Dear Prep Alumni, Parents and Friends: Featured This Issue: Ad Altioria .............................8 I often tell people that beginning a new school year Auction ........................... 14-15 is like grabbing a moving bullet train. If we’re not careful, we can experience the year as litle more than Funeral Services .................19 a colorful – and exhausting – blur. It’s hard to learn Galleria .................................37 from a blur. That’s why it’s so important for people (and schools) to take time to step back and take note Graduate List ................. 12-13 of signiicant moments in our lives. Otherwise, we Graduation ............................4 can have the experience but miss the meaning. Graduation Photos ......... 4-11 One such moment occurred in Prep’s life in late May, just before graduation. Honor Society ......................16 In Memorium ......................38 Under the auspices of Prep’s new Joseph of Arimathea program, a group of Prep students, teachers and administrators gathered in the chapel to celebrate a funeral Parents’ Club Installation ..28 Mass for 12 people whose ashes had been left unclaimed in the Lackawanna County #PrepConnects ......................3 Coroner’s oice for a long time. Students placed roses on each of the urns containing ashes shortly before the Mass began. Students did the readings and read the prayers Report on Support ..............30 of petition. Following the Mass, students and teachers accompanied the ashes to St. Senior Awards ................. 4-11 Catherine’s Cemetery in Moscow for interment. The Mass and burial took a litle over an hour, but I have no doubt that the experi- In Each Issue: ence provided our students with memories and questions that will last a lifetime. In Class Notes ..........................38 the long run, it’s the questions that mater because prompting young people to ask the right questions is the whole point of Jesuit education. In many ways, that simple Mass Prep Players ................... 20-21 and burial can serve as a model for everything Prep does. Sports Talk ...........................22 The hope of Jesuit education is that what students experience in Jesuit schools – ev- Through the Hallways .......39 erything from their coursework to their extra-curricular activities, from their retreat and service experiences to their after school conversations -- will lead them to ask signiicant questions about themselves, about God and about the world around them. Doing so reminds us of what we’re doing at Prep and why we’re doing it. In this case, burying the dead lows naturally from the heart of Prep as a Catholic school. It’s a corporal work of mercy, after all. But the question asking that follows the experience is what marks Prep as a Jesuit school: How is possible that someone could die alone, unmourned in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 2016? What sort of social, economic, familial realities would make that possible? What might God be calling us to do in response to such realities? These are Jesuit questions. These are Prep questions, questions to be asked even in the midst of the blur! PREP NEWS STAFF Rev. Ryan J. Maher, S.J. President AMDG, Karen Doherty Minora Director of Development Chris Boland Fr. Ryan Maher, S.J. Director of Alumni President Mary Grace Dougherty Editor Chrissy Horvath Lori Scopelliti Find us on Facebook! Staf Recycled Stay in touch! Friend us by searching for Scranton Prep. Paper 2 | Prep News Annual Report 2015-2016 4.11.16 DAY OF GIVING #PREPCONNECTS411 1DAY-24HOURS-1440MINUTES TO MAKE AN IMPACT Prep Holds Day of Giving A 24-hour ‘Day of Giving’ designed to encourage investment in Prep students’ local service work was coordinated and held on April 11. The goal was simple: to reach 411 donors in 24 hours and spread as much Prep pride as possible. The result: phenomenal! The word went out through social media, videos, and emails and even #PrepConnects t-shirts to challenge alumni, friends, A faculty/student chef cook-of and dodge ball games were faculty, staf, students, and families to help in the efort and to held after school in the Xavier Center that generated even more drum up excitement. Emphasis was on participation. Every enthusiasm and awareness of the #411 goal. Student participants gift, regardless of size, would contribute to the overall success were treated to pizza at the end of the festivities. of the drive. Serving. Giving. Caring For Others. Spearheaded by Ms. Jeanne Prep’s Student Council organizes many activities during Kowalski and Mrs. Mia Regan- the year to help out those in need. #411 will help provide the Dufy, #PrepConnects on 411 students of Scranton Prep with more resources to impact the brought 522 students, faculty, lives of those who need it most right here in the Scranton area. staf, alumni/ae, current and past parents, and friends of A new program beginning at Prep is Joseph of Arimathea. Prep together to support one Joseph of Arimathea asked for the body of Jesus after his another in fulilling the Jesuit cruciixion so he could have a proper burial and donated his own mission to be men and wom- prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus. This program continues en for others and to make an impact on our local community, the legacy of holiness put into action. The students volunteer where we live, work, play and atend school. to be pallbearers, readers and servers, so that no one dies alone and unremembered. Throughout the day during lunch periods students were able to “spin the wheel” for prizes for a small contribution, while Seasons of Love, a homeless outreach program at Good Shep- volunteer alums and faculty manned the phones to accept herd Church, is just one of the programs that our current students call-in donations and online contributions. Social media and and alums donate their time to. Not only do they provide food emails also played a big part with continuous tracking updates for the homeless and needy, but also clothing, coats, blankets throughout the day. and canned goods, which they can take with them. There are many other programs around the City of Scranton that provide Prep pride was high and momentum was strong for the entire for those in need which can use our help. day. “Anonymous employees” of Scranton Prep issued a #411 challenge - a promise to donate $5.00 for each of the irst 30 gifts #PrepConnects411 empowers the entire Prep family to join made by the Prep faculty and staf and young alums. Everyone together to share commitments, build stronger communities, was in the spirit of giving! The McGowan Family pledged to and improve the quality of life for all citizens right here in our make a $2,500 donation to #PrepConnects411 when the 411 goal own backyard. was reached and then continued the challenge with another Let’s all be proud! $2,000 if 511 donors contributed. Prep News Annual Report 2015-2016 | 3 Graduation 2016 Scranton Prep held its 70th commencement exercises on June 4 – June 5. On Saturday evening, six priests concelebrated the baccalaureate Mass in the St. Francis Xavier Center. Rev. Ryan J. Maher, S.J., Prep president, was the principal celebrant and homilist. On Sunday morning, Father Maher, assisted by Mr. Mathew Bernard, Prep principal, presented diplomas, awards, and academic honors to 181 graduates. Excerpt from Gerard Joseph Ferrario’s valedictorian speech: “Our studies at Prep have prepared us for the next four years, college, and beyond. There is much value in that; in fact, I’m sure that is why most of us originally came. The principles of Jesuit education and the teachings of St. Ignatius, however, are what give special meaning to our Prep education. Through Prep’s service program, we learned what it truly means to be born for higher things. As a result of these many service hours we have performed, we have learned that it is not merely to complete a requirement, but to be men and women who serve others for the rest of our lives. In such service, we see the face of God.” Excerpt from Megan Elizabeth Dowd’s salutatorian speech: “These past four years have been more than just moments in time. They have primarily been about our education in preparation for college and for the future. They have been about research papers, diicult projects, and innumerable exams. About countless presentations in various classes, hours of studying, and a myriad of other aspects of Prep life. We owe a heartfelt thank you to so many for their assistance and involvement on this journey. To our irst teachers, our parents, for their continuous love, support and guidance, we thank you.” 4 | Prep News Annual Report 2015-2016 Excerpts from Father Maher’s Baccalaureate Mass homily: tion 2016 ”God is real and active in every human life, no exceptions. Whether you believe it or not, whether you feel it or not, whether you care or not: God never stops loving you and seeking your atention, your cooperation, your love. Never.” “Be alive. Be smart. As a Catholic and Jesuit school, we start there and go deeper: be human, really human, deeply human – be fully alive. No easy task, that. It takes a family, it takes a school, it takes teachers and coaches and counselors and mentors and more. That’s what we’ve been trying to say to you these past four years in everything we’ve done together: be human, really human, deeply human – be fully alive. “ Student Awards Academic Excellence First Place Award Second Place Award Third Place Award Gerard Joseph Ferrario Kathleen Margaret Frein Megan Elizabeth Dowd Prep News Annual Report 2015-2016 | 5 John A. Convery, S.J. Award Prep’s highest student award for scholarship, leadership, loyalty, and school spirit Megan Kathleen Siebecker Robert M.