph Coughlin, Joseph Guarino, Scott Kingsley, Edward McCarthy, James O’Leary, John Real
Class of 2014 Inductees
Caleb Aldrich, Richard Arms, John Bartlett, Justin Bellinger, Christopher Callahan, Zachary Chambers, Conor Craven, Desmond
DiGiovanni, William DuFour, Henry Finnegan, James Fiore, Nikolas Fischer, Daniel Fulham, Jack Goldman, Paul Griffin, Joseph Kearney,
Cameron Kelly, Christian Kelly, Austin Lewis, Theodore Loughborough, Marlon Matthews, Shane McDonald, John McNamara, Luke
Murphy, Connor Murray, Justin Nicklas, John O’Leary, Christopher O’Shea, Matthew Ouellette, Alexander Pappas, Patrick Rivard, Morgan
Rockett, Connor Strachan, Luke Wasynczuk
12 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
ARROWS IN THE NEWS
School Announces Names of AP Scholars
H
eadmaster Bill Burke and Assistant Headmaster Mike
Nerbonne are proud to announce the names of students and
recent alumni who earned AP Scholar Awards from the College
Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) Program. Roughly 18% of the
1.9 million students worldwide who took AP Exams at the end of
the 2011-12 school year performed at a sufficient level to earn this
recognition. The following students/alumni earned AP Scholar
Awards at the defined level:
National Scholar (scoring 4 or higher on at least 8 exams, with an avg. score of at least 4)
Kenneth Chen ’13, Peter DeMatteo ’13 (each has scored a 5 on eight exams)
Scholar with Distinction (scoring 3 or higher on at least 5 exams, with an avg. score of at least 3.5)
William Barnard ’12, Nikhil Basavappa ’13, Peter Cimini ’12, John Donovan ’12, Sean Frazzette ’12, John Gordon ’12, David Loughborough
’12, Terrence O’Connor ’12, Michael Petro ’13, Ryan Sanderson ’12, Christopher Stadtler ’12, Kevin Wolfe ’12
Scholar with Honor (scoring 3 or higher on at least 4 exams, with an avg. score of at least 3.25)
Matthew Angelico ’12, Aidan Balboni ’12, Patrick Ciapciak ’12, Joseph Dudley ’12, Julian Matra ’13, Christopher Nadeau ’12, Edward
O’Hara ’13
Scholar (scoring 3 or higher on at least 3 exams)
Matthew Abelson ’12, Michael Adams ’13, James Astrue ’12, Stephen Brown ’12, Brendan Burke ’12, Connor Chabot ’13, John Connolly
’12, Mark Cunningham ’12, Matthew Donovan ’13, Matthew Fachetti ’13, Matthew Fechtelkotter ’12, Michael Hoff ’13, Sorin Marinescu
’13, Kevin Martin ’12, Patrick McLaughlin ’12, Alexander Moore ’13, Kevin Patterson ’13, Christopher Riley ’13, Christopher Rodowicz ’13,
Ryan Schnoor ’13, Luke Scotten ’13, Benjamin Thai ’12, Thayer Wade ’13, Curtis Yandow ’12
National Merit Scholarship Program Recognizes Eleven Students
H
eadmaster Bill Burke and Assistant Headmaster Mike
Nerbonne are proud to announce the names of the eleven
students who have been recognized by the 2013 National Merit
Scholarship Program. Seven students have been named as
Commended Students and four have been named Semifinalists.
Only 50,000 out of 1.5 million students from across the
country who took the 2011 Preliminary SAT National Merit
Scholarship Qualifying Test are invited each year to participate in
the Program by placing in the top five percent. Of that number,
34,000 are recognized as Commended Students by receiving a
national Selection Index score of 201 or higher. In addition, 16,000
are named Semifinalists and are invited to further compete by
completing a more in-depth application.
Peter DeMatteo
Kevin Patterson
Michael Petro
Thayer Wade
National Merit Scholarship Commended Students
Michael Adams, Nikhil Basavappa, Kenneth Chen, Michael Haley,
Michael Hoff, Christopher Riley, Andrew Sullivan
National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist Students (pictured)
Peter DeMatteo, Kevin Patterson, Michael Petro, Thayer Wade
WWW. S T S EBASTIANS S CHOOL.ORG
| 13
ARROWS IN THE NEWS
Noteworthy
Matra ’13 Recognized
as Outstanding
Participant in National
Program
J
ulian Matra ’13 has been recognized
by the 2013 National Achievement
Scholarship Program as an Outstanding
Participant. Only 3,100 out of 160,000
Black American students received this
honor by scoring in the top 3% on the
2011 Preliminary SAT National Merit
Scholarship Qualifying Test. For reaching
this level, Matra received a certificate from
the National Achievement Scholarship
Program and his name and college major
choice have been forwarded on to roughly
1,500 colleges and universities.
Started in 1964, the National
Achievement Scholarship Program is
specifically designed to honor academically
promising Black American high school
students. The annual competition
is conducted by the National Merit
Scholarship Corporation, which also
conducts the National Merit Scholarship
Program.
DeMatteo ’13
Recognized by College
Board
P
eter DeMatteo ’13 has been named
a 2012-13 National Hispanic
Recognition Program Scholar by the
College Board. He is one of 5,000
Hispanic/Latino students selected to
receive this honor out of over 253,000
students who took the 2011 PSAT exam.
To be eligible to receive this award, high
school students must be at least onequarter Hispanic/Latino, have achieved
the minimum PSAT score for the region,
and have maintained a 3.5 or higher GPA.
Macedo ’16 & Olson ’15
Earn Speaking Prizes
S
t. Sebastian’s hosted 17 schools for the
seventh annual Novice Parliamentary
Extemporaneous Debate Tournament on
Sunday, October 21, 2012. At the event,
Ryan Macedo ’16 won a Speaking Prize
for his individual performance in three
rounds of debating.
St. Sebastian’s School participated in
a Veterans’ Day Debate Tournament at
Phillips Andover Academy on Sunday,
November 11, 2012. Peter Olson ’15
won a Speaking Prize for his individual
performance at the Tournament.
Julian Matra
Chen ’13 Earns Place in
Two Elite Groups
K
enny Chen ’13 earned a spot in the
National Association for Music
Education (NAFME) All Eastern-Honors
Ensemble. This is the highest ensemble in
which a student can participate. He will
perform with students from 13 other states
in a concert being held in Connecticut in
early April.
Chen was also named one of 1,000
area students to take part in the Eastern
District of the Massachusetts Music
Educators Association (MMEA) Annual
District Auditions. This event serves as
the precursor to the All-State Auditions.
Participating students may audition for
Orchestra, Concert Band, Jazz Band, and
Choir. For his performance, Chen earned
Third Chair on viola and scored high
enough to be invited to participate in the
All-States.
Faculty/Staff News
R
eligion teacher James Keefe ’02 and
his wife, Hadley, welcomed their first
child, Margaret Louise, on June 25.
Former faculty member Greg Lynch
’00 and his wife, Kim, welcomed their third
child, Gregory, on July 30.
Art teacher Barrett Ellis and her
husband, Jason, welcomed their first child,
Ophelia Madeleine, on October 1.
English teacher Adam White coproduced the documentary, Escape Fire:
The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare,
which was released in theaters in early
October. The movie is also available for
download on iTunes.
14 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
Ryan Macedo
Peter Olson
Kenny Chen
ARROWS IN THE NEWS
Alumni News
D
ana Story ’92 has been named
a Partner at Deloitte Tax LLP, a
company at which he has been employed
for the past ten years. He noted, “I work
with great people in a professional
environment that is constantly changing.
Being on a team where every day brings
a new challenge keeps my enthusiasm for
our profession at its highest.”
Peter Catanese ’98 was named to
Autonews.com’s 40 Under 40 list for his
role in creating JustForJeeps.com, an online
auto parts store which ships Mopar parts
for Jeeps to locations throughout the world.
What started as a one sale per day venture
seven years ago has now turned into a
lucrative business which generated close to
$2 million in sales during 2011 and helped
Catanese to earn his spot on the Autonews.
com list.
Brendan Ryan ’99, Governor Patrick’s
current Communications Director, will
assume the role of the Governor’s Chief
of Staff in January 2013. Ryan has worked
for Patrick in various administrative and
political roles over the past six years, and
has served as his Communications Director
since 2010.
Frank Sally ’93, an award-winning chef
who teaches at the San Francisco Baking
Institute, is in the process of opening
his own bakery in Berkeley, California’s
Claremont neighborhood. The bakery,
Fournée Bakery, will take over the spot
previously occupied by the Bread Garden,
which closed its doors after thirty-eight
years in business.
best cross country year in St. Sebastian’s
history! The 2.2 mile race was very much
in doubt early as no St. Sebastian’s runner
was among the top 15, but during the
second mile, as they have all year, the
Arrows rallied with each runner passing
10 or more competitors. By the end, seven
Arrows finished in the top 20. Medaling
for the St. Sebastian’s harriers were Erik
Jones ’16 (2nd), Ryan Colgan ’16 (5th),
Paul Keady ’16 (8th), Kevin Moore ’17
(11th), and Jackson Mannix ’16 (13th),
followed closely by Cole Aldrich ’16 (16th)
and Owen Finnegan ’16 (19th). The top
seven runners averaged between 6:11
and 6:32 per mile over the hilly 2.2 mile
course. Nicos Topulos ’16, John Nilles
’16, and Ben Fachetti ’16 all finished
among the top 50 racers to round out the
Arrows team. The Arrows accumulated
the fewest points ever in Jamboree history,
accumulating a mere 39 points to Fay’s
64 and Belmont Hill’s 78. For their record
setting year, the Arrows finished 26-1.
This past summer, Corey Ronan ’14
was selected to play for U.S. Under-18
Select Team at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial
Tournament in the Czech Republic and
Slovakia. Ronan, a forward for the Arrows
hockey team, was the only player from
New England selected from a pool of 180
elite players. The Ivan Hlinka Memorial
Tournament includes teams from eight
different countries, including hockey
powerhouses Canada, Czech Republic,
Finland, and Russia.
Mike Fischer ’12, a freshman at
Boston College, was invited to join the
school’s football team as a walk-on long
snapper this season. His parents credit
St. Sebastian’s for instilling in him the
determination and work ethic that has
helped him achieve this goal.
Luke Regan ’09 was recently named a
captain of the Bowdoin Baseball Team for
the 2013 season. During the 2012 season he
played in 40 games, recording 32 hits in 127
at bats for a .252 batting average. He had 13
RBIs and 1 home run.
John Wolfe ’09 was elected varsity
sprint football captain at Princeton
University for the fall 2013 season. Sprint
football, which plays by the same rules as
regular football and requires that players
weigh no more than 172 pounds, has been
played at Princeton since 1933. n
Athletic
Accomplishments
T
he Fourth Cross Country team, a
squad consisting of 7th, 8th, and 9th
grade runners, finished 1st at the 10th
annual Roxbury Latin Junior Jamboree
on Friday, November 9, earning the
cross country team’s first ever title. The
Arrows bested 11 other teams comprised
of 97 runners in grades 7-9 to cap off the
Above: Members of the Fourth Cross Country Team following their First Place
victory at the Roxbury Latin Junior Jamboree.
WWW. S T S EBASTIANS S CHOOL.ORG
| 15
ARROWS IN THE NEWS
Twenty-Five Years and Counting
Faculty-Trustee Dinner honors three from the St. Sebastian’s
School Family.
S
t. Sebastian’s faculty and trustees gathered for a dinner to honor
those who are currently celebrating their twenty-fifth year of
service to the School Community on Thursday, November 8, 2012.
Father John Arens opened the evening by offering his remarks and
leading the group in prayer. During his comments, Board of Trustees
President Jim Elcock ’77 reminded those gathered that it is not the brick
and mortar buildings that define the character of a school. It is, rather,
the people – the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and greater community
who make an educational institution a special place. Headmaster Bill
Burke echoed this sentiment when he spoke of this year’s honorees –
Meyer Chambers, Newell Hall, and Penny Reilly. Headmaster Burke
praised each of them for their dedication and service over the years and
commented on how proud he was to be able to serve with them.
Faculty member Dan Drummond offered an amusing look at The
Office of College Counseling and the work done by College Counselor
Newell Hall. During their remarks, Hall, Chambers, and Reilly related
how blest their lives have been, and how fortunate they are to have been
able to serve for so long at St. Sebastian’s School.
“It’s been my good luck to represent St. Sebastian’s while visiting
colleges from Miami to Montreal, from Aberdeen to Anaheim,”
noted Hall. “The mantra around here is ‘Love God, work hard, and
take good care of one another.’ Or, as I like to say when speaking with
college representatives, ‘St. Sebastian’s? Great kids, sane parents, and a
wonderful boss.’”
Chambers added, “St. Sebastian’s supported me for five summers
as I studied liturgical music at Catholic University and Notre Dame.
This School has graduated one of my sons and is well on its way to
graduating my second. Like many in the community, my family has
celebrated life events here… My life as an Arrow by association is very
precious to me, and for that I am eternally grateful.” n
Pictured Top: Meyer and Beth Chambers.
Middle: Chase, Megan, Newell, Jane and Kyle Hall.
Bottom: Penny Reilly and Mike Deschenes.
16 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
ARROWS IN THE NEWS
Christmas Auction & Dinner
St. Sebastian’s holds annual event on December 1.
C
lose to 400 people attended the annual St. Sebastian’s School
Christmas Auction & Dinner on Saturday, December 1, 2012.
The Seaport Hotel in Boston provided the perfect setting for this
year’s gala event.
The evening featured a silent auction, dinner, and live auction.
Hundreds of items meant there was literally something for everyone.
Bidding was fast and furious throughout the evening.
St. Sebastian’s School would like to thank all those who
contributed of their time, talent, and treasure to make the evening
such a huge success. Your support and generosity enabled the School
to raise approximately $330,000. A special thank you goes out to this
year’s Auction Co-Chairs, Dana Fulham and Aleece Strachan, Guild
of St. Irene President Arlene Marano, our Auctioneer Bill Supple,
and the entire Guild of St. Irene Auction Committee. n
WWW. S T S EBASTIANS S CHOOL.ORG
| 17
SCIENCE, MATH & LIBRARY CENTER
A Lasting Legacy
Three families honored with rooms in new building
S
ince the School’s new Science, Math & Library Center opened in
May 2012, three naming ceremonies have been held for various
rooms in the facility. The McKinlay Room, Lynch Hall, and the
Gately Reading Room will forever stand as fitting tributes to families
whose generosity have made a lasting impact on St. Sebastian’s
School.
Above: McKinlay Room Dedication (l-r): Barb McKinlay (seated) and Headmaster
Bill Burke (r) with Bill, Jack ’12, Mike ’17, Will ’10, and Barb Connolly. Missing from
the photo is Bill & Barb’s daughter, Molly.
Below: Lynch Hall Dedication: Jack Lynch (c) surrounded by his family.
18 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
McKinlay Room
The McKinlay and Connolly Families and their
friends gathered to dedicate the new McKinlay
Room in honor of Barb and Jim McKinlay, the
grandparents of Will ’10, Jack ’12, Mike ’17,
and Molly Connolly on June 19. This room is located
on the second floor of the Science, Math & Library
Center and features a large conference table, stateof-the-art audio/visual presentation capabilities, and
books and reference materials promoting ethics,
morality, and the pursuit of truth through faith and
reason.
“Barb and Jim McKinlay exemplify the spirit of St.
Sebastian’s at our very best,” stated Headmaster Bill
Burke. “Their powerful and heroic love of God, family,
friends, and country – so beautifully evident in their
children, in-laws, and grandchildren – stirs us all to
become ever more fully the wise, just, balanced, and
brave people of faith, honor, and integrity that our Lord
wants us to be. How fitting, right, and just it is that this
magnificent room of gravitas bears their names.”
Lynch Hall
On September 30, the Lynch and O’Hurley families
came together to honor Christine Lynch P’83,
GP’04,’05,’06,’08,’10,’15 with the dedication of Lynch
Hall. Located at the far end of the Science, Math &
Library Center, this octagonal space serves as the
perfect gathering and academic space for students,
parents, and alumni.
“Love God. Work hard. Take good care of one
another. The order of the day at St. Sebastian’s is the
order of the beautiful life of Christine Lynch,” noted
Headmaster Bill Burke. “How fitting it is that her
family has dedicated this gorgeous new teaching and
learning space in her honor and in her name. The
crosses that boldly separate the windows, the light
that enters from above and is emitted nightly from
within recall the warm and loving heart of Christine
ever open to the grace of God, ever pulsing light and
SCIENCE, MATH & LIBRARY CENTER
warmth and love to her beloved family and cherished
friends. May God bless those who pursue the truth
through faith and reason in this great excellence! May
God bless Christine and her beautiful family forever!”
Gately Reading Room
The Gately Reading Room was officially dedicated
in honor of Jack and Eleanore O’Neill Gately, the
parents of former Board President David Gately ’73,
during a ceremony on October 28. This quiet study
space is located off the main library and provides a
place where students and faculty can read, write, and
reflect.
“Long had we held the vision and the hope for a
quiet room in our library, a commodious, comfortable,
sacrosanct place where students and faculty could
retreat into solitary, silent study, where no group work
would be permitted, a glassed in place for noiseless,
unobtrusive supervision, with doors designed to open
and close almost inaudibly, and here we are met in
the Gately Family Reading Room, which is being
used exactly as intended – much to the sheer delight
and great appreciation of our 375 students and 60
teachers and the many who will follow,” commented
Headmaster Bill Burke. n
Above: Gately Reading Room Dedication (l-r) Elizabeth,
Mark, Andrew, Meg, Peter, and David ’73 Gately.
Below: Nikhil Basavappa ’13 discusses Physics with prospective students
in one of the School’s new Science Labs/Classrooms
during Curriculum Night in early December.
WWW. S T S EBASTIANS S CHOOL.ORG
| 19
SCIENCE, MATH & LIBRARY CENTER
Capital Campaign: Faith & Future
Thanks to the extraordinary generosity and outstanding leadership support of 250 donors, the Campaign for St. Sebastian’s: Faith & Future has raised an impressive $27,544,164
in gifts and pledges toward the Capital goal of $30 million.
From the perspective of our Comprehensive Campaign goal of
$44 million (Annual Fund & Capital Campaigns combined), we
have raised approximately $40.9 million in gifts and pledges
(as of January 8, 2013).
The new Science, Math & Library Center has enabled us to
double our teaching and learning space. By maintaining enrollment, this project has allowed us to essentially achieve
the one teacher/one classroom ideal.
All eight academic disciplines have benefited greatly. The Science and Math Departments now enjoy state-of-the-art facilities that enable classes and clubs to tackle projects that were
once not possible. The new and renovated library space has
been broken into areas that allow for and encourage group interaction and ones that are designed for quiet study. Finally,
the former science lab spaces have been reconfigured into
modern multipurpose classrooms that are being utilized by
all of the School’s academic departments.
By the end of 2013, our hope is to have raised the necessary
funds to complete the Campaign and be able to celebrate the
momentous achievements it has enabled us to achieve for St.
Sebastian’s School.
Campaign Co-Chairs
Michael F. Cronin · David F. Gately ‘73
Douglas A. Kingsley · William A. O’Malley
Campaign Committee
Devin C. Condron ’92 · William T. Connolly Jr.
Sean V. Dillon · James L. Elcock ’77
William L. Elcock · Nancy Q. Gibson
Patrick T. Jones · Stuart D. Porter
Brian S. Strachan · Mary L. Supple
20 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
$44 million
$40.9 million
Where will you be?
Reunion
Friday & Saturday, May 17-18, 2013
BROTHERHOOD
An Eternal Brotherhood
Academic Rigor | Spiritual Depth… and Brotherhood.
By James O’Brien ’06
Pictured: Chris Marino ’10 and Ned Kingsley ’10 at the Class of 2010
Yearbook Reception in November 2010.
A
s a student at St. Sebastian’s School, I spent an inordinate
amount of time with my St. Sebastian’s friends at the Dedham Chili’s on Route 1. I made the weekly trek there from
my parents’ house in Medfield only because it was a central location for my group of St. Sebastian’s friends, boys who lived scattered all over suburban Massachusetts. We spent countless hours
sitting in our cars or standing outside of them in that parking lot,
recounting the school day antics, life lessons, teachers, hopes, and
dreams.
The academic merits of St. Sebastian’s have been recounted
thousands of times and will be again in the following pages. They are
numerous. But the School exists to nourish the whole person. We
truly did strive to “love God, work hard, and take good care of one
another.” And if one of us was not doing that, you could be sure the
rest of us would let him have it.
Joy is paramount at the School. St. Sebastian’s is full of people
who always seem on the verge of smiling. Everyone is receptive
to a good joke. When I was in sixth grade, I interviewed at two
independent schools, one of which was St. Sebastian’s, and by the
time I went through the admissions process at both schools, I knew
that St. Sebastian’s was the place for me. I remember how accessible
and good-natured the people here were—Headmaster Burke’s
humor and humility, my stocky tour guide constantly recounting
how he was “strongly encouraged” by Mr. Nerbonne to take Latin,
a well-spoken student telling me in a Burke-ian voice to “be sure to
catch the acorns that fall from the tree of knowledge.” Seeing the
humor in life, being able to laugh at yourself—these are qualities that
are encouraged at St. Sebastian’s.
22 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
Having now returned to St. Sebastian’s as Assistant Director of
Communications, English teacher, and coach, I see the same spirit
alive at the School today. Wherever you go on campus, smiling faces
and happy people are there to greet you.
We have this community feel that most other schools do not,
a more warm and inviting environment, a family atmosphere.
While our academics take a backseat to none in the ISL, the joy
for life exhibited by the faculty and students is what makes the
essence of St. Sebastian’s pervade all aspects of our lives. The spirit
of the School does not merely capture the spirit of academia, but
also the real meaning of a life lived joyfully. As a student, my
friends and I wanted to come to school. Unlike many of our public
school counterparts, we did not feel like we were in a holding cell,
scratching lines on the wall to mark the days until graduation. Here,
amidst all of the book learning, was life, the real essence of things.
Life can be lived in innumerable ways, but by engaging our will to
live fully, St. Sebastian’s prepared us for all of them.
Full living involves embracing all aspects of what this world
puts before us—the tragic and sorrowful as well as the light and
humorous. Like a liquid changing shape to fit its container, the
nature of the St. Sebastian’s brotherhood can shift depending on the
situation. During both ordinary and challenging times, we see the
deep and meaningful nature of so much time spent together in close
quarters with good people.
What follows are the stories of fellow Arrows who cherish their
St. Sebastian’s experience just as much as I do. We may be a little
biased, but much like little George Washington in the apocryphal
cherry tree story, we have too much integrity to lie. St. Sebastian’s
is a remarkable place, and it is real. We alumni love our School for
what it has done for us, and so now we share our stories in the hopes
that it will remind us all of the good this School continues to do.
“Arma virumque cano Troiae…”
It’s the spring of 2009 and Ned Kingsley ’10 is exhausted.
Slumped over his annotated copy of the Aeneid in the library, the
adventures of Aeneas, man of pietas, pervade his every thought.
After three hours of sitting at the same wooden library table, lines
of Latin are starting to blend together. Beside him at the table,
nine of his fellow Latin IV AP students struggle along with him to
cram the AP-required books of
Virgil’s epic into their brains.
They have been studying all
year for this, 30 lines a night.
But now time runs short, the
test hours away. These are the
moments in which brotherhood
is formed.
Looking back to his years at
St. Sebastian’s, Kingsley, now a
junior at Dartmouth College,
sees shared struggle as a major
part of what cemented the
brotherhood with his classmates
that he still cherishes.
“I will never forget Latin IV AP with Mr. Albertson, especially
the days leading up to the AP test,” Kingsley said. “One of the
memories I have of junior year is sitting in the library with nine guys
trying to translate the lines of Virgil’s Aeneid. We had spent all year
doing 30 lines a night, we read through it a million times, but we still
felt compelled to work hard right up until the time of the test.”
That hard work definitely paid off for Kingsley and his
classmates. When the College Board revealed the scores from the
Latin IV AP Exam, Kingsley, along with several of his classmates,
had earned a 5, the highest score possible.
Now looking forward to graduation from Dartmouth College as
a member of the Class of 2014, Kingsley is thankful to Mr. Albertson
and all of the other teachers who prepared him for the grueling
routine of college.
“St. Sebastian’s prepared me infinitely well for all of the
challenges—both academically and socially—that I’ve faced up
here,” he said.
Not simply a scholar, Kingsley was also a two sport athlete at
St. Sebastian’s, lettering in sailing and football. He also edited the
Walrus, argued valiantly on the debate team, and participated in
Moot Court, exemplifying the type of well-rounded young man
the School is proud to produce. Kingsley’s experience on the St.
Sebastian’s athletic field has been etched in his memory indelibly,
and he joined the rugby team at Dartmouth in order to continue his
passion for athletic competition.
“All of my experiences with athletics were a big show of
brotherhood,” noted Kingsley. “Whether it was on the playing field,
just being in the locker room with the guys, or sitting in the stands
at a hockey game—it was all an incredible experience. I still think
about it. At St. Sebastian’s, wherever we were, we were focused on
being good people and being together.”
The camaraderie at St. Sebastian’s between members of different
grades and social groups still impresses Kingsley. Coming from a
family of four boys—including his twin brother Max ’10, who is now
a classmate at Dartmouth—Kingsley understands the bond between
brothers, and he maintains that the St. Sebastian’s bond is as strong
as advertised.
“It really is like 360 brothers,” he said. “Any time Max and I
would have our friends over,
they would hang out and joke
around with my younger
brothers just as much as they did
with us.
“All the guys in my class,
whether or not we were best
friends, we all got along really
well.”
Kingsley was eager to hold
onto that fraternal bond at
Dartmouth College, so he joined
the Darmouth rugby team and
the fraternity Beta Alpha Omega,
where Will Connolly ’10 is also a brother.
“I love having that fraternal bond with a big group of guys who
are together for a singular purpose,” he stated. “That is why I joined
the rugby team my freshman year. It’s hard to explain the type of
bond that you have when you just get a bunch of guys all together
for the same reason. The St. Sebastian’s brotherhood is something
that I’ve tried to emulate during my time up here, although it hasn’t
come up quite to St. Sebastian’s levels.”
At Dartmouth College, each student stays at the school for
a summer term during their sophomore year. For Kingsley’s
sophomore summer term, he served as Sophomore President of Beta
Alpha Omega.
“I was in charge of all of the fraternity’s communications with
the college, making sure the house was running smoothly,” Kingsley
said. “I coordinated the outreach chairs, the service chairs. It was
a really good experience and it was something that St. Sebastian’s
taught me—this natural tendency to try to be a leader in anything
you do.”
Although Kingsley worried the distance would put a strain on
his relationships with his high school friends, he found that fear to
be unwarranted once he returned home for his first extended break
from college.
“I knew I would still be close with the Seb’s guys who were at
Dartmouth with me, but I was definitely concerned about how I
would maintain relationships with other guys who went to school
hours and hours away. But I quickly found that when we’re all home
for breaks—for Christmas, for the summer—it is crazy how we can
just pick back up like no time has passed. I can pick up the phone
One of the things I took from Seb’s...
is the power of the friendships I
make. Those are the most important
things in life. And I have these
awesome memories with my friends
from high school. Nobody can take
that away from me.
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| 23
BROTHERHOOD
and call any of them when I’m at school and it’s the same way. These
relationships supersede any sort of time and space boundaries.”
Kingsley thinks that having two of his St. Sebastian’s brothers at
Dartmouth significantly aided his transition.
“My brother Max is a member of the football team, and we came
to Dartmouth by two different paths. He had football, and I wanted
to come here because my father attended and it has great academics.
It’s been awesome going to school with Max and being able to
have a couple guys—he and Will both—who understand what St.
Sebastian’s is…St. Sebastian’s is a big part of my identity, and it’s
nice to have people who understand where you come from.”
Kingsley says that the transition was “very smooth” from the allboys environment on Greendale Avenue in Needham to the College
on the Hill in Hanover, NH.
When asked what he would
change about his experience
at St. Sebastian’s, he replied, “I
wouldn’t have changed my high
school experience for anything.
One of the things I took from
Seb’s, besides being a gentleman,
is the power of the friendships
I make. Those are the most
important things in life. And I
have these awesome memories
with my friends from high
school. Nobody can take that
away from me.”
place where the kids were all there for the same reason, looking to
get a little something more out of the experience, and the teachers
were always there to help us succeed if we were willing to put in
the hard work. This is coming from a town with 30 person classes,
a place where the teachers just gave you the homework and if you
did it, great, but they weren’t going out of their way to help you.
The St. Sebastian’s teachers’ desire to help you succeed was the big
difference. There was a community at St. Seb’s I didn’t really feel at
the public school.”
Although O’Malley made friends quickly, the transition to 1191
Greendale Avenue was not without bumps.
He noted, “I am a Protestant, so when I first got here, I had no
idea what to do. They would be saying prayers, signing the cross,
getting communion. I didn’t know how I was supposed to act.”
Luckily for O’Malley, it
didn’t take long for the openness
of the community to find him.
“I ended up talking to Fr.
Arens all of the time. I went into
confession just to sit and chat.
It’s a Catholic school, but they’re
accepting of everyone.”
O’Malley cites English
teachers Dan Burke and Ted
Weihman and physics teachers
John Ryan and Dave Wilbur as
influences.
“Every year there was a new
teacher with whom I would become pretty close. Dan Burke was
huge for me. He is a great guy. As my sophomore English teacher
and football coach, he was part parent and part brother. He was
always there for advice or just to joke around.”
O’Malley came to see St. Sebastian’s as a second home, a place
where he says people will “always be there for you when you need
them.”
His most prominent example of the community coming
together was when Will Judge ’11 passed away in 2007.
“We were at Will’s funeral and all sang [the school hymn]
‘He Who Would Valiant Be’ as we were walking out,” O’Malley
remembered. “I felt like it exemplified the brotherhood.”
The scene at the funeral was moving for Jake and the other
attendees, but he said the real work in dealing with the tragedy came
afterward. Following the funeral, the St. Sebastian’s community
remained with the Judges.
O’Malley recalled, “I would go over to the Judges’ house to visit
J.P. [Judge ’09] and the family. Whenever I would go there would be
somebody else from Seb’s there. They were never alone. It showed
me the tightness of the community and how we will always be there
for each other.”
Five years following Will’s passing, O’Malley is still moved by
the experience. Will’s life had such a profound impact on those he
left behind, strengthening their commitment to their School family
and to each other. O’Malley himself remains part of the Arrows
My brothers were and still are my
best friends, but now I have these
best friends from Seb’s too. We
have the whole friendship packagebeing able to tell them anything,
being able to trust them, knowing
that they’ll always be my friends.
The Whole Friendship Package
“I would love just being around St. Sebastian’s. I would sit in the
locker room for 45 minutes to an hour, then sit in the parking lot
for an hour—just talking. Being around that community, there was
no reason to ever leave,” said Jake O’Malley ’10, now a junior at
Amherst College and a wide receiver for the school’s football team.
Back when he was a sixth grader considering his future,
O’Malley was not necessarily unhappy with his place in the Medfield
Public School system. The quality of the Medfield education was
high, the classrooms were fairly modern, and he had several good
friends. When his older brother, Sean ‘08, left Medfield to attend
St. Sebastian’s, O’Malley discovered a sense of brotherhood among
Sean’s friends that just felt right. He had not thought that anything
in particular was missing from his life, but upon seeing firsthand the
special camaraderie between his brother and his new friends from
St. Sebastian’s, he made up his mind to become an Arrow.
“Once I met his friends, there wasn’t anywhere else I was going
to go,” O’Malley said. “My brother’s group of friends were just
awesome to me, a person they didn’t really know.”
Once O’Malley enrolled at the School, he found that St.
Sebastian’s School suited him perfectly.
“When I was in Medfield, I did fine but I just coasted along,” he
said. “There was no need to get all that involved in class, so I kind
of just did my work and got decent grades. I found Seb’s to be a
24 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
We’re All in this Together
By James O’Brien ’06
“This brotherhood—it’s more felt than understood, and more
understood than expressible in words,” stated Headmaster Bill
Burke, acknowledging with a smile that even he, the man who
always seems to have the right words on the tip of his tongue,
cannot quite explain the bond that exists here at St. Sebastian’s School. I have come to the Headmaster’s Office to find
the secret behind the St. Sebastian’s brotherhood. Burke is
largely credited with singlehandedly creating an attitude of togetherness when he took over as Headmaster in 1990, though
he disputes this history of events.
“When I came here, I found a School that was way better than
many thought it was,” Burke said. “I told people how good they
were—and certainly they didn’t mind hearing it—but this attitude of we’re all in this together was present at St. Sebastian’s
long before I got here.”
To prove his point, Bill recounts words that Pat Hegarty ’89, a
Harvard alumnus and current St. Sebastian’s board member,
used to speak at open houses.
“‘When I was at St. Sebastian’s, everyone wanted me to do
well. When I got to Harvard, only the teachers wanted me to do
well.’”
He continued, “All we are doing is helping young men become
the men they want to be. And as I’ve said often, I think every
person born wants to be part of something great and wants
to fall more deeply in love with learning, whether the person
knows it or not. In a community where enough people encourage the pursuit of the good, the true, and the beautiful, it becomes natural to take care of your brother.
“Patrick Kelly ’08 once told prospective families during an
Open House, ‘We’re brothers here for three reasons: One,
we’re a very spiritual place and we see God as our father. Two,
we have an awesome faculty who are very much like mothers
and fathers. And three, because we’re unified—we want the
same things, have the same goals, want to go in the same direction.’
“We’re all in this together. It’s a bunch of us all working together, all going for the same goal. If someone falls down, we
have to pick him up…I believe we’re built that way. We’re built
for goodness. God made us for goodness in His image. That
doesn’t mean we’re always going to do the right thing. But the
beauty is we have forgiveness. We’ll make mistakes, but we
will also try to do better. As Miriam Pollard says: ‘There is nothing we can do that God is not eager to forgive.’”
On the wall in Headmaster Burke’s office hangs a framed reproduction Rembrandt’s “Return of the Prodigal Son”—a reminder
that we have all been forgiven. Because of this reason, Headmaster Burke reminds us, we have every reason to love God,
work hard, and take good care of one another. We have every
reason to smile.
WWW. S T S EBASTIANS S CHOOL.ORG
| 25
BROTHERHOOD
Pictured: Patrick Ciapciak ’12 (#42), Jake O’Malley ’10 (#83), and Dillon Ecclesine ’11 (#9)
following a varsity football game in 2009.
brotherhood, even though he is now a member of the Amherst Lord
Jeffs. He still returns to St. Sebastian’s to catch up and watch his
brother, Brian ’13, compete for the Arrows.
“I am very close with all of my St. Sebastian’s friends. I talk to
them maybe once a week,” he said. “I go back and try to watch Brian
play football and lacrosse, talk to Mr. Burke or Mr. Weihman, and
next thing you know, twenty minutes are gone without me even
noticing. Seeing them is always great.”
So, as the years pass, what is it that makes O’Malley think the
bond of St. Sebastian’s brotherhood will remain?
“I was with these kids, these teachers, all day for six years of
my life…taking the same classes, sharing all these experiences,
playing sports together,” he said. “Every day you were adding new
experiences together. And we don’t want to stop adding those
experiences just because we’ve graduated from high school.”
Even though three years have passed, O’Malley and his friends
have not lost that St. Sebastian’s ability to reminisce that used to
keep him from heading home long after school obligations were
complete.
“This summer five of my close friends from high school worked
pretty much in the same area in Boston and we would go to lunch
and just sit there for a half hour talking about Seb’s and the time
we had and funny stories and sports games. I remember just sitting
there. And we could talk forever. That’s how close I am with these
guys.
“My brothers were and still are my best friends,” O’Malley
concluded, “but now I have these best friends from Seb’s, too.
26 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
We have the whole friendship package—being able to tell them
anything, being able to trust them, knowing that they’ll always be my
friends.”
United by the Same Goals
Readers may remember Matt Perry ‘06 from his time on the St.
Sebastian’s website as a featured student in the first ever set of St.
Sebastian’s web videos. A three-sport athlete at St. Sebastian’s,
Perry was graduated from The College of the Holy Cross in 2010
and has gone on to play three seasons of professional baseball as a
third baseman for the Detroit Tigers organization.
Since his father and grandfather were legendary alumni of
Catholic Memorial, one might have expected Perry to follow in their
footsteps and become a Knight. His grandfather, Ronald Perry Sr.,
and his father, Ronald Perry Jr., were known for their prowess on
the athletic fields and the basketball court. Catholic Memorial even
named their basketball court after his grandfather in 2006. Perry,
however, fully planned on attending Lincoln-Sudbury High School
with friends from his hometown of Sudbury. In fact, he may never
have heard about St. Sebastian’s if it were not for the suggestion of a
family.
“One of my father’s friends mentioned St. Sebastian’s,” Perry
recalled. “He said it was a great school and it wouldn’t hurt to check
it out. So I went and took a tour and I just felt comfortable. There
was this ineffable quality about the place where I felt like I belonged.
So I said, ‘OK, I guess this is where I’m meant to be.’”
Perry had a tough decision to make. In order to attend, he
needed to repeat the eighth grade, a choice which would leave him a
grade behind his former peers at Lincoln-Sudbury. After prayer and
consultation with his family, he decided to take the leap and become
a member of the St. Sebastian’s family. For Perry, the deciding factor
was St. Sebastian’s focus on the whole person.
“At St. Sebastian’s, we learned to be men for others. I didn’t
think you could really have this type of experience anywhere else.
We were united by the same goals. We all wanted the best for each
other,” he said. “Once I got to the School, almost immediately I had
these friends to whom I could bare my soul. We spent so much time
talking about being the best type of people we could be. We saw
so much potential in each other and wanted to see that potential
realized.”
Perry credits the positive environment at St. Sebastian’s for
enabling him to thrive on and off the field. He looks at the many
conversations with his classmates over the years as pivotal moments
in his life.
“We talked about the people
we were and the people we
wanted to be. We still talk about
that,” he said. “From the topdown, it’s an experience that is
rigorous, yet comfortable. It’s
not a cutthroat environment,
and that allows you to work hard
and enjoy it. It’s just the caliber
of person the School recruits—people who are willing to poke fun
at themselves if the situation warrants, people who don’t hesitate to
show a little bit of self-deprecating humor.”
Perry also maintains that the School’s spiritual center is what sets
it apart from other high schools.
“The Catholicism is probably the biggest differentiating
factor between St. Sebastian’s and other schools. With a spiritual
background, you are a little more self-aware. As students, we spent
a lot of time focusing inward on who we wanted to be as people and
we discussed it with each other. That spiritual aspect has stayed with
me through college and my baseball career.
“It’s important to always be trying to better yourself—whether
on the athletic field, in the classroom, or with your friends. We
learned to focus on being the best people we could be. And that
started with our relationship with God.”
After completing his high school career as School Vice President
and captain of the varsity baseball and basketball squads, Perry
matriculated to The College of the Holy Cross. He hosted his St.
Sebastian’s brothers at Holy Cross on numerous occasions, even
squeezing five of his friends into the small double he shared with a
fellow baseball player during freshman year.
“That was a scene that ultimately played out at about four or five
colleges—us cramming ourselves into someone else’s tiny room,
sleeping in sleeping bags or just on the floor. I’m not sure I’ve ever
had that much fun. Bringing that St. Sebastian’s experience to our
collegiate environments was unforgettable.”
The brotherhood continued throughout Perry’s college career
and beyond. He played third base for Holy Cross and for the
Chatham A’s of the Cape Cod League in the summer of his junior
year, and the St. Sebastian’s alumni and faculty made several trips to
Worcester and Chatham to support him.
“That was a benefit of how close we were at St. Seb’s…I wasn’t
expecting anyone to come to those games,” Perry recalled. “But we
feel a bond to support each other in our endeavors. No matter what
you were doing, no matter how far apart we were going to school,
we would support each other the same way we did in high school.”
By the time he finished his Holy Cross career, Perry had
impressed pro scouts. He hit .423 his junior year, earning Patriot
League Player of the year, and he followed that up with a .409 senior
season in which he was named to the All-Patriot League First Team
and All-New England second team. Following this success as a
Crusader, Perry was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 41st round
of 2010 Major League Baseball Draft.
“I was assigned to short
season ball with the Class A
Connecticut Tigers. I’ve played
for two other teams since then,
and now I’m in high-A ball,”
Perry explained.
Perry’s advice for young
Arrows looking to play
professionally is not to specialize
in one sport, but instead to take
up the challenge of playing a sport during every season.
“Playing three different sports in high school was really what
allowed baseball to work out for me,” he said. “You’re interacting
with so many different people at the School, presenting yourself
with different challenges. People who play three sports just have a
better feel for things. You’ve been exposed to so many people and
challenges that you are able to thrive. When you go through all these
struggles on the athletic field, you enjoy a bond with your teammates
that you don’t get anywhere else.”
Although his main sports in high school were basketball and
baseball, he cites running Varsity Cross Country with Coaches Jim
Rest and Steve Thomasy as a major contributing factor to his mental
toughness.
“The grit, determination, and mental toughness learned in Cross
Country carried over really well into baseball. The physical pain in
baseball is nothing compared to running a double Hazel’s Hill.”
Although he has kept in touch with many of his St. Sebastian’s
brothers since he was graduated in 2006, Perry feels especially
blessed for his relationship with fellow Arrow Matt Duffy ’07, now
a member of the Houston Astros organization. Duffy, like Perry,
has been very fortunate to play professional baseball, and Perry
enjoys the times he has been able to play with and against his former
Arrows teammate.
“It was awesome being able to play with him again down in
Chatham—my junior year, his sophomore,” commented Perry.
“Especially being from the northeast—there were not a lot of us
down the Cape—so being able to play and live with my high school
teammate was great. Then I got to play against him professionally [in
I had these friends to whom I could
bare my soul... We saw so much
potential in each other and wanted
to see that potential realized.
WWW. S T S EBASTIANS S CHOOL.ORG
| 27
BROTHERHOOD
Class A minor league baseball]. It’s been fun to watch him develop,
and I’ll be happy to watch him continue in his success. It’s always
more fun playing against people you know.”
Perry, now 25, feels fortunate to have spent three years with the
Detroit Tigers organization. He is now at a crossroads in his career,
weighing the potential merits of continuing with baseball against the
prospect of beginning a business career.
“I’ve been invited back to spring training,” he said, “and if it’s
the right opportunity, I’d like to keep playing, but, if not, hopefully
the internships I’ve done in the off-season have prepared me for the
business world.”
He knows that his St. Sebastian’s brothers will stand by him no
matter his career path. Thinking back to all of his conversations with
Arrows throughout the years, Perry maintains that the spirit of selfreflection and evaluation still burns inside of him, helping to keep
him moving forward.
“At the core,” he concluded, “I’ve stayed as true to myself as I
could have hoped. St. Sebastian’s was a huge part of that.
Courage, Honor, Commitment
Ken Mateo ’05 is a helicopter pilot for the United States Marine
Corps at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, CA.
He attended the Naval Academy right out of St. Sebastian’s before
becoming a Marine. As part of this year’s St. Sebastian’s Alumni
Dinner, an event which honored alumni servicemen, Mateo
sent in a Skype video greeting as part of montage that featured
several active Arrows in service. He thinks that the St. Sebastian’s
education lends itself to service.
“I think the camaraderie and brotherhood aspects of St.
Sebastian’s transferred very easily into being able to develop bonds
and cohesion with my company mates at the Naval Academy,”
Mateo said. “From there I transferred from one unit to another
throughout my military experience so far and I’ve been able to use
the same core values that St. Sebastian’s instilled in me.”
The core values of the Marine Corps are “courage, honor,
and commitment,” which Mateo thinks parallel nicely with St.
Sebastian’s motto of “love God, work hard, and take good care of
one another.
“The Marine Corps tells you to do what you know is right and
do it well. St. Sebastian’s holds those same ideals.”
Mateo, who briefly attended flight school with another of his
St. Sebastian’s classmates, Conor O’Neil ’05, now pilots a CH-53E
Super Stallion, a three engine helicopter. It’s the largest helicopter in
the free world.
“Whenever the Marine Corps require some heavy lifting, The
Super Stallion is called into action,” he said. “Providing assault
support for combat troops, heavy equipment, or heavy weaponry,
Pictured: Classmates Mike Tierney ’05, Chris Curran ’05, and Ken Mateo ’05
acting in Singin’ in the Rain during their senior year.
28 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
moving from point A to point B in any conditions day or night—
that’s our mission.
“Right now I’m still working on my initial qualifications. I’ve
done all of the basic training. I know how to take-off, land, and
fly, but now our training is shifting much more toward a tactical
emphasis…flying low, flying fast, and being able to get into and out
of landing zones. Also flying at night and flying with external loads
attached to the helicopter.”
Mateo speaks fondly of his time at St. Sebastian’s when he was a
prominent member of the drama program under Mark Rogers. He
performed in shows with close friends and classmates Chris Curran
’05, Mike Tierney ’05, and Andrew Schneider ’05.
“All of my friends and I were involved at one point or another
in the drama program with Mr. Rogers, so spending long hours
getting ready for the play definitely brought us closer together,”
Mateo commented. “There’s definitely a very strong family feel to St.
Sebastian’s and the relationships
you build with your friends. I
had a small core of friends, and
they became my brothers.”
Like many St. Sebastian’s
alums, Mateo is ultimately
thankful for the long hours he
spent at the School perfecting his
academics and extracurricular
activities. Mateo and his friends
were also resourceful enough
to commandeer their own
classroom during their time at
the School.
“There’s a tiny room attached to the McCulloch Room—Room
202. Andy, Chris, Mike, and I took that over and that’s where we
would spend almost all of our free time… We never really saw
anyone in there, so we rolled in, took it over, and kind of kept out
of the way. Having that little place to ourselves definitely brought us
closer.”
Mateo’s brothers, Wes ’03 and Greg ’08, both graduated from St.
Sebastian’s, and Ken speaks fondly of their shared experience at the
School.
“I went to St. Seb’s because of my older brother. It was such a
great fit for him and we were pretty similar so it was a pretty easy
decision for me and my family to make. Showing up with a brother,
it made it a little easier than showing up out of the blue with nobody
there,” Mateo noted.
“When my little brother showed up, it put me in a responsible
position for the first time because I knew I was supposed to be a
role model for him. It definitely enhanced the family feel of St.
Sebastian’s, having my brothers there.”
Although they were brothers and were similar in many ways, the
Mateo boys were also quite different. St. Sebastian’s enabled them to
carve out unique niches for themselves. And today, with the three
boys living in different areas throughout the country, School events
provide a great way for them to spend time together while staying
active with their classmates at the School they all love.
“My older brother was kind of the brainy one, I was more into
the drama/arts side, and my little brother focused more on sports,”
he stated. “St. Sebastian’s brought us closer together.
“By the time my younger brother was ready to graduate, I was
in Maryland and Wes was in California. I managed to make it back
from the Naval Academy and Wes was back from Stanford. Our
family was getting more spread out at that point, so it was special for
us to have a place where we could all get together.”
Something Greater than Yourself
More than anything else Ed Davis ’65 mentioned when I sat down
with him recently, he would like you to know that, despite the
great strides St. Sebastian’s has taken in recent years, the School
has always been a place for excellence.
“I want to make one thing
very clear: This school has always
been a great School,” Davis
stated. “It’s like a family. There
are brothers, sure, but there have
certainly been sisters too—on the
faculty, in the Guild of St. Irene.
This School is an incredible
place—and we’re achieving new
heights—but it always has been
great. There’s not a single class
where you can’t find several
great guys—accomplished and
successful—having the spirit of St. Sebastian’s, understanding that
there’s something so much greater than any one of us.”
Davis, the founder of Ed Davis and Co. and now the Director
of Alumni Relations at St. Sebastian’s, has a relationship with the
School that spans more than fifty years. Not only was he graduated
back when the School stood on Nonantum Hill in Newton, but he
met his wife and several lifelong friends during his fifty years as a
member of the St. Sebastian’s family.
“For the past three years I’ve been given the opportunity to speak
to the seniors before graduation,” said Davis, “and one thing I tell
them is to look at the kids next to them, because those are the kids
who will be their best friends ten, twenty, fifty years from now.”
Davis speaks from experience. A native of Sherborn and the son
of a high school coach in the Wellesley School System, he came to
Nonantum Hill in 1961. At that time he began lifelong relationships
with his fellow students, including his carpool mates from his first
year at St. Sebastian’s, Mike Lajoie ’65 and Rick Cranshaw ‘65.
“Rick Cranshaw, Mike Lajoie, and I formed this carpool where
our parents would bring us in to Nonantum Hill,” Davis recalled.
“Mike was a smart guy, and I always respected smart people, even as
a kid. He and I hit it off pretty quickly. The second day I knew him I
had a really runny nose walking up the stairs behind him. I asked if
I could borrow his handkerchief. I used it, gave it back to him, and
we’ve been friends ever since.”
My older brother was kind of
the brainy one, I was more into
the drama/arts side, and my little
brother focused more on sports.
St. Sebastian’s brought us closer
together.
WWW. S T S EBASTIANS S CHOOL.ORG
| 29
BROTHERHOOD
Pictured: Ed Davis ’65, Bill Murphy ’65, Frank Burke ’65, and Henry Lane ’49
after a friendly game of tennis in Vermont.
Years later, once both had been graduated from St. Sebastian’s,
Davis found out about an opening in the St. Sebastian’s English
Department and encouraged Lajoie to apply. Lajoie followed Davis’
advice and became the Chair of the School’s English Department for
many years before going on to Nichols College.
During his time at St.
Sebastian’s, Davis did not limit
his friendships to his own class.
In fact, Davis formed lifelong
bonds with his teachers as well,
befriending the legendary Henry
Lane ’49 after Lane taught
him in history class. Despite a
twenty-year age gap, Davis and
Lane remain friends to this day
and often enjoy playing tennis
together on the Cape.
While Lane helped Davis grow as a person during his years on
campus, Davis found that he also had an influence on Lane, steering
the direction of Lane’s life during Davis’ senior year.
“Our senior year we had our Class Picnic in Sherborn and
Henry, who I don’t think had ever been out of Newton in his life,
came to the picnic and loved it,” stated Davis. “He ended up buying
a house there with a beautiful clay tennis court. Not a weekend
went by when that tennis court was not occupied by St. Sebastian’s
students and alumni.”
While Davis would continue his relationship with Lane, St.
Sebastian’s took a backseat as he started to raise his family with his
high school sweetheart, Toni. Davis had been dating Toni since his
junior year. They attended the
St. Sebastian’s Prom together in
1965 and have now been married
for forty-four years.
Following his graduation,
Davis briefly attended college
before moving into the business
world, eager to support his wife
and young family. He used
the work ethic honed at St.
Sebastian’s to work his way up
the ladder of success, toiling at a
series of companies that included Wonder Bread and Hostess Cakes.
He began as a route driver, then a supervisor, and finally establishing
himself as Vice President of Sales at Table Talk Pies. When he left
Table Talk at age 35, Davis started his own business, Ed Davis and
Co. Under the direction of his wife, Toni, and his daughter, Lisa,
that business is still thriving today.
Every day...I see acts of kindness
done by Arrows for another, and
that’s because of the understanding
on the part of these Arrows that
there is something greater than
them at work.
30 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
In 1983, as his business and family were thriving, Ed and Toni
made the decision to send their sons to St. Sebastian’s. The choice
was first made about their eldest son, Keith ’88, who was earning
high grades in public school without being challenged.
Davis recalled, “Keith was getting A’s. I looked at his work
and I saw it wasn’t ‘A’ work. My wife knew it wasn’t. I consulted
with Monsignor Keating, and both boys applied and came [to St.
Sebastian’s].”
The same year that Keith began at St. Sebastian’s, the School
moved from Newton to Needham. Davis used his distribution
equipment to play an instrumental part in St. Sebastian’s move.
“The year Keith started in the seventh grade—I was working in
the food business and I had plenty of trucks at my disposal,” noted
Davis. “So when we moved during the winter vacation of 1982-83—I
got the trucks, Jack [Doherty ’62] got his two boys, I got my two
boys, and we took every single desk and moved them from Newton
over to Needham. By January 1, the kids were in a brand new place.”
While seeing his sons attend St. Sebastian’s, Davis came to
understand the bond of the School in an even deeper way.
He added, “As I have become more and more involved over the
years, I feel like I’ve progressed in my depth of understanding of the
School. It was an incredible place when I was graduated in 1965.
And some of the happiest years of my life were when I would come
to my sons’ sporting events or witness their academic achievements
while they were students from 1983-90. As a high school student
you don’t necessarily look at it as a family, but once my boys became
students I realized it really was a family.”
Davis even became a friend and mentor to some of the young
men in his sons’ classes, just as Henry Lane had taken Davis under
his wing years earlier. Davis sees himself and his friends as living
proof that the relationships at St. Sebastian’s span generations.
“Brian Dixon ’90 is one of my best friends and he’s probably
more than 20 years younger,” he noted. “I have my network and my
sons have theirs, but those networks connect.”
A few years ago Davis received a call and an offer that would
change his life and bring him back to his alma mater. With his
daughter, Lisa, almost ready to take over his business, he was ready
for a new challenge, and this opportunity was too good to be true.
“My daughter was two years into a five year program that
was preparing her to take over my business when I received a call
from Rich Arms, the Director of Alumni and Development at St.
Sebastian’s School,” noted Davis. “I thought he was going to ask me
for money and I was prepared to tell him the check was in the mail,
when he surprised me by asking, ‘How would you like to come work
at your favorite School?’”
Turning his business over to his daughter, Davis accepted the
offer and became the School’s Director of Alumni Relations. He
Pictured: Ed Davis ’65 (#33) and Bob Cronin ’65 (#83) clear the
way for Dick Grady ’65 (#5) to run the ball.
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BROTHERHOOD
considers himself blessed to be spending his “retirement years” at St.
Sebastian’s, a position he truly enjoys each and every day.
Over the years Davis has seen the School through the eyes of
a student, alumnus, parent, and employee. Every role he has held
has helped him to gain a better understanding of the School and its
people.
While he believes the single sex environment and small class
sizes are a big part of what makes the place so special, he thinks the
most important aspect is the School’s spirituality.
“From day one I remember being taught that there was
something much bigger than you,” he commented. “Each of us
understands God in his own way, but there was this need to find
comfort with that concept and you’re pushed to do it. I know the
priests when I was here focused on that and I know the faculty that’s
here now has continued to push the kids to understand that.”
He concluded, “My family is the most important thing in my life,
and St. Sebastian’s is part of my family. Every day in this position,
I see acts of kindness done by one Arrow for another, and that’s
because of the understanding on the part of these Arrows that there
is something greater than them at work.”
An Arrow Forever
Hank Barry ’45, a beloved member of St. Sebastian’s twenty-sixmember inaugural Class, still remembers just how he came to
attend St. Sebastian’s as a high school freshman.
“My father decided I ought to go to a boys school,” stated Barry.
“He said, ‘I’ll give you two choices: BC High or this new school, St.
Sebastian’s, that’s going to be in Newton that I just saw in The Pilot
[the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston].’”
He recalls not thinking too deeply about his high school
matriculation. “My thought process was: Newton’s closer than
Boston, and I live in Newton, so St. Sebastian’s it is.”
Barry was among the very first students to sign up for St.
Sebastian’s first Class. At the time, the tuition was $400.
“I’m not sure whether I was officially the first student or the
third,” he said. “There were two other brothers there—George and
Bobby Baker—when I went to sign up. But I was certainly among
the first three.”
In the early days of St. Sebastian’s, the School lacked the pristine
facilities that the Needham campus boasts today.
Pictured: Ed Davis ’65 (standing) with (l-r) Hank Barry ’45 and Shaun Kelly ’45
during Reunion 2010.
32 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
Pictured: The 1943-44 basketball team (standing) Harold McKinney ’46, Dan Sullivan ’46, William O’Leary ’47, Hank Barry ’45, Robert Baker ’45,
Coach Vin Murphy, (sitting) Edmund Murphy ’45, Msgr. Charles McInnis, Rick Tonner, Fr. Russell Collins, and Edmund Courtney ’45.
“One daily athletic activity was avoiding bricks, rocks, and wood
with nails in it,” said Barry. “There were rocks all over the place. You
could’ve sprained an ankle.
“It was kind of a little bit dangerous. The land had only been
purchased in the summer of ’41
from the old Newton Country
Day School and on September
21, 1941, we started school.”
The athletic facilities were
also less than desirable.
“We had a gym with a dirt
floor where we played our
basketball games,” Barry recalled.
The schooling all took place in one room where the boys could
smell the food from the refectory.
“Mainly we would wait for lunch all morning,” Barry stated of
his early classes. “We could smell all the wonderful food…”
Barry was initially intimidated by the amount of schoolwork the
faculty expected him to complete.
“I remember thinking: ‘What do they mean by three hours of
studying per night? Is that for real?’”
He also recalls several doses of discipline right off the bat once he
arrived at the School.
“My Latin teacher called me
an ‘irascible introvert.’ I was a
wise guy—so I thanked him for
the two new vocabulary words
that began with the letter ‘I’.”
But Barry says that one of
the best things that happened to
him at the School was gaining
humility.
“I remember thinking I was hot stuff during my first year. Well,
Fr. Meehan had me in his office and said to me, ‘Who the heck do
you think you are?’” he noted.
Barry’s father, an Alcoa employee who was entrusted to ship
aluminum throughout the New England area, passed away during
Barry’s second year at St. Sebastian’s when he was just sixteen.
St. Sebastian’s was one of the best
things that ever happened to me...
I’ll always love this School.
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BROTHERHOOD
Pictured: Hank Barry ’45, Frank Dermody, ’45, and Don Gibbons ’45 at Reunion 2005.
Even in its very first years of existence, St. Sebastian’s showed that it
already knew how to take care of its own.
“The faculty was so good to me and I was very fortunate,” he
noted. “Do you think I had to pay one cent junior or senior year?
No! Monsignor McInnis said I would not have to pay any tuition.”
Barry says his friendships at the School revolved around sports.
He remembers playing hockey, basketball, baseball, and football.
He said, “I was good friends with my athletic pals. Jimmy Lydon
’45 is one of my best friends and Ed Courtney ’45 was my best man
60 years ago at Our Lady’s Church in Newton.”
Barry went on to relate how he taught for a brief time at St.
Sebastian’s before moving on to the public schools.
“I had the privilege of coming back here to teach. I had been
working in the business industry and had been coaching since I
was nineteen at Sacred Heart in Newton Center. I was attached to
coaching, and the place I wanted to coach more than anything was at
St. Sebastian’s. So I talked to Father Flanigan about coaching junior
varsity football and running intramurals and teaching mathematics.
I was delighted to have the opportunity.
“After two and a half years it was time for a little more income. I
asked Father Flanigan, ‘Father, when do I get paid again?’ He said, ‘I
don’t have any money. I won’t have any money again until the fall.’”
Barry went on to teach mathematics in the Newton School
System for thirty years, as well as at Northeastern University for
34 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
thirteen years. Through his entire career, however, he remained
close with St. Sebastian’s.
He stated, “There was no one in that building that was bigger
than St. Sebastian’s School. It was all about what was best for
the group as a whole. St. Sebastian’s was the best thing that ever
happened to me. Who would have thought that a guy who didn’t
have any luck at math while attending the public schools would
grow up to be a math teacher thanks to St. Sebastian’s. For that, I’ll
always love this School.”
A Family Affair
During the last week of August 1967, Anne Mulroy
P’73,’74,’76,’78,’82, GP’02,’06,’07,’08,’10,’14 told her young son,
Richard Mulroy ’73, that they were venturing to the department
store to buy him a tie and a jacket.
“What do I need that for?” Richard asked.
Ann replied, “You’re going to go to a new school and you’re
going to have to wear a tie and jacket.”
“That’s ridiculous! I don’t want to do that!” Richard moaned.
But he did, and now, more than forty years later, he’s thankful
for the opportunity.
The oldest of five brothers, Dr. Richard Mulroy, now an
orthopedic surgeon at Mulroy Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports
Medicine, started in the seventh grade in 1967 and was graduated
in 1973 as a six-year survivor. All four of his brothers attended the
School up on Nonantum Hill.
It was fitting, Dr. Mulroy says, that all four of his brothers
attended the School.
“I really felt it was a family school,” he said. “The Headmaster
was Monsignor Harney, and he used to always talk about the
St. Sebastian’s Family. And it really was a family—from your
classmates, to the parents, to the teachers. So having my real family
in the St. Sebastian’s Family really made sense.”
At that time, The St. Sebastian’s Family was literally comprised
of students from large families, making, in many cases, your
brothers… your brothers.
“There were several families there with six or seven boys,” he
recalled. “I came from a family of six, and I really felt I was average
when I was at St. Sebastian’s. We all came from large families, and St.
Sebastian’s was just one large extended family. We talked about it,
and we lived it…Our connection to each other was one of the things
that was impressed upon us, and it was fun to be a part of it.”
He continued, “A lot of relationships overlapped. For example,
somebody in my class had a brother in my brother’s class, or I was
going out with a girl whose brother was on the hockey team with
me. And a lot of the families were related. A lot of the parents were
sisters and uncles and brothers and cousins.”
Dr. Mulroy and his brothers have all gone on to great success
following graduation from St. Sebastian’s. Richard is an orthopedic
surgeon specializing in total hip and knee replacements. His brother
and business partner John ’74 is an orthopedic surgeon who
specializes in sports medicine. Jim ’76 works for Thomson-Reuters
as a real estate property consultant, Bill ’78 is an orthopedic surgeon
who works in Weston, and Bob ’82 is the CEO of a biotech company
in Cambridge called Merrimack Pharmaceuticals.
-- First Impressions --
“When I first arrived on campus, I didn’t know a single soul,”
Mulroy remarked. “No one from my family had gone there yet,
no one from my neighborhood. I didn’t know anything about the
School until the day I started. Back then there was no interview or
tour of the school. Basically you took an examination, your parents
filled out an application, and you showed up the first day.”
His first impression of the School involved the good-natured
humor so many alumni recall about their time as a student.
Pictured: Headmaster Bill Burke with the Mulroy Family Matriarch, Anne,
during the Leadership Reception in September 2012.
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BROTHERHOOD
“I thought my classmates were the funniest people I had ever
met in my life,” he fondly recalled. “And to this day, everywhere
I’ve gone—I’ve been to college, medical school, worked in a million
hospitals operating rooms—I’ve never met a group of people as
funny. I don’t understand why half the people in my Class are not
professional comedians. I miss
the sense of humor I found at
Sebastian’s.”
Dr. Mulroy also has great
respect for the priest and lay
faculty who gave him a solid
educational foundation on which
he has built his entire life and
career, specifically mentioning
the skills he was taught by Fr.
Barrett, Morris Kittler, and
Henry Lane ’49.
“Fr. Barrett was one of these
very rigorous guys where you
had to do everything by the
book. There were no shortcuts,”
Dr. Mulroy said. “You had to do
it right and put the time and the effort in. That approach to studying
and academics helped me all the way through college and medical
school.”
One of the few lay people teaching at St. Sebastian’s during Dr.
Mulroy’s time was Morris Kittler, who would eventually become the
Dean of Students.
“I had him his first year as a full-time teacher,” recalled Dr.
Mulroy. “He gets credit for turning me on to science. I really enjoyed
the biology class with Morris, and that’s what I’m doing today as a
doctor.”
In addition to being impressed by the faculty, young Richard
Mulroy also cherished the role athletics had to play in the life of the
School.
“As a seventh grader I remember standing by the side of the
rink and I watched the varsity players come out in their black and
red uniforms and I just thought, ‘Wow,’” he recalled. “They were
shaving; they had beards. I don’t know if I was 5 feet when I got
there, weighed about 115 pounds…. I really looked up to the older
guys, and I thought they treated us very well.”
Eventually, Mulroy got used to his new school, becoming a
three-sport athlete during his tenure at St. Sebastian’s. He lettered
for three years in varsity cross country, four years in varsity track,
and three years in varsity hockey. He recalls that the hockey team
was quite a commitment, as the team not only competed in games
and practices, but also functioned as an ersatz maintenance crew for
the old outdoor Nonantum Hill rink.
“When we were on the hockey team, we’d get a call from Coach
Henry Lane whenever school was cancelled,” Dr. Mulroy noted.
“We’d all go to the rink at 10:00 o’clock with our shovels and we
would shovel the rink. We’d all be out there—varsity and the JV
players shoveling snow for hours.”
According to Dr. Mulroy, it was Coach Lane who understood
the significance of getting St. Sebastian’s into the Independent
School League.
“We weren’t in the ISL at the time,” Dr. Mulroy said. “Henry
could really see that if we got into the ISL, by virtue of being in that
athletic League, everyone would
kind of see us as being equal to
them. What Mr. Lane realized
was that if we played each of
these schools on our schedules
and they got used to playing us,
we would get into the League.
As the new Athletic Director
during my senior year, Henry
said, ‘Next year we’re getting into
the ISL, and you’re not going to
mess it up.’ We weren’t to get
in any fights or arguments with
referees or anything. Henry was
the one who realized it would be
a great thing to be aligned with
those schools.”
I recently played in the Alumni
Hockey Game. A friend of mine,
Mark Canavan ’73, emailed me
about it. I hadn’t played hockey in
a couple years, but an opportunity
to play with a friend and classmate
of mine, I couldn’t turn it down. I
think we were the oldest guys on the
ice, but I managed a goal.
36 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
-- A Good School Keeps Getting Better --
Starting in the late 1990s, Dr. Mulroy was afforded the
opportunity to work on the Board of Trustees with his high school
classmate, former Board President David Gately ’73.
“Becoming a trustee allowed us to rekindle our relationship over
the last 15 years or so,” Dr. Mulroy said. “That was fun. We got to
work on projects together, and he did a great job as Board President.
It’s great to see someone in your own class step up and do great
things and be a leader for the School. I was honored to be a trustee.
I think I was a trustee for 10 years and the school has just continued
to grow and prosper. It was a good school when I went there—it’s a
better school now.”
During his time as trustee, Mulroy is most proud of his work to
improve the athletic program. Not content with simply adding the
new turf athletic fields, Mulroy also thought it was important to add
teams so more students could regularly participate in sports. As a
father of two boys, Pat ’06 and Ricky ’10, who have come through St.
Sebastian’s, Dr. Mulroy saw room for improvement in the athletic
department.
“I remember as a parent, I’d go to the games and my sons would
be on some hockey team with almost thirty kids on the bench,” Dr.
Mulroy said. “I thought we needed to get more teams, get more kids
playing. So we went to work—let’s get some more fields, some more
playing space. Get more kids playing. Physical fitness is a big part of
the brotherhood at the School.
“An education is about the body, mind, and the soul—not just
the mind and the soul. Physical fitness is important. If you don’t care
about physical fitness by the time you are graduated when you’re 18
years old, then it’s all downhill from there. But, if you graduate and
enjoy athletics—whether it’s individual sports like running or team
sports like basketball, it’s something you’re going to carry with you
throughout your life. So during my time with the trustees I did my
best to improve everybody’s physical fitness and make kids enjoy
athletics with increased participation.”
-- Lasting Relationships --
In his busy life as an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Mulroy appreciates
the advantages modern technology brings to his efforts to stay in
touch with his St. Sebastian’s classmates.
“Since I graduated, I probably have seen or been contacted by
thirty of my classmates,” he said. “I have five or six classmates that
I’m talking to or emailing or doing something with on a regular
basis. Technology really helps.”
Despite his packed schedule, Dr. Mulroy still finds time to
participate in reunions and other St. Sebastian’s events with his
classmates.
“I recently played in the Alumni Hockey Game,” he recalled.
“A friend of mine, Mark Canavan ’73, emailed me about it. I hadn’t
played hockey in a couple years, but an opportunity to play hockey
with a friend and classmate of mine, I couldn’t turn it down. I think
we were the oldest guys on the ice, but I managed a goal.”
Recently, the St. Sebastian’s family has shown Dr. Mulroy and
his brothers support after the death of the Mulroy Family matriarch,
Anne Mulroy.
He concluded, “I was just overwhelmed by the response from
my classmates—people I hadn’t seen in ages came to the wake, wrote
to me, emailed me. Those relationships continue—it’s been almost
40 years since I graduated, but they knew it was a tough time for
me and reached out to me to show me they cared. It really made
me appreciate my classmates even more. I’m impressed they’re still
thinking about me and reaching out to me and showing me they are
there for me.” n
Pictured: Richard ’73 (l) and Jim ’76 (r) Mulroy with David Gately ’73 (c).
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BROTHERHOOD
Growing Together
Kevin Patterson ’13 discusses the bond he and his classmates share.
By James O’Brien ’06
Pictured: Kevin Patterson ’13 as Elisha Whitney and Maggie Fitzgerald as Mrs. Wadsworth
Harcourt in the St. Sebastian’s production of Anything Goes this past November.
S
itting across from Kevin Patterson ’13 at the Communications Office conference table, I cannot help but wonder if I
was this articulate as a high school senior. I have just asked
him what he likes about the School, and the speed and clarity of his
response astound me.
“The fact that class sizes
are so small really helps foster
the community,” he stated. “If
classes are large, you don’t really
get to hear from each person.
With small classes, you’re going
to be hearing from everyone a lot
more on average. You can build
a relationship with kids based on what they say in the classroom and
take it outside the classroom.
“The teachers bring something more personal than what I’ve
seen at other schools and students can react with their own thoughts.
You learn a lot about what everyone else is thinking.”
Patterson gives a great deal of the credit for the attitude at St.
Sebastian’s to Headmaster Bill Burke, recalling how excited Mr. and
Mrs. Patterson were the first time they heard Burke speak.
“I remember [my parents] came home from an Open House
and told me I had to come check out this school because they had
just heard the most amazing speaker—and he looked like Albert
Einstein! But when they described what he looked like, I said, ‘Oh
no, you mean Mark Twain, not Einstein,’ because I love to correct
my parents,” he noted.
“Mr. Burke plays such a huge role here at the School. He tells us
how we’re all brothers and how
we all interrelate. And we feel a
responsibility to keep that up.
“Mr. Burke likes to quote
Abe Lincoln, who said, ‘I’m a
success today because I had a
friend who believed in me and I
didn’t have the heart to let him
down.’ And I think, in a lot of
ways, Lincoln is the student body at St. Sebastian’s and that friend is
Mr. Burke. He’s such a positive role model, and I’ve never seen him
disappointed or unhappy in any way. It’s hard to be unhappy when
you have people like that around you. He really helps to build the
familial aspect of this School.”
Coming from a very rigorous and academically-focused middle
school, Patterson was concerned as a matriculating freshman that
he might finish the predesigned math curriculum at St. Sebastian’s,
but he soon learned that St. Sebastian’s emphasis on the individual
meant that one can never outgrow the curriculum.
The sense of brotherhood comes
from a great sense of leadership...
It’s a virtuous cycle.
38 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
My Second Family
By James O’Brien ’06
Pictured: Connor Chabot ’13, Andrew Sullivan ’13, Ramy Andil ’13, and Teddy O’Hara ’13
at the Junior/Senior Prom in May 2012.
When asked to describe his St. Sebastian’s career, Ramy Andil
’13 put it this way, “It’s been like a roller coaster—a lot of ups
and a lot of downs, but ultimately worth it.”
During December of Ramy’s eighth grade year, his mother
passed away from cancer a week before Christmas. Ramy’s
personal tragedy was an opportunity for the St. Sebastian’s
community to step up and show him he was loved.
“After that experience, I realized this was my second family
here,” Ramy said. “All day during school after my mom died,
upperclassmen whom I’d never talked to were coming up to me
and telling me how sorry they were.”
Ramy was also touched by how many members of the community came to his mother’s wake.
“There were more Seb’s kids there than there were my family members,” he stated. “There were so many ties and sport
coats filing in and out, and at one point it was all Seb’s people
filling the room. It was overwhelming.”
Ramy cannot stress enough how the faculty and the School
community helped him through the ordeal, especially one particular faculty member.
“Meyer Chambers has been a really big part of my life,” Ramy
noted. “I could talk to him about anything. There were times
when I felt like I just couldn’t handle it anymore, and he was
always there. I’m thankful there are people like Mr. Chambers
in my life.”
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| 39
BROTHERHOOD
Patterson explained, “I was in a fairly advanced math class, and
I wondered if they could accommodate me. They said, ‘If you finish
our curriculum, we’ll hire a teacher just for you’…I was sold.”
With his academic fears assuaged, Patterson took the plunge and
enrolled in St. Sebastian’s as an incoming freshman. His only worry
now was whether the other students would already have friends,
leaving little room in their lives for him. He quickly found this was
far from the case.
“The sense of brotherhood at St. Sebastian’s encourages
people to reach out and bring others into the fold,” he stated. “At
orientation I was sitting in the corner because I didn’t know anyone.
Chris Riley ’13 and Matt Donovan ’13 introduced me to all of their
friends. At my old school, it
wouldn’t have worked that way.
Here it’s just such a welcoming
environment.
“When there are people
like that who are willing to go
out of their way with other
people, you know you’re in a
good environment that fosters
such things. It says a lot about
the kind of people here. It’s not
just about getting good grades.
Of course, you would expect a
school to want you to get into
a good college but here it’s also about making sure you are a good
father and a good brother and good son.”
After settling in, Patterson began to understand the tone and
tenor of the School, the balance between work and play. He was
surprised at how good-natured the faculty and student body were.
“Humor is a huge part of Seb’s. There’s definitely a time—and
it’s a lot of the time—for being serious, but much of what you learn
about your teachers and classmates comes from humor,” he said.
“You learn a lot about personalities through different styles of
humor…You can tell you’ve made a good friendship when you can
joke about someone and they can joke about you.”
Patterson talks so passionately about St. Sebastian’s because, like
many Arrows, he is deeply involved in the extracurricular life of the
School, especially with the Drama and Chess Clubs.
“Chess Club in particular has grown into something much larger
than when I joined,” he noted. “It’s pretty neat to see that when
people get together, it’s not just people trying to beat each other, but
we’re trying to learn and get a sense of how to play.”
Patterson says with a smile that the St. Sebastian’s Chess Team
has seen unrivaled support during home matches.
“Actually my friends have come out to support the Chess Team
on occasion, which is fun because chess isn’t really a spectator sport.
They sort of lurk outside the windows, and I think that intimidates
the other teams.”
In the classroom, Patterson finds his classmates to be equally
supportive.
“The stress of school can sometimes become burdensome, so it’s
nice to send someone a text and see how they are doing with their
work. They’ll help you look over your papers. Mr. Drummond’s
class, for example, was so hard that it was mandatory that you
bounce ideas off other people before you’d dare to submit it to
him. There’s always going to be a certain amount of stress in the
classroom, especially when we’re so academically-minded all the
time, but there’s always someone to talk to, always someone quick to
reach out.”
He continued, “And outside of school, these guys are my life.
Now that I’m at Seb’s, my whole life is built around the School.
You share the experience, you know what’s going on with your
classmates, you see them every
day. You grow together.”
Although it was not a main
concern when he applied here,
Kevin has been impressed at how
St. Sebastian’s has helped him
grow in faith.
“We all have a shared bond in
our religion—but even if someone
isn’t Catholic, that person can
share the practices and beliefs,”
he said. “We all understand
from where others are coming.
The Catholic Church itself does
emphasize a strong dependence on human relationships.”
As a senior, Patterson is excited to be a leader within the School
community.
“The family feel here has a lot to do with senior classes who
learn to project that attitude to everybody,” he noted. “The sense of
brotherhood comes from a great sense of leadership…it’s a virtuous
cycle. As a younger student, I saw the sense of community kick
in. I would look to the top and see all these teachers and all these
seniors…and now that I’m a senior, I see all these students looking
at me about how to act. It’s my job to provide the positive influence.
Someone must have started this cycle way back and it’s just kept
going.”
With the increased stress of the college process well underway,
Patterson has the foresight to know that the support he sees from his
classmates now will only continue in the future.
He concluded, “It’s really cool to think about how after I’m
graduated, the relationships won’t die. It’s a bond we’ll always have
in common. It’s more than the St. Sebastian’s brand—it’s that we’ve
grown together so much.” n
...outside of school, these guys
are my life. Now that I’m at Seb’s,
my whole life is built around the
School. You share the experience,
you know what’s going on with
your classmates, you see them every
day. You grow together.
40 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
Pictured next page: Kevin Patterson ’13 practices the piano.
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| 41
SPEAKERS
Students listen as Louis Zamperini discusses his
World War II experience via video
teleconference with Headmaster Bill Burke.
Perseverance Under Pressure
Zamperini Recounts his
Remarkable Story of
Survival
L
ouis Zamperini, the subject of this past
summer’s All-School Read Unbroken
by Laura Hillenbrand, spoke with the St.
Sebastian’s School Community during
a video teleconference on Monday,
September 17, 2012.
Zamperini, a world-class runner and
1936 Olympic athlete, was attending the
University of Southern California when
he left to join the United States Air Corps
as a bombardier in the South Pacific
during World War II. Out on a routine
reconnaissance mission, his aircraft
crashed, leaving him and a crewmember
stranded in a life raft for 47 days, drifting
2,000 miles at sea into Japanese-controlled
waters.
“When you reach the end of your rope
and there’s nowhere else to turn,” noted
Zamperini, “…you’re gonna turn and look
up. So that’s all we did on the raft was pray
morning, noon, and night.”
Picked up by the Japanese, Zamperini
spent the remainder of the war in prison
camps, where he was tortured on a regular
basis.
Following his release at the end of the
war he returned to California, where he was
treated like a hero, married, and partied
with celebrities. Outwardly he looked as if
he had his life in order. But he was actually
spinning out of control, not sure how to
deal with the demons he was facing due to
his time in captivity. It was during this time
he found himself attending a Billy Graham
revival, where he quickly remembered his
pledge to God while out on the raft in the
middle of the ocean – that if God helped
him through his ordeal, he would seek and
serve Him.
Zamperini noted, “That night I made
my decision for Christ.”
The teleconference began with a
viewing of a CBS-produced video that
originally aired during the 1998 Olympics
in Nagano, Japan. Zamperini, who by that
42 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
time had served as a missionary in Japan
and had preached a Gospel of forgiveness
to the very guards who tortured him, had
been invited by the people of Nagano
to carry the Olympic Flame as part of
the torch relay. The video recounted his
story of survival, even interviewing one
of the head guards who tortured him
regularly during his captivity. Following
the video presentation, Headmaster Bill
Burke interviewed Zamperini, asking him
questions about his faith and the role it has
played in his life.
Zamperini concluded, “I’m a great
believer, and I believe it with all of my heart
that all things work together for good for
those who love the Lord and who are called
according to His purpose. Christ told us
in the Scripture, ‘I am the way, I am the
truth and I am the life.’ Christ is the way to
God, the way is the truth. People are always
seeking truth; the truth is Christ, and He’s
the life. But I think our eternal life starts
now by faith in Jesus Christ. That is the
strength we live by, and death no longer has
a sting… not to the Christian.”
SPEAKERS
Catholic Relief Services
Kimeu Discusses Life in Kenya
P
eter Kimeu (pictured above), Regional
Technical Advisor for Partnership,
Solidarity, and Justice at Catholic Relief
Services East Africa based in Kenya,
visited with the St. Sebastian’s School
Community on Friday, September 28,
2012.
Although slightly smaller than the
size of Texas, Kenya is home to nearly
double its population. Recurring droughts
punctuated by periods of heavy flooding,
poor roads, and limited access to clean
water have threatened Kenya’s economy by
limiting its ability to maintain its primary
source of income – agricultural exports.
Catholic Relief Services has worked hard
to address the issues facing Kenya, by
offering support that focuses on farming,
microfinance, water and sanitation, people
living with HIV and AIDS, education, and
emergency response.
During his remarks Kimeu spoke of the
hardships he and his family faced growing
up in Kenya. He related that no matter how
hungry he and his siblings might have been
as children, his mom would always remind
them that “God is good,” a phrase he has
always remembered and repeats often. He
went on to discuss how Catholic Relief
Services has helped to ease the burden on
the people of Kenya and thanked the group
for their support of the agency and the
good work it does.
Ballot Question 2
Carter Snead Addresses Assisted Suicide
C
arter Snead (pictured with
Headmaster Bill Burke), the
William P. and Hazel B. White Director
of the Center for Ethics and Culture at
the University of Notre Dame, led an
assembly during Corporate Chapel on
Monday, October 15, 2012. Snead holds
a J.D. from Georgetown and a B.A. from
St. John’s College. His principal area of
study is public bioethics, the governance
of science, medicine, and biotechnology
in the name of ethical goods. His scholarly
works have explored the issues relating
to neuroethics, enhancement, stem
cell research, abortion, and end-of-life
decision-making.
Snead spoke on assisted suicide
and end-of-life decision-making. More
specifically, he addressed the ballot initiative
before the people of Massachusetts that
would, if it had passed in November, allow
doctors to prescribe a lethal drug that
patients deemed terminally ill with less than
six months of life remaining could use to
end their own lives.
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| 43
SPEAKERS
Introduction of Colonel Bob
Loynd ’82
By Headmaster Bill Burke
Honoring Those Who Serve
Colonel Loynd ’82 Headlines Alumni Dinner
It is my great pleasure and distinct
honor to introduce this evening’s
speaker, distinguished St. Sebastian’s
alumnus, Colonel Bob Loynd USMC
from the Class of 1982.
For six years, Bob commuted from Concord to our former campus in Newton.
While at St. Sebastian’s, Bob played
football, hockey, and baseball, served
on the Yearbook staff, and did an outstanding job as Editor-in-Chief of the
Walrus and as Chairman of the Blood
Drive. This citation appears on Bob’s
yearbook page: His leadership, reliability and dedication were evident in
everything he did whether in the classroom or on the playing field.
After earning a B.A. at Colby College,
where he majored in American Studies, Bob joined the Marine Corps and
learned to fly jets. During Operation
Desert Storm, Bob flew 35 combat
sorties in the pilot’s seat of an EA6B
Prowler set up to jam enemy electronics. He has been deployed in Russia
and Central Asia, and in Japan, Korea,
and the Philippines. He spent a year
at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where he
earned a master’s degree in international affairs.
Colonel Loynd served as Senior Watch
Officer in the 3rd MAW Tactical Air Command Center during Operation Iraqi
Freedom.
After three years as the senior-ranking
Marine Corps Officer on Guam and the
Mariana Islands, Colonel Loynd is now
serving in the Marine Corps’s Plans,
Policies, and Operations Department in
the Pentagon...
Please help me welcome Colonel Bob
Loynd.
C
lose to 150 people attended the
St. Sebastian’s School Alumni
Dinner on Thursday, October 25,
2012. This year, the School’s Alumni
Association honored Arrows in the
Armed Forces – Past and Present.
A brief cocktail reception preceded
an emotional evening which featured
music, videos, and special guest
speakers.
The formal program started when
John McNamara ’81, President of
the School’s Alumni Association,
welcomed the group and explained the
significance of the event prior to Fr.
John Arens, a United States Marine
Corps veteran, offering the opening
prayer. The College of the Holy
Cross Honor Guard then presented
the Colors before the St. Sebastian’s
Schola, under the direction of Meyer
Chambers, led the group in the singing
of our National Anthem.
Following dinner, Schola sang the
four Armed Forces themes and a video
44 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
presentation honoring Arrows in the
Armed Forces - Past and Present was
shown. The video paid special tribute to
Sgt. William Cloney ’64, who was killed
in action six weeks into his tour of duty
in Vietnam in September 1968. Captain
Ed O’Connor ’88 and Headmaster Bill
Burke then presented Mia (Cloney)
Benjes with a plaque honoring her
brother’s service to our Country.
The evening’s keynote address
was given by Colonel Bob Loynd ’82
(pictured above center with his father
Richard and brother Andy ’98). Colonel
Loynd, using a video and PowerPoint
presentation to emphasize his point,
spoke on how global interdependency
has changed and evolved our world
over the years and how these changes
have affected national security and the
United States’ involvement in world
issues. He urged everyone to keep the
members of our Armed Forces in their
thoughts and prayers.
SPEAKERS
Third and Long Drives Unity Day Discussion
Theresa Moore Provides Keynote Address
Introduction of Theresa
Moore
By Headmaster Bill Burke
To heighten our awareness, to
strengthen our bonds, to reveal the
hidden wholeness, and to increase our
readiness, Theresa Moore is with us
today, and we are so very blessed that
it is so.
A standout track and field athlete in
high school in Providence, Rhode Island, Theresa won 10 individual state
championships. While at Harvard, she
was the Ivy League 100 meter champion. After graduating Cum Laude with
a degree in history, Ms. Moore earned
an MBA at Emory University in Atlanta.
While working for Coca-Cola and ESPN,
she was able to re-connect with sports,
engaging with the Olympics, the FIFA
World Cup, NASCAR, Major League
Baseball, Wimbledon, and the NCAA.
S
t. Sebastian’s School celebrated
Unity Day on Friday, November
2, 2012. This year’s event centered
around the documentary Third and
Long: The History of African Americans
in Pro Football. Documentary
Executive Producer and Director
Theresa Moore (pictured with
Headmaster Bill Burke and Dean of
Students Brendan Sullivan) served as
the keynote speaker for the event.
Third and Long is a unique and
ground-breaking project that examines
the history, racial struggles, sacrifices,
and triumphs of African Americans in
professional football from 1946, with
the re-integration of the sport after a 13year exclusion of Black players, through
1989, when Art Shell was named the
first Black head coach of the NFL’s
modern era. The documentary explores
the history of racial integration in this
country and the sport via the impact of
societal events such as World War II,
the Civil Rights Movement, Brown vs.
Board of Education, the assassinations
of Martin Luther King and Bobby
Kennedy, and the Vietnam War.
The event started with a general
assembly in the church, where
the School Community had the
opportunity to hear Moore discuss
her life and what led her to create the
documentary. The students were then
split into groups that rotated through
different sessions throughout the
morning. Each session featured a clip
from the documentary and a discussion
period. The event concluded back
in Ward Hall with Meyer Chambers
discussing the history of the club Men
with Positive Attitudes (MPA), Moore
leading a question and answer session,
and Headmaster Bill Burke offering
his remarks on the themes discussed
throughout the day.
After leaving ESPN, Ms. Moore
launched her own company: T-Time
Productions. She now has executive
producer, director, and co-writer titles
to her credit for two documentaries,
both of which discuss and transcend
the world of sports: License to Thrive:
Title IX at 35 and the film with which
we’ll engage this morning: Third and
Long: The History of African-Americans
in Pro Football 1946-1989.
Please help me welcome our tremendously accomplished and most distinguished guest, Theresa Moore.
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| 45
SPEAKERS
Boston Business Breakfast
Connolly Provides
Keynote at Annual
Event
R
oughly 100 parents, past parents,
alumni, and friends attended the
annual Boston Business Breakfast,
which was held at the Boston College
Club on Tuesday, November 20, 2012.
Bill Connolly, CFA, Head of Global
Distribution at Putnam Investments, was
this year’s keynote speaker. During his
remarks, Connolly compared the success
of Putnam to that of St. Sebastian’s. He
praised the School, and the leadership
of Headmaster Bill Burke, for remaining
true to its mission and providing an
educational experience that is second to
no one.
Pictured Below: Headmaster Bill Burke (c)
with (l-r) Bill, Will ’11, Jack ’12, and Barb
Connolly.
46 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
SPEAKERS
Pictured Above l-r: St. Christopher’s
School graduate and former Board
member Renard Charity, Dean of Students
Brendan Sullivan, Headmaster Bill Burke,
G. Gilmer Minor, and Owens & Minor
executive Todd Healy P’13.
Integrity and Honor
G. Gilmer Minor Discusses Values
G
. Gilmer Minor III, Chairman of
Owens & Minor, Inc., a Fortune
200 national distributor of medical and
surgical supplies as well as a healthcare
supply chain management company,
spoke to the St. Sebastian’s School
Community during an assembly on
Tuesday, December 4, 2012. Minor, a
graduate and former Board member
of St. Christopher’s School in Virginia
who holds a BA in History from the
Virginia Military Institute and an
MBA from the Colgate Darden School
of Business Administration at the
University of Virginia, reflected on the
pillars of integrity and honor during his
presentation.
“Every phase of your life builds upon
what you have learned in the past,” noted
Minor. “You are young. You are at a crucial
phase where you can define your beliefs
and values.”
Minor reminded those gathered that
the two foundations of life are integrity and
honor. And, if you always uphold both, you
will be able to weather life’s failures as you
enjoy its successes. To be men of integrity
and honor will enable you to hold your
head high, no matter the circumstance.
He also urged the group to “keep an
open mind to change.” He stated that in
order to succeed, you must have a plan,
but you must also be open to changing
that plan. And, he noted, “Before you can
become a successful leader, you must first
be a follower.”
Above all else, he commented, “Be
yourself and have fun.” n
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| 47
FINE ARTS
The S.S. American Sets Sail
in Ward Hall
Fine Arts Department presents its Fall
Production in early November.
S
tudents from St. Sebastian’s School
and Montrose School came together
for the Fine Arts Department production
of the Cole Porter Classic Anything Goes
on Friday and Saturday, November 9-10,
2012.
Anything Goes features the music
of Cole Porter and follows the antics of
Billy Crocker, a stowaway aboard the
S.S. American bound for London, as he
attempts to win the heart of passenger
and heiress Hope Harcourt. With the
help of his friend, nightclub singer and
evangelist Reno Sweeney, and a common
criminal, Public Enemy #13 Moonface
Martin, Crocker sets out to win Hope’s love
through a series of elaborate schemes. n
Above: Will Supple as Billy Crocker and
Eilis Quinn as Hope Harcourt.
Right: Julian Matra as Public Enemy #13
Moonface Martin and Mike Petro as Sir
Evelyn Oakleigh.
48 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
FINE ARTS
Anything
Goes
ATHLETICS FALL SPORTS
Arrows in Action
A complete review of the 2012 varsity football, soccer, and cross
country seasons.
Coach Dan Burke
Varsity Football
T
he 2012 Arrows football season began
with high hopes and expectations.
Coming off of a 6-2 2011 campaign
and returning several experienced and
talented players, the Arrows felt that this
was their year to earn St. Sebastian’s a
seventh ISL football championship. Long
before this season began, hard work,
inspiration, and unity of purpose laid
the groundwork for what turned into
Coach Souza’s best record in his 35 years
of coaching. Last year after a tough loss
that left the Arrows with a 2-2 record,
instead of dwelling on the misfortune,
team captain Jack Connolly ’12 sent out
a message to the team that they needed
to focus on not losing another game
from that point until the end of the 2012
season. While only intending to motivate,
Jack also prognosticated the results of
the second half of last season and the
entirety of this season. The focus and
motivation that last year’s senior class
helped to provide carried through the
end of the 2011 season, and from that
point on the 2012 senior class took over.
From captain organized workout sessions
to 7 on 7 leagues over the summer to
intensely determined preparation during
preseason, the 2012 Arrows football team
put themselves in a position to record the
program’s first undefeated regular season
since 1994. The road to the perfect record
was by no means an easy one, but the
composure and will of the entire team,
especially the senior class, gave the Arrows
an edge in every game as they never
panicked when faced with adversity. They
knew that this was their season, and they
were not going to let any team or play stop
them from achieving their goal.
After a successful preseason, the
Arrows were eager to put all of their hard
work and preparation to the test when
they began the regular season with a game
against Nobles. On their first drive of the
game after a 40 yard run by running back
Brendan Daly ’13 put the Arrows on the
Nobles five yard line, captain Patrick Healy
50 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
’13 finished off the drive with a one yard
plunge across the end zone. The Arrows’
defense set the tone well for the season in
their first series of the regular season when
they forced Nobles into a three and out,
giving the Arrows great field position for
their second offensive possession. Running
back Conor Hilton ’13 scored on a nine
yard touchdown run to finish this drive,
and the Arrows took a 14-0 lead into the
second quarter. While certainly a team
built for long offensive drives, the Arrows
showed how explosive they could be on
their next three possessions when receiver
Brian O’Malley ’13 tipped a pass to himself
from Patrick Healy and ran 47 yards for a
touchdown, running back Connor Strachan
’14 broke out for a 39 yard touchdown run,
and Brendan Daly burst through multiple
defenders on his way to a 25 yard scamper
into the end zone. The Arrows’ defense
yielded one score to Nobles in the first
half, but the offense responded well when
Conor Hilton turned a catch on a five yard
out into a highlight reel, zigzagging 46 yard
touchdown, leaving the Arrows with a
ATHLETICS
commanding 41-8 lead heading into halftime. The lead allowed for
second half playing time for many of the Arrows’ backups, including
running back Edosa Onaiwu ’15, who added one more score for the
Arrows on a 72 yard run. Finishing with a 48-21 victory, the Arrows
then geared up for a tough homecoming matchup versus the BB&N
Knights.
Having lost to the Knights by three points last year and with
a record of 0-3 against them over the past three seasons, the
Arrows were looking to overcome past struggles in front of a large,
raucous crowd of red and black clad supporters. Pumped up by
the enthusiastic fan support, the Arrows scored the first points of
the game when Brendan Daly (22 rushes for 134 yards) finished
off an eight play 83 yard drive with a five yard touchdown run up
the middle. When Daly crossed the plane, the student section of
over 100 fans in the end zone erupted and could barely restrain
themselves from entering the field of play to celebrate with their
team. The Knights responded, though, with a long drive of their
own culminating in a 10 yard touchdown run. After their point
after attempt failed and neither team managed another score, the
Arrows took a narrow 7-6 lead into halftime. The Arrows remained
positive and driven during the intermission and came out in the
second half the way they would all year against their top opponents.
Because of the outstanding, experienced, massive offensive line,
defenses wore down over time against the Arrows’ run game.
Similarly, the physical, aggressive Arrows’ defense figured out what
their opponents wanted to do against them and dominated the
final two quarters of most games. Against BB&N, interceptions at
crucial times by linebackers Henry Finnegan ’14 and James Fiore ’14
thwarted any BB&N momentum, and two diving catches in the end
zone by Brian O’Malley completed the 19-6 homecoming victory.
After one of the O’Malley touchdowns, the ebullient crowd could
not contain themselves as they had earlier in the game, resulting in
a 15 yard penalty against the fan section. While the St. Sebastian’s
coaches were not happy to be penalized, they certainly appreciated
the fanaticism of the home crowd, and were more than happy to see
them storm the field once again when the final seconds ticked off the
clock.
Thrilled by the exciting victory at homecoming, the Arrows were
also cautious not to dwell on it once the next week started, knowing
that they would face another tough opponent in Milton Academy
in St. Sebastian’s first ever home game under the lights that
Saturday night. Again, the Arrows were supported well that night
by tremendous fan support from students, alumni, parents, and
friends. As the Arrows marched on to the field with their all black
uniforms matching the night sky, excitement and expectations were
high. Milton Academy would have the first opportunity to score,
however, when their second possession of the game took them deep
into Arrows’ territory. Bowed but unbroken, the Arrows defense
conceded nothing when Milton Academy stood on the doorstep at
first and goal from the nine yard line. After their first three plays
put them on the half yard line, Milton Academy opted to go for
the touchdown on fourth down with a quarterback sneak play. An
incredible surge of black clad defenders led by defensive tackles Brian
FALL SPORTS
Fall Athletic Awards
The following athletic awards were presented to students during an Athletic Awards Assembly held on Tuesday, November 27.
All-League ISL (Independent School League)
Football - Brendan Daly, Patrick Healy, Chris Marano,
Brian Mullin, Brian O’Malley, Connor Strachan,
Brian Wolpe
Soccer - George Price
Honorable Mention All-League
Football - Dan Fulham, Conor Hilton, Joseph Kearney,
Scott Kingsley, Ryan Schnoor
Soccer - John Real
Cross Country - Mike Haley
Darren D. Gallup MVP Award
Presented by the ISL to a football player.
-- Brian O’Malley
Big Hit Award
Presented to the football player who leaves a ‘lasting
impression’ on his opponents.
-- Brendan Daly
Ennis Award
Presented to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of commitment, teamwork, and outstanding attitude
to the football program.
-- Conor Thomson
Peter Kerr Award
Presented for sportsmanship, dedication to the team,
and commitment to the soccer program.
-- Benjamin Piersiak, George Price
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| 51
ATHLETICS FALL SPORTS
Mullin ’13 and Chris Marano ’13 put an
end to Milton’s hopes, as the quarterback
was dropped for a loss. On the ensuing
possession for the Arrows, the offense
built off of this momentum swing. First,
a 45 yard reception by receiver Brandon
Sweeney ’14 on third and seven from their
own three yard line gave the Arrows some
breathing room. From there Brendan Daly,
the undisputed star of the game, took over
and began the scoring for the Arrows when
he broke off a 37 yard touchdown run
early in the second quarter. The Mustangs
were quick to respond with a long
touchdown drive of their own and almost
added another score before the half, but
the Arrows’ special teams came through
with a block of a field goal attempt from a
talented Mustangs kicker who had booted
four field goals through in their previous
game. Again the Arrows found themselves
in a tight game at half, trailing 7-6, and
again they came out in the second half
ready to dominate. Brendan Daly scored
again for the Arrows in the third quarter
on a 30 yard run and also ran in the two
point conversion to give the Arrows a 14-7
advantage. Milton Academy responded
again, though, with a touchdown and
conversion of their own to take a 15-14
lead. While the game remained tight at
this point, the fourth quarter proved to be
all St. Sebastian’s as Daly added two more
touchdown runs and also blocked another
Milton Academy field goal attempt,
and the St. Sebastian’s defense stifled all
other Mustangs possessions. The Arrows
finished off the 29-15 victory, celebrated
again by fans rushing the field, and took a
3-0 record into battle the following week
versus rival Belmont Hill.
52 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
The Belmont Hill game proved to
be a defensive battle, but it was Belmont
Hill that struck first as they methodically
drove the ball down the field on their first
possession, chewing up most of the first
quarter and eventually scoring on a one
yard run despite a valiant effort by the
Arrows goal line defense. The Arrows
responded in the second quarter with a
Patrick Healy to Brian O’Malley connection
from 22 yards out, but after a missed
point after attempt, the Arrows trailed
Belmont Hill 7-6 at halftime. Having
found themselves in this position the week
before, the Arrows did not panic, but they
knew that this game would continue to
be a tough battle to the end as it often is
against Belmont Hill. The third quarter
consisted of strong defense by both sides,
and it was not until the fourth quarter that
either team scored when another Healy to
ATHLETICS
O’Malley pass resulted in a 12-7 lead for
the Arrows. Knowing how tight the game
was, the Arrows opted to go for two, and
senior captain quarterback Patrick Healy
wanted the ball in his hands. Running
a quarterback sweep, Healy was met at
the two yard line by two Belmont Hill
defenders, but he refused to be denied,
fighting through would-be tacklers and
earning the Arrows two crucial points.
Since the Arrows defense had been stuffing
Belmont Hill ever since the first series of
the game, they were hoping to shut them
down one more time when they pinned
them deep in their territory on the ensuing
kickoff with just over three minutes to
play in the game. Belmont Hill, however,
refused to submit and put together
an impressive drive that resulted in a
touchdown with only 18 seconds to play
in the game. With the extra point added,
Belmont Hill knotted the game at 14-14,
sending the game into overtime. The
Arrows lost the coin toss and had to start
on offense, but they wasted no time putting
the pressure back on their opponents when
Healy threw for his third touchdown of the
game, this time to Connor Strachan, on the
first play of overtime. Healy again took the
ball in his own hands on the conversion
attempt, and though it looked like he
clearly crossed the goal line with the ball,
he was called short, and the Arrows defense
took the field up by six points. A huge stop
for no gain on Belmont’s first play limited
their options, and they took to the air to try
to score. On second down the quarterback
rolled to his right and threw to the corner
of the end zone but senior cornerback
Conor Hilton was there in coverage and the
pass sailed out of bounds. The third down
play had the same result but on the left side,
so it came down to a fourth down play.
Again the quarterback tried Hilton’s side,
and again he was up to the challenge as the
pass fell incomplete. For the third game in
a row, the fan section stormed the field and
celebrated the hard-fought victory for the
Arrows, now 4-0.
Having made their way through the
toughest three game stretch of the schedule,
the Arrows were in the driver’s seat but
not looking past their next opponent,
the Middlesex Zebras. The scoring got
off to a quick start when on the Arrows’
first play from scrimmage, Brendan Daly
burst through a hole opened up by the
right side of the line and ran over two
defenders into open field on his way to a
67 yard touchdown run. Middlesex, with
their strong passing game, moved the ball
well on their first drive, but safety Brian
O’Malley batted away a fourth down pass
attempt to give the Arrows the ball on
their own 23 yard line. Three plays later,
another explosive play resulted in a 77
yard touchdown run by fullback Connor
Strachan. Middlesex did not back down
in the face of the 14-0 first quarter deficit,
as they scored on their next possession on
a 37 yard pass play. From that point on,
however, the Arrows controlled the game
as Brendan Daly helped drive the ball down
the field with his 254 rushing yards, and
Connor Strachan finished off the drives
with four touchdown runs on only seven
carries. Running back James Fiore ’14 also
added a touchdown run, and one more
score from Middlesex in the fourth quarter
resulted in a 42-14 final score.
The Arrows’ next two games also
had lopsided results, as they beat St.
George’s 47-12 and Groton 35-0. Versus
St. George’s Brian O’Malley caught two
more touchdown passes and Brendan Daly
rushed for three touchdowns to lead the
Arrows, and Joe Kearney ’14 and James
Fiore finished off the scoring with an 80
yard kickoff return and a 3 yard touchdown
respectively. Against Groton, the Arrows
jumped out to a lead early again on a
Brendan Daly touchdown run, but the rest
of the game was a mix of high and low for
the star running back. After rushing for
164 yards, which put him over the 1,000
yard mark for the season, Daly pulled
a hamstring, ending his regular season.
Despite the major blow to the team, the
Arrows remained focused, and the defense
shut down the Groton attack all game to
earn the shutout victory. The Arrows were
now 7-0 heading into the final game of the
season against a talented Thayer Academy
team, who had only lost by six points earlier
in the season to the other undefeated team
in the ISL, Governor’s Academy.
FALL SPORTS
Having only beaten Thayer by one
point last year and knowing that they
were returning all of their top players, the
Arrows knew the challenge they faced
trying to finish off the undefeated regular
season against them despite Thayer’s 3-4
record coming into the game. Missing
Daly, the Arrows knew that other seniors
would need to step up in his absence. The
first two to respond were Patrick Healy and
Brian O’Malley when Healy threw a deep
pass to O’Malley to get the Arrows to the
Thayer 20 yard line on their first series. A
few plays later they connected again when
Healy threw a fourth down pass from two
yards out to a diving O’Malley in the end
zone. O’Malley’s kick gave the Arrows
an early 7-0 lead. The Arrows defense
looked to be dominant again early, forcing
Thayer to go three and out on their first
two possessions. Unfortunately, a smart
play call by Thayer and a breakdown in
coverage by the Arrows led to a deep
touchdown pass early in the second quarter
to Thayer’s top receiver. Fortunately for
the Arrows Thayer missed the point after
attempt, so the Arrows held on to a 7-6
lead. Thayer struck again on a big play on
their next possession when their running
back found a gap on the left side and arced
out to the sideline for a 57 yard touchdown
run. After their point after, Thayer went
into halftime with a 13-7 lead. The Arrows
had found themselves in this position
before, trailing by a score in a game against
a tough opponent, and they knew how to
respond. Most impressive in the second
half was the defensive effort. The Arrows
never gave Thayer a hope of scoring again,
swarming to the ball and dropping the
Thayer running backs and quarterback
for several lost yards. Early on in the third
quarter, the Arrows offense struck again
on another fourth down connection from
Patrick Healy to Brian O’Malley. Standing
at fourth and eleven from the 36 yard line,
Healy dropped back and heaved the ball up
the left sideline to O’Malley who had beaten
his defender to the outside. O’Malley
finished off the touchdown run and tacked
on the extra point as the Arrows took
back the lead 14-13. For the remainder of
the game, the Arrows defense shut down
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ATHLETICS FALL SPORTS
Thayer’s offense, and the Arrows’ offense
came up with several key conversions
to keep possessions alive and chew up
minutes of the clock. Most notably, the
Arrows were pinned back on their own
two yard line with just under six minutes
left to play. A momentum swinging pass
play to receiver Brandon Sweeney ’14 for
37 yards gave the Arrows breathing room,
and on the ensuing series of downs, Patrick
Healy ran around the right side on third
and seven for another crucial first down
that allowed the Arrows to take a knee to
finish the game and the perfect 8-0 regular
season. For the fourth time in the season,
the exuberant fan section stormed the field
to share in the excitement.
Wrapping up the ISL title was the
foremost goal from the start of the season,
and having achieved that goal, Coach Souza
was choked up as he spoke to the team
after the Thayer game telling them how
proud he was of all of them, particularly
the senior class who refused to quit or let
their teammates quit at any point over
the past three years. Souza said, “This is a
special group,” and their combined effort
and focus were the keys to the undefeated
regular season. This “special group”
still had unfinished business, though,
as they earned a berth into a NEPSAC
championship game with a chance to bring
home the School’s first ever New England
Championship in football. A day after the
Thayer game, the Arrows found out that
the NEPSAC committee had pitted them
against the King School from Stamford,
Connecticut in the Arthur Valicenti Bowl
to be played at Avon Old Farms School in
Avon, Connecticut.
After a short week of preparation to
face a team they knew little about, the
Arrows boarded the buses early Saturday
morning for the two hour ride to Avon.
On a crisp November morning the 2012
Arrows took the field for the last time
together with a chance to make history in
front of hundreds of loyal fans who made
the trek with them. Low on nerves and
high on confidence, focus, and excitement,
the Arrows came out flying at the start of
the game. After taking the opening kickoff
to their own 30 yard line, the Arrows led
off with their bruising run game. On the
second play of the game, Conor Hilton
took a handoff up the middle and found
open field for a 46 yard gain. Two plays
later Hilton found space again, this time
on his way to a four yard touchdown run.
It was then time for the Arrows defense
to see how they would fare against the
King School’s strong run game. On their
second play King’s quarterback fumbled
the snap and St. Sebastian’s defensive end
Dan Fulham ’14 pounced on the loose
ball giving the Arrows possession deep
in King territory. Patrick Healy finished
this drive shortly thereafter with an 11
yard touchdown run, giving the Arrows
an early 13-0 lead. King responded well
though, scoring on a one yard run late in
the second quarter to bring the score to
13-7. The Arrows did not want to let their
opponent back into the game, so their two
minute offense tried to get more points
on the board before halftime. Conor
Hilton and Patrick Healy went to work
on the ground, and with 12 seconds left in
the half, Conor Hilton scored from three
yards out. Healy then ran in a two point
conversion to send the Arrows into the
intermission with a 21-7 lead. At halftime
the talk was about not letting up until the
Arrows were NEPSAC champions, and
the team responded as they had all year by
dominating the second half. The Arrows
defense stonewalled every attempt by
the King School to get a drive going, and
Patrick Healy scored another touchdown
for the Arrows on an eight yard run. When
the ensuing kickoff landed in a vacant spot
between King returners, linebacker Billy
Behman ’13 scooped up the ball and gave
the Arrows another possession and another
quick opportunity to put the game out
of reach. Receiver Brandon Sweeney ’14
helped to do just that when, after returning
to the game after breaking his finger earlier,
he fought for position against his defender
and caught a 17 yard touchdown pass from
Healy. With the score 33-7 at the end of
the third quarter, the Arrows felt confident
that victory was at hand, and when Patrick
Healy ran for his third touchdown of
the game, the Arrows took a 40-7 lead
late into the fourth quarter. King’s last
54 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
attempt to score was fittingly taken away by
another big play by a St. Sebastian’s senior.
Linebacker Henry Kennedy ’13 dropped
into coverage and intercepted the ball to
finish the game. The fifth fan field storming
of the season followed shortly thereafter as
the Arrows celebrated their program’s first
ever NEPSAC championship. While most
football seasons end in tear filled hugs and
goodbyes, the Arrows had no tears that
day, only beaming smiles and full hearts
from accomplishing every goal they set for
themselves that year.
After 35 years at the helm of the storied
St. Sebastian’s football program, Coach
Souza led the 2012 team to a perfect 9-0
season, the best record in the program’s
history and the best record possible for
future Arrows teams. Throughout the
season Coach Souza referenced the past
undefeated Arrows teams to help the 2012
Arrows understand what it would take
to reach that mark, and he also shared
correspondences he received from several
alumni including those from the 1977 and
1994 teams wishing the 2012 Arrows luck.
Souza predecessors Tom Green and Ed
Sweeney also shared their support through
word and attendance at games, further
showing how important this season was
to the entire program past and present.
The Arrows felt the support and love of all
of the alumni, fans, trustees, faculty, and
families, and happily share the excitement
of their ISL and NEPSAC champions with
all who came before them and were with
them throughout the season. The 2012
Arrows will live on in the School’s record
books, and the seniors on that team will
always be remembered and appreciated
for their leadership, outstanding play, and
unity. The senior-led defense finished
with the fewest points allowed in the ISL,
limiting opponents to 12.1 points per
game, and the offensive powerhouses were
all from the class of 2012 as well. The
Arrows will miss the entire senior class
and congratulate Brian O’Malley who was
named one of the two MVP’s of the ISL and
Brendan Daly who rushed for 1,092 yards
in only four and a half quarters of playing
ATHLETICS
time – two outstanding achievements
among many from the unshakable,
undefeated, unbelievable 2012 Arrows.
Coach Richard Connolly
Varsity Soccer
I
f a soccer season could be evaluated like
a short story, as the varsity team’s two
English teaching coaches would enjoy,
the Arrows’ 2012 effort would have read
like something from the desk of Raymond
Carver or Ernest Hemingway: gritty,
fearless, and often poetic. Of course, The
Beautiful Game remains judged by the
frequently Kafkaesque scoreboard, and
our warrior-poets must live with a record
largely unbefitting of their play: with three
wins against nine losses and three ties
in Independent School League play, St.
Sebastian’s finished with twelve points and
in a tie for twelfth place.
Nevertheless, at St. Sebastian’s we
celebrate the student-athlete, and we
similarly appreciate the inherent narrative
of an athletic season: the multitude of
players who drive the plot forward; the
memories baptized in blood, sweat and
tears; and the emotional highs and lows
that define what it means to put on your
school’s uniform and compete every day.
With fifteen ISL games, the 2012 season
divides itself nicely into three, five-game
chapters, so we now present to you the
most complicated genre in the world of the
writing, the review.
This year’s tale begins with a short
prologue involving non-league powerhouse
Worcester Academy, whose combination
of eleven seniors and post-graduates,
complemented by skillful underclassmen, led
the Hilltoppers to a 3-0 win over the much
younger, but equally hungry, Arrows team.
We next meet our heroes not in a dog
fight, but in a battle with Bulldogs, down 2-0
on the road with fifteen minutes remaining
against backyard rival and defending
ISL champion Nobles. Showcasing
characteristic resiliency, the Arrows strike
twice within two minutes on goals from
junior sweeper John O’Leary ’14 and senior
captain John Real ’13 to earn an auspicious
FALL SPORTS
tie in the League opener. A disappointing
loss at eventual New England Class B cochamps Rivers is followed by a dramatic
homecoming match with BB&N, as junior
Austin Lewis ’14 scores in the 86th minute
off a feed from senior captain George Price
’13 for another well-fought draw. Senior
captain and goalkeeper Ben Piersiak ’13
orchestrates his first shutout of the season
against Governor’s in a 3-0 win, punctuated
by freshman Alejandro Soto’s ’16 first career
strike. As the opening chapter comes to a
close, the team is riding something of a hot
streak after battling Milton to a scoreless tie,
improving to 1-1-3.
A brief footnote follows in the form
of a 2-1 victory over Tabor, a non-league
foe that has quietly become a fierce rival in
recent years.
The second chapter might best be
likened to a Russian tragedy, with St.
Sebastian’s losing five games in a row, often
in heartbreaking fashion. At Belmont Hill,
an unlucky handball in the box results in a
penalty kick and 1-0 defeat. A mid-October
driving-rain storm follows the Arrows
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ATHLETICS
FALL SPORTS
to North Andover, where despite what
some consider the team’s best effort of the
season, the Arrows lose 2-0 after a pair of
late goals by League co-champs Brooks.
Days later, Lawrence’s powerful attack
propels the Spartans to a 4-1 victory, and
St. Sebastian’s then reaches a depth Dante
may have drafted in a 3-1 loss on an eerily
warm day at Middlesex. The Arrows are
cruelly pierced by misfortune at St Mark’s,
losing 2-1 while surrendering an own-goal
and another penalty kick, but decidedly
outplaying the host, offering a glimmer
of hope as we turn the page for the final
chapter.
Against St. George’s, St. Sebastian’s is
sparked by goals from sophomores Kenny
Vallace ’15 and Matt Guarino ’15 in a 3-1
slaying of the Dragons, which is followed
by a Halloween treat in New Hampshire:
a 1-0 victory over St. Paul’s with a late goal
from Real off a magical back-heel flick by
Lewis. In early November, Groton comes
to Needham with a six-game winning
streak, and while the Arrows create fine
scoring chances, the Zebras prevail 1-0
largely because of several excellent stops by
their keeper. In a scene worthy of a Robert
Frost poem, over an inch of snow blankets
the field while senior manager Mickey
Adams ’13 shovels clear the sidelines when
Roxbury Latin visits Greendale Avenue.
Hitching their sleigh to two of the Leagues’
top-three scorers, the 2012 New England
Class B co-champs prove capable of strong
play in all weather, returning home 4-1
victors, with senior Joe Coughlin’s ’13 first
career goal providing the lone highlight
for St. Sebastian’s. On the final day of the
season, traditional rival Thayer hosts the
Arrows, and the Tigers claw their way to
a 1-0 win off another late penalty kick in
a game so well-fought by both sides that
Thayer’s 25-year coach decides he can now
happily retire.
This year’s epilogue celebrates the
achievements of both Price, who earned
First-Team All-League recognition and
a spot in the senior all-star game on
championship weekend, and Real, who
garnered Second-Team All-ISL accolades.
Four-year letter-winners Price and Piersiak
are named recipients of the Peter Kerr
Award for “sportsmanship, dedication to
the team, and commitment to the soccer
program.” And offering a preview of what
to expect in the 2013 edition, the team
elects rising-seniors Austin Lewis and John
O’Leary as co-captains.
All St. Sebastian’s students know a
simple summary never does justice to great
literature, and this review fails to paint
a picture reflective of the hard-work and
brotherhood that defined the 2012 varsity
soccer season. In a results-driven world,
many athletes throw in the proverbial
towel when times are tough and then
get tougher, but any member of the St
Sebastian’s Community would be proud of
the way these 19 young men maintained
composure, remained positive, kept
improving, and embodied all that it means
to play sports with your friends and for
your School.
Along with the three captains, seniors
Joe Coughlin ’13, Alex Moore ’13, Teddy
O’Hara ’13, and Andrew Sullivan ’13 will all
be missed not just for their contributions
during games but also for their passion,
loyalty, and friendship in practices, on bus
rides, and in the hallways.
O’Leary and Lewis are joined by Niko
Fischer ’14 as a talented and eager trio of
seniors who will lead the team next fall.
Two-year letter-winner Doyle Silvia ’15 will
be joined by Matt Bell ’15, Charlie Gordon
’15, Matt Guarino ’15, Billy McCarthy ’15,
Paige Sanderson ’15, James Sylvia ’15, and
Kenny Vallace ’15 as the game-tested and
motivated returners from the Class of 2015,
and rising-sophomore Alejandro Soto will
certainly help next year’s underclassmen
adjust to the speed and physicality of soccer
at the varsity level.
The best stories are the ones that leave
us pleased with what we just experienced
and curious for what’s to come, and the
2012 varsity soccer team should be proud
of the tale it told and the legacy it leaves.
With such an experienced group returning
in 2013, and a strong feeder system in the
JV and third teams, next year’s narrative
is highly anticipated, and one cannot help
but hope our heroes have their efforts more
overtly rewarded by the great reviewer of
them all, the scoreboard.
56 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
John Ryan ’15
Varsity Cross Country
R
unners set…GO!!! With these
words every cross country race
starts. Whether the “Go” is marked by
a voice, an air-horn, or a gun can differ,
but with these signals, the runners are
off. From there, pain sets in and will set
in indefinitely. During a cross country
race, there is no time to rest. For the next
17-23 minutes of the runner’s life, all he
will know is pain. Yet, the cross country
runner guts it out and still lines up to
repeat the process the next time, enduring
the same amount of pain in the next race.
No other sport will ensure this much pain
on the athlete, which is why cross country
runners should be recognized for their
bravery and courage, putting their bodies
on the line during every single race.
This year, the cross country team was
led by their multitude of seniors on the
team, including captain Mike Haley ’13,
Peter Breslin ’13, Matt Fachetti ’13, Peter
DeMatteo ’13, Luke Scotten ’13, Anthony
McIntyre ’13, Matt McGuire ’13, and Eddie
McCarthy ’13. The rest of the team was
filled by five juniors and sophomores, Cam
Kelly ’14, John Bartlett ’14, John Flatley
’15, Peter Olson ’15, and John Ryan ’15.
With last year’s head coach, Mr. Jenkins,
off to attend Yale Divinity School, the cross
country team was led by Mr. Ryan, aided by
a new assistant coach, Mr. O’Brien.
After the fabled Homecoming race in
which Mike Haley sprinted past a Nobles
runner on the last turn, Mike continued
his dominance, winning the Governor’s
race and finishing in the top-10 in every
race after, consistently running with fast
times of low 18s to mid 17s. When asked
to comment on his performance, Haley
said, “I’m just glad that my hard work
has helped. And I received help from the
workouts in practice and fellow runners.
As a senior I realized I didn’t have many
races left, so I tried to make the most of
it.” Going down a score sheet, you would
find Cam Kelly and John Ryan behind
Haley, almost always finishing within 20
seconds of one another, flip-flopping the
positions of second or third on the team.
ATHLETICS
Close behind them was a new runner, Peter
Breslin, who arrived to the team this year
after several years of playing soccer. After
recovering from a knee injury, Breslin ran
extremely well, finishing fourth on the
team with impressive times. In his first
race, Breslin ran an impressive 19:41 on
an extremely hard course at St. George’s.
After Breslin, the typical order was
Fachetti, DeMatteo, and Flatley, all close
to one another. They were followed by the
hardworking Luke Scotten, who improved
his running and ran a new personal record
almost every time he crossed the finish
line. Following Scotten were John Bartlett,
Peter Olson, Matt McGuire, and Eddie
McCarthy, rounding out the squad.
On Friday, October 5, the Arrows
traveled to St. Mark’s for a quad race
against St. Mark’s, Belmont Hill, and
Groton. While the runners had good
races, all three of the other teams defeated
us; a bright spot, however, was that Haley
finished with a time of 17:59, while Cam
Kelly ran a time of 18:56. Then, on the
Saturday of the following week, the team
drove to St. George’s for a race, sadly
missing the Seb’s-Belmont Hill football
game. Expecting another rain-swept day
like last year, the Arrows were surprised
to find a sunny day in Newport. Once
again, the Arrows ran well, posting good
enough times to beat Portsmouth Abbey,
yet not good enough to beat Tabor and St.
George’s. Peter Breslin, in his first race, ran
extremely well—possibly due to his honey
consumption right before the race. On the
next Friday, the Arrows went to Roxbury
Latin to run on their new course, one
which was a bit longer than their previous
track. On a wet day, the Arrows ran well,
with Mike Haley running a great race once
again, finishing in 4th with a time of 18:35.
John Ryan, Cam Kelly, and Peter Breslin
then took the 10, 11, 12 spots respectively,
all finishing within 30 seconds of one
another.
Then came the final regular season
race at Rivers’ course at Elm Bank. There
the team raced Middlesex, BB&N, and
Rivers. While the Arrows were shutout
by Middlesex and beaten by BB&N, they
pulled out a win against Rivers because
of impressive runs by Mike Haley (17:08;
6th), Cam Kelly (18:21; 16th), John Ryan
(18:28; 19th), Peter Breslin (18:31; 22nd),
Peter DeMatteo (19:50; 35th), Matt Fachetti
(19:55; 36th), and Luke Scotten (19:56;
37th).
FALL SPORTS
On Friday, November 2, the Arrows
traveled to Nobles. The hope was for Mike
Haley, the captain, to have a magnificent
run, a run which would land him in the
top-15, rewarding him with a medal.
Unfortunately, Haley had been battling
through shin splints for a few weeks. After
thoroughly icing his shins, Haley took the
line, but after a quick first mile, he began to
feel a heightened discomfort in his shins.
Haley still valiantly gave it his all, coming
in 30th with a time of 18:07. Other notable
runners were Cam Kelly (65th) and John
Ryan (67th), who were the second and
third Arrows’ runners to place. As a team,
the Arrows came in 13th in the ISL.
While the year may not have ended as
well as the Arrows would have hoped, it
was still a great year. On behalf of the team,
I would like to thank Coach Ryan and
Coach O’Brien, as well as Mr. Fitz and the
trainers who kept us healthy, and anyone
who helped the team or came out to cheer.
We look forward to next year, in which
captain-elect Cam Kelly will lead a team full
of rising sophomores, taking the spots of
the graduating seniors who made this team
so much fun. So, finally, thank you seniors
for a great year, and I hope to see everyone
else out there next year. n
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| 57
ARROWS IN MEMORIAM
In Memoriam
We extend our deepest sympathy to the families of the graduates
and friends of St. Sebastian’s School. Rest In Peace
Daniel Callahan
— September 3, 2012
Father of Joseph Callahan ’01 and uncle of
Stephen Ward ’96.
Henry Doten
— December 26, 2012
Father of Alex ’05.
Margaret Ferguson
— September 22, 2012
Mother of faculty member James.
John Galloway
— October 25, 2012
Grandfather of Brandon ’13 and Bryce ’15
Jones.
Daniel Kelly
— October 14, 2012
Jeremiah Sullivan ’56
Mr. Sullivan passed away on October 18,
2012. While at St. Sebastian’s he played
varsity football, basketball, and baseball
(captain of all three teams his senior year).
He was also Class President all four high
school years, was the Class Salutatorian,
and was a member of the Junior and
Senior Prom Committees, Dramatic
Society, Walrus and Arrow staffs, and the
Altar Society. Sullivan was a graduate of
Harvard University and the New England
Law School. He is survived by his children,
Jeremiah and Sarah, and his longtime
companion, Lynnda.
Grandfather of Peter Julien ’18.
Alice Kenefick
— December 13, 2012
Mother of Paul ’87.
Maud Kirk
— August 28, 2012
Sister of Paul ’56 and Ed ’62.
“Happy are those who have died in the Lord!
Happy indeed the Spirit says;
Now they can rest forever after their work,
Since their good deeds go with them.”
Revelation 14:13
Virginia Korzeniowski
— September 17, 2012
Grandmother of David ’16.
Patricia Malagari
— October 7, 2012
Grandmother of Cam ’14 and Ian ’16
Kelly.
Patricia Maney
— November 11, 2012
Wife of Bill ’81.
William O’Hearn
— September 24, 2012
Father of William ’86.
Maureen White
— December 12, 2012
Grandmother of Martin ’18.
58 | S T. S EBASTIAN’S M AGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I
Anne Mulroy - Past Trustee
Mrs. Mulroy passed away on October
8, 2012. As a former Guild of St. Irene
President, she had been a member of the
School’s Board of Trustees. Mulroy is
survived by her six children, their spouses,
and many grandchildren, including fellow
Arrows (sons) Richard ’73, John ’74,
James ’76, William ’78, and Robert ’82
Mulroy, (son-in-law) John DiGiovanni
’84, (grandchildren) John ’02, Patrick ’06,
Brendan ’07, James ’08, and Richard ’10
Mulroy, and Desmond DiGiovanni ’14.
Should I consider a
Charitable
Gift
Annuity?
A gift annuity is a simple contract with St. Sebastian’s where, in exchange
for a gift of cash, appreciated securities, or other assets, the School agrees
to pay an annuity to the beneficiaries (up to two individuals) for life. The
payout rates are a function of the age and number of beneficiaries and follow the guidelines established by the American Council on Gift Annuities.
Rates are highly competitive.
As an Example
Brian ’50 has been very successful in “laddering” certificates of deposit.
Lately he has found the payout rates and terms to be less than he would
like. He decides to donate his low-yielding stock for a St. Sebastian’s charitable gift annuity, which offers a higher yield, increased security, and the
opportunity to support St. Sebastian’s.
In making his gift Brian ’50 has locked into a guaranteed lifetime of income,
generated a substantial tax deduction, and has avoided the capital gains
tax that would have been due had he sold the stock to seek a higher yield
investment.
Thank you, John Hodgson GP’12
As his grandson Sam ’12 was preparing
to be graduated this past spring, John
Hodgson gave a Charitable Gift Annuity
to St. Sebastian’s School.
According to John:
“The gift was to thank Seb’s for providing three enjoyable years watching
my grandson Sam playing football and
lacrosse.”
St. Sebastian’s thanks John Hodgson and
all those who have supported the School
through Planned Giving.
To learn more about Charitable Gift
Annuities and other Planned Giving options,
please contact Linda Panetta in the Alumni
Office at 781-247-0187.
Nonprofit Org.
US Postage
PAID
Boston, MA
Permit No. 19943
1191 Greendale Avenue
Needham, Massachusetts 02492
William L. Burke III
Headmaster
Richard F. Arms
Director of Alumni & Development
Dan Tobin
Director of Communications
Phone 781-449-5200
www.stsebastiansschool.org
Bill, Bill, and Mia Benjes accept a plaque honoring Mia’s brother, the
late William Cloney ’64, from Headmaster Bill Burke and Captain Ed
O’Connor ’88 during this year’s Alumni Dinner on October 25. See
page 44 for more information.
Fax 781-449-5630