Being Xaverian - Our Lady of Good Counsel High School

I’m
averian
I’M XAVERIAN | Michelle Odonkor ’14
Excerpt om a speech at the St. Francis Xavier Society Dinner (p.29). Michelle is member of the KEY Club,
the Speech team, the Debate team, the track team (hurdler), and is a Xaverian leader.
“Good Counsel has opened doors for me that I can foresee as having been critical to
the advancement of my goals. As a result of the values Good Counsel stresses and
emphasizes, I am an improved person—compassionately extending my hands to those
in need, humbly putting others before myself, simply empathizing with the plights of
others, trustingly reserving my judgment and permitting the benefit of the doubt, and
zealously stepping out of my comfort zone to meet new people and make the world a
better place for all mankind.
These are all principles that Good Counsel has succeeded in instilling in me and that
have now become my new personal standards.” ✦
I’M XAVERIAN | Antonio Pino ’13
Excerpt om a speech to the
student body at the St. Francis
Xavier Mass on December 3.
Antonio is a Xaverian leader,
a student ambassador and
a member of the baseball team.
“I understand the
importance of [the Xaverian
value] compassion very well.
When I was in 8th grade, I
was stricken with a disease
that became worse in high
school. The compassion
from my friends and family meant the world to me.
I’m thankful for my friends who texted me constantly to
see how I was doing and gave up a lot of time to visit
me. I’m thankful that they prayed for me every night so
that I would feel better. It would have been much harder
to get through my illness without them.
The word compassion is defined as ‘a feeling of deep
sympathy and sorrow for another person who is
stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire
to alleviate the suffering.’ For me, that is only half of
what compassion is. I believe if you are a ompassionate
person, you care about people all the time—every day.
Compassion can be shown [to your fellow students] in
the hallways just by asking them how they are doing,
or just saying ‘hi.’ They will be touched that you went
out of your way to care about them. And when those
people are in a real time of need, that's when you
sacrifice everything for them.” ✦
I’M XAVERIAN | Tom Kolar, Social Studies Teacher
since 1965
“During the early years at Our Lady of Good Counsel,
the Xaverian Brothers were everywhere and did
everything. They were great men who were dedicated
to our school and incredibly generous with their time.
Although there were few lay teachers at the time, the
brothers were always very good to us and our families.
The brothers lived very simple lives. They had very
small living quarters (two to a room) on the second
story of the Wheaton building. They had a television
and delicious food, but aside from that, they lived very
humble lives.
The five Xaverian values, although they were not
written on the walls in the Wheaton location, were
taught to all the students and faculty during those early
days through the actions of the brothers. Those values
are all-encompassing and
are the basis to leading a
good life. The brothers
personified that. Through
their example, they
inspired us to do more
than we may have done
otherwise.” ✦
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on campus