July 2006 - St. Michael's Abbey

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St. Michael’s Prep Alumni News Christian Melendez ’84 serves as the Division Officer at the Naval Health Clinic in Hawaii. He and his wife Alicia have three beautiful children – Luca, Isabella and Andreas. Dorian Vallecillo ’85 helped organize a reunion held June 3rd of St. Michael’s graduates from the 1980’s. He currently lives in Hallandale Beach, FL, and works in radio advertising. Richard Martini ’85 lives in Burbank, CA with his wife, son and daughter. He works for Wells Fargo Auto Finance. His brother Ernest Martini ‘83 is also a St. Michael’s alumnus. Bill Martin ’88 is a psychotherapist in Chino, CA, where he lives with his wife and son. Nico Melendez ’87, his wife Melissa and their 5 children live in Lake Elsinore, CA. He works for the Office of Homeland Security. Matthew Mallon ’85 resides in Manhattan Beach, CA, with his wife and two children. He continues to work for ABC radio. Johnny Lin ‘97AA returned safely from his tour in Iraq on April 6 and married Yoona Kim on June 17, 2006. Fr. Justin performed the ceremony. Thomas Sire ‘97AA recently returned from Guyana, South America, where he spent three years with the Peace Corps. He worked in a small hospital serving the needs of the local villagers. He plans on studying medicine in the fall. Ivan Hernandez ’99 recently returned from a three month trip to India. He will enter Harvard Law School in the fall. Stephen Kubik ’99 graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with a Master’s Degree in Aeronautical Engineering. He won 1st Place in a national team aircraft design competition and hopes to work for either NASA-Dryden or Lockheed-Martin. Ian Mochow ’01 has been accepted to Marquette for the fall semester in their Masters of Arts in Journalism program. Anthony Nguyen ’02 graduated from West Point this May as was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He will ultimately be stationed with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Irwin, CA after Airborne School, Basic Leadership Course and Signal Office Basic Course. His brother, Andrew Nguyen ’05, who attends UC Irvine, attended his brother’s graduation, for which President George W. Bush was the guest speaker. Paul Ledbetter ’05 will enter the U.S. Coast Guard Academy this fall. He is currently assisting the Kolbe Missionaries in Brazil with Ryan Holke ’04. Lowell Schaper ’05 married Joanna Schroeder on April 22, 2006. Fr. Chrysostom performed the ceremony. Joe Atchley ’06 received the "President’s Scholarship" at Thomas Aquinas College in Nashville, TN. This scholarship is valued at $100,000 over four years. For more alumni news, go to www.stmichaelsprep.org. Do you want to stay in touch with teachers and friends from your days on the hilltop? Please send us news about and photos of yourself and your family. You can do this by sending an email to alumni@stmichaelsprep.org Be sure to tell us whetheryou wish to make your contact information available to others, so we can respect your wishes. Congratulations to our baseball team, who made it to the 2 nd round of CIF playoffs! Every spring, students from St. Michael’s Prep School assist in laying foundations for housing for those in most need in Mexico. Alumni Matthew Mallon ’85 and Joe Piteleski ’85 visit with Headmaster Emeritus Fr. Szanto during an alumni reunion.
Senior Reflections Kyle Abramson – Looking back, I now understand how four years of hardship, joy, education and formation have served well to turn me into a Catholic young man who is ready to face life confidently. Thank you to all those at St. Michael’s who gave so freely of themselves and through whom I have learned the strength of faith, hope, courage and love, which prepares us to venture out into the world. The result is success in education, responsibility and faith. Jeremy Anoc – I was a different person before coming to this school; the way I was most different had to do with my faith in God. I looked at attending Mass as a nuisance, something that needlessly took time away from doing better things, but now know that there is nothing better. Seeing the reverence of the priests in Mass and their dedication in activities outside of the church has been inspiring. Learning from Scripture, Philosophy and Ethics classes, and witnessing the Faith-in-action of Mass and Holy Hour, has been incredibly fulfilling. I am confident that my time at St. Michael’s will be the launching ground for a more fruitful life. Joseph Atchley – When I came to St. Michael’s as a freshman, I begrudged that my only escape from isolation “on the hilltop” was through basketball and attendance at Mass and Holy Hour. I could not comprehend why my parents had sent me here. Four years later, I see why. I am grateful for the education and the frequent reception of the Sacraments. Only too late did I realize this, and I wish I had taken better advantage of both of these. Thank you fellow students and faculty for your support and helping me get through this school; without you it would have been impossible. Richard Chen – I have learned much about myself - growing both spiritually and mentally. The classes, the environment and the people have all served to fortify me for the future. From my very first day, St. Michael’s has been a life-changing experience; I have been immersed in the Catholic faith. As I step into the future and college, I will take with me the many things I have learned. Christopher Darrow – The essence of what St. Michael’s strives to teach surrounds us in our day-today world, reaching much farther beyond Mass and Holy Hour. The outstanding examples set by our Norbertine Fathers have served to lend credence to their teachings. There is truth in fr. Charbel’s advice, “When you leave St. Michael’s, you must put on the armor of faith.” I would choose to endure any obstacle or hardship in order to experience what I have come to know over the last four years. Without a doubt, St. Michael’s Prep has been an experience I will never forget. Thomas Dudro – Amidst the collection of memories of my time here, several things stand out. The first is my class, my comrades. Through good times and bad, they have been my brothers. And like brothers, we did not always get along, but ultimately we came together and formed a class. Another is Fr. Szanto, my language teacher through all four years, who provided me with wisdom and knowledge beyond acquiring language skills. Another important element was the presence of the Catholic Faith, which will continue to be a guiding light in the midst of whatever secular confusion I find myself. I thank God for having come to this school. Christopher Manly – Throughout my time at St. Michael’s, God has surprised me over and over again. Countless times I have tried to deny God His right to show me what direction He knows is best. I am grateful for the daily examples of what it means to live a faith-based life. As students, we are privileged to study under highly-motivated and dedicated teachers. We would never find teachers like those found here in any other school. Was it worth it? Yes! Alan Ng – St. Michael’s is the rock upon which one begins building the foundation of one’s life. I have acquired liberating knowledge, enabling me to live as the Catholic Christ calls each one of us to be. I learned how important love of God and love of neighbor is. I thank my parents for the blessings and opportunities presented to me through St. Michael’s. Phillip Nguyen – From our freshmen year to finally becoming an upper classmen, we embraced the joy of completing a memorable journey together. Although not always easy to persevere in such a small environment and I was not always grateful for what I had, it is with assurance I say that whatever we, as a class, achieve in the years to come will depend upon the choices we make now. As we part, I wish my fellow classmates well and hope you persevere in the years to come while not letting go of what we take with us from St. Michael’s. Roger Urich – Perhaps the greatest thing I have learned at St. Michael’s is that faith must not be placed in men, but rather in God. Next year we will be forced to put on the armor of God and we will miss having such graces so readily available. The education this school offers is priceless as it opened our minds and taught us not only to reason, but how to reason well.
Page 1 and 2: JULY 2006 The St.Michael Messenger
Page 3: Graduation 2006 Congratulations As
Page 7 and 8: Saints Adrian and James, Norbertine

July 2006 - St. Michael's Abbey

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