The SUMMER 2018 Pallotti Magazine St. Vincent Pallotti High School Laurel, Maryland A LASTING LEGACY: PALLOTTI ATHLETICS ALUMNI AUTHORS ARTHUR p. KRAESKI '45 GO PANTHERS! Page 16 CHUCK ACQUISTO & Page 47 TEDDY DURGIN Page 36 Mission Statement We aspire to remain true to the spirit of our patron, St. Vincent Pallotti, to educate and form young men and women “to revive faith and rekindle charity in the world.” St. Vincent Pallotti High School TABLE 2017-2018 Board of Directors Officers Mr. Daniel Florenzo ’80, Chairman of contents David Creech, Vice Chairman Bobby Henry, Esq., Treasurer Mrs. Amy Falcone, Secretary Members Message from President/Principal 4 Mrs. Sharon A. Bagley ‘66 Sister Diane Bushee S.A.C. Pallotti’s Own Steven Walker 6 Major Paul L. Campbell USMC Ret. ‘65 Arts Academy 11 Mr. Lino V. Cressotti Mrs. Cynthia Faust Accelerated Science at Pallotti 15 Delegate Mrs. Barbara Frush Sister Stella Holisz S.A.C. Pallotti Athletics 16 Mr. Ronald Jackson Pallotti Travels Abroad 24 Mr. Bill Leishear ‘87 Sr. Karen Lester, S.A.C. ‘55 Faculty News 28 Mrs. Janell Ray Mr. G. Rick Wilson 2017-2018 Special Events 32 Corporate Members Congratulations Class of 2018 34 Sister Mary Grace Barile, S.A.C. ‘64, Provincial Alumni Authors 36 Sister Stella Holisz, S.A.C., Provincial Council Sister Francesca Lowis, S.A.C., Provincial Council Class Notes 40 Sister Mary Terence Wall, S.A.C. A Lasting Legacy 47 Ex-Officio Members Sr. Karen Lester, S.A.C. ‘55, Sponsorship Director 2017-2018 Honor Roll of Donors 50 Mr. Jeff Palumbo, Principal/President In Memoriam 54 Mr. David Tenney, Assistant Principal for Academics Ms. Cathy Cross, Comptroller/Business Manager St. Vincent Pallotti High School 2017-2018 Parents Guild Officers Adele Merritt, President Bobby and Karen Whiteside, Co Vice Presidents Matt Merritt, Secretary Adress: 113 St Mary’s Place, Laurel, MD 20707 Ella Marshall-Cook, Treasurer Phone: (301) 725-3228 Web site: www.pallottihs.org Message From Our President/Principal OUR TEACHERS ARE THE HEART OF PALLOTTI HIGH SCHOOL. THEY ARE PROFESSIONALS WHOSE DEDICA- TION TO OUR STUDENTS GOES WAY BEYOND WHAT HAPPENS IN THE CLASSROOM. Starting a new era in the school’s history In the spring of 2018, St. Vincent Pallotti High School In our Campus Ministry Department we have seen hosted a visiting team from the Association of Independent the growth of our spiritual leadership group, the Student Maryland Schools and the Middle States Association. These Union. This uniquely Pallottine student organization plans are the two organizations from whom we receive our accred- and leads our retreats and leads other ministerial activities itation. The visit takes place every ten years and is designed for their peers on Campus. to ensure that Pallotti High School is meeting or exceeding the high standards established by these two organizations. In the area of Academics we have seen the addi- The visit is a comprehensive look at all aspects of the school tion of many new programs. We have expanded Advanced and the Pallotti community. Placement offerings to sixteen classes. New academic pro- grams include the Advanced Sciences at Pallotti Program for At the core of the accreditation process is a year- students focused on the physical sciences, the Computer long self-study that occurs during the school year prior to Science and Robotics Program, an innovative Engineering the visit. The self-study takes a look at all programs: spiritual, Curriculum, and Mandarin Chinese. academic, arts, and extra-curricular. This self-study is an op- portunity to step back and look at all that has been accom- Our Performing and Visual Arts programs have ex- plished over the last ten years. There is a lot for which we can ploded over the past five years. With the creation of the Pal- be proud. lotti Arts Academy, we have expanded our existing programs 4 St. Vincent Pallotti High School in Vocal and Instrumental Music and Visual Arts while adding In this magazine we celebrate the accomplish- Theater Arts and Dance. ments of our Pallotti community and recognize the hard work of our students and faculty. We also take a reflective The self-study also allowed us to take an invento- look at three former faculty members; Steve Walker, Pat Ev- ry of all the improvements that have been made to our fa- ans, and Sharon Sefton who retired from Pallotti after spend- cilities. In addition to much needed capital improvements ing years sharing their talents and shaping our community. such as new windows, air-conditioning the main classroom building and renovating restrooms, we have completed two In a special section of the magazine, we recognize major projects. We converted the day care side of the build- individuals who have shared their time, talent, and treasure ing into the home of our Arts Department. In order to create to help keep Pallotti moving forward. We thank these ben- accessibility between the main building and the Arts build- efactors and all of the generous contributors listed in our ing we built a new Sister Lucy Lobby. It is a beautiful and Honor Roll of Donors. We are grateful to these supporters functionally designed, three story structure that has become who see the value of the Pallotti experience and have helped a wonderful place for class reunions and other functions. us continue this great tradition. These are gifts that mean so much to our students, our faculty, and our community. While all of these accomplishments were noted by I hope that by reading through this magazine you will see the visiting accreditation team, their highest praise was for what great things are happening here at Pallotti, remember the incredible community that has been created by our fac- what impact Pallotti has had on your life, and be encouraged ulty and staff. The team only confirmed what I already knew. to join in supporting our efforts. Our teachers are the heart of Pallotti High School. They are professionals whose dedication to our students goes way Jeffrey Palumbo beyond what happens in the classroom. The visiting team President / Principal was amazed at all the incredible opportunities that we pro- vide our students in a small school setting. It is my privilege as the President/Principal of Pallotti to work with a group who is so committed to the Pallotti mission. St. Vincent Pallotti High School St. Vincent Pallotti High School 5 Honoring a Man Who Walked the Walk and Talked the Talk Pallotti’s Own Steve Walker By Teddy Durgin, Class of 1988 It was the end of an era when Steven Walker retired Thinking back, maybe a better title for Steve Walker in June 2017 after 36 years of service at Pallotti High School. would have been The Man You Didn’t Want to Cross. Because In more than three decades on staff, he held several job titles. if you did, there was always the possibility that you would be But the two he is best remembered for are Disciplinarian and put in … “The Box.” It was a term the students came up with Athletic Director. “I was really at Pallotti for 37 years,” he stat- to describe the cubicle-like dwelling the frequently tardy or ed, during an interview from his home in Delaware. “I was a the frequently misbehaved had to sit in as punishment for the baseball coach for one year before [Principal] George Repass day. hired me as the Dean of Students. Before that, I was at Prince George’s County public schools for three years.” When asked for his recollections on The Box, Walk- er was quick to politely correct this former student one more OK, pause. Dean of Students? Nice try, Mr. Walker. time: “That would be ‘in-house suspension,’ sir. Mr. Repass To anyone who was a Pallotti student during your early years, and I came up with that during my first tenure as Dean of you were our Disciplinarian. And a darn good one at that! You Students. We found that when you send kids home on sus- were the dude we tried to dodge if we were late to school. pension, their parents are working. So, they’re not really su- You were the guy who could smell cigarette smoke in the pervised. They’d sleep until 11 or 12 noon. Then, they’d play on boy’s restroom all the way from your office. You were the man their computers or their Xbox or whatever they had back then. who would dismiss lunchrooms by hollering “OK, GET OUTTA What did you have? Pong? Donkey Kong? The public schools HERE!” had been doing in-house suspension for a long time, so we decided to also do it. The kids would get work during the day 6 St. Vincent Pallotti High School from the teachers, they’d do the work, and not miss anything except for the lectures in class.” Then, he paused, and let just a bit of nostalgia seep into his voice. “Yeah,” he conceded. “We used to call it ‘The Box.’” A lot of nostalgia was churned up when Steven Walker rode off into the Delaware sunset. Former students, teachers, and coaches packed his retirement ceremony, an event that drew over 150 friends, family, and well-wishers that Walker described as “deeply humbling.” Among the attendees was ex-Pallotti softball coach Dan Hogan, Walker’s best friend. as both a student and eventually a faculty member, himself. They knew each other before Pallotti, having been colleagues “Mr. Walker used to act tough publicly,” Rivers said. “But if you in the PG County School system. ever sat with him privately, he’d show you just how reasonable and authentic he really was.