Vol. 35. No. 1 Fall 2014 AR RPUBLICATIOaaN FOR THmmE ALUMNI, PARviEviNTS AND FRIEeeNDS OF wwFORDHAM PREP DEDICATION OF THE Rowen Athletic Field AND Joe Fox ’29 Track The sun was shining as more than 500 members of the Prep community gathered at the dedication and blessing of The Rowen Athletic Field and Joe Fox ’29 Track on Saturday, October 25th. Standing at mid-field, Prep President Father Christopher Devron, S.J. blessed the Rowen Athletic Field by sprinkling holy water on the new FP letters. Next was the blessing of the Joe Fox ’29 Track and the new column which recognizes the project’s generous donors. Atop the column sits a new bronze ram head. The plaque on the column reads as follows: With special recognition to the following alumni, parents and friends for their generous contribution to Fordham Prep The Trimble Family The Giordano Family Beth and Chris McGrath and Family The Moores Family Jim and Diane Rowen Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Femenia The Fordham Prep Mothers’ Club Carla and Peter Gavey The Randell Family In Memory of Marilyn Higgins Father Devron blesses the new Rowen Athletic Field The Marcia Brady Tucker Foundation The O’Callaghan Family The Chmiel Family Norbert and Bridget Sander, M.D. are a new pole vaulting pit and a small set of stands for watching games and meets. Rob and Kathleen Coughlin Besides being named the Rowen Athletic Field, the new field now has a large FP painted The “back field” was renovated this past summer because the original field and track at mid-field. The entire complex has also received a new landscaping design. surfaces began to show the wear of ten years of activity. Parent John Trimble P ’16 initiated Many of the dedication ceremony attendees took the opportunity to take photos of the project in a conversation with Father Devron. As others, like David Randell P ’15, themselves with the new bronze ram. In remarks after blessing the ram, Father Devron Chief Financial Officer Mike Higgins and Athletic Director Bob McLaughlin joined the suggested that Prep athletes line up to touch the ram and face the school banner for team, the scope of the project started to take shape. The group decided that the Prep inspiration before they head to games. Father likened it to the tradition of the Fighting needed to upgrade the facilities to a level that would be a source of pride for athletes and Irish football players who reach up to touch a sign that reads: “Play Like A Champion students. A “wish list of excellence” was developed and the campaign to raise the necessary Today” as they ascend the stairs in the famed and historic locker room at Notre Dame funds was started. Stadium. The difference for Prep Rams, however, is important: We “Play for God’s Construction was started as the 2013 – 2014 school year came to an end. The field Greater Glory” (A.M.D.G.). was finished in time for the beginning of the 2014 Higher Achievement Program. When The dedication ceremony was followed by a homecoming celebration that was hosted HAP ended, the work on the track started and was completed before the fall sports began by the rejuvenated Gridiron Club. The attendees were treated to BBQ food that was freshly practice for their seasons. prepared in the Prep parking lot the night before the ceremony. At the homecoming, Kevin New features were incorporated into the project that will become a source of Fordham Rooney ’88, the co-chairman along with Trustee Donn McNamee ’87 of the Gridiron Club, Prep pride for current and future athletes and students. A banner that reads Fordham announced that former coaches Joe “Sammy” Ososki and Bruce Bott ’59 will be the first Preparatory School with the letters A.M.D.G. has been installed on the fence at the Metro inductees into the new Fordham Prep Football Hall of Fame. Bott also had a distinguished North side of the property. The banner says the same thing on both sides and is now career when he was the quarterback for Coach Ososki (see page 8). visible to Metro North commuters as their train passes the campus. It can also be seen Thank you to all of the people who worked hard to make the field a reality and those from Webster Avenue. Better storage sheds for team equipment are another addition as who attended the dedication. The blessing of the Joe Fox ’29 Track The blessing of the plinth which contains the new brass Ram’s head and the plaque with names of the generous benefactors who made the project possible The Ricciardi Family Endowed Scholarship Fund Created at Fordham Preparatory School A scholarship is an important way to recognize a student’s academic achievement Accordingly, the Ricciardi Family Scholarships will be awarded annually to and provide encouragement as he pursues a Prep education. students who evidence their desire for a Fordham Prep education by demonstrating We are most grateful to Lucy and Lawrence Ricciardi ’58 for their exceptional gift academic achievement, a strong work ethic and moral compass. of $1,000,000 which has created the Ricciardi Family Endowment Fund. We are proud of our school and the Ricciardi Family Endowment Fund will assist This Fund will provide educational access and opportunities for young men who meet the Prep significantly in its mission to provide young men with quality Jesuit educa - the rigorous requirements for admission to Fordham Prep whose families tion. could not otherwise afford a Fordham Prep education. Ministry From the Director of Ministry and Ignatian Formation Brian Carney Pilgrim’s Post In the early years of the Society of Jesus Ignatius wrote 6,800 Exercises where he reminds the retreatant “Love should consist letters to his fellow Jesuits, making him one of the most prolific more in deeds than in words.” Before this exercise, the retreatant letter writers of any time. Many of these letters were written to is instructed to “ask the Lord for the grace to direct my thoughts, Jesuits scattered throughout Asia and Europe and served not only activities, and deeds to the service and praise of His Divine Majesty,” as a way to instruct these young Jesuits but also as source of echoing the words of the Generosity Prayer. encouragement and inspiration. He ended each letter with the Evidence of Ignatius’ spirit of generosity abounds at Fordham phrase “your fellow pilgrim,” pointing to Ignatius’s sense of being Prep in recent months. This past summer Prep students raised a on a pilgrimage in this world with his fellow Jesuits. It was one way record $242,000 through our Service Immersion Program to that these Jesuits, scattered throughout the world, could remain support the work of Habitat for Humanity in Tennessee and the connected to each other as a community. Much like those early Working Boys Center in Quito, Ecuador. Prep students only have Jesuits, our Prep alumni community is also scattered throughout to walk out to the newly renovated Prep field and track to see the the world but it is our sincere hope that the Prep can always be a spirit of generosity of the parents and alumni who donated so source of encouragement and inspiration for you. A new biweekly generously to make this much needed improvement to the athletic feature on our website called “The Pilgrim’s Post” is one way we facilities at the Prep. Upperclassmen also have shared generously hope to accomplish this. Like Ignatius’ letters, we hope it will with the newest members of the Prep community – the Freshmen provide you with encouragement, inspiration, and perhaps just a serving as big brothers and tutors. The Freshmen too have been moment of respite in a busy day. Consider these posts Fordham quick to be of generous service to the school, with 113 of them Prep’s letters to our “fellow pilgrims.” applying to be a part of the new Ambassador Program that will The first post from the Prep website is reprinted here. welcome eighth graders and other visitors to the Prep. The many examples of this generosity all point to the spirit of Ignatius that Lord teach me to be generous. permeates life here at the Prep. Teach me to serve you as you deserve; While this prayer may be rather simple, we know that living To give and not to count the cost; with a spirit of generosity is not always easy. Our lives can demand To fight and not to heed the wounds; so much that at times it may seem we have nothing more to give. To toil and not to seek for rest; We can too easily find our days filled with long to-do lists with To labor and not to ask for reward little time for generosity. Our culture also at times can lead us to Save that of knowing I do your will self-centeredness that can leave little room for true generosity and service. Perhaps that’s why this prayer is needed more than ever St. Ignatius’s Prayer for Generosity these days. Its words are simple, but its message is profound as it Perhaps the most famous prayer associated with St. Ignatius of calls us to seek the generosity in our lives that leads to genuine love Loyola, the Prayer for Generosity, has also become well known and service. It reminds us to simply “labor and not to ask for among Prep students in recent years. It is printed on the back of reward,” knowing that we indeed can do God’s will. student identification cards and each day at the Prep ends with Need a little more inspiration? Perhaps this video from the entire community reciting this prayer.