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The Fairfield Prep Legacy Lives on!
Alumni fathers and graduating senior sons
gathered after the Baccalaureate Mass on
May 30 for a group photo. Pictured above:
• Dave ’82 and David Bigley
• Joe ’78 and Thomas Capalbo
• Bill ’84 and William D’Amore
• Dave ’75 and David Gerics
• Kevin ’75 and Christopher Golger
• Tim ’73 and Michael Jones
• Joe ’80 and Joseph McBride
• Bob ’78 and John Meyers
• Dave ’73 and Daniel Quatrella
• Dave ’83 and Aidan Rush
• Rich ’78 and Richard Sekerak
• Bob ’80 and Christopher Sutay
• John ’61 and Hugh Walshe
• Jim ’78 and Mark Watson
Senior Farewell Address
Continued from page 8
along to, proudly represented Prep on one
of the many tremendous athletic teams
(we’ve won a state or SCC title in almost
every sport over the past four years), or
immersed yourself into any of the other
incredible opportunities at Prep, each
individual of the 201 that sits here today
has helped weave this special class into
the fabric of this fantastic school.
If it were possible to capture the
sentiment of our class in one snapshot,
it would be the State Championship
game at the Whale this past March.
Prep hockey, which had the best year in
its history, was caught in a fierce battle
against bitter rivals ND West Haven.
Down 2-0 early, the boys fought off the
nerves and rallied back, the bombsquad
emanating a perpetual roar throughout.
10 Prep Today
As the boys closed out the game spilling
their blood, sweat, and tears, the red FP
flag unfurled high across the ice in the ND
sea of gold, and an incredibly emotionally
refrain of “One for Bradley” rang out. This
scene epitomized our class. We are bold,
determined, loving. We are brothers.
Though we’ve come to love this place
and these familiar faces, I was reminded
by Mr. Cashman, or as he’s more lovingly
known, CMoney, that every student must
at some point outgrow his teacher. He
left me with an old Zen story. “An eager
student visited his master and thought he
had attained enlightenment, so he wanted
to go out. It was dark, so his master said,
‘It is too late for you to go. Why don’t
you stay?’ But, he was so grateful and
so glad that he understood the teaching
that he insisted, so the master gave him
a light. ‘Then take this with you,’ he said.
Surprisingly, the master then blew out the
light. At that moment the student truly
understood and he left.”
In many ways, today we too blow
out the light that Prep has given us.
Although by graduating we extinguish
the physical light of Prep, the true light
shines on without limits. It is in here. Prep
is now a part of us, from the countless
lessons learned in the classroom, to
the painstaking hours of dedication in
competition or rehearsal, to the sleepless
nights we’ve all fallen prey to, and to all
the friends we’ve made along the way.
Let us be bold and embrace these lessons
and build on our wisdom with new,
meaningful, perhaps even overwhelming
experiences so as to brighten this light
that will guide us through the rest of
our lives. As we now look forth to the
future, we must prepare for failures and
shortcomings, understanding that much
like growing pains, they are necessary
hurdles we must navigate through on our
journey to our own heights of success. We
must be open to new challenges, while
always remaining true to ourselves as we
wander down our new paths.
Let this guiding light illuminate our
canvas as we paint our future, let it ignite
change as we go forth and set the world
on fire. The Class of 1963’s presence here
today reminds us that although we are
the graduating class of 2013, we are all
Prep Brothers forever.
(Taken from Farewell Address)