Tarmac Chaminade High School 340 Jackson Avenue, Mineola, New York 11501-2441 (516) 742-5555 www.chstarmac.com Vol. LXXXIII, No. 5 Graduation 2017 Follow us @Chaminade_HS Like us on Facebook! www.facebook.com/ChaminadeHighSchool Flying Above the Pack Jude Okonkwo ’17 Named Chaminade Man of the Year by Oscar Matos ’18 of this comfort zone, and yet that is exactly what Jude has done time and time very year, the recipient of the Chaminade Man of the Year Award again. He is an active member in his parish, acting as an altar server and singing has an “x-factor,” a singular trait that sets him apart from the pack. in the choir. Additionally, he teaches swimming to those with special needs in Whether it be community service, his free time. Eexceptional leadership, or a strong work “All of these activities complemented my ethic, each and every Chaminade Man has interests I discovered in school,” explained proven himself outstanding in one respect Jude. “I was motivated by a desire to dive or another. However, when a student so deeper into these passions.” strongly demonstrates not one, but all of An often underrated factor in the Chami- these characteristics, as in the case of Jude nade Man award is the fact that it emphasizes Tochukwu Okonkwo, the result is one of the importance of the human being lying the most deserving choices for the school’s beneath the student; at the end of the day, we highest honor. are people first and scholars second, and the Although many Chaminade students award reflects this. And for all of his tangible maintain active participation in several accomplishments, perhaps the most deciding athletic and extracurricular activities, only factor in Jude’s winning Chaminade Man is a few rise to the level of a leadership posi- the lasting impression he leaves on virtually tion in these pursuits. One of the most everyone he meets. impressive feats of Jude’s high school “Jude was an incredibly hard worker and career has been his ability to break that was extremely motivated, but what stood mold, thriving in each and every sport and out the most was how genuine and humble activity in which he has taken part. Over he was,” said Mr. Terence McCormick ’03, the course of the last four years, he has Jude’s former history teacher. “He was a truly helped guide the next generation of Flyers genuine person, and he had great relation- as a Senior Leader, was a member of the ships with everyone he met.” track team, and climbed the ranks en route Chaminade is a two-way street – the to editorial positions on both Tarmac and school, and all that it embodies, shapes the Skylight, Chaminade’s literary publication. students; while the students, in turn, shape On top of that, Jude was a consistent pres- the school. ence on the Morning Announcements as a Rocking his trademark broad smile, Jude Tochukwu “Receiving [the Chaminade Man of the member of the Communications Club and Okonkwo graciously receives this year’s Chaminade Year Award] was just an incredible blessing, served as president of the Gold Glee Club. Man of the Year Award from Bro. Thomas Cleary, and it demonstrated Chaminade’s ability to One of Jude’s most telling in-school roles, S.M. ’81. nurture an environment where the whole though, was his position as Vice President character is formed. I am thankful that of the National Honor Society. This was an honor bestowed upon him by his Chaminade gave me that opportunity,” said Jude. peers, something that remains indicative of the respect they have for him. Like the rest of the class of 2017, the road does not end here for Jude. His “Never before have I met someone who is so dedicated to everything he does. growth as a person and as a student will continue long after he leaves Chaminade. Jude is proof that hard work pays off,” said Patrick Johnson ’17, this year’s recipi- However, the experiences he has had here have molded him and will stay with ent of the Fr. Philip Eichner, S.M. Award. him forever. And pay off it did. During the annual senior trip to Disney World, Jude found “I have taken away the fact that it is the whole person that counts. Onwards into out that he had been accepted into all eight Ivy League schools – Brown, Co- college, I will continue to grow closer to God and our Mother Mary,” said Jude. lumbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, “I will keep on trying to embrace all people to try to create authentic relation- and Yale. Jude, who will be attending Harvard this fall, chalks up his success to ships just like I had at Chaminade. And most importantly, I’ll strive to make the the guidance of others, saying, “I had a plethora of role models in my family, most of my many blessings, being sure not to bury any of them in the ground.” church, and school community that guided me along the way.” Jude’s impressive four years at Chaminade leave no doubt that he’ll continue One of the benefits of Chaminade is the variety of activities that it provides for to shine, and with a vast horizon of opportunity stretched out in front of him, students. As such, no one would blame a Flyer for centering his extracurricular everyone back in Mineola keeping an eye on him is excited to see just how far life around the school’s offerings. It takes a truly motivated student to step outside he goes. Longtime Teacher and Coach Retires Swimmers Raise Money for Cancer Research Pages 4 and 5 Page 7 Farewell to the Class of 2017 5 Questions with Scott Keogh ’87 Pages 8 and 9 Pages 10 and 11 36764 Tarmac Graduation Issue.indd 1 6/19/17 3:11 PM FROM THE Pilot’s Seat Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose Learning to Be a Team Player t’s an iconic moment. achievement. I entered my second year of Chaminade “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose!” shouts Smash hungry to prove myself. So, I joined two clubs in which I Williams with thunderous conviction. The words, sought to see what I could accomplish with others – Speech Iaimed at inspiring his teammates, emanate from his and Debate and Tarmac. For the past two years, both of mouth into the rainy sky above. these pursuits have been very rewarding. Not only have I Hot off the heels of a humiliating loss and suffer- made myself proud on a personal level, but I’ve also been ing the pitfalls of pride and ego, the Dillon Panthers able to rise through the ranks of each club, becoming the are crumbling, only a handful of games into a once- captain of our state champion Lincoln-Douglas debate promising season. Coach Taylor’s response to the defeat team and a Co-Editor-in-Chief of Tarmac. is make the Panthers sprint But I accomplished some- by Aidan Fitzgerald ’18 up and down a hill during a thing far more important these thunderstorm. The players past two years. I learned how to take their first steps isolated stop trying to make something “But I ac- from one another. They great of myself, and instead fo- share no bond of friendship cus on making something amaz- complished or any similar characteristic ing with others. The road to which would suggest they get to this point was not pretty, something far were a team. But fighting for however. To learn that working their season, their dreams, with others – and relying on more impor- and their very lives on this others – is totally necessary, I flooded hill, they finally uni- first needed to reach my own tant these past fy. Empowered by Smash’s personal breaking point. Jug- bellowing of the Panther gling the stresses of sophomore two years. I motto, the team takes its year with the increasing and next steps unprompted by new responsibilities I faced in Coach Taylor, plunging both Debate and Tarmac at the learned how ahead into the dark and end of last year revealed to me stormy night, together. how futile it is to try to do ev- to stop try- It’s a fictional moment – erything yourself. This year in found in the first season of Tarmac showed me even more ing to make the television series Friday how much I benefited from Night Lights – but a tangible one nonetheless. Everybody working as a member of a team, and how much I have to something can relate to that stubborn feeling – being too set in one’s learn from other people. I am thrilled to be one of three own ways and not willing to cooperate. Co-Editors-in-Chief, and I cannot wait to see what we can great of my- Failure only serves to make this narrow-mindedness accomplish. The close friendships I have developed working worse. When people fail, they typically aren’t very alongside other people have been just as rewarding as the constructive. Rather, many prefer to blame themselves actual work itself, if not more so. self, and in- too much – or too little – for their own shortcomings, It is through this personal development that I have come either way never truly trying to resolve their problems. to a greater understanding of Chaminade’s own motto. stead focus on The Dillon Panthers represent this clearly, as individual “Fortes in Unitate” stands out in my mind as being an players are too caught up trying to be perfect that the important lesson that each Chaminade graduate should making some- group can’t come together as a team.