A MAN for OTHERS IN MEDICINE DR. DANIEL W. JOHNSON ‘96 8 REUNIONS AT PREP 12 TOMORROW LABS: IN PROGRESS 20 OPERATION OTHERS AT 50 FALL 2017 8 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE This year at Creighton Prep, our school theme is joy, and that includes the work that all of us do here to advance the mission to form men of faith, scholarship, 12 Volume 61 No. 2 Fall 2017 leadership and service. Carrying out our work with joy is also one small way Published by: that we can take to heart Pope Francis’ words about how integral joy is to being Creighton Prep 7400 Western Avenue a Christian. Omaha, NE 68114-1878 402.393.1190 My hope is that you will see the essence of joy coming through in many of the 4 20 www.creightonprep.org articles that comprise this issue of the Creighton Prep magazine. From the coverage on the life of Daniel W. Johnson ‘96, the alumni that gather for reunions, the President: Fr. Tom Neitzke, SJ ToMorrow Labs progress and the Loyola Dinner honorees to the write-ups on 4 A Man for Others in Medicine: 15 Fall Sports [email protected] other alumni servant leaders, Coach Pat Mooney and the baseball program, and Dr. Daniel W. Johnson ‘96 Operation Others at 50, there is a common thread through all of it: that joy is The Profile of a Prep Alumnus Who Rose to be 16 Building Excellence Principal: Jim Bopp essential to success, especially in efforts to help and inspire others. Part of the Fight Against Ebola Coach Pat Mooney and The Journey to the American Legion National Championship Baseball Game [email protected] As we strive to keep building a community of joy for students, I am excited by the 8 Reunions at Prep Assistant to the President: prospects of the comprehensive student support services program that will begin Reconnecting and Remembering in 2017 18 Prep Grads Living the Mission Fr. Nathan Wendt, SJ in July 2018 and that Principal Jim Bopp announced by email in November. Toward One Reunion Weekend in 2018 Donald W. Kleine ‘70 [email protected] The additions of a Director of College Counseling, a school psychologist and an Photo credit: Courtesy of Daniel J. Murphy ‘07 David R. Kirchofer ‘85 Assistant Principal for Student Support Services will help strengthen our commitment Assistant to the President: 10 2017 Loyola Dinner of Honor John C. Naatz to helping students succeed in the classroom, in the college admissions process 20 Operation Others at 50 [email protected] and as young men on a journey that can be challenging in ways many of us may and Distinction A Celebration for the Heart and Soul not have imagined long ago. Vice President of Advancement: 11 2017-2018 AMDG 22 The Story of ‘Downsizing’ Rick Berger ‘76 Even with those challenges, our students continue to perform exceedingly well in a Annual Fund Campaign How the Script Came Together for the Major Motion [email protected] wide variety of endeavors. For example, 18 seniors were recognized in September Picture by C. Alexander Payne ‘79 That Was Filmed The Time to Give is Now! Director of Annual Funds: for outstanding academic achievement by the National Merit Scholarship Program, Partly at Creighton Prep Taylor Stormberg ‘09 including eleven who were named Semifinalists—more than any other school in 12 ToMorrow Labs: In Progress [email protected] the state and an honor bestowed on about 1 percent of the 1.6 million students in Nurturing Creativity and Collaboration 23 Here & There the competition—and seven named Commended Students for also being among Principal Gifts Officer: Dede Crowley the 50,000 highest scorers on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship 14 Faculty Spotlight 28 Please Remember [email protected] Qualifying Test. David A. Lawler ‘95 and Paul F. Lawler ‘01 May 1, 2017 to September 30, 2017 Director of Alumni Relations: The following month, the great labor by Prep student journalists on the Jay Journal Max Huerter ‘09 newspaper, the Jay Junior yearbook and CPTV was rewarded with seven honors [email protected] announced at the fall convention of the Nebraska High School Press Association, CALENDAR Director of Events: and eleven Prep musicians were named All-State by the Nebraska Music SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2017 SUNDAY, JANUARY 28, 2018 SATURDAY, MARCH 24, 2018 Amy Gilroy Knight Educators Association. Operation Others Delivery Day Father-Son Mass and Breakfast BASH 2018 Patron Party [email protected] Check www.creightonprep.org/oo for Embassy Suites by Hilton Omaha- At the home of Stacy Moffenbier As we close 2017, please know that I am deeply grateful for the support you warehouse location. La Vista Hotel & Conference Center Rohloff and Doug Rohloff Advancement Associate: continue to show Prep. Having you with us, expressing joy in our mission through Terri Haller [email protected] your gifts to the school, attending our events and telling the Prep story to others is FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2017 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2018 SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2018 Christmas in the Cage Integrated Arts & Technology Night BASH 2018 both inspirational and critical to our success. Advancement Administrative Support: The Heider Center at Creighton Prep The Sullivan Center at Creighton Prep The Heider Center at Creighton Prep Stephanie Kremla Heng Sincerely, [email protected] SATURDAY, JANUARY 13, 2018 MONDAY, MARCH 5, 2018 SUNDAY, MAY 20, 2018 8th Grade Scholarship Athletic Hall of Fame Graduation Ceremony for the Class Donor Relations: & Entrance Exam Induction Ceremony of 2018 and Jubilarian Reunion for Grace Cominoli the Class of 1968 Creighton Prep The Sullivan Center at Creighton Prep [email protected] The Heider Center at Creighton Prep SATURDAY, JANUARY 13, 2018 MARCH 23 TO APRIL 13, 2018 Communication Specialist: Fr. Tom Neitzke, SJ 6th/7th Grade Pre-Entrance Exam eBASH Pat Neary ‘78 President Creighton Prep www.bidpal.net/ebash [email protected] Creighton Preparatory School 2 CREIGHTON PREP FALL 2017 3 “She was such a great teacher that my original career plan was to be a biology teacher at Prep so I could be just like her,” remarked Dan of Mrs. Beckmann. “I do a lot of teaching with “THERE ARE NOT MANY medical students, residents and fellows now, and I regard Mrs. Beckmann as one of my all-time best role models for teaching.” STUDENTS WHOSE LOVE His academic adviser Fr. Sinnerud pushed Dan to become a more disciplined student and, when it came time to choose a A MAN OF OTHERS, OF LEARNING, college, he challenged him to look beyond the list of schools he had originally developed to opportunities further across for OF JUSTICE, AND OF LIFE the United States, helping him eventually decide to attend OTHERS IN IN GENERAL SERVES TO Boston College. Over the course of the next four years as a biology major at INSPIRE TEACHERS AS BC—years that Dan remembered as the most academically MUCH AS DAN’S DID challenging of his life—he flourished. Even with trying to MEDICINE constantly figure out “the right balance between studying BACK THEN.” for multiple courses and writing papers” as final exams drew DR. DANIEL W. JOHNSON ‘96 near, Dan still made time for volunteer work and fun. He – WILLIAM A. LAIRD ’66 volunteered weekly at a soup kitchen in downtown Boston, co-founded the school’s Habitat for Humanity chapter and enjoyed the camaraderie of his roommates, most of whom played varsity football and were also from the Midwest. As he finished his time at BC, Dan found himself at a That new passion centered on serving others. He was elected crossroads. His relationship with Rachel had grown steadily class vice president on the Student Council during his and they were seeing each other as much as they could while freshman, sophomore and junior years, and he would be the she was in school at Loyola University Chicago. He decided student body vice president in his senior year. He was in a to do a year of service, working an assignment in the Jesuit Christian Life Community, and he served as a retreat leader Volunteer Corps at the Kansas City Free Health Clinic. During THE PROFILE OF A PREP ALUMNUS and Tony Mullin had also gone to Prep and told me what a great that year, he saw a wide range of patients and cases and, as he experience they had. So I knew quite a bit about the school from for Freshman Retreat and Junior Encounter. But his favorite cared for them taking vitals and drawing blood, his vision for their experiences,” noted Dan. “In grade school, I used to walk activity, by far, was Operation Others, where he was in the O.O. WHO ROSE TO BE PART OF THE medical school became clear. Dan recalled, “It was one of the from my house up to the UNO football field on Friday nights to Core Group for two years. During the fall 1994 campaign for best years of my life, living with three wonderful people while FIGHT AGAINST EBOLA watch Prep’s home football games. I just always knew I would Operation Others, Prep students raised approximately $20,000 all of us did full-time volunteer work.” go to Prep.” to help feed 1,050 families, the highest total ever raised for O.O. Typical of a Man for Others from Creighton Prep, upon meeting by the students. The following year, according to the 1996 Jay Dr. Daniel W. Johnson ’96 for the interview that will form At Prep, Dan played with intensity through the initial Junior, “a record 1,100 families were served” from the delivery the basis of this profile, he was quick to downplay his many practices of the Freshman A team in August of 1992, so much center at St.