ST SEBASTIAN’S

VOLUME VIII, ISSUE I 2012-2013 

ST. SEBASTIAN’S 

M A GAZINE 

2012 Varsity Football 

An undefeated season and a 

NEPSAC Championship Title

2012-2013 

Board of Trustees 

22 

Features 

22 An Eternal Brotherhood 

25 We’re All in this Together 

38 Growing Together 

39 My Second Family 

Departments 

4 New Faces on Campus 

8 Discourse 

12 Arrows in the News 

18 Science, Math & Library Center 

42 Guest Speakers 

48 Fine Arts 

50 Athletics 

58 In Memoriam 

Seán Cardinal O’Malley, OFM. Cap. 

Chairman 

James L. Elcock ʼ77, P’08 

President 

William L. Burke III P ʼ95,’97,’00,’04 

Executive Officer, Headmaster 

Douglas A. Kingsley, P’10,’10,’12,’13 

Secretary 

Timothy J. McCarthy, Jr. ʼ81, P’10 

Treasurer 

J. Devin Birmingham ʼ84, P’14 

David M. Calabro ʼ78, P’16 

Devin C. Condron ʼ92 

William T. Connolly, Jr. P’10,’12 

John DeMatteo II P’11,’13,’16,’18 

John P. DiGiovanni ʼ84, P’14 

Mark E. Donovan P’07,’09 

Kevin F. Driscoll ʼ72, P’05,’09 

Sr. Janet Eisner, SND 

Patrick J. Hegarty ʼ89 

Jane M. Hoch P’07 

Edward J. Hoff P’11,’13 

Wayne M. Kennard P’08 

Rev. Brian R. Kiely 

John A. Mannix ʼ74 

Mark L. O’Friel ʼ79 

William A. O’Malley P’09,’10,’13 

Stuart D. Porter 

Kristin E. Reed P’15,’17 

Robert M. Wadsworth P’10,’15 

Stephen P. Ward ‘96 

Celeste E. Wolfe P’09,’12 

St. Sebastian’s School Mission Statement 

A Catholic independent school, St. Sebastian’s seeks to engage young men in the pursuit of 

truth through faith and reason. By embracing Gospel values in an inclusive, nurturing community 

and by inspiring intellectual excellence in a structured liberal arts curriculum, St. Sebastian’s 

strives to empower students for success in college and in life. The ideal St. Sebastian’s 

graduate will be a moral and just person, a gentleman of courage, honor, and wisdom, a lifelong 

learner who continues to grow in his capacity to know, to love, and to serve God and 

neighbor. 

Credits 

St. Sebastian’s Magazine publishes 3 times a year. 

Photos by Peter Breslin ’13, Marshall Goldin, 

Sean Hennessy, Dan Tobin. 

St Sebastian’s School 

1191 Greendale Ave 

Needham, MA 02492 

Arlene F. Marano P’13 

President, Guild of St. Irene 

Brian S. Strachan P’11,’14 

President, Men’s Association 

John E. McNamara ʼ81, P’14,’18 

President, Alumni Association 

Most Reverend John P. Boles ʼ47 

James A. Cotter, Jr. ʼ57 

J. Brad Griffith ʼ58 

Frank M. Ward P’96 

Trustee Emeriti 

2 | ST. SEBASTIAN’S MAGAZINE Volume V, Issue I

From the desk 

of the headmaster 

William L. Burke III 

“Whoever loves God must also love 

his brother.” 

—1 John 4:21 

The Greeks knew to the full how bitter life is as well as how sweet. Joy and sorrow, 

exultation and tragedy, stand hand in hand in Greek literature, but there is no contradiction 

involved thereby. Those who do not know the one do not really know the 

other either. It is the depressed, the gray-minded people, who cannot rejoice just as they cannot 

agonize. (Edith Hamilton ~ The Greek Way) 

I am happy to report that we don’t have “gray-minded” people at St. Sebastian’s. We 

experience and express the full range of emotions, rejoicing and agonizing and sometimes 

just sitting together. We work through what must be worked through, and we labor not 

alone. 

In his Corporate Chapel address on January 2, 2013, Tommy McCabe ’13 shared that 

although he had suffered much through two hip surgeries and seemingly interminable 

recovery periods during his time here, there was always a fellow Arrow to carry his book 

bag, to push his wheelchair, or to get him lunch, and he offered these words: If you’re an 

Arrow, you’ll never have to go through anything alone for the rest of your life. What a perfect 

expression of theme for this issue of our magazine, which celebrates the unique Arrow 

brotherhood! With granduncle Gerry Giblin ’51 and uncles, Tom Giblin ’75, Walter “Bud” 

Giblin ’76, and Jim Giblin ’78 and younger brother Jimmy ’17 experiencing the beautiful 

truth before him and with him, Tommy knows well of what he speaks. 

And what a happy ending! After missing several seasons of sports, Tommy was able to 

play on our ISL and New England Bowl championship football team this year, and did he 

ever rejoice with his teammates! 

Along with testimony of the integrity, the beauty, and the truth of the St. Sebastian’s 

brotherhood, you will read of high academic achievement and of great successes in the arts, in 

athletics, and in a host of extracurricular programs and activities, you will be treated to photos 

and copy of dedication ceremonies in our phenomenally beautiful new facilities, which 

continue to exceed our highest expectations, and you will read of engaging guest speakers and 

of other exciting aspects of life at your School. 

Please know how much we appreciate all that our students, their families, our faculty 

and staff, our trustees and alumni, and our many friends do to advance our most important 

mission: the pursuit of truth through faith and reason. 

May God continue to bless you all. 

Sincerely, 


Headmaster 

WWW.STSEBASTIANSSCHOOL.ORG | 3

NEW FACES ON CAMPUS 

New to the Board and Classroom 

St. Sebastian’s School welcomes the newest members of the Board 

of Trustees and Faculty. 

Trustee 

David Calabro ’78, P’16 

David was graduated from St. Sebastian’s in 1978 

as a three-sport athlete, competing for the varsity 

football, hockey, and baseball teams. He went on to 

play varsity hockey and baseball at Williams College, 

graduating in 1982 with a B.A. in Economics. In 

that same year, David began his career in financial 

Trustee 

Patrick Hegarty ’89 

Pat joins the Board after serving for three years as 

the Alumni Association President. A 1993 graduate 

of Harvard University, Pat went on to earn a graduate 

degree in accounting at Northeastern University. 

A special agent in the Defense Department, Pat 

conducts financial fraud investigations for the federal 

Trustee 

Arlene Marano P’13 

Arlene serves on the Board as the Guild of St. 

Irene President. She and her husband, Chris, 

live in Canton with their two children. Arlene has 

co-chaired the silent auction and Grandparents’ Day 

at St. Sebastian’s. She has also done volunteer work 

with Newton Country Day School, St. John’s School in 

Trustee 

John McNamara ’81, P’14,’18 

John serves on the Board as the Alumni Board 

President. A 1981 graduate of St. Sebastian’s on 

Nonantum Hill, John is the VP of Arlington Coal 

& Lumber Company, a 75 year old family-owned 

company he joined following his graduation from 

Worecester Polytechnic Institute in 1985. John and his 

services with Fidelity Investments. He is currently 

the Managing Director/Portfolio Manager at Putnam 

Investments, having worked at Fidelity for ten years and 

MFS Investment Management for ten. David and his 

wife, Kathy, live in Andover with their four children. 

government. In addition to his duties at the Defense 

Department, Pat also works as a professor at Stonehill 

College. He is a frequent speaker at Admissions events 

for St. Sebastian’s. He and his wife, Melissa, reside in 

Needham with their three children. 

Canton, Hellenic Nursing Home, and Father Peyton 

Center at Stonehill College. Arlene holds a B.S. from 

Assumption College and has worked in the banking 

industry in investment operations. 

wife, Lisa, are the proud parents of twin girls, Meghan 

and Anne, and two boys, Johnny ’14 and Billy ’18. John 

enjoys boating, skiing, golf, and spending time at his 

children’s athletic events all over the state. 

4 | ST. SEBASTIAN’S MAGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I


Trustee 

Mark O’Friel ’79 

Mark serves on the Board as a member of the 

Investment Committee. A graduate of Harvard 

College, he is the Managing Partner of MOF Capital. He was 

with Steel Partners Japan as managing Director from 2008 

to 2009. Previously, Mark jointly led Morgan Stanley’s U.S 

proprietary trading business in North America from 2002 

Trustee 

Kristin Reed P’15,’17 

Kristin joins the Board after having served on 

the Long Range Planning Committee. She and 

her husband, Tyson, both active volunteers, live in 

Westwood with their three children. An alumna of 

to 2005. He serves on the board of the Kennedy Child Study 

Center in New York City. A member of the Leadership 

Council of the Harvard School of Public Health, Mark is 

active with the Harvard School of Public Health China 

Initiative, Room to Read, and Math for America. He and his 

wife, Yoko Murai, live in Scarsdale, NY, with their two sons. 

Dana Hall School and Villanova University, Kristin 

also serves on the Board of the Newport County Boys & 

Girls Clubs. 

Faculty 

Richard Connolly 

Richard teaches sophomore and junior English. 

A Concord native and a graduate of Davidson 

College, Richard spent four years at St. Alban’s School 

in Washington, D.C. after earning his master’s degree at 

Teachers College at Columbia. Having returned to his 

home state of Massachusetts, Richard is delighted to be 

Faculty 

Josef Cressotti 

Joe teaches philosophy, religion, and Latin. After 

graduating from Yale with a B.A. in Philosophy, 

Joe went on to obtain his MPhil from the University 

of Glasgow in 2004, and he is currently finishing up 

his dissertation for a PhD in philosophy from UC- 

Riverside. When not writing his dissertation, Joe enjoys 

working at St. Sebastian’s, a school he has admired since 

he was a high school student at fellow ISL institution 

Middlesex. When not running or golfing, Richard enjoys 

traveling, most recently to the southwest of Ireland. Like 

any great English teacher, Richard always keeps a book 

on his nightstand and tries to read as much as possible. 

running and watching sports—especially football 

and soccer. He is also a silent film enthusiast who 

particularly enjoys the work of Buster Keaton and 

Charlie Chaplin. 



Faculty 

Andrew Digan ’04 

Andrew, a double major in English and Spanish at 

the University of Notre Dame, teaches Spanish 

and coaches football and lacrosse. He taught for four 

years in and around Louisville, Kentucky, earning his 

master’s in teaching at the University of Louisville in 

the process. A six year survivor at St. Sebastian’s and 

Faculty 

Michael Lawler 

Michael teaches two sections of eighth grade English 

and two sections of tenth grade English in addition 

to serving as offensive line coach for the varsity football 

team. A native of Milton, he attended Roxbury Latin School 

before matriculating to Harvard College. Michael played four 

years of football at Harvard, graduating in 2010 with a B.A. 

Faculty 

James O’Brien ’06 

James is the School’s new Assistant Director of 

Communications. He also teaches tenth grade 

English and acts as the assistant coach for varsity 

cross country and varsity basketball. A 2010 graduate 

of Middlebury College with a B.A. in English, James 

arrived at St. Sebastian’s after spending the better part 

a graduate of the Class of 2004, Andrew is overjoyed 

to have returned to his alma mater. Outside of school, 

Andrew enjoys exercising, watching sports, and 

travelling. 

in English. After a semester teaching English in southern 

France, Michael spent a year as a French teacher in Duxbury. 

He is excited to be working at a small school that emphasizes 

a strong moral education as well as an academic one. When 

he is not teaching or coaching, Michael enjoys running, 

playing tennis, creative writing, and exploring New England. 

of two years in San Francisco working in both finance 

and education. When not playing tennis, reading, or 

working on his novel, James enjoys spending time with 

his classmates from the St. Sebastian’s graduating class 

of 2006. 



Faculty 

James Tull 

James comes to St. Sebastian’s from Woodbury Forest 

School in central Virginia, where he taught History 

and Religion. He holds a B.A. in History from Brown 

University, where he was also an All-Ivy offensive tackle 

for the Bears. At St. Sebastian’s, Tull teaches 8th, 9th, 

and 10th grade religion, while also assisting on the 

Faculty 

Adam White 

Adam teaches Freshman Writing and junior English 

in addition to coaching hockey and lacrosse. He 

holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.F.A. 

from Columbia University School of the Arts. While 

at Columbia, he taught an undergraduate course in 

writing and produced a healthcare documentary, Escape 

Faculty 

Silas Wong 

Silas teaches ninth grade biology and seventh grade 

science, and he serves as an assistant coach with the 

varsity football team. Originally from Needham, Silas 

came to St. Sebastian’s by way of Middlebury College. 

A 2012 graduate, he was a three season athlete, playing 

football and two seasons of track and field for the 

coaching staff for varsity football and varsity wrestling. 

As an alumnus of an all-boys Catholic high school in 

Cincinnati, Tull is excited to be teaching at a Catholic 

school. 

Fire, which is currently in theaters. Adam is thrilled and 

honored to be teaching at St. Sebastian’s School. 

Middlebury Panthers. He is thrilled to be working in a 

community that focuses on character-building as well as 

intellectual growth. In his free time, Silas enjoys fishing, 

cooking, and watching sports. 


DISCOURSE 

Headmaster William L. Burke III 

It’s Right to be Honest and 

Wrong to be Dishonest 

“Earn each grade. 

Win each moment 

of truth. 

Turn to the good. 

Turn away from 

every temptation 

to cheat, to lie, to 

steal.” 

What consonance there is in the wonderful 

messages we just heard from Father 

John and from Mr. Chambers! Father 

John urges us to lift up our hearts and our souls and 

hopes and sorrows and our dreams to our gracious 

and loving God, and Mr. Chambers reminds us 

that the Lord upholds our lives. Our job then is to 

cooperate with God, to lift ourselves up to Him who 

upholds us. 

We are so very blessed to have our outstanding 

Board of Trustees President, Mr. Jim Elcock, and our 

new trustees with us. Many years ago, when I began 

my career as a teacher and coach, I didn’t really 

understand the vitally important role that the trustees 

play in a school. Over time, my responsibilities have 

changed, and I have been blessed to see up close their 

function. A board oversees the strategic plan of a 

school and devotes itself fully to strengthening the 

institution in every possible way, and our board is 

truly outstanding. 

When an institution has integrity, every person 

is doing his and her job to near perfection. When 

I was in college and shortly after, the Red Sox had 

this terrific left-handed pitcher named Bill Lee. A 

USC graduate and a very intelligent man, Lee was 

also a way out there kind of guy, who well earned his 

nickname: Spaceman. I remember an interview in 

which Spaceman talked about the thrill he received 

by playing his role as part of the team. He painted 

a picture of throwing the ball, with one out and a 

runner on first, inducing a grounder to the shortstop, 

Rick Burleson, who threw to Jerry Remy at second, 

who threw on to Yaz at first to complete an inning 

ending double play. Poetry in motion! A glorious 

symphony! Well, that’s what we have here with 

the Board leading the way and the faculty and staff 

and the parents and grandparents and other family 

members working in sacred partnership, all focused 

on the same goal: helping each young man become 

the best he can be in body, mind, and soul, with our 

alumni and our many friends pitching in to help in 

any way possible. What a thrill it is for each of us to 

play our parts! 

We know that integrity is all about wholeness 

and that which is unbroken, and we know that like 

individuals, teams can have integrity or be broken. 

What the Patriots and the Red Sox am I talking 

about? 

Last Friday, we discussed the connection Father 

John made between integrity and Unbroken, the title 

of our All School Read. Afterward, Mr. Nerbonne 

pointed to the cross and reminded me that scripture 

teaches that not a bone was broken. Jesus Christ, our 

Lord and Savior, who loves us first is our true and 

eternal model of integrity. 

Now for the prepared remarks: 

This is a strange talk to give because I don’t 

think that I’m going to tell you a single thing that 

you don’t already know. Oh, there might be a few 

images, definitions, and quotations that are new to 

you, but the essence of this speech about integrity 

has been known by every one of us for as long as we 


can remember. So here’s this morning’s and this 

year’s theme: It’s right to be honest and wrong to be 

dishonest. There. I’ve said it. I could sit down now 

and let everyone get an early jump on first period, but 

I won’t. 

As I shared last week in our opening faculty 

meeting, when I think of integrity, I think of its close 

association with integration, and with integer, and I 

think of the number one, no gap between appearance 

and reality; what you see is what you get; one person 

– the same in word and in deed. 

A fully integrated person is the person of 

unity and integrity whom the imprisoned St. Paul 

encourages the people of Ephesus – and, I believe, all 

of us – to be in Ephesians 4, 1-6: 

I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to 

live in a manner worthy of the call you have 

received, with all humility and gentleness, with 

patience, bearing with one another through love, 

striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through 

the bond of peace: 

one body and one 

spirit, as you were 

also called to the one 

hope of your call; 

one Lord, one faith, 

one baptism; one 

God and Father of 

all, Who is over all 

and through all and 

in all. 

And I love these 

powerful dictionary definitions of integrity: 

Adherence to moral and ethical principles, 

soundness of moral character, honesty…the 

state of being whole, entire, or undiminished… 

a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition… 

rectitude, probity, virtue… a sense of 

uncorrupted virtue. 

In our catalogue and on our website, you will find 

these phrases that include the words integrated and 

integrity: 

We seek to inspire the integrated, happy, healthy, 

holy life that God wants us to live. 

And 

The Honor Code, at the core of our academic 

program, calls each young man to pledge on 

his sacred honor that the work he turns in is 

his own. Hence, students are reminded several 

times a day that they must be young men of 

Choose to be an honest 

man, and you will be one. 

Choose to be a man of 

integrity, and you will be 

so. Earn this - every graced 

moment of every graced 

day. 

unquestionable integrity who give their best, 

most honest effort in the classroom and in all 

areas. 

In my annual letter to Arrows beginning their 

college careers, I include this four word sentence: 

Hold sacred your integrity. 

It is said that there aren’t many guarantees in life, 

but I have one. I guarantee that there isn’t a student 

here who wants to overhear any of these things said 

about him: 

He says one thing and does another. 

You can never depend on him. 

I don’t trust him. 

He has no integrity. 

How does one gain the trust, respect, admiration, 

and affection of others? How does one become a 

man of integrity? 

The answer is two four letter words, memorably 

spoken by Tom Hanks 

to Matt Damon in the 

movie: Saving Private 

Ryan. Hanks, playing 

the dying Captain Miller, 

grabs young Private Ryan 

by his coat, pulls him 

close, and utters: Earn 

this! 

Of course, Captain 

Miller was talking about 

Ryan living a virtuous life 

to justify all the sacrifices, 

including Miller’s own 

last full measure of devotion. May each of us hear and 

respond with conviction to this passionate call: Earn 

this. 

Earn each grade. Win each moment of truth. 

Turn to the good. Turn away from every temptation 

to cheat, to lie, to steal. Countless times a day 

important choices must be made. There is a right and 

there is a wrong. God has blessed us with the freedom 

of choice, and every choice we make strengthens or 

weakens our characters. 

Take to heart the message expressed by that great 

headmaster, Dumbledore: 

It’s our choices, Harry, that show what we truly 

are, far more than our abilities. 

Choose to be an honest man, and you will be one. 

Choose to be a man of integrity, and you will be so. 

Earn this – every graced moment of every graced day. 

I remember playing golf with my good friend, 

Norm Walker of blessed memory. Now Norm was 

the most competitive person I have ever known. It’s 


DISCOURSE 

Pictured: Headmaster 

Burke’s longtime 

friend Norm Walker, 

who is mentioned in 

his address before the 

School. 

the last hole of a very close match, and Norm has lost 

his ball in the thick rough to the right of the fairway. 

After stomping around for a bit, he announces that 

he has found a ball. He reaches down, picks it up, 

and raises it for inspection. The two other members 

of the foursome and I stand nearby awaiting the 

announcement. And I knew, in every fibre of my 

being, that only the truth would come out, only the 

truth could come out: “Nope. It’s not mine.” Had it 

been his, no inspection by the rest of us would have 

been called for. 

Last spring, when we dedicated the Nerbonne 

Study, I was privileged to share these words: 

Mr. Nerbonne’s supreme devotion to Jesus Christ 

and to his Roman Catholic Church emanate 

from the core of his being. He loves God, and he 

loves God’s people. My hope…is that you will 

find yourself working with a person for whom 

you have total respect and admiration and in 

whom you have consummate faith, someone 

like Mr. Nerbonne…If Mr. Nerbonne tells you 

that something happened, then it happened, and 

everyone knows it. 

What do Mr. Norm Walker and Mr. Nerbonne 

have in common? They are both motivated to do 

the right thing from the inside out, not the outside 

in. It’s not a fear of bad consequences that motivates 

them, but doing right for its own sake that naturally, 

powerfully flows from their true heart’s core. 

Several years ago, in his Commencement 

remarks, then Board of Trustees President, Mr. Jack 

Birmingham, another paragon of unquestionable 

integrity, turned our attention to a passage in 

Anthony Trollope’s 19th century novel, The Duke’s 

Children. It occurs after one character suggests that 

he allows the law to be his guide. The Duke explodes 

in these words: 

You should live as not to come near the law – 

or have the law to come near to you. From all 

evil against which the law bars you, you should 

be barred, at an infinite distance, by honor, by 

conscience, and nobility…between you and me 

there should be no mention of the law as the 

guide to conduct. 

The law, then, is a floor, not a ceiling. The rules 

in our Student Guidelines are baselines only. It is 

our great hope and high expectation that each of you 

375 gentlemen will be motivated by forces far greater 

than fear of getting caught. 


Our reading of UNBROKEN underscores the 

importance of faith, hope, love, and integrity. 

I share two brief passages from our heroes’ time 

on the raft. 

Louie’s and Phil’s optimism, and Mac’s 

hopelessness, were becoming self-fulfilling. 

And 

Mac’s body grew weaker, following his broken 

spirit… 

Mac was never described as having less ability 

than Louie or Phil, just less hope. 

Integrity is all about truth, and truth is all about 

inside out simplicity and 

clarity, as celebrated in 

Mark Twain’s famous 

piece of advice: 

If you tell the truth, 

you don’t need to 

remember anything. 

What an easy way 

to live! Tell one lie, and we need to come up with 

another, and oftentimes we forget the first lie. 

A few years ago, the then Dunkin Donuts CEO, 

Jon Luther, when speaking at Bentley College’s 

Commencement, shared these helpful words: 

Be honest with employees and customers, even 

when you make a mistake. You can always 

recover from the truth. 

We’re human beings, so we make mistakes all the 

time. I’m bound to make at least ten mistakes today, 

but I intend to face each one of them honestly and to 

strive for atonement. 

Many a person over the years has compounded 

his or her problems by failing to tell the truth right 

away. We’re all sinners, striving to be saints, and, 

as Oscar Wilde reminds: Every saint has a past and 

every sinner has a future. The more we turn from 

error to truth, the more consistently we become 

people of faith and honor and integrity, the brighter 

our futures become. 

Famous investor, Warren Buffett, says that when 

hiring, he looks for three things: Intelligence, energy, 

and integrity, and asserts that if the candidate doesn’t 

have the third quality, the first two will kill you. 

And who will know if we stray from truth? Who 

will know if we tell a lie or cheat on a quiz or a test? 

Who will know if we plagiarize? Two audiences 

always, I submit, and a third one a lot more often 

than we can imagine. First, God will know. Second, 

you will know. Third, others are bound to find out, 

so we do damage to both our character and our 

reputation. What we are and what others think of us. 

Integrity is all about truth, 

and truth is all about 

simplicity and clarity. 

And we’re all in this together. I love this dialogue 

between Sir Thomas More and young Rich in Robert 

Bolt’s great play A Man For All Seasons. More is 

very much the wise mentor to Rich, who is uncertain 

about what career he should pursue. 

More says: Why not be a teacher? You’d be a 

fine teacher. Perhaps even a great one. 

Rich replies: And if I was, who would know it? 

More answers: You, your pupils, your friends, 

God. Not a bad public, that. 

We’ll hear much more about integrity when we 

communicate with Mr. 

Louie Zamperini next 

week and throughout the 

year, and we’ll draw one 

another’s attention to the 

truth that good buildings 

such as our new building 

have integrity, too. 

Let’s cooperate with 

our gracious and loving God, with our parents and 

our mentors who love us, and with one another to 

make this the best year of our lives – until next year. 

I close with these words from Psalm 25: 

Let integrity and uprightness preserve me: For I 

wait on thee. (Psalm 25:21) • 

Editor’s Note - Headmaster Bill Burke offered these 

remarks on this year’s theme of Integrity during 

Corporate Chapel on Monday, September 10, 2012. 


ARROWS IN THE NEWS 

Around Campus 

A brief look at the people and events that have helped to shape 

the St. Sebastian’s School Community. 

Forty Inducted into National Honor Society 

Headmaster Bill Burke, Assistant Headmaster Mike Nerbonne, 

and National Honor Society moderator Sean Albertson 

inducted 40 students into the Sr. Evelyn C. Barrett, O.P. Chapter 

of the National Honor Society during a ceremony on Thursday 

morning, October 25, 2012. The National Honor Society aims to 

create an enthusiasm for scholarship, stimulate a desire to render 

service, promote leadership, and develop character. Students with 

a minimum 85% grade average, who complete an essay application 

and have the support of their teachers and advisor, are eligible to 

apply for this honor. 

Class of 2013 Inductees 

Joseph Coughlin, Joseph Guarino, Scott Kingsley, Edward McCarthy, James O’Leary, John Real 

Class of 2014 Inductees 

Caleb Aldrich, Richard Arms, John Bartlett, Justin Bellinger, Christopher Callahan, Zachary Chambers, Conor Craven, Desmond 

DiGiovanni, William DuFour, Henry Finnegan, James Fiore, Nikolas Fischer, Daniel Fulham, Jack Goldman, Paul Griffin, Joseph Kearney, 

Cameron Kelly, Christian Kelly, Austin Lewis, Theodore Loughborough, Marlon Matthews, Shane McDonald, John McNamara, Luke 

Murphy, Connor Murray, Justin Nicklas, John O’Leary, Christopher O’Shea, Matthew Ouellette, Alexander Pappas, Patrick Rivard, Morgan 

Rockett, Connor Strachan, Luke Wasynczuk 



School Announces Names of AP Scholars 

Headmaster Bill Burke and Assistant Headmaster Mike 

Nerbonne are proud to announce the names of students and 

recent alumni who earned AP Scholar Awards from the College 

Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) Program. Roughly 18% of the 

1.9 million students worldwide who took AP Exams at the end of 

the 2011-12 school year performed at a sufficient level to earn this 

recognition. The following students/alumni earned AP Scholar 

Awards at the defined level: 

National Scholar (scoring 4 or higher on at least 8 exams, with an avg. score of at least 4) 

Kenneth Chen ’13, Peter DeMatteo ’13 (each has scored a 5 on eight exams) 

Scholar with Distinction (scoring 3 or higher on at least 5 exams, with an avg. score of at least 3.5) 

William Barnard ’12, Nikhil Basavappa ’13, Peter Cimini ’12, John Donovan ’12, Sean Frazzette ’12, John Gordon ’12, David Loughborough 

’12, Terrence O’Connor ’12, Michael Petro ’13, Ryan Sanderson ’12, Christopher Stadtler ’12, Kevin Wolfe ’12 

Scholar with Honor (scoring 3 or higher on at least 4 exams, with an avg. score of at least 3.25) 

Matthew Angelico ’12, Aidan Balboni ’12, Patrick Ciapciak ’12, Joseph Dudley ’12, Julian Matra ’13, Christopher Nadeau ’12, Edward 

O’Hara ’13 

Scholar (scoring 3 or higher on at least 3 exams) 

Matthew Abelson ’12, Michael Adams ’13, James Astrue ’12, Stephen Brown ’12, Brendan Burke ’12, Connor Chabot ’13, John Connolly 

’12, Mark Cunningham ’12, Matthew Donovan ’13, Matthew Fachetti ’13, Matthew Fechtelkotter ’12, Michael Hoff ’13, Sorin Marinescu 

’13, Kevin Martin ’12, Patrick McLaughlin ’12, Alexander Moore ’13, Kevin Patterson ’13, Christopher Riley ’13, Christopher Rodowicz ’13, 

Ryan Schnoor ’13, Luke Scotten ’13, Benjamin Thai ’12, Thayer Wade ’13, Curtis Yandow ’12 

National Merit Scholarship Program Recognizes Eleven Students 

Headmaster Bill Burke and Assistant Headmaster Mike 

Nerbonne are proud to announce the names of the eleven 

students who have been recognized by the 2013 National Merit 

Scholarship Program. Seven students have been named as 

Commended Students and four have been named Semifinalists. 

Only 50,000 out of 1.5 million students from across the 

country who took the 2011 Preliminary SAT National Merit 

Scholarship Qualifying Test are invited each year to participate in 

the Program by placing in the top five percent. Of that number, 

34,000 are recognized as Commended Students by receiving a 

national Selection Index score of 201 or higher. In addition, 16,000 

are named Semifinalists and are invited to further compete by 

completing a more in-depth application. 

National Merit Scholarship Commended Students 

Michael Adams, Nikhil Basavappa, Kenneth Chen, Michael Haley, 

Michael Hoff, Christopher Riley, Andrew Sullivan 

Peter DeMatteo 

Kevin Patterson 

National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist Students (pictured) 

Peter DeMatteo, Kevin Patterson, Michael Petro, Thayer Wade 

Michael Petro 

Thayer Wade 



Noteworthy 

Matra ’13 Recognized 

as Outstanding 

Participant in National 

Program 

Julian Matra ’13 has been recognized 

by the 2013 National Achievement 

Scholarship Program as an Outstanding 

Participant. Only 3,100 out of 160,000 

Black American students received this 

honor by scoring in the top 3% on the 

2011 Preliminary SAT National Merit 

Scholarship Qualifying Test. For reaching 

this level, Matra received a certificate from 

the National Achievement Scholarship 

Program and his name and college major 

choice have been forwarded on to roughly 

1,500 colleges and universities. 

Started in 1964, the National 

Achievement Scholarship Program is 

specifically designed to honor academically 

promising Black American high school 

students. The annual competition 

is conducted by the National Merit 

Scholarship Corporation, which also 

conducts the National Merit Scholarship 

Program. 

DeMatteo ’13 

Recognized by College 

Board 

Peter DeMatteo ’13 has been named 

a 2012-13 National Hispanic 

Recognition Program Scholar by the 

College Board. He is one of 5,000 

Hispanic/Latino students selected to 

receive this honor out of over 253,000 

students who took the 2011 PSAT exam. 

To be eligible to receive this award, high 

school students must be at least onequarter 

Hispanic/Latino, have achieved 

the minimum PSAT score for the region, 

and have maintained a 3.5 or higher GPA. 

Macedo ’16 & Olson ’15 

Earn Speaking Prizes 

St. Sebastian’s hosted 17 schools for the 

seventh annual Novice Parliamentary 

Extemporaneous Debate Tournament on 

Sunday, October 21, 2012. At the event, 

Ryan Macedo ’16 won a Speaking Prize 

for his individual performance in three 

rounds of debating. 

St. Sebastian’s School participated in 

a Veterans’ Day Debate Tournament at 

Phillips Andover Academy on Sunday, 

November 11, 2012. Peter Olson ’15 

won a Speaking Prize for his individual 

performance at the Tournament. 

Chen ’13 Earns Place in 

Two Elite Groups 

Kenny Chen ’13 earned a spot in the 

National Association for Music 

Education (NAFME) All Eastern-Honors 

Ensemble. This is the highest ensemble in 

which a student can participate. He will 

perform with students from 13 other states 

in a concert being held in Connecticut in 

early April. 

Chen was also named one of 1,000 

area students to take part in the Eastern 

District of the Massachusetts Music 

Educators Association (MMEA) Annual 

District Auditions. This event serves as 

the precursor to the All-State Auditions. 

Participating students may audition for 

Orchestra, Concert Band, Jazz Band, and 

Choir. For his performance, Chen earned 

Third Chair on viola and scored high 

enough to be invited to participate in the 

All-States. 

Faculty/Staff News 

Religion teacher James Keefe ’02 and 

his wife, Hadley, welcomed their first 

child, Margaret Louise, on June 25. 

Former faculty member Greg Lynch 

’00 and his wife, Kim, welcomed their third 

child, Gregory, on July 30. 

Art teacher Barrett Ellis and her 

husband, Jason, welcomed their first child, 

Ophelia Madeleine, on October 1. 

English teacher Adam White coproduced 

the documentary, Escape Fire: 

The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare, 

which was released in theaters in early 

October. The movie is also available for 

download on iTunes. 

Julian Matra 

Ryan Macedo 

Peter Olson 

Kenny Chen 



Alumni News 

Dana Story ’92 has been named 

a Partner at Deloitte Tax LLP, a 

company at which he has been employed 

for the past ten years. He noted, “I work 

with great people in a professional 

environment that is constantly changing. 

Being on a team where every day brings 

a new challenge keeps my enthusiasm for 

our profession at its highest.” 

Peter Catanese ’98 was named to 

Autonews.com’s 40 Under 40 list for his 

role in creating JustForJeeps.com, an online 

auto parts store which ships Mopar parts 

for Jeeps to locations throughout the world. 

What started as a one sale per day venture 

seven years ago has now turned into a 

lucrative business which generated close to 

$2 million in sales during 2011 and helped 

Catanese to earn his spot on the Autonews. 

com list. 

Brendan Ryan ’99, Governor Patrick’s 

current Communications Director, will 

assume the role of the Governor’s Chief 

of Staff in January 2013. Ryan has worked 

for Patrick in various administrative and 

political roles over the past six years, and 

has served as his Communications Director 

since 2010. 

Frank Sally ’93, an award-winning chef 

who teaches at the San Francisco Baking 

Institute, is in the process of opening 

his own bakery in Berkeley, California’s 

Claremont neighborhood. The bakery, 

Fournée Bakery, will take over the spot 

previously occupied by the Bread Garden, 

which closed its doors after thirty-eight 

years in business. 

best cross country year in St. Sebastian’s 

history! The 2.2 mile race was very much 

in doubt early as no St. Sebastian’s runner 

was among the top 15, but during the 

second mile, as they have all year, the 

Arrows rallied with each runner passing 

10 or more competitors. By the end, seven 

Arrows finished in the top 20. Medaling 

for the St. Sebastian’s harriers were Erik 

Jones ’16 (2nd), Ryan Colgan ’16 (5th), 

Paul Keady ’16 (8th), Kevin Moore ’17 

(11th), and Jackson Mannix ’16 (13th), 

followed closely by Cole Aldrich ’16 (16th) 

and Owen Finnegan ’16 (19th). The top 

seven runners averaged between 6:11 

and 6:32 per mile over the hilly 2.2 mile 

course. Nicos Topulos ’16, John Nilles 

’16, and Ben Fachetti ’16 all finished 

among the top 50 racers to round out the 

Arrows team. The Arrows accumulated 

the fewest points ever in Jamboree history, 

accumulating a mere 39 points to Fay’s 

64 and Belmont Hill’s 78. For their record 

setting year, the Arrows finished 26-1. 

This past summer, Corey Ronan ’14 

was selected to play for U.S. Under-18 

Select Team at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial 

Tournament in the Czech Republic and 

Slovakia. Ronan, a forward for the Arrows 

hockey team, was the only player from 

New England selected from a pool of 180 

elite players. The Ivan Hlinka Memorial 

Tournament includes teams from eight 

different countries, including hockey 

powerhouses Canada, Czech Republic, 

Finland, and Russia. 

Mike Fischer ’12, a freshman at 

Boston College, was invited to join the 

school’s football team as a walk-on long 

snapper this season. His parents credit 

St. Sebastian’s for instilling in him the 

determination and work ethic that has 

helped him achieve this goal. 

Luke Regan ’09 was recently named a 

captain of the Bowdoin Baseball Team for 

the 2013 season. During the 2012 season he 

played in 40 games, recording 32 hits in 127 

at bats for a .252 batting average. He had 13 

RBIs and 1 home run. 

John Wolfe ’09 was elected varsity 

sprint football captain at Princeton 

University for the fall 2013 season. Sprint 

football, which plays by the same rules as 

regular football and requires that players 

weigh no more than 172 pounds, has been 

played at Princeton since 1933. • 

Athletic 

Accomplishments 

The Fourth Cross Country team, a 

squad consisting of 7th, 8th, and 9th 

grade runners, finished 1st at the 10th 

annual Roxbury Latin Junior Jamboree 

on Friday, November 9, earning the 

cross country team’s first ever title. The 

Arrows bested 11 other teams comprised 

of 97 runners in grades 7-9 to cap off the 

Above: Members of the Fourth Cross Country Team following their First Place 

victory at the Roxbury Latin Junior Jamboree. 



Twenty-Five Years and Counting 

Faculty-Trustee Dinner honors three from the St. Sebastian’s 

School Family. 

St. Sebastian’s faculty and trustees gathered for a dinner to honor 

those who are currently celebrating their twenty-fifth year of 

service to the School Community on Thursday, November 8, 2012. 

Father John Arens opened the evening by offering his remarks and 

leading the group in prayer. During his comments, Board of Trustees 

President Jim Elcock ’77 reminded those gathered that it is not the brick 

and mortar buildings that define the character of a school. It is, rather, 

the people – the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and greater community 

who make an educational institution a special place. Headmaster Bill 

Burke echoed this sentiment when he spoke of this year’s honorees – 

Meyer Chambers, Newell Hall, and Penny Reilly. Headmaster Burke 

praised each of them for their dedication and service over the years and 

commented on how proud he was to be able to serve with them. 

Faculty member Dan Drummond offered an amusing look at The 

Office of College Counseling and the work done by College Counselor 

Newell Hall. During their remarks, Hall, Chambers, and Reilly related 

how blest their lives have been, and how fortunate they are to have been 

able to serve for so long at St. Sebastian’s School. 

“It’s been my good luck to represent St. Sebastian’s while visiting 

colleges from Miami to Montreal, from Aberdeen to Anaheim,” 

noted Hall. “The mantra around here is ‘Love God, work hard, and 

take good care of one another.’ Or, as I like to say when speaking with 

college representatives, ‘St. Sebastian’s? Great kids, sane parents, and a 

wonderful boss.’” 

Chambers added, “St. Sebastian’s supported me for five summers 

as I studied liturgical music at Catholic University and Notre Dame. 

This School has graduated one of my sons and is well on its way to 

graduating my second. Like many in the community, my family has 

celebrated life events here… My life as an Arrow by association is very 

precious to me, and for that I am eternally grateful.” • 

Pictured - 

Top: Meyer and Beth Chambers. 

Middle: Chase, Megan, Newell, Jane and Kyle Hall. 

Bottom: Penny Reilly and Mike Deschenes. 



Christmas Auction & Dinner 

St. Sebastian’s holds annual event on December 1. 

Close to 400 people attended the annual St. Sebastian’s School 

Christmas Auction & Dinner on Saturday, December 1, 2012. 

The Seaport Hotel in Boston provided the perfect setting for this 

year’s gala event. 

The evening featured a silent auction, dinner, and live auction. 

Hundreds of items meant there was literally something for everyone. 

Bidding was fast and furious throughout the evening. 

St. Sebastian’s School would like to thank all those who 

contributed of their time, talent, and treasure to make the evening 

such a huge success. Your support and generosity enabled the School 

to raise approximately $330,000. A special thank you goes out to this 

year’s Auction Co-Chairs, Dana Fulham and Aleece Strachan, Guild 

of St. Irene President Arlene Marano, our Auctioneer Bill Supple, 

and the entire Guild of St. Irene Auction Committee. • 


SCIENCE, MATH & LIBRARY CENTER 

A Lasting Legacy 

Three families honored with rooms in new building 

Since the School’s new Science, Math & Library Center opened in 

May 2012, three naming ceremonies have been held for various 

rooms in the facility. The McKinlay Room, Lynch Hall, and the 

Gately Reading Room will forever stand as fitting tributes to families 

whose generosity have made a lasting impact on St. Sebastian’s 

School. 

Above: McKinlay Room Dedication (l-r): Barb McKinlay (seated) and Headmaster 

Bill Burke (r) with Bill, Jack ’12, Mike ’17, Will ’10, and Barb Connolly. Missing from 

the photo is Bill & Barb’s daughter, Molly. 

Below: Lynch Hall Dedication: Jack Lynch (c) surrounded by his family. 

McKinlay Room 

The McKinlay and Connolly Families and their 

friends gathered to dedicate the new McKinlay 

Room in honor of Barb and Jim McKinlay, the 

grandparents of Will ’10, Jack ’12, Mike ’17, 

and Molly Connolly on June 19. This room is located 

on the second floor of the Science, Math & Library 

Center and features a large conference table, stateof-the-art 

audio/visual presentation capabilities, and 

books and reference materials promoting ethics, 

morality, and the pursuit of truth through faith and 

reason. 

“Barb and Jim McKinlay exemplify the spirit of St. 

Sebastian’s at our very best,” stated Headmaster Bill 

Burke. “Their powerful and heroic love of God, family, 

friends, and country – so beautifully evident in their 

children, in-laws, and grandchildren – stirs us all to 

become ever more fully the wise, just, balanced, and 

brave people of faith, honor, and integrity that our Lord 

wants us to be. How fitting, right, and just it is that this 

magnificent room of gravitas bears their names.” 

Lynch Hall 

On September 30, the Lynch and O’Hurley families 

came together to honor Christine Lynch P’83, 

GP’04,’05,’06,’08,’10,’15 with the dedication of Lynch 

Hall. Located at the far end of the Science, Math & 

Library Center, this octagonal space serves as the 

perfect gathering and academic space for students, 

parents, and alumni. 

“Love God. Work hard. Take good care of one 

another. The order of the day at St. Sebastian’s is the 

order of the beautiful life of Christine Lynch,” noted 

Headmaster Bill Burke. “How fitting it is that her 

family has dedicated this gorgeous new teaching and 

learning space in her honor and in her name. The 

crosses that boldly separate the windows, the light 

that enters from above and is emitted nightly from 

within recall the warm and loving heart of Christine 

ever open to the grace of God, ever pulsing light and 



warmth and love to her beloved family and cherished 

friends. May God bless those who pursue the truth 

through faith and reason in this great excellence! May 

God bless Christine and her beautiful family forever!” 

Gately Reading Room 

The Gately Reading Room was officially dedicated 

in honor of Jack and Eleanore O’Neill Gately, the 

parents of former Board President David Gately ’73, 

during a ceremony on October 28. This quiet study 

space is located off the main library and provides a 

place where students and faculty can read, write, and 

reflect. 

“Long had we held the vision and the hope for a 

quiet room in our library, a commodious, comfortable, 

sacrosanct place where students and faculty could 

retreat into solitary, silent study, where no group work 

would be permitted, a glassed in place for noiseless, 

unobtrusive supervision, with doors designed to open 

and close almost inaudibly, and here we are met in 

the Gately Family Reading Room, which is being 

used exactly as intended – much to the sheer delight 

and great appreciation of our 375 students and 60 

teachers and the many who will follow,” commented 

Headmaster Bill Burke. • 

Above: Gately Reading Room Dedication (l-r) Elizabeth, 

Mark, Andrew, Meg, Peter, and David ’73 Gately. 

Below: Nikhil Basavappa ’13 discusses Physics with prospective students 

in one of the School’s new Science Labs/Classrooms 

during Curriculum Night in early December. 



Capital Campaign: Faith & Future 

Thanks to the extraordinary generosity and outstanding leadership 

support of 250 donors, the Campaign for St. Sebastian’s: 

Faith & Future has raised an impressive $27,544,164 

in gifts and pledges toward the Capital goal of $30 million. 

From the perspective of our Comprehensive Campaign goal of 

$44 million (Annual Fund & Capital Campaigns combined), we 

have raised approximately $40.9 million in gifts and pledges 

(as of January 8, 2013). 

$44 million $40.9 million 

The new Science, Math & Library Center has enabled us to 

double our teaching and learning space. By maintaining enrollment, 

this project has allowed us to essentially achieve 

the one teacher/one classroom ideal. 

All eight academic disciplines have benefited greatly. The Science 

and Math Departments now enjoy state-of-the-art facilities 

that enable classes and clubs to tackle projects that were 

once not possible. The new and renovated library space has 

been broken into areas that allow for and encourage group interaction 

and ones that are designed for quiet study. Finally, 

the former science lab spaces have been reconfigured into 

modern multipurpose classrooms that are being utilized by 

all of the School’s academic departments. 

By the end of 2013, our hope is to have raised the necessary 

funds to complete the Campaign and be able to celebrate the 

momentous achievements it has enabled us to achieve for St. 

Sebastian’s School. 

Campaign Co-Chairs 

Michael F. Cronin · David F. Gately ‘73 

Douglas A. Kingsley · William A. O’Malley 

Campaign Committee 

Devin C. Condron ’92 · William T. Connolly Jr. 

Sean V. Dillon · James L. Elcock ’77 

William L. Elcock · Nancy Q. Gibson 

Patrick T. Jones · Stuart D. Porter 

Brian S. Strachan · Mary L. Supple 


Where will you be? 

Reunion 

Friday & Saturday, May 17-18, 2013

BROTHERHOOD 

An Eternal Brotherhood 

Academic Rigor | Spiritual Depth… and Brotherhood. 

By James O’Brien ’06 

Pictured: Chris Marino ’10 and Ned Kingsley ’10 at the Class of 2010 

Yearbook Reception in November 2010. 

As a student at St. Sebastian’s School, I spent an inordinate 

amount of time with my St. Sebastian’s friends at the Dedham 

Chili’s on Route 1. I made the weekly trek there from 

my parents’ house in Medfield only because it was a central location 

for my group of St. Sebastian’s friends, boys who lived scattered 

all over suburban Massachusetts. We spent countless hours 

sitting in our cars or standing outside of them in that parking lot, 

recounting the school day antics, life lessons, teachers, hopes, and 

dreams. 

The academic merits of St. Sebastian’s have been recounted 

thousands of times and will be again in the following pages. They are 

numerous. But the School exists to nourish the whole person. We 

truly did strive to “love God, work hard, and take good care of one 

another.” And if one of us was not doing that, you could be sure the 

rest of us would let him have it. 

Joy is paramount at the School. St. Sebastian’s is full of people 

who always seem on the verge of smiling. Everyone is receptive 

to a good joke. When I was in sixth grade, I interviewed at two 

independent schools, one of which was St. Sebastian’s, and by the 

time I went through the admissions process at both schools, I knew 

that St. Sebastian’s was the place for me. I remember how accessible 

and good-natured the people here were—Headmaster Burke’s 

humor and humility, my stocky tour guide constantly recounting 

how he was “strongly encouraged” by Mr. Nerbonne to take Latin, 

a well-spoken student telling me in a Burke-ian voice to “be sure to 

catch the acorns that fall from the tree of knowledge.” Seeing the 

humor in life, being able to laugh at yourself—these are qualities that 

are encouraged at St. Sebastian’s. 

Having now returned to St. Sebastian’s as Assistant Director of 

Communications, English teacher, and coach, I see the same spirit 

alive at the School today. Wherever you go on campus, smiling faces 

and happy people are there to greet you. 

We have this community feel that most other schools do not, 

a more warm and inviting environment, a family atmosphere. 

While our academics take a backseat to none in the ISL, the joy 

for life exhibited by the faculty and students is what makes the 

essence of St. Sebastian’s pervade all aspects of our lives. The spirit 

of the School does not merely capture the spirit of academia, but 

also the real meaning of a life lived joyfully. As a student, my 

friends and I wanted to come to school. Unlike many of our public 

school counterparts, we did not feel like we were in a holding cell, 

scratching lines on the wall to mark the days until graduation. Here, 

amidst all of the book learning, was life, the real essence of things. 

Life can be lived in innumerable ways, but by engaging our will to 

live fully, St. Sebastian’s prepared us for all of them. 

Full living involves embracing all aspects of what this world 

puts before us—the tragic and sorrowful as well as the light and 

humorous. Like a liquid changing shape to fit its container, the 

nature of the St. Sebastian’s brotherhood can shift depending on the 

situation. During both ordinary and challenging times, we see the 

deep and meaningful nature of so much time spent together in close 

quarters with good people. 

What follows are the stories of fellow Arrows who cherish their 

St. Sebastian’s experience just as much as I do. We may be a little 

biased, but much like little George Washington in the apocryphal 

cherry tree story, we have too much integrity to lie. St. Sebastian’s 


is a remarkable place, and it is real. We alumni love our School for 

what it has done for us, and so now we share our stories in the hopes 

that it will remind us all of the good this School continues to do. 

“Arma virumque cano Troiae…” 

It’s the spring of 2009 and Ned Kingsley ’10 is exhausted. 

Slumped over his annotated copy of the Aeneid in the library, the 

adventures of Aeneas, man of pietas, pervade his every thought. 

After three hours of sitting at the same wooden library table, lines 

of Latin are starting to blend together. Beside him at the table, 

nine of his fellow Latin IV AP students struggle along with him to 

cram the AP-required books of 

Virgil’s epic into their brains. 

They have been studying all 

year for this, 30 lines a night. 

But now time runs short, the 

test hours away. These are the 

moments in which brotherhood 

is formed. 

Looking back to his years at 

St. Sebastian’s, Kingsley, now a 

junior at Dartmouth College, 

sees shared struggle as a major 

part of what cemented the 

brotherhood with his classmates 

that he still cherishes. 

“I will never forget Latin IV AP with Mr. Albertson, especially 

the days leading up to the AP test,” Kingsley said. “One of the 

memories I have of junior year is sitting in the library with nine guys 

trying to translate the lines of Virgil’s Aeneid. We had spent all year 

doing 30 lines a night, we read through it a million times, but we still 

felt compelled to work hard right up until the time of the test.” 

That hard work definitely paid off for Kingsley and his 

classmates. When the College Board revealed the scores from the 

Latin IV AP Exam, Kingsley, along with several of his classmates, 

had earned a 5, the highest score possible. 

Now looking forward to graduation from Dartmouth College as 

a member of the Class of 2014, Kingsley is thankful to Mr. Albertson 

and all of the other teachers who prepared him for the grueling 

routine of college. 

“St. Sebastian’s prepared me infinitely well for all of the 

challenges—both academically and socially—that I’ve faced up 

here,” he said. 

Not simply a scholar, Kingsley was also a two sport athlete at 

St. Sebastian’s, lettering in sailing and football. He also edited the 

Walrus, argued valiantly on the debate team, and participated in 

Moot Court, exemplifying the type of well-rounded young man 

the School is proud to produce. Kingsley’s experience on the St. 

Sebastian’s athletic field has been etched in his memory indelibly, 

and he joined the rugby team at Dartmouth in order to continue his 

passion for athletic competition. 

“All of my experiences with athletics were a big show of 

brotherhood,” noted Kingsley. “Whether it was on the playing field, 

One of the things I took from Seb’s... 

is the power of the friendships I 

make. Those are the most important 

things in life. And I have these 

awesome memories with my friends 

from high school. Nobody can take 

that away from me. 

just being in the locker room with the guys, or sitting in the stands 

at a hockey game—it was all an incredible experience. I still think 

about it. At St. Sebastian’s, wherever we were, we were focused on 

being good people and being together.” 

The camaraderie at St. Sebastian’s between members of different 

grades and social groups still impresses Kingsley. Coming from a 

family of four boys—including his twin brother Max ’10, who is now 

a classmate at Dartmouth—Kingsley understands the bond between 

brothers, and he maintains that the St. Sebastian’s bond is as strong 

as advertised. 

“It really is like 360 brothers,” he said. “Any time Max and I 

would have our friends over, 

they would hang out and joke 

around with my younger 

brothers just as much as they did 

with us. 

“All the guys in my class, 

whether or not we were best 

friends, we all got along really 

well.” 

Kingsley was eager to hold 

onto that fraternal bond at 

Dartmouth College, so he joined 

the Darmouth rugby team and 

the fraternity Beta Alpha Omega, 

where Will Connolly ’10 is also a brother. 

“I love having that fraternal bond with a big group of guys who 

are together for a singular purpose,” he stated. “That is why I joined 

the rugby team my freshman year. It’s hard to explain the type of 

bond that you have when you just get a bunch of guys all together 

for the same reason. The St. Sebastian’s brotherhood is something 

that I’ve tried to emulate during my time up here, although it hasn’t 

come up quite to St. Sebastian’s levels.” 

At Dartmouth College, each student stays at the school for 

a summer term during their sophomore year. For Kingsley’s 

sophomore summer term, he served as Sophomore President of Beta 

Alpha Omega. 

“I was in charge of all of the fraternity’s communications with 

the college, making sure the house was running smoothly,” Kingsley 

said. “I coordinated the outreach chairs, the service chairs. It was 

a really good experience and it was something that St. Sebastian’s 

taught me—this natural tendency to try to be a leader in anything 

you do.” 

Although Kingsley worried the distance would put a strain on 

his relationships with his high school friends, he found that fear to 

be unwarranted once he returned home for his first extended break 

from college. 

“I knew I would still be close with the Seb’s guys who were at 

Dartmouth with me, but I was definitely concerned about how I 

would maintain relationships with other guys who went to school 

hours and hours away. But I quickly found that when we’re all home 

for breaks—for Christmas, for the summer—it is crazy how we can 

just pick back up like no time has passed. I can pick up the phone 


BROTHERHOOD 

and call any of them when I’m at school and it’s the same way. These 

relationships supersede any sort of time and space boundaries.” 

Kingsley thinks that having two of his St. Sebastian’s brothers at 

Dartmouth significantly aided his transition. 

“My brother Max is a member of the football team, and we came 

to Dartmouth by two different paths. He had football, and I wanted 

to come here because my father attended and it has great academics. 

It’s been awesome going to school with Max and being able to 

have a couple guys—he and Will both—who understand what St. 

Sebastian’s is…St. Sebastian’s is a big part of my identity, and it’s 

nice to have people who understand where you come from.” 

Kingsley says that the transition was “very smooth” from the allboys 

environment on Greendale Avenue in Needham to the College 

on the Hill in Hanover, NH. 

When asked what he would 

change about his experience 

at St. Sebastian’s, he replied, “I 

wouldn’t have changed my high 

school experience for anything. 

One of the things I took from 

Seb’s, besides being a gentleman, 

is the power of the friendships 

I make. Those are the most 

important things in life. And I 

have these awesome memories 

with my friends from high 

school. Nobody can take that 

away from me.” 

The Whole Friendship Package 

“I would love just being around St. Sebastian’s. I would sit in the 

locker room for 45 minutes to an hour, then sit in the parking lot 

for an hour—just talking. Being around that community, there was 

no reason to ever leave,” said Jake O’Malley ’10, now a junior at 

Amherst College and a wide receiver for the school’s football team. 

Back when he was a sixth grader considering his future, 

O’Malley was not necessarily unhappy with his place in the Medfield 

Public School system. The quality of the Medfield education was 

high, the classrooms were fairly modern, and he had several good 

friends. When his older brother, Sean ‘08, left Medfield to attend 

St. Sebastian’s, O’Malley discovered a sense of brotherhood among 

Sean’s friends that just felt right. He had not thought that anything 

in particular was missing from his life, but upon seeing firsthand the 

special camaraderie between his brother and his new friends from 

St. Sebastian’s, he made up his mind to become an Arrow. 

“Once I met his friends, there wasn’t anywhere else I was going 

to go,” O’Malley said. “My brother’s group of friends were just 

awesome to me, a person they didn’t really know.” 

Once O’Malley enrolled at the School, he found that St. 

Sebastian’s School suited him perfectly. 

“When I was in Medfield, I did fine but I just coasted along,” he 

said. “There was no need to get all that involved in class, so I kind 

of just did my work and got decent grades. I found Seb’s to be a 

24 | ST. SEBASTIAN’S MAGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I 

My brothers were and still are my 

best friends, but now I have these 

best friends from Seb’s too. We 

have the whole friendship packagebeing 

able to tell them anything, 

being able to trust them, knowing 

that they’ll always be my friends. 

place where the kids were all there for the same reason, looking to 

get a little something more out of the experience, and the teachers 

were always there to help us succeed if we were willing to put in 

the hard work. This is coming from a town with 30 person classes, 

a place where the teachers just gave you the homework and if you 

did it, great, but they weren’t going out of their way to help you. 

The St. Sebastian’s teachers’ desire to help you succeed was the big 

difference. There was a community at St. Seb’s I didn’t really feel at 

the public school.” 

Although O’Malley made friends quickly, the transition to 1191 

Greendale Avenue was not without bumps. 

He noted, “I am a Protestant, so when I first got here, I had no 

idea what to do. They would be saying prayers, signing the cross, 

getting communion. I didn’t know how I was supposed to act.” 

Luckily for O’Malley, it 

didn’t take long for the openness 

of the community to find him. 

“I ended up talking to Fr. 

Arens all of the time. I went into 

confession just to sit and chat. 

It’s a Catholic school, but they’re 

accepting of everyone.” 

O’Malley cites English 

teachers Dan Burke and Ted 

Weihman and physics teachers 

John Ryan and Dave Wilbur as 

influences. 

“Every year there was a new 

teacher with whom I would become pretty close. Dan Burke was 

huge for me. He is a great guy. As my sophomore English teacher 

and football coach, he was part parent and part brother. He was 

always there for advice or just to joke around.” 

O’Malley came to see St. Sebastian’s as a second home, a place 

where he says people will “always be there for you when you need 

them.” 

His most prominent example of the community coming 

together was when Will Judge ’11 passed away in 2007. 

“We were at Will’s funeral and all sang [the school hymn] 

‘He Who Would Valiant Be’ as we were walking out,” O’Malley 

remembered. “I felt like it exemplified the brotherhood.” 

The scene at the funeral was moving for Jake and the other 

attendees, but he said the real work in dealing with the tragedy came 

afterward. Following the funeral, the St. Sebastian’s community 

remained with the Judges. 

O’Malley recalled, “I would go over to the Judges’ house to visit 

J.P. [Judge ’09] and the family. Whenever I would go there would be 

somebody else from Seb’s there. They were never alone. It showed 

me the tightness of the community and how we will always be there 

for each other.” 

Five years following Will’s passing, O’Malley is still moved by 

the experience. Will’s life had such a profound impact on those he 

left behind, strengthening their commitment to their School family 

and to each other. O’Malley himself remains part of the Arrows

We’re All in this Together 


“This brotherhood—it’s more felt than understood, and more 

understood than expressible in words,” stated Headmaster Bill 

Burke, acknowledging with a smile that even he, the man who 

always seems to have the right words on the tip of his tongue, 

cannot quite explain the bond that exists here at St. Sebastian’s 

School. I have come to the Headmaster’s Office to find 

the secret behind the St. Sebastian’s brotherhood. Burke is 

largely credited with singlehandedly creating an attitude of togetherness 

when he took over as Headmaster in 1990, though 

he disputes this history of events. 

“When I came here, I found a School that was way better than 

many thought it was,” Burke said. “I told people how good they 

were—and certainly they didn’t mind hearing it—but this attitude 

of we’re all in this together was present at St. Sebastian’s 

long before I got here.” 

To prove his point, Bill recounts words that Pat Hegarty ’89, a 

Harvard alumnus and current St. Sebastian’s board member, 

used to speak at open houses. 

“‘When I was at St. Sebastian’s, everyone wanted me to do 

well. When I got to Harvard, only the teachers wanted me to do 

well.’” 

He continued, “All we are doing is helping young men become 

the men they want to be. And as I’ve said often, I think every 

person born wants to be part of something great and wants 

to fall more deeply in love with learning, whether the person 

knows it or not. In a community where enough people encourage 

the pursuit of the good, the true, and the beautiful, it becomes 

natural to take care of your brother. 

“Patrick Kelly ’08 once told prospective families during an 

Open House, ‘We’re brothers here for three reasons: One, 

we’re a very spiritual place and we see God as our father. Two, 

we have an awesome faculty who are very much like mothers 

and fathers. And three, because we’re unified—we want the 

same things, have the same goals, want to go in the same direction.’ 

“We’re all in this together. It’s a bunch of us all working together, 

all going for the same goal. If someone falls down, we 

have to pick him up…I believe we’re built that way. We’re built 

for goodness. God made us for goodness in His image. That 

doesn’t mean we’re always going to do the right thing. But the 

beauty is we have forgiveness. We’ll make mistakes, but we 

will also try to do better. As Miriam Pollard says: ‘There is nothing 

we can do that God is not eager to forgive.’” 

On the wall in Headmaster Burke’s office hangs a framed reproduction 

Rembrandt’s “Return of the Prodigal Son”—a reminder 

that we have all been forgiven. Because of this reason, Headmaster 

Burke reminds us, we have every reason to love God, 

work hard, and take good care of one another. We have every 

reason to smile. 


BROTHERHOOD 

Pictured: Patrick Ciapciak ’12 (#42), Jake O’Malley ’10 (#83), and Dillon Ecclesine ’11 (#9) 

following a varsity football game in 2009. 

brotherhood, even though he is now a member of the Amherst Lord 

Jeffs. He still returns to St. Sebastian’s to catch up and watch his 

brother, Brian ’13, compete for the Arrows. 

“I am very close with all of my St. Sebastian’s friends. I talk to 

them maybe once a week,” he said. “I go back and try to watch Brian 

play football and lacrosse, talk to Mr. Burke or Mr. Weihman, and 

next thing you know, twenty minutes are gone without me even 

noticing. Seeing them is always great.” 

So, as the years pass, what is it that makes O’Malley think the 

bond of St. Sebastian’s brotherhood will remain? 

“I was with these kids, these teachers, all day for six years of 

my life…taking the same classes, sharing all these experiences, 

playing sports together,” he said. “Every day you were adding new 

experiences together. And we don’t want to stop adding those 

experiences just because we’ve graduated from high school.” 

Even though three years have passed, O’Malley and his friends 

have not lost that St. Sebastian’s ability to reminisce that used to 

keep him from heading home long after school obligations were 

complete. 

“This summer five of my close friends from high school worked 

pretty much in the same area in Boston and we would go to lunch 

and just sit there for a half hour talking about Seb’s and the time 

we had and funny stories and sports games. I remember just sitting 

there. And we could talk forever. That’s how close I am with these 

guys. 

“My brothers were and still are my best friends,” O’Malley 

concluded, “but now I have these best friends from Seb’s, too. 

We have the whole friendship package—being able to tell them 

anything, being able to trust them, knowing that they’ll always be my 

friends.” 

United by the Same Goals 

Readers may remember Matt Perry ‘06 from his time on the St. 

Sebastian’s website as a featured student in the first ever set of St. 

Sebastian’s web videos. A three-sport athlete at St. Sebastian’s, 

Perry was graduated from The College of the Holy Cross in 2010 

and has gone on to play three seasons of professional baseball as a 

third baseman for the Detroit Tigers organization. 

Since his father and grandfather were legendary alumni of 

Catholic Memorial, one might have expected Perry to follow in their 

footsteps and become a Knight. His grandfather, Ronald Perry Sr., 

and his father, Ronald Perry Jr., were known for their prowess on 

the athletic fields and the basketball court. Catholic Memorial even 

named their basketball court after his grandfather in 2006. Perry, 

however, fully planned on attending Lincoln-Sudbury High School 

with friends from his hometown of Sudbury. In fact, he may never 

have heard about St. Sebastian’s if it were not for the suggestion of a 

family. 

“One of my father’s friends mentioned St. Sebastian’s,” Perry 

recalled. “He said it was a great school and it wouldn’t hurt to check 

it out. So I went and took a tour and I just felt comfortable. There 

was this ineffable quality about the place where I felt like I belonged. 

So I said, ‘OK, I guess this is where I’m meant to be.’” 

Perry had a tough decision to make. In order to attend, he 

needed to repeat the eighth grade, a choice which would leave him a 


grade behind his former peers at Lincoln-Sudbury. After prayer and 

consultation with his family, he decided to take the leap and become 

a member of the St. Sebastian’s family. For Perry, the deciding factor 

was St. Sebastian’s focus on the whole person. 

“At St. Sebastian’s, we learned to be men for others. I didn’t 

think you could really have this type of experience anywhere else. 

We were united by the same goals. We all wanted the best for each 

other,” he said. “Once I got to the School, almost immediately I had 

these friends to whom I could bare my soul. We spent so much time 

talking about being the best type of people we could be. We saw 

so much potential in each other and wanted to see that potential 

realized.” 

Perry credits the positive environment at St. Sebastian’s for 

enabling him to thrive on and off the field. He looks at the many 

conversations with his classmates over the years as pivotal moments 

in his life. 

“We talked about the people 

we were and the people we 

wanted to be. We still talk about 

that,” he said. “From the topdown, 

it’s an experience that is 

rigorous, yet comfortable. It’s 

not a cutthroat environment, 

and that allows you to work hard 

and enjoy it. It’s just the caliber 

of person the School recruits—people who are willing to poke fun 

at themselves if the situation warrants, people who don’t hesitate to 

show a little bit of self-deprecating humor.” 

Perry also maintains that the School’s spiritual center is what sets 

it apart from other high schools. 

“The Catholicism is probably the biggest differentiating 

factor between St. Sebastian’s and other schools. With a spiritual 

background, you are a little more self-aware. As students, we spent 

a lot of time focusing inward on who we wanted to be as people and 

we discussed it with each other. That spiritual aspect has stayed with 

me through college and my baseball career. 

“It’s important to always be trying to better yourself—whether 

on the athletic field, in the classroom, or with your friends. We 

learned to focus on being the best people we could be. And that 

started with our relationship with God.” 

After completing his high school career as School Vice President 

and captain of the varsity baseball and basketball squads, Perry 

matriculated to The College of the Holy Cross. He hosted his St. 

Sebastian’s brothers at Holy Cross on numerous occasions, even 

squeezing five of his friends into the small double he shared with a 

fellow baseball player during freshman year. 

“That was a scene that ultimately played out at about four or five 

colleges—us cramming ourselves into someone else’s tiny room, 

sleeping in sleeping bags or just on the floor. I’m not sure I’ve ever 

had that much fun. Bringing that St. Sebastian’s experience to our 

collegiate environments was unforgettable.” 

The brotherhood continued throughout Perry’s college career 

and beyond. He played third base for Holy Cross and for the 

I had these friends to whom I could 

bare my soul... We saw so much 

potential in each other and wanted 

to see that potential realized. 

Chatham A’s of the Cape Cod League in the summer of his junior 

year, and the St. Sebastian’s alumni and faculty made several trips to 

Worcester and Chatham to support him. 

“That was a benefit of how close we were at St. Seb’s…I wasn’t 

expecting anyone to come to those games,” Perry recalled. “But we 

feel a bond to support each other in our endeavors. No matter what 

you were doing, no matter how far apart we were going to school, 

we would support each other the same way we did in high school.” 

By the time he finished his Holy Cross career, Perry had 

impressed pro scouts. He hit .423 his junior year, earning Patriot 

League Player of the year, and he followed that up with a .409 senior 

season in which he was named to the All-Patriot League First Team 

and All-New England second team. Following this success as a 

Crusader, Perry was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 41st round 

of 2010 Major League Baseball Draft. 

“I was assigned to short 

season ball with the Class A 

Connecticut Tigers. I’ve played 

for two other teams since then, 

and now I’m in high-A ball,” 

Perry explained. 

Perry’s advice for young 

Arrows looking to play 

professionally is not to specialize 

in one sport, but instead to take 

up the challenge of playing a sport during every season. 

“Playing three different sports in high school was really what 

allowed baseball to work out for me,” he said. “You’re interacting 

with so many different people at the School, presenting yourself 

with different challenges. People who play three sports just have a 

better feel for things. You’ve been exposed to so many people and 

challenges that you are able to thrive. When you go through all these 

struggles on the athletic field, you enjoy a bond with your teammates 

that you don’t get anywhere else.” 

Although his main sports in high school were basketball and 

baseball, he cites running Varsity Cross Country with Coaches Jim 

Rest and Steve Thomasy as a major contributing factor to his mental 

toughness. 

“The grit, determination, and mental toughness learned in Cross 

Country carried over really well into baseball. The physical pain in 

baseball is nothing compared to running a double Hazel’s Hill.” 

Although he has kept in touch with many of his St. Sebastian’s 

brothers since he was graduated in 2006, Perry feels especially 

blessed for his relationship with fellow Arrow Matt Duffy ’07, now 

a member of the Houston Astros organization. Duffy, like Perry, 

has been very fortunate to play professional baseball, and Perry 

enjoys the times he has been able to play with and against his former 

Arrows teammate. 

“It was awesome being able to play with him again down in 

Chatham—my junior year, his sophomore,” commented Perry. 

“Especially being from the northeast—there were not a lot of us 

down the Cape—so being able to play and live with my high school 

teammate was great. Then I got to play against him professionally [in 


BROTHERHOOD 

Class A minor league baseball]. It’s been fun to watch him develop, 

and I’ll be happy to watch him continue in his success. It’s always 

more fun playing against people you know.” 

Perry, now 25, feels fortunate to have spent three years with the 

Detroit Tigers organization. He is now at a crossroads in his career, 

weighing the potential merits of continuing with baseball against the 

prospect of beginning a business career. 

“I’ve been invited back to spring training,” he said, “and if it’s 

the right opportunity, I’d like to keep playing, but, if not, hopefully 

the internships I’ve done in the off-season have prepared me for the 

business world.” 

He knows that his St. Sebastian’s brothers will stand by him no 

matter his career path. Thinking back to all of his conversations with 

Arrows throughout the years, Perry maintains that the spirit of selfreflection 

and evaluation still burns inside of him, helping to keep 

him moving forward. 

“At the core,” he concluded, “I’ve stayed as true to myself as I 

could have hoped. St. Sebastian’s was a huge part of that. 

Courage, Honor, Commitment 

Ken Mateo ’05 is a helicopter pilot for the United States Marine 

Corps at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, CA. 

He attended the Naval Academy right out of St. Sebastian’s before 

becoming a Marine. As part of this year’s St. Sebastian’s Alumni 

Dinner, an event which honored alumni servicemen, Mateo 

sent in a Skype video greeting as part of montage that featured 

several active Arrows in service. He thinks that the St. Sebastian’s 

education lends itself to service. 

“I think the camaraderie and brotherhood aspects of St. 

Sebastian’s transferred very easily into being able to develop bonds 

and cohesion with my company mates at the Naval Academy,” 

Mateo said. “From there I transferred from one unit to another 

throughout my military experience so far and I’ve been able to use 

the same core values that St. Sebastian’s instilled in me.” 

The core values of the Marine Corps are “courage, honor, 

and commitment,” which Mateo thinks parallel nicely with St. 

Sebastian’s motto of “love God, work hard, and take good care of 

one another. 

“The Marine Corps tells you to do what you know is right and 

do it well. St. Sebastian’s holds those same ideals.” 

Mateo, who briefly attended flight school with another of his 

St. Sebastian’s classmates, Conor O’Neil ’05, now pilots a CH-53E 

Super Stallion, a three engine helicopter. It’s the largest helicopter in 

the free world. 

“Whenever the Marine Corps require some heavy lifting, The 

Super Stallion is called into action,” he said. “Providing assault 

support for combat troops, heavy equipment, or heavy weaponry, 

Pictured: Classmates Mike Tierney ’05, Chris Curran ’05, and Ken Mateo ’05 

acting in Singin’ in the Rain during their senior year. 


moving from point A to point B in any conditions day or night— 

that’s our mission. 

“Right now I’m still working on my initial qualifications. I’ve 

done all of the basic training. I know how to take-off, land, and 

fly, but now our training is shifting much more toward a tactical 

emphasis…flying low, flying fast, and being able to get into and out 

of landing zones. Also flying at night and flying with external loads 

attached to the helicopter.” 

Mateo speaks fondly of his time at St. Sebastian’s when he was a 

prominent member of the drama program under Mark Rogers. He 

performed in shows with close friends and classmates Chris Curran 

’05, Mike Tierney ’05, and Andrew Schneider ’05. 

“All of my friends and I were involved at one point or another 

in the drama program with Mr. Rogers, so spending long hours 

getting ready for the play definitely brought us closer together,” 

Mateo commented. “There’s definitely a very strong family feel to St. 

Sebastian’s and the relationships 

you build with your friends. I 

had a small core of friends, and 

they became my brothers.” 

Like many St. Sebastian’s 

alums, Mateo is ultimately 

thankful for the long hours he 

spent at the School perfecting his 

academics and extracurricular 

activities. Mateo and his friends 

were also resourceful enough 

to commandeer their own 

classroom during their time at 

the School. 

“There’s a tiny room attached to the McCulloch Room—Room 

202. Andy, Chris, Mike, and I took that over and that’s where we 

would spend almost all of our free time… We never really saw 

anyone in there, so we rolled in, took it over, and kind of kept out 

of the way. Having that little place to ourselves definitely brought us 

closer.” 

Mateo’s brothers, Wes ’03 and Greg ’08, both graduated from St. 

Sebastian’s, and Ken speaks fondly of their shared experience at the 

School. 

“I went to St. Seb’s because of my older brother. It was such a 

great fit for him and we were pretty similar so it was a pretty easy 

decision for me and my family to make. Showing up with a brother, 

it made it a little easier than showing up out of the blue with nobody 

there,” Mateo noted. 

“When my little brother showed up, it put me in a responsible 

position for the first time because I knew I was supposed to be a 

role model for him. It definitely enhanced the family feel of St. 

Sebastian’s, having my brothers there.” 

Although they were brothers and were similar in many ways, the 

Mateo boys were also quite different. St. Sebastian’s enabled them to 

carve out unique niches for themselves. And today, with the three 

boys living in different areas throughout the country, School events 

My older brother was kind of 

the brainy one, I was more into 

the drama/arts side, and my little 

brother focused more on sports. 

St. Sebastian’s brought us closer 

together. 

provide a great way for them to spend time together while staying 

active with their classmates at the School they all love. 

“My older brother was kind of the brainy one, I was more into 

the drama/arts side, and my little brother focused more on sports,” 

he stated. “St. Sebastian’s brought us closer together. 

“By the time my younger brother was ready to graduate, I was 

in Maryland and Wes was in California. I managed to make it back 

from the Naval Academy and Wes was back from Stanford. Our 

family was getting more spread out at that point, so it was special for 

us to have a place where we could all get together.” 

Something Greater than Yourself 

More than anything else Ed Davis ’65 mentioned when I sat down 

with him recently, he would like you to know that, despite the 

great strides St. Sebastian’s has taken in recent years, the School 

has always been a place for excellence. 

“I want to make one thing 

very clear: This school has always 

been a great School,” Davis 

stated. “It’s like a family. There 

are brothers, sure, but there have 

certainly been sisters too—on the 

faculty, in the Guild of St. Irene. 

This School is an incredible 

place—and we’re achieving new 

heights—but it always has been 

great. There’s not a single class 

where you can’t find several 

great guys—accomplished and 

successful—having the spirit of St. Sebastian’s, understanding that 

there’s something so much greater than any one of us.” 

Davis, the founder of Ed Davis and Co. and now the Director 

of Alumni Relations at St. Sebastian’s, has a relationship with the 

School that spans more than fifty years. Not only was he graduated 

back when the School stood on Nonantum Hill in Newton, but he 

met his wife and several lifelong friends during his fifty years as a 

member of the St. Sebastian’s family. 

“For the past three years I’ve been given the opportunity to speak 

to the seniors before graduation,” said Davis, “and one thing I tell 

them is to look at the kids next to them, because those are the kids 

who will be their best friends ten, twenty, fifty years from now.” 

Davis speaks from experience. A native of Sherborn and the son 

of a high school coach in the Wellesley School System, he came to 

Nonantum Hill in 1961. At that time he began lifelong relationships 

with his fellow students, including his carpool mates from his first 

year at St. Sebastian’s, Mike Lajoie ’65 and Rick Cranshaw ‘65. 

“Rick Cranshaw, Mike Lajoie, and I formed this carpool where 

our parents would bring us in to Nonantum Hill,” Davis recalled. 

“Mike was a smart guy, and I always respected smart people, even as 

a kid. He and I hit it off pretty quickly. The second day I knew him I 

had a really runny nose walking up the stairs behind him. I asked if 

I could borrow his handkerchief. I used it, gave it back to him, and 

we’ve been friends ever since.” 


BROTHERHOOD 

Pictured: Ed Davis ’65, Bill Murphy ’65, Frank Burke ’65, and Henry Lane ’49 

after a friendly game of tennis in Vermont. 

Years later, once both had been graduated from St. Sebastian’s, 

Davis found out about an opening in the St. Sebastian’s English 

Department and encouraged Lajoie to apply. Lajoie followed Davis’ 

advice and became the Chair of the School’s English Department for 

many years before going on to Nichols College. 

During his time at St. 

Sebastian’s, Davis did not limit 

his friendships to his own class. 

In fact, Davis formed lifelong 

bonds with his teachers as well, 

befriending the legendary Henry 

Lane ’49 after Lane taught 

him in history class. Despite a 

twenty-year age gap, Davis and 

Lane remain friends to this day 

and often enjoy playing tennis 

together on the Cape. 

While Lane helped Davis grow as a person during his years on 

campus, Davis found that he also had an influence on Lane, steering 

the direction of Lane’s life during Davis’ senior year. 

“Our senior year we had our Class Picnic in Sherborn and 

Henry, who I don’t think had ever been out of Newton in his life, 

came to the picnic and loved it,” stated Davis. “He ended up buying 

a house there with a beautiful clay tennis court. Not a weekend 

Every day...I see acts of kindness 

done by Arrows for another, and 

that’s because of the understanding 

on the part of these Arrows that 

there is something greater than 

them at work. 

went by when that tennis court was not occupied by St. Sebastian’s 

students and alumni.” 

While Davis would continue his relationship with Lane, St. 

Sebastian’s took a backseat as he started to raise his family with his 

high school sweetheart, Toni. Davis had been dating Toni since his 

junior year. They attended the 

St. Sebastian’s Prom together in 

1965 and have now been married 

for forty-four years. 

Following his graduation, 

Davis briefly attended college 

before moving into the business 

world, eager to support his wife 

and young family. He used 

the work ethic honed at St. 

Sebastian’s to work his way up 

the ladder of success, toiling at a 

series of companies that included Wonder Bread and Hostess Cakes. 

He began as a route driver, then a supervisor, and finally establishing 

himself as Vice President of Sales at Table Talk Pies. When he left 

Table Talk at age 35, Davis started his own business, Ed Davis and 

Co. Under the direction of his wife, Toni, and his daughter, Lisa, 

that business is still thriving today. 


In 1983, as his business and family were thriving, Ed and Toni 

made the decision to send their sons to St. Sebastian’s. The choice 

was first made about their eldest son, Keith ’88, who was earning 

high grades in public school without being challenged. 

Davis recalled, “Keith was getting A’s. I looked at his work 

and I saw it wasn’t ‘A’ work. My wife knew it wasn’t. I consulted 

with Monsignor Keating, and both boys applied and came [to St. 

Sebastian’s].” 

The same year that Keith began at St. Sebastian’s, the School 

moved from Newton to Needham. Davis used his distribution 

equipment to play an instrumental part in St. Sebastian’s move. 

“The year Keith started in the seventh grade—I was working in 

the food business and I had plenty of trucks at my disposal,” noted 

Davis. “So when we moved during the winter vacation of 1982-83—I 

got the trucks, Jack [Doherty ’62] got his two boys, I got my two 

boys, and we took every single desk and moved them from Newton 

over to Needham. By January 1, the kids were in a brand new place.” 

While seeing his sons attend St. Sebastian’s, Davis came to 

understand the bond of the School in an even deeper way. 

He added, “As I have become more and more involved over the 

years, I feel like I’ve progressed in my depth of understanding of the 

School. It was an incredible place when I was graduated in 1965. 

And some of the happiest years of my life were when I would come 

to my sons’ sporting events or witness their academic achievements 

while they were students from 1983-90. As a high school student 

you don’t necessarily look at it as a family, but once my boys became 

students I realized it really was a family.” 

Davis even became a friend and mentor to some of the young 

men in his sons’ classes, just as Henry Lane had taken Davis under 

his wing years earlier. Davis sees himself and his friends as living 

proof that the relationships at St. Sebastian’s span generations. 

“Brian Dixon ’90 is one of my best friends and he’s probably 

more than 20 years younger,” he noted. “I have my network and my 

sons have theirs, but those networks connect.” 

A few years ago Davis received a call and an offer that would 

change his life and bring him back to his alma mater. With his 

daughter, Lisa, almost ready to take over his business, he was ready 

for a new challenge, and this opportunity was too good to be true. 

“My daughter was two years into a five year program that 

was preparing her to take over my business when I received a call 

from Rich Arms, the Director of Alumni and Development at St. 

Sebastian’s School,” noted Davis. “I thought he was going to ask me 

for money and I was prepared to tell him the check was in the mail, 

when he surprised me by asking, ‘How would you like to come work 

at your favorite School?’” 

Turning his business over to his daughter, Davis accepted the 

offer and became the School’s Director of Alumni Relations. He 

Pictured: Ed Davis ’65 (#33) and Bob Cronin ’65 (#83) clear the 

way for Dick Grady ’65 (#5) to run the ball. 


BROTHERHOOD 

considers himself blessed to be spending his “retirement years” at St. 

Sebastian’s, a position he truly enjoys each and every day. 

Over the years Davis has seen the School through the eyes of 

a student, alumnus, parent, and employee. Every role he has held 

has helped him to gain a better understanding of the School and its 

people. 

While he believes the single sex environment and small class 

sizes are a big part of what makes the place so special, he thinks the 

most important aspect is the School’s spirituality. 

“From day one I remember being taught that there was 

something much bigger than you,” he commented. “Each of us 

understands God in his own way, but there was this need to find 

comfort with that concept and you’re pushed to do it. I know the 

priests when I was here focused on that and I know the faculty that’s 

here now has continued to push the kids to understand that.” 

He concluded, “My family is the most important thing in my life, 

and St. Sebastian’s is part of my family. Every day in this position, 

I see acts of kindness done by one Arrow for another, and that’s 

because of the understanding on the part of these Arrows that there 

is something greater than them at work.” 

An Arrow Forever 

Hank Barry ’45, a beloved member of St. Sebastian’s twenty-sixmember 

inaugural Class, still remembers just how he came to 

attend St. Sebastian’s as a high school freshman. 

“My father decided I ought to go to a boys school,” stated Barry. 

“He said, ‘I’ll give you two choices: BC High or this new school, St. 

Sebastian’s, that’s going to be in Newton that I just saw in The Pilot 

[the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston].’” 

He recalls not thinking too deeply about his high school 

matriculation. “My thought process was: Newton’s closer than 

Boston, and I live in Newton, so St. Sebastian’s it is.” 

Barry was among the very first students to sign up for St. 

Sebastian’s first Class. At the time, the tuition was $400. 

“I’m not sure whether I was officially the first student or the 

third,” he said. “There were two other brothers there—George and 

Bobby Baker—when I went to sign up. But I was certainly among 

the first three.” 

In the early days of St. Sebastian’s, the School lacked the pristine 

facilities that the Needham campus boasts today. 

Pictured: Ed Davis ’65 (standing) with (l-r) Hank Barry ’45 and Shaun Kelly ’45 

during Reunion 2010. 


Pictured: The 1943-44 basketball team (standing) Harold McKinney ’46, Dan Sullivan ’46, William O’Leary ’47, Hank Barry ’45, Robert Baker ’45, 

Coach Vin Murphy, (sitting) Edmund Murphy ’45, Msgr. Charles McInnis, Rick Tonner, Fr. Russell Collins, and Edmund Courtney ’45. 

“One daily athletic activity was avoiding bricks, rocks, and wood 

with nails in it,” said Barry. “There were rocks all over the place. You 

could’ve sprained an ankle. 

“It was kind of a little bit dangerous. The land had only been 

purchased in the summer of ’41 

from the old Newton Country 

Day School and on September 

21, 1941, we started school.” 

The athletic facilities were 

also less than desirable. 

“We had a gym with a dirt 

floor where we played our 

basketball games,” Barry recalled. 

The schooling all took place in one room where the boys could 

smell the food from the refectory. 

“Mainly we would wait for lunch all morning,” Barry stated of 

his early classes. “We could smell all the wonderful food…” 

Barry was initially intimidated by the amount of schoolwork the 

faculty expected him to complete. 

St. Sebastian’s was one of the best 

things that ever happened to me... 

I’ll always love this School. 

“I remember thinking: ‘What do they mean by three hours of 

studying per night? Is that for real?’” 

He also recalls several doses of discipline right off the bat once he 

arrived at the School. 

“My Latin teacher called me 

an ‘irascible introvert.’ I was a 

wise guy—so I thanked him for 

the two new vocabulary words 

that began with the letter ‘I’.” 

But Barry says that one of 

the best things that happened to 

him at the School was gaining 

humility. 

“I remember thinking I was hot stuff during my first year. Well, 

Fr. Meehan had me in his office and said to me, ‘Who the heck do 

you think you are?’” he noted. 

Barry’s father, an Alcoa employee who was entrusted to ship 

aluminum throughout the New England area, passed away during 

Barry’s second year at St. Sebastian’s when he was just sixteen. 


BROTHERHOOD 

Pictured: Hank Barry ’45, Frank Dermody, ’45, and Don Gibbons ’45 at Reunion 2005. 

Even in its very first years of existence, St. Sebastian’s showed that it 

already knew how to take care of its own. 

“The faculty was so good to me and I was very fortunate,” he 

noted. “Do you think I had to pay one cent junior or senior year? 

No! Monsignor McInnis said I would not have to pay any tuition.” 

Barry says his friendships at the School revolved around sports. 

He remembers playing hockey, basketball, baseball, and football. 

He said, “I was good friends with my athletic pals. Jimmy Lydon 

’45 is one of my best friends and Ed Courtney ’45 was my best man 

60 years ago at Our Lady’s Church in Newton.” 

Barry went on to relate how he taught for a brief time at St. 

Sebastian’s before moving on to the public schools. 

“I had the privilege of coming back here to teach. I had been 

working in the business industry and had been coaching since I 

was nineteen at Sacred Heart in Newton Center. I was attached to 

coaching, and the place I wanted to coach more than anything was at 

St. Sebastian’s. So I talked to Father Flanigan about coaching junior 

varsity football and running intramurals and teaching mathematics. 

I was delighted to have the opportunity. 

“After two and a half years it was time for a little more income. I 

asked Father Flanigan, ‘Father, when do I get paid again?’ He said, ‘I 

don’t have any money. I won’t have any money again until the fall.’” 

Barry went on to teach mathematics in the Newton School 

System for thirty years, as well as at Northeastern University for 

thirteen years. Through his entire career, however, he remained 

close with St. Sebastian’s. 

He stated, “There was no one in that building that was bigger 

than St. Sebastian’s School. It was all about what was best for 

the group as a whole. St. Sebastian’s was the best thing that ever 

happened to me. Who would have thought that a guy who didn’t 

have any luck at math while attending the public schools would 

grow up to be a math teacher thanks to St. Sebastian’s. For that, I’ll 

always love this School.” 

A Family Affair 

During the last week of August 1967, Anne Mulroy 

P’73,’74,’76,’78,’82, GP’02,’06,’07,’08,’10,’14 told her young son, 

Richard Mulroy ’73, that they were venturing to the department 

store to buy him a tie and a jacket. 

“What do I need that for?” Richard asked. 

Ann replied, “You’re going to go to a new school and you’re 

going to have to wear a tie and jacket.” 

“That’s ridiculous! I don’t want to do that!” Richard moaned. 

But he did, and now, more than forty years later, he’s thankful 

for the opportunity. 

The oldest of five brothers, Dr. Richard Mulroy, now an 

orthopedic surgeon at Mulroy Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports 

Medicine, started in the seventh grade in 1967 and was graduated 


in 1973 as a six-year survivor. All four of his brothers attended the 

School up on Nonantum Hill. 

It was fitting, Dr. Mulroy says, that all four of his brothers 

attended the School. 

“I really felt it was a family school,” he said. “The Headmaster 

was Monsignor Harney, and he used to always talk about the 

St. Sebastian’s Family. And it really was a family—from your 

classmates, to the parents, to the teachers. So having my real family 

in the St. Sebastian’s Family really made sense.” 

At that time, The St. Sebastian’s Family was literally comprised 

of students from large families, making, in many cases, your 

brothers… your brothers. 

“There were several families there with six or seven boys,” he 

recalled. “I came from a family of six, and I really felt I was average 

when I was at St. Sebastian’s. We all came from large families, and St. 

Sebastian’s was just one large extended family. We talked about it, 

and we lived it…Our connection to each other was one of the things 

that was impressed upon us, and it was fun to be a part of it.” 

He continued, “A lot of relationships overlapped. For example, 

somebody in my class had a brother in my brother’s class, or I was 

going out with a girl whose brother was on the hockey team with 

me. And a lot of the families were related. A lot of the parents were 

sisters and uncles and brothers and cousins.” 

Dr. Mulroy and his brothers have all gone on to great success 

following graduation from St. Sebastian’s. Richard is an orthopedic 

surgeon specializing in total hip and knee replacements. His brother 

and business partner John ’74 is an orthopedic surgeon who 

specializes in sports medicine. Jim ’76 works for Thomson-Reuters 

as a real estate property consultant, Bill ’78 is an orthopedic surgeon 

who works in Weston, and Bob ’82 is the CEO of a biotech company 

in Cambridge called Merrimack Pharmaceuticals. 

-- First Impressions -- 

“When I first arrived on campus, I didn’t know a single soul,” 

Mulroy remarked. “No one from my family had gone there yet, 

no one from my neighborhood. I didn’t know anything about the 

School until the day I started. Back then there was no interview or 

tour of the school. Basically you took an examination, your parents 

filled out an application, and you showed up the first day.” 

His first impression of the School involved the good-natured 

humor so many alumni recall about their time as a student. 

Pictured: Headmaster Bill Burke with the Mulroy Family Matriarch, Anne, 

during the Leadership Reception in September 2012. 


BROTHERHOOD 

“I thought my classmates were the funniest people I had ever 

met in my life,” he fondly recalled. “And to this day, everywhere 

I’ve gone—I’ve been to college, medical school, worked in a million 

hospitals operating rooms—I’ve never met a group of people as 

funny. I don’t understand why half the people in my Class are not 

professional comedians. I miss 

the sense of humor I found at 

Sebastian’s.” 

Dr. Mulroy also has great 

respect for the priest and lay 

faculty who gave him a solid 

educational foundation on which 

he has built his entire life and 

career, specifically mentioning 

the skills he was taught by Fr. 

Barrett, Morris Kittler, and 

Henry Lane ’49. 

“Fr. Barrett was one of these 

very rigorous guys where you 

had to do everything by the 

book. There were no shortcuts,” 

Dr. Mulroy said. “You had to do 

it right and put the time and the effort in. That approach to studying 

and academics helped me all the way through college and medical 

school.” 

One of the few lay people teaching at St. Sebastian’s during Dr. 

Mulroy’s time was Morris Kittler, who would eventually become the 

Dean of Students. 

“I had him his first year as a full-time teacher,” recalled Dr. 

Mulroy. “He gets credit for turning me on to science. I really enjoyed 

the biology class with Morris, and that’s what I’m doing today as a 

doctor.” 

In addition to being impressed by the faculty, young Richard 

Mulroy also cherished the role athletics had to play in the life of the 

School. 

“As a seventh grader I remember standing by the side of the 

rink and I watched the varsity players come out in their black and 

red uniforms and I just thought, ‘Wow,’” he recalled. “They were 

shaving; they had beards. I don’t know if I was 5 feet when I got 

there, weighed about 115 pounds…. I really looked up to the older 

guys, and I thought they treated us very well.” 

Eventually, Mulroy got used to his new school, becoming a 

three-sport athlete during his tenure at St. Sebastian’s. He lettered 

for three years in varsity cross country, four years in varsity track, 

and three years in varsity hockey. He recalls that the hockey team 

was quite a commitment, as the team not only competed in games 

and practices, but also functioned as an ersatz maintenance crew for 

the old outdoor Nonantum Hill rink. 

“When we were on the hockey team, we’d get a call from Coach 

Henry Lane whenever school was cancelled,” Dr. Mulroy noted. 

“We’d all go to the rink at 10:00 o’clock with our shovels and we 

would shovel the rink. We’d all be out there—varsity and the JV 

players shoveling snow for hours.” 


I recently played in the Alumni 

Hockey Game. A friend of mine, 

Mark Canavan ’73, emailed me 

about it. I hadn’t played hockey in 

a couple years, but an opportunity 

to play with a friend and classmate 

of mine, I couldn’t turn it down. I 

think we were the oldest guys on the 

ice, but I managed a goal. 

According to Dr. Mulroy, it was Coach Lane who understood 

the significance of getting St. Sebastian’s into the Independent 

School League. 

“We weren’t in the ISL at the time,” Dr. Mulroy said. “Henry 

could really see that if we got into the ISL, by virtue of being in that 

athletic League, everyone would 

kind of see us as being equal to 

them. What Mr. Lane realized 

was that if we played each of 

these schools on our schedules 

and they got used to playing us, 

we would get into the League. 

As the new Athletic Director 

during my senior year, Henry 

said, ‘Next year we’re getting into 

the ISL, and you’re not going to 

mess it up.’ We weren’t to get 

in any fights or arguments with 

referees or anything. Henry was 

the one who realized it would be 

a great thing to be aligned with 

those schools.” 

-- A Good School Keeps Getting Better -- 

Starting in the late 1990s, Dr. Mulroy was afforded the 

opportunity to work on the Board of Trustees with his high school 

classmate, former Board President David Gately ’73. 

“Becoming a trustee allowed us to rekindle our relationship over 

the last 15 years or so,” Dr. Mulroy said. “That was fun. We got to 

work on projects together, and he did a great job as Board President. 

It’s great to see someone in your own class step up and do great 

things and be a leader for the School. I was honored to be a trustee. 

I think I was a trustee for 10 years and the school has just continued 

to grow and prosper. It was a good school when I went there—it’s a 

better school now.” 

During his time as trustee, Mulroy is most proud of his work to 

improve the athletic program. Not content with simply adding the 

new turf athletic fields, Mulroy also thought it was important to add 

teams so more students could regularly participate in sports. As a 

father of two boys, Pat ’06 and Ricky ’10, who have come through St. 

Sebastian’s, Dr. Mulroy saw room for improvement in the athletic 

department. 

“I remember as a parent, I’d go to the games and my sons would 

be on some hockey team with almost thirty kids on the bench,” Dr. 

Mulroy said. “I thought we needed to get more teams, get more kids 

playing. So we went to work—let’s get some more fields, some more 

playing space. Get more kids playing. Physical fitness is a big part of 

the brotherhood at the School. 

“An education is about the body, mind, and the soul—not just 

the mind and the soul. Physical fitness is important. If you don’t care 

about physical fitness by the time you are graduated when you’re 18 

years old, then it’s all downhill from there. But, if you graduate and

enjoy athletics—whether it’s individual sports like running or team 

sports like basketball, it’s something you’re going to carry with you 

throughout your life. So during my time with the trustees I did my 

best to improve everybody’s physical fitness and make kids enjoy 

athletics with increased participation.” 

-- Lasting Relationships -- 

In his busy life as an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Mulroy appreciates 

the advantages modern technology brings to his efforts to stay in 

touch with his St. Sebastian’s classmates. 

“Since I graduated, I probably have seen or been contacted by 

thirty of my classmates,” he said. “I have five or six classmates that 

I’m talking to or emailing or doing something with on a regular 

basis. Technology really helps.” 

Despite his packed schedule, Dr. Mulroy still finds time to 

participate in reunions and other St. Sebastian’s events with his 

classmates. 

“I recently played in the Alumni Hockey Game,” he recalled. 

“A friend of mine, Mark Canavan ’73, emailed me about it. I hadn’t 

played hockey in a couple years, but an opportunity to play hockey 

with a friend and classmate of mine, I couldn’t turn it down. I think 

we were the oldest guys on the ice, but I managed a goal.” 

Recently, the St. Sebastian’s family has shown Dr. Mulroy and 

his brothers support after the death of the Mulroy Family matriarch, 

Anne Mulroy. 

He concluded, “I was just overwhelmed by the response from 

my classmates—people I hadn’t seen in ages came to the wake, wrote 

to me, emailed me. Those relationships continue—it’s been almost 

40 years since I graduated, but they knew it was a tough time for 

me and reached out to me to show me they cared. It really made 

me appreciate my classmates even more. I’m impressed they’re still 

thinking about me and reaching out to me and showing me they are 

there for me.” • 

Pictured: Richard ’73 (l) and Jim ’76 (r) Mulroy with David Gately ’73 (c). 


BROTHERHOOD 

Growing Together 

Kevin Patterson ’13 discusses the bond he and his classmates share. 


Pictured: Kevin Patterson ’13 as Elisha Whitney and Maggie Fitzgerald as Mrs. Wadsworth 

Harcourt in the St. Sebastian’s production of Anything Goes this past November. 

Sitting across from Kevin Patterson ’13 at the Communications 

Office conference table, I cannot help but wonder if I 

was this articulate as a high school senior. I have just asked 

him what he likes about the School, and the speed and clarity of his 

response astound me. 

“The fact that class sizes 

are so small really helps foster 

the community,” he stated. “If 

classes are large, you don’t really 

get to hear from each person. 

With small classes, you’re going 

to be hearing from everyone a lot 

more on average. You can build 

a relationship with kids based on what they say in the classroom and 

take it outside the classroom. 

“The teachers bring something more personal than what I’ve 

seen at other schools and students can react with their own thoughts. 

You learn a lot about what everyone else is thinking.” 

Patterson gives a great deal of the credit for the attitude at St. 

Sebastian’s to Headmaster Bill Burke, recalling how excited Mr. and 

Mrs. Patterson were the first time they heard Burke speak. 

“I remember [my parents] came home from an Open House 

and told me I had to come check out this school because they had 

just heard the most amazing speaker—and he looked like Albert 


The sense of brotherhood comes 

from a great sense of leadership... 

It’s a virtuous cycle. 

Einstein! But when they described what he looked like, I said, ‘Oh 

no, you mean Mark Twain, not Einstein,’ because I love to correct 

my parents,” he noted. 

“Mr. Burke plays such a huge role here at the School. He tells us 

how we’re all brothers and how 

we all interrelate. And we feel a 

responsibility to keep that up. 

“Mr. Burke likes to quote 

Abe Lincoln, who said, ‘I’m a 

success today because I had a 

friend who believed in me and I 

didn’t have the heart to let him 

down.’ And I think, in a lot of 

ways, Lincoln is the student body at St. Sebastian’s and that friend is 

Mr. Burke. He’s such a positive role model, and I’ve never seen him 

disappointed or unhappy in any way. It’s hard to be unhappy when 

you have people like that around you. He really helps to build the 

familial aspect of this School.” 

Coming from a very rigorous and academically-focused middle 

school, Patterson was concerned as a matriculating freshman that 

he might finish the predesigned math curriculum at St. Sebastian’s, 

but he soon learned that St. Sebastian’s emphasis on the individual 

meant that one can never outgrow the curriculum.

My Second Family 


Pictured: Connor Chabot ’13, Andrew Sullivan ’13, Ramy Andil ’13, and Teddy O’Hara ’13 

at the Junior/Senior Prom in May 2012. 

When asked to describe his St. Sebastian’s career, Ramy Andil 

’13 put it this way, “It’s been like a roller coaster—a lot of ups 

and a lot of downs, but ultimately worth it.” 

During December of Ramy’s eighth grade year, his mother 

passed away from cancer a week before Christmas. Ramy’s 

personal tragedy was an opportunity for the St. Sebastian’s 

community to step up and show him he was loved. 

“After that experience, I realized this was my second family 

here,” Ramy said. “All day during school after my mom died, 

upperclassmen whom I’d never talked to were coming up to me 

and telling me how sorry they were.” 

Ramy was also touched by how many members of the community 

came to his mother’s wake. 

“There were more Seb’s kids there than there were my family 

members,” he stated. “There were so many ties and sport 

coats filing in and out, and at one point it was all Seb’s people 

filling the room. It was overwhelming.” 

Ramy cannot stress enough how the faculty and the School 

community helped him through the ordeal, especially one particular 

faculty member. 

“Meyer Chambers has been a really big part of my life,” Ramy 

noted. “I could talk to him about anything. There were times 

when I felt like I just couldn’t handle it anymore, and he was 

always there. I’m thankful there are people like Mr. Chambers 

in my life.” 


BROTHERHOOD 

Patterson explained, “I was in a fairly advanced math class, and 

I wondered if they could accommodate me. They said, ‘If you finish 

our curriculum, we’ll hire a teacher just for you’…I was sold.” 

With his academic fears assuaged, Patterson took the plunge and 

enrolled in St. Sebastian’s as an incoming freshman. His only worry 

now was whether the other students would already have friends, 

leaving little room in their lives for him. He quickly found this was 

far from the case. 

“The sense of brotherhood at St. Sebastian’s encourages 

people to reach out and bring others into the fold,” he stated. “At 

orientation I was sitting in the corner because I didn’t know anyone. 

Chris Riley ’13 and Matt Donovan ’13 introduced me to all of their 

friends. At my old school, it 

wouldn’t have worked that way. 

Here it’s just such a welcoming 

environment. 

“When there are people 

like that who are willing to go 

out of their way with other 

people, you know you’re in a 

good environment that fosters 

such things. It says a lot about 

the kind of people here. It’s not 

just about getting good grades. 

Of course, you would expect a 

school to want you to get into 

a good college but here it’s also about making sure you are a good 

father and a good brother and good son.” 

After settling in, Patterson began to understand the tone and 

tenor of the School, the balance between work and play. He was 

surprised at how good-natured the faculty and student body were. 

“Humor is a huge part of Seb’s. There’s definitely a time—and 

it’s a lot of the time—for being serious, but much of what you learn 

about your teachers and classmates comes from humor,” he said. 

“You learn a lot about personalities through different styles of 

humor…You can tell you’ve made a good friendship when you can 

joke about someone and they can joke about you.” 

Patterson talks so passionately about St. Sebastian’s because, like 

many Arrows, he is deeply involved in the extracurricular life of the 

School, especially with the Drama and Chess Clubs. 

“Chess Club in particular has grown into something much larger 

than when I joined,” he noted. “It’s pretty neat to see that when 

people get together, it’s not just people trying to beat each other, but 

we’re trying to learn and get a sense of how to play.” 

Patterson says with a smile that the St. Sebastian’s Chess Team 

has seen unrivaled support during home matches. 

“Actually my friends have come out to support the Chess Team 

on occasion, which is fun because chess isn’t really a spectator sport. 

They sort of lurk outside the windows, and I think that intimidates 

the other teams.” 

In the classroom, Patterson finds his classmates to be equally 

supportive. 

...outside of school, these guys 

are my life. Now that I’m at Seb’s, 

my whole life is built around the 

School. You share the experience, 

you know what’s going on with 

your classmates, you see them every 

day. You grow together. 

“The stress of school can sometimes become burdensome, so it’s 

nice to send someone a text and see how they are doing with their 

work. They’ll help you look over your papers. Mr. Drummond’s 

class, for example, was so hard that it was mandatory that you 

bounce ideas off other people before you’d dare to submit it to 

him. There’s always going to be a certain amount of stress in the 

classroom, especially when we’re so academically-minded all the 

time, but there’s always someone to talk to, always someone quick to 

reach out.” 

He continued, “And outside of school, these guys are my life. 

Now that I’m at Seb’s, my whole life is built around the School. 

You share the experience, you know what’s going on with your 

classmates, you see them every 

day. You grow together.” 

Although it was not a main 

concern when he applied here, 

Kevin has been impressed at how 

St. Sebastian’s has helped him 

grow in faith. 

“We all have a shared bond in 

our religion—but even if someone 

isn’t Catholic, that person can 

share the practices and beliefs,” 

he said. “We all understand 

from where others are coming. 

The Catholic Church itself does 

emphasize a strong dependence on human relationships.” 

As a senior, Patterson is excited to be a leader within the School 

community. 

“The family feel here has a lot to do with senior classes who 

learn to project that attitude to everybody,” he noted. “The sense of 

brotherhood comes from a great sense of leadership…it’s a virtuous 

cycle. As a younger student, I saw the sense of community kick 

in. I would look to the top and see all these teachers and all these 

seniors…and now that I’m a senior, I see all these students looking 

at me about how to act. It’s my job to provide the positive influence. 

Someone must have started this cycle way back and it’s just kept 

going.” 

With the increased stress of the college process well underway, 

Patterson has the foresight to know that the support he sees from his 

classmates now will only continue in the future. 

He concluded, “It’s really cool to think about how after I’m 

graduated, the relationships won’t die. It’s a bond we’ll always have 

in common. It’s more than the St. Sebastian’s brand—it’s that we’ve 

grown together so much.” • 

Pictured next page: Kevin Patterson ’13 practices the piano. 



SPEAKERS 

Students listen as Louis Zamperini discusses his 

World War II experience via video 

teleconference with Headmaster Bill Burke. 

Perseverance Under Pressure 

Zamperini Recounts his 

Remarkable Story of 

Survival 

Louis Zamperini, the subject of this past 

summer’s All-School Read Unbroken 

by Laura Hillenbrand, spoke with the St. 

Sebastian’s School Community during 

a video teleconference on Monday, 

September 17, 2012. 

Zamperini, a world-class runner and 

1936 Olympic athlete, was attending the 

University of Southern California when 

he left to join the United States Air Corps 

as a bombardier in the South Pacific 

during World War II. Out on a routine 

reconnaissance mission, his aircraft 

crashed, leaving him and a crewmember 

stranded in a life raft for 47 days, drifting 

2,000 miles at sea into Japanese-controlled 

waters. 

“When you reach the end of your rope 

and there’s nowhere else to turn,” noted 

Zamperini, “…you’re gonna turn and look 

up. So that’s all we did on the raft was pray 

morning, noon, and night.” 

Picked up by the Japanese, Zamperini 

spent the remainder of the war in prison 

camps, where he was tortured on a regular 

basis. 

Following his release at the end of the 

war he returned to California, where he was 

treated like a hero, married, and partied 

with celebrities. Outwardly he looked as if 

he had his life in order. But he was actually 

spinning out of control, not sure how to 

deal with the demons he was facing due to 

his time in captivity. It was during this time 

he found himself attending a Billy Graham 

revival, where he quickly remembered his 

pledge to God while out on the raft in the 

middle of the ocean – that if God helped 

him through his ordeal, he would seek and 

serve Him. 

Zamperini noted, “That night I made 

my decision for Christ.” 

The teleconference began with a 

viewing of a CBS-produced video that 

originally aired during the 1998 Olympics 

in Nagano, Japan. Zamperini, who by that 

time had served as a missionary in Japan 

and had preached a Gospel of forgiveness 

to the very guards who tortured him, had 

been invited by the people of Nagano 

to carry the Olympic Flame as part of 

the torch relay. The video recounted his 

story of survival, even interviewing one 

of the head guards who tortured him 

regularly during his captivity. Following 

the video presentation, Headmaster Bill 

Burke interviewed Zamperini, asking him 

questions about his faith and the role it has 

played in his life. 

Zamperini concluded, “I’m a great 

believer, and I believe it with all of my heart 

that all things work together for good for 

those who love the Lord and who are called 

according to His purpose. Christ told us 

in the Scripture, ‘I am the way, I am the 

truth and I am the life.’ Christ is the way to 

God, the way is the truth. People are always 

seeking truth; the truth is Christ, and He’s 

the life. But I think our eternal life starts 

now by faith in Jesus Christ. That is the 

strength we live by, and death no longer has 

a sting… not to the Christian.” 


SPEAKERS 

Catholic Relief Services 

Kimeu Discusses Life in Kenya 

Peter Kimeu (pictured above), Regional 

Technical Advisor for Partnership, 

Solidarity, and Justice at Catholic Relief 

Services East Africa based in Kenya, 

visited with the St. Sebastian’s School 

Community on Friday, September 28, 

2012. 

Although slightly smaller than the 

size of Texas, Kenya is home to nearly 

double its population. Recurring droughts 

punctuated by periods of heavy flooding, 

poor roads, and limited access to clean 

water have threatened Kenya’s economy by 

limiting its ability to maintain its primary 

source of income – agricultural exports. 

Catholic Relief Services has worked hard 

to address the issues facing Kenya, by 

offering support that focuses on farming, 

microfinance, water and sanitation, people 

living with HIV and AIDS, education, and 

emergency response. 

During his remarks Kimeu spoke of the 

hardships he and his family faced growing 

up in Kenya. He related that no matter how 

hungry he and his siblings might have been 

as children, his mom would always remind 

them that “God is good,” a phrase he has 

always remembered and repeats often. He 

went on to discuss how Catholic Relief 

Services has helped to ease the burden on 

the people of Kenya and thanked the group 

for their support of the agency and the 

good work it does. 

Ballot Question 2 

Carter Snead Addresses Assisted Suicide 

Carter Snead (pictured with 

Headmaster Bill Burke), the 

William P. and Hazel B. White Director 

of the Center for Ethics and Culture at 

the University of Notre Dame, led an 

assembly during Corporate Chapel on 

Monday, October 15, 2012. Snead holds 

a J.D. from Georgetown and a B.A. from 

St. John’s College. His principal area of 

study is public bioethics, the governance 

of science, medicine, and biotechnology 

in the name of ethical goods. His scholarly 

works have explored the issues relating 

to neuroethics, enhancement, stem 

cell research, abortion, and end-of-life 

decision-making. 

Snead spoke on assisted suicide 

and end-of-life decision-making. More 

specifically, he addressed the ballot initiative 

before the people of Massachusetts that 

would, if it had passed in November, allow 

doctors to prescribe a lethal drug that 

patients deemed terminally ill with less than 

six months of life remaining could use to 

end their own lives. 


SPEAKERS 

Introduction of Colonel Bob 

Loynd ’82 

By Headmaster Bill Burke 

Honoring Those Who Serve 

Colonel Loynd ’82 Headlines Alumni Dinner 

It is my great pleasure and distinct 

honor to introduce this evening’s 

speaker, distinguished St. Sebastian’s 

alumnus, Colonel Bob Loynd USMC 

from the Class of 1982. 

For six years, Bob commuted from Concord 

to our former campus in Newton. 

While at St. Sebastian’s, Bob played 

football, hockey, and baseball, served 

on the Yearbook staff, and did an outstanding 

job as Editor-in-Chief of the 

Walrus and as Chairman of the Blood 

Drive. This citation appears on Bob’s 

yearbook page: His leadership, reliability 

and dedication were evident in 

everything he did whether in the classroom 

or on the playing field. 

After earning a B.A. at Colby College, 

where he majored in American Studies, 

Bob joined the Marine Corps and 

learned to fly jets. During Operation 

Desert Storm, Bob flew 35 combat 

sorties in the pilot’s seat of an EA6B 

Prowler set up to jam enemy electronics. 

He has been deployed in Russia 

and Central Asia, and in Japan, Korea, 

and the Philippines. He spent a year 

at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy 

at Tufts University, where he 

earned a master’s degree in international 

affairs. 

Colonel Loynd served as Senior Watch 

Officer in the 3rd MAW Tactical Air Command 

Center during Operation Iraqi 

Freedom. 

After three years as the senior-ranking 

Marine Corps Officer on Guam and the 

Mariana Islands, Colonel Loynd is now 

serving in the Marine Corps’s Plans, 

Policies, and Operations Department in 

the Pentagon... 

Please help me welcome Colonel Bob 

Loynd. 

Close to 150 people attended the 

St. Sebastian’s School Alumni 

Dinner on Thursday, October 25, 

2012. This year, the School’s Alumni 

Association honored Arrows in the 

Armed Forces – Past and Present. 

A brief cocktail reception preceded 

an emotional evening which featured 

music, videos, and special guest 

speakers. 

The formal program started when 

John McNamara ’81, President of 

the School’s Alumni Association, 

welcomed the group and explained the 

significance of the event prior to Fr. 

John Arens, a United States Marine 

Corps veteran, offering the opening 

prayer. The College of the Holy 

Cross Honor Guard then presented 

the Colors before the St. Sebastian’s 

Schola, under the direction of Meyer 

Chambers, led the group in the singing 

of our National Anthem. 

Following dinner, Schola sang the 

four Armed Forces themes and a video 

presentation honoring Arrows in the 

Armed Forces - Past and Present was 

shown. The video paid special tribute to 

Sgt. William Cloney ’64, who was killed 

in action six weeks into his tour of duty 

in Vietnam in September 1968. Captain 

Ed O’Connor ’88 and Headmaster Bill 

Burke then presented Mia (Cloney) 

Benjes with a plaque honoring her 

brother’s service to our Country. 

The evening’s keynote address 

was given by Colonel Bob Loynd ’82 

(pictured above center with his father 

Richard and brother Andy ’98). Colonel 

Loynd, using a video and PowerPoint 

presentation to emphasize his point, 

spoke on how global interdependency 

has changed and evolved our world 

over the years and how these changes 

have affected national security and the 

United States’ involvement in world 

issues. He urged everyone to keep the 

members of our Armed Forces in their 

thoughts and prayers. 


SPEAKERS 

Third and Long Drives Unity Day Discussion 

Theresa Moore Provides Keynote Address 

Introduction of Theresa 

Moore 

By Headmaster Bill Burke 

St. Sebastian’s School celebrated 

Unity Day on Friday, November 

2, 2012. This year’s event centered 

around the documentary Third and 

Long: The History of African Americans 

in Pro Football. Documentary 

Executive Producer and Director 

Theresa Moore (pictured with 

Headmaster Bill Burke and Dean of 

Students Brendan Sullivan) served as 

the keynote speaker for the event. 

Third and Long is a unique and 

ground-breaking project that examines 

the history, racial struggles, sacrifices, 

and triumphs of African Americans in 

professional football from 1946, with 

the re-integration of the sport after a 13- 

year exclusion of Black players, through 

1989, when Art Shell was named the 

first Black head coach of the NFL’s 

modern era. The documentary explores 

the history of racial integration in this 

country and the sport via the impact of 

societal events such as World War II, 

the Civil Rights Movement, Brown vs. 

Board of Education, the assassinations 

of Martin Luther King and Bobby 

Kennedy, and the Vietnam War. 

The event started with a general 

assembly in the church, where 

the School Community had the 

opportunity to hear Moore discuss 

her life and what led her to create the 

documentary. The students were then 

split into groups that rotated through 

different sessions throughout the 

morning. Each session featured a clip 

from the documentary and a discussion 

period. The event concluded back 

in Ward Hall with Meyer Chambers 

discussing the history of the club Men 

with Positive Attitudes (MPA), Moore 

leading a question and answer session, 

and Headmaster Bill Burke offering 

his remarks on the themes discussed 

throughout the day. 

To heighten our awareness, to 

strengthen our bonds, to reveal the 

hidden wholeness, and to increase our 

readiness, Theresa Moore is with us 

today, and we are so very blessed that 

it is so. 

A standout track and field athlete in 

high school in Providence, Rhode Island, 

Theresa won 10 individual state 

championships. While at Harvard, she 

was the Ivy League 100 meter champion. 

After graduating Cum Laude with 

a degree in history, Ms. Moore earned 

an MBA at Emory University in Atlanta. 

While working for Coca-Cola and ESPN, 

she was able to re-connect with sports, 

engaging with the Olympics, the FIFA 

World Cup, NASCAR, Major League 

Baseball, Wimbledon, and the NCAA. 

After leaving ESPN, Ms. Moore 

launched her own company: T-Time 

Productions. She now has executive 

producer, director, and co-writer titles 

to her credit for two documentaries, 

both of which discuss and transcend 

the world of sports: License to Thrive: 

Title IX at 35 and the film with which 

we’ll engage this morning: Third and 

Long: The History of African-Americans 

in Pro Football 1946-1989. 

Please help me welcome our tremendously 

accomplished and most distinguished 

guest, Theresa Moore. 


SPEAKERS 

Boston Business Breakfast 

Connolly Provides 

Keynote at Annual 

Event 

Roughly 100 parents, past parents, 

alumni, and friends attended the 

annual Boston Business Breakfast, 

which was held at the Boston College 

Club on Tuesday, November 20, 2012. 

Bill Connolly, CFA, Head of Global 

Distribution at Putnam Investments, was 

this year’s keynote speaker. During his 

remarks, Connolly compared the success 

of Putnam to that of St. Sebastian’s. He 

praised the School, and the leadership 

of Headmaster Bill Burke, for remaining 

true to its mission and providing an 

educational experience that is second to 

no one. 

Pictured Below: Headmaster Bill Burke (c) 

with (l-r) Bill, Will ’11, Jack ’12, and Barb 

Connolly. 


SPEAKERS 

Pictured Above l-r: St. Christopher’s 

School graduate and former Board 

member Renard Charity, Dean of Students 

Brendan Sullivan, Headmaster Bill Burke, 

G. Gilmer Minor, and Owens & Minor 

executive Todd Healy P’13. 

Integrity and Honor 

G. Gilmer Minor Discusses Values 

G 

. Gilmer Minor III, Chairman of 

Owens & Minor, Inc., a Fortune 

200 national distributor of medical and 

surgical supplies as well as a healthcare 

supply chain management company, 

spoke to the St. Sebastian’s School 

Community during an assembly on 

Tuesday, December 4, 2012. Minor, a 

graduate and former Board member 

of St. Christopher’s School in Virginia 

who holds a BA in History from the 

Virginia Military Institute and an 

MBA from the Colgate Darden School 

of Business Administration at the 

University of Virginia, reflected on the 

pillars of integrity and honor during his 

presentation. 

“Every phase of your life builds upon 

what you have learned in the past,” noted 

Minor. “You are young. You are at a crucial 

phase where you can define your beliefs 

and values.” 

Minor reminded those gathered that 

the two foundations of life are integrity and 

honor. And, if you always uphold both, you 

will be able to weather life’s failures as you 

enjoy its successes. To be men of integrity 

and honor will enable you to hold your 

head high, no matter the circumstance. 

He also urged the group to “keep an 

open mind to change.” He stated that in 

order to succeed, you must have a plan, 

but you must also be open to changing 

that plan. And, he noted, “Before you can 

become a successful leader, you must first 

be a follower.” 

Above all else, he commented, “Be 

yourself and have fun.” • 


FINE ARTS 

The S.S. American Sets Sail 

in Ward Hall 

Fine Arts Department presents its Fall 

Production in early November. 

Students from St. Sebastian’s School 

and Montrose School came together 

for the Fine Arts Department production 

of the Cole Porter Classic Anything Goes 

on Friday and Saturday, November 9-10, 

2012. 

Anything Goes features the music 

of Cole Porter and follows the antics of 

Billy Crocker, a stowaway aboard the 

S.S. American bound for London, as he 

attempts to win the heart of passenger 

and heiress Hope Harcourt. With the 

help of his friend, nightclub singer and 

evangelist Reno Sweeney, and a common 

criminal, Public Enemy #13 Moonface 

Martin, Crocker sets out to win Hope’s love 

through a series of elaborate schemes. • 

Above: Will Supple as Billy Crocker and 

Eilis Quinn as Hope Harcourt. 

Right: Julian Matra as Public Enemy #13 

Moonface Martin and Mike Petro as Sir 

Evelyn Oakleigh. 


Anything 

Goes 

FINE ARTS

ATHLETICS 

FALL SPORTS 

Arrows in Action 

A complete review of the 2012 varsity football, soccer, and cross 

country seasons. 

Coach Dan Burke 

Varsity Football 

The 2012 Arrows football season began 

with high hopes and expectations. 

Coming off of a 6-2 2011 campaign 

and returning several experienced and 

talented players, the Arrows felt that this 

was their year to earn St. Sebastian’s a 

seventh ISL football championship. Long 

before this season began, hard work, 

inspiration, and unity of purpose laid 

the groundwork for what turned into 

Coach Souza’s best record in his 35 years 

of coaching. Last year after a tough loss 

that left the Arrows with a 2-2 record, 

instead of dwelling on the misfortune, 

team captain Jack Connolly ’12 sent out 

a message to the team that they needed 

to focus on not losing another game 

from that point until the end of the 2012 

season. While only intending to motivate, 

Jack also prognosticated the results of 

the second half of last season and the 

entirety of this season. The focus and 

motivation that last year’s senior class 

helped to provide carried through the 

end of the 2011 season, and from that 

point on the 2012 senior class took over. 

From captain organized workout sessions 

to 7 on 7 leagues over the summer to 

intensely determined preparation during 

preseason, the 2012 Arrows football team 

put themselves in a position to record the 

program’s first undefeated regular season 

since 1994. The road to the perfect record 

was by no means an easy one, but the 

composure and will of the entire team, 

especially the senior class, gave the Arrows 

an edge in every game as they never 

panicked when faced with adversity. They 

knew that this was their season, and they 

were not going to let any team or play stop 

them from achieving their goal. 

After a successful preseason, the 

Arrows were eager to put all of their hard 

work and preparation to the test when 

they began the regular season with a game 

against Nobles. On their first drive of the 

game after a 40 yard run by running back 

Brendan Daly ’13 put the Arrows on the 

Nobles five yard line, captain Patrick Healy 

’13 finished off the drive with a one yard 

plunge across the end zone. The Arrows’ 

defense set the tone well for the season in 

their first series of the regular season when 

they forced Nobles into a three and out, 

giving the Arrows great field position for 

their second offensive possession. Running 

back Conor Hilton ’13 scored on a nine 

yard touchdown run to finish this drive, 

and the Arrows took a 14-0 lead into the 

second quarter. While certainly a team 

built for long offensive drives, the Arrows 

showed how explosive they could be on 

their next three possessions when receiver 

Brian O’Malley ’13 tipped a pass to himself 

from Patrick Healy and ran 47 yards for a 

touchdown, running back Connor Strachan 

’14 broke out for a 39 yard touchdown run, 

and Brendan Daly burst through multiple 

defenders on his way to a 25 yard scamper 

into the end zone. The Arrows’ defense 

yielded one score to Nobles in the first 

half, but the offense responded well when 

Conor Hilton turned a catch on a five yard 

out into a highlight reel, zigzagging 46 yard 

touchdown, leaving the Arrows with a 


ATHLETICS 

FALL SPORTS 

commanding 41-8 lead heading into halftime. The lead allowed for 

second half playing time for many of the Arrows’ backups, including 

running back Edosa Onaiwu ’15, who added one more score for the 

Arrows on a 72 yard run. Finishing with a 48-21 victory, the Arrows 

then geared up for a tough homecoming matchup versus the BB&N 

Knights. 

Having lost to the Knights by three points last year and with 

a record of 0-3 against them over the past three seasons, the 

Arrows were looking to overcome past struggles in front of a large, 

raucous crowd of red and black clad supporters. Pumped up by 

the enthusiastic fan support, the Arrows scored the first points of 

the game when Brendan Daly (22 rushes for 134 yards) finished 

off an eight play 83 yard drive with a five yard touchdown run up 

the middle. When Daly crossed the plane, the student section of 

over 100 fans in the end zone erupted and could barely restrain 

themselves from entering the field of play to celebrate with their 

team. The Knights responded, though, with a long drive of their 

own culminating in a 10 yard touchdown run. After their point 

after attempt failed and neither team managed another score, the 

Arrows took a narrow 7-6 lead into halftime. The Arrows remained 

positive and driven during the intermission and came out in the 

second half the way they would all year against their top opponents. 

Because of the outstanding, experienced, massive offensive line, 

defenses wore down over time against the Arrows’ run game. 

Similarly, the physical, aggressive Arrows’ defense figured out what 

their opponents wanted to do against them and dominated the 

final two quarters of most games. Against BB&N, interceptions at 

crucial times by linebackers Henry Finnegan ’14 and James Fiore ’14 

thwarted any BB&N momentum, and two diving catches in the end 

zone by Brian O’Malley completed the 19-6 homecoming victory. 

After one of the O’Malley touchdowns, the ebullient crowd could 

not contain themselves as they had earlier in the game, resulting in 

a 15 yard penalty against the fan section. While the St. Sebastian’s 

coaches were not happy to be penalized, they certainly appreciated 

the fanaticism of the home crowd, and were more than happy to see 

them storm the field once again when the final seconds ticked off the 

clock. 

Thrilled by the exciting victory at homecoming, the Arrows were 

also cautious not to dwell on it once the next week started, knowing 

that they would face another tough opponent in Milton Academy 

in St. Sebastian’s first ever home game under the lights that 

Saturday night. Again, the Arrows were supported well that night 

by tremendous fan support from students, alumni, parents, and 

friends. As the Arrows marched on to the field with their all black 

uniforms matching the night sky, excitement and expectations were 

high. Milton Academy would have the first opportunity to score, 

however, when their second possession of the game took them deep 

into Arrows’ territory. Bowed but unbroken, the Arrows defense 

conceded nothing when Milton Academy stood on the doorstep at 

first and goal from the nine yard line. After their first three plays 

put them on the half yard line, Milton Academy opted to go for 

the touchdown on fourth down with a quarterback sneak play. An 

incredible surge of black clad defenders led by defensive tackles Brian 

Fall Athletic Awards 

The following athletic awards were presented to students 

during an Athletic Awards Assembly held on Tuesday, 

November 27. 

All-League ISL (Independent School League) 

Football - Brendan Daly, Patrick Healy, Chris Marano, 

Brian Mullin, Brian O’Malley, Connor Strachan, 

Brian Wolpe 

Soccer - George Price 

Honorable Mention All-League 

Football - Dan Fulham, Conor Hilton, Joseph Kearney, 

Scott Kingsley, Ryan Schnoor 

Soccer - John Real 

Cross Country - Mike Haley 

Darren D. Gallup MVP Award 

Presented by the ISL to a football player. 

-- Brian O’Malley 

Big Hit Award 

Presented to the football player who leaves a ‘lasting 

impression’ on his opponents. 

-- Brendan Daly 

Ennis Award 

Presented to the player who best exemplifies the qualities 

of commitment, teamwork, and outstanding attitude 

to the football program. 

-- Conor Thomson 

Peter Kerr Award 

Presented for sportsmanship, dedication to the team, 

and commitment to the soccer program. 

-- Benjamin Piersiak, George Price 


ATHLETICS 

FALL SPORTS 

Mullin ’13 and Chris Marano ’13 put an 

end to Milton’s hopes, as the quarterback 

was dropped for a loss. On the ensuing 

possession for the Arrows, the offense 

built off of this momentum swing. First, 

a 45 yard reception by receiver Brandon 

Sweeney ’14 on third and seven from their 

own three yard line gave the Arrows some 

breathing room. From there Brendan Daly, 

the undisputed star of the game, took over 

and began the scoring for the Arrows when 

he broke off a 37 yard touchdown run 

early in the second quarter. The Mustangs 

were quick to respond with a long 

touchdown drive of their own and almost 

added another score before the half, but 

the Arrows’ special teams came through 

with a block of a field goal attempt from a 

talented Mustangs kicker who had booted 

four field goals through in their previous 

game. Again the Arrows found themselves 

in a tight game at half, trailing 7-6, and 

again they came out in the second half 

ready to dominate. Brendan Daly scored 

again for the Arrows in the third quarter 

on a 30 yard run and also ran in the two 

point conversion to give the Arrows a 14-7 

advantage. Milton Academy responded 

again, though, with a touchdown and 

conversion of their own to take a 15-14 

lead. While the game remained tight at 

this point, the fourth quarter proved to be 

all St. Sebastian’s as Daly added two more 

touchdown runs and also blocked another 

Milton Academy field goal attempt, 

and the St. Sebastian’s defense stifled all 

other Mustangs possessions. The Arrows 

finished off the 29-15 victory, celebrated 

again by fans rushing the field, and took a 

3-0 record into battle the following week 

versus rival Belmont Hill. 

The Belmont Hill game proved to 

be a defensive battle, but it was Belmont 

Hill that struck first as they methodically 

drove the ball down the field on their first 

possession, chewing up most of the first 

quarter and eventually scoring on a one 

yard run despite a valiant effort by the 

Arrows goal line defense. The Arrows 

responded in the second quarter with a 

Patrick Healy to Brian O’Malley connection 

from 22 yards out, but after a missed 

point after attempt, the Arrows trailed 

Belmont Hill 7-6 at halftime. Having 

found themselves in this position the week 

before, the Arrows did not panic, but they 

knew that this game would continue to 

be a tough battle to the end as it often is 

against Belmont Hill. The third quarter 

consisted of strong defense by both sides, 

and it was not until the fourth quarter that 

either team scored when another Healy to 


ATHLETICS 

FALL SPORTS 

O’Malley pass resulted in a 12-7 lead for 

the Arrows. Knowing how tight the game 

was, the Arrows opted to go for two, and 

senior captain quarterback Patrick Healy 

wanted the ball in his hands. Running 

a quarterback sweep, Healy was met at 

the two yard line by two Belmont Hill 

defenders, but he refused to be denied, 

fighting through would-be tacklers and 

earning the Arrows two crucial points. 

Since the Arrows defense had been stuffing 

Belmont Hill ever since the first series of 

the game, they were hoping to shut them 

down one more time when they pinned 

them deep in their territory on the ensuing 

kickoff with just over three minutes to 

play in the game. Belmont Hill, however, 

refused to submit and put together 

an impressive drive that resulted in a 

touchdown with only 18 seconds to play 

in the game. With the extra point added, 

Belmont Hill knotted the game at 14-14, 

sending the game into overtime. The 

Arrows lost the coin toss and had to start 

on offense, but they wasted no time putting 

the pressure back on their opponents when 

Healy threw for his third touchdown of the 

game, this time to Connor Strachan, on the 

first play of overtime. Healy again took the 

ball in his own hands on the conversion 

attempt, and though it looked like he 

clearly crossed the goal line with the ball, 

he was called short, and the Arrows defense 

took the field up by six points. A huge stop 

for no gain on Belmont’s first play limited 

their options, and they took to the air to try 

to score. On second down the quarterback 

rolled to his right and threw to the corner 

of the end zone but senior cornerback 

Conor Hilton was there in coverage and the 

pass sailed out of bounds. The third down 

play had the same result but on the left side, 

so it came down to a fourth down play. 

Again the quarterback tried Hilton’s side, 

and again he was up to the challenge as the 

pass fell incomplete. For the third game in 

a row, the fan section stormed the field and 

celebrated the hard-fought victory for the 

Arrows, now 4-0. 

Having made their way through the 

toughest three game stretch of the schedule, 

the Arrows were in the driver’s seat but 

not looking past their next opponent, 

the Middlesex Zebras. The scoring got 

off to a quick start when on the Arrows’ 

first play from scrimmage, Brendan Daly 

burst through a hole opened up by the 

right side of the line and ran over two 

defenders into open field on his way to a 

67 yard touchdown run. Middlesex, with 

their strong passing game, moved the ball 

well on their first drive, but safety Brian 

O’Malley batted away a fourth down pass 

attempt to give the Arrows the ball on 

their own 23 yard line. Three plays later, 

another explosive play resulted in a 77 

yard touchdown run by fullback Connor 

Strachan. Middlesex did not back down 

in the face of the 14-0 first quarter deficit, 

as they scored on their next possession on 

a 37 yard pass play. From that point on, 

however, the Arrows controlled the game 

as Brendan Daly helped drive the ball down 

the field with his 254 rushing yards, and 

Connor Strachan finished off the drives 

with four touchdown runs on only seven 

carries. Running back James Fiore ’14 also 

added a touchdown run, and one more 

score from Middlesex in the fourth quarter 

resulted in a 42-14 final score. 

The Arrows’ next two games also 

had lopsided results, as they beat St. 

George’s 47-12 and Groton 35-0. Versus 

St. George’s Brian O’Malley caught two 

more touchdown passes and Brendan Daly 

rushed for three touchdowns to lead the 

Arrows, and Joe Kearney ’14 and James 

Fiore finished off the scoring with an 80 

yard kickoff return and a 3 yard touchdown 

respectively. Against Groton, the Arrows 

jumped out to a lead early again on a 

Brendan Daly touchdown run, but the rest 

of the game was a mix of high and low for 

the star running back. After rushing for 

164 yards, which put him over the 1,000 

yard mark for the season, Daly pulled 

a hamstring, ending his regular season. 

Despite the major blow to the team, the 

Arrows remained focused, and the defense 

shut down the Groton attack all game to 

earn the shutout victory. The Arrows were 

now 7-0 heading into the final game of the 

season against a talented Thayer Academy 

team, who had only lost by six points earlier 

in the season to the other undefeated team 

in the ISL, Governor’s Academy. 

Having only beaten Thayer by one 

point last year and knowing that they 

were returning all of their top players, the 

Arrows knew the challenge they faced 

trying to finish off the undefeated regular 

season against them despite Thayer’s 3-4 

record coming into the game. Missing 

Daly, the Arrows knew that other seniors 

would need to step up in his absence. The 

first two to respond were Patrick Healy and 

Brian O’Malley when Healy threw a deep 

pass to O’Malley to get the Arrows to the 

Thayer 20 yard line on their first series. A 

few plays later they connected again when 

Healy threw a fourth down pass from two 

yards out to a diving O’Malley in the end 

zone. O’Malley’s kick gave the Arrows 

an early 7-0 lead. The Arrows defense 

looked to be dominant again early, forcing 

Thayer to go three and out on their first 

two possessions. Unfortunately, a smart 

play call by Thayer and a breakdown in 

coverage by the Arrows led to a deep 

touchdown pass early in the second quarter 

to Thayer’s top receiver. Fortunately for 

the Arrows Thayer missed the point after 

attempt, so the Arrows held on to a 7-6 

lead. Thayer struck again on a big play on 

their next possession when their running 

back found a gap on the left side and arced 

out to the sideline for a 57 yard touchdown 

run. After their point after, Thayer went 

into halftime with a 13-7 lead. The Arrows 

had found themselves in this position 

before, trailing by a score in a game against 

a tough opponent, and they knew how to 

respond. Most impressive in the second 

half was the defensive effort. The Arrows 

never gave Thayer a hope of scoring again, 

swarming to the ball and dropping the 

Thayer running backs and quarterback 

for several lost yards. Early on in the third 

quarter, the Arrows offense struck again 

on another fourth down connection from 

Patrick Healy to Brian O’Malley. Standing 

at fourth and eleven from the 36 yard line, 

Healy dropped back and heaved the ball up 

the left sideline to O’Malley who had beaten 

his defender to the outside. O’Malley 

finished off the touchdown run and tacked 

on the extra point as the Arrows took 

back the lead 14-13. For the remainder of 

the game, the Arrows defense shut down 


ATHLETICS 

FALL SPORTS 

Thayer’s offense, and the Arrows’ offense 

came up with several key conversions 

to keep possessions alive and chew up 

minutes of the clock. Most notably, the 

Arrows were pinned back on their own 

two yard line with just under six minutes 

left to play. A momentum swinging pass 

play to receiver Brandon Sweeney ’14 for 

37 yards gave the Arrows breathing room, 

and on the ensuing series of downs, Patrick 

Healy ran around the right side on third 

and seven for another crucial first down 

that allowed the Arrows to take a knee to 

finish the game and the perfect 8-0 regular 

season. For the fourth time in the season, 

the exuberant fan section stormed the field 

to share in the excitement. 

Wrapping up the ISL title was the 

foremost goal from the start of the season, 

and having achieved that goal, Coach Souza 

was choked up as he spoke to the team 

after the Thayer game telling them how 

proud he was of all of them, particularly 

the senior class who refused to quit or let 

their teammates quit at any point over 

the past three years. Souza said, “This is a 

special group,” and their combined effort 

and focus were the keys to the undefeated 

regular season. This “special group” 

still had unfinished business, though, 

as they earned a berth into a NEPSAC 

championship game with a chance to bring 

home the School’s first ever New England 

Championship in football. A day after the 

Thayer game, the Arrows found out that 

the NEPSAC committee had pitted them 

against the King School from Stamford, 

Connecticut in the Arthur Valicenti Bowl 

to be played at Avon Old Farms School in 

Avon, Connecticut. 

After a short week of preparation to 

face a team they knew little about, the 

Arrows boarded the buses early Saturday 

morning for the two hour ride to Avon. 

On a crisp November morning the 2012 

Arrows took the field for the last time 

together with a chance to make history in 

front of hundreds of loyal fans who made 

the trek with them. Low on nerves and 

high on confidence, focus, and excitement, 

the Arrows came out flying at the start of 

the game. After taking the opening kickoff 

to their own 30 yard line, the Arrows led 

off with their bruising run game. On the 

second play of the game, Conor Hilton 

took a handoff up the middle and found 

open field for a 46 yard gain. Two plays 

later Hilton found space again, this time 

on his way to a four yard touchdown run. 

It was then time for the Arrows defense 

to see how they would fare against the 

King School’s strong run game. On their 

second play King’s quarterback fumbled 

the snap and St. Sebastian’s defensive end 

Dan Fulham ’14 pounced on the loose 

ball giving the Arrows possession deep 

in King territory. Patrick Healy finished 

this drive shortly thereafter with an 11 

yard touchdown run, giving the Arrows 

an early 13-0 lead. King responded well 

though, scoring on a one yard run late in 

the second quarter to bring the score to 

13-7. The Arrows did not want to let their 

opponent back into the game, so their two 

minute offense tried to get more points 

on the board before halftime. Conor 

Hilton and Patrick Healy went to work 

on the ground, and with 12 seconds left in 

the half, Conor Hilton scored from three 

yards out. Healy then ran in a two point 

conversion to send the Arrows into the 

intermission with a 21-7 lead. At halftime 

the talk was about not letting up until the 

Arrows were NEPSAC champions, and 

the team responded as they had all year by 

dominating the second half. The Arrows 

defense stonewalled every attempt by 

the King School to get a drive going, and 

Patrick Healy scored another touchdown 

for the Arrows on an eight yard run. When 

the ensuing kickoff landed in a vacant spot 

between King returners, linebacker Billy 

Behman ’13 scooped up the ball and gave 

the Arrows another possession and another 

quick opportunity to put the game out 

of reach. Receiver Brandon Sweeney ’14 

helped to do just that when, after returning 

to the game after breaking his finger earlier, 

he fought for position against his defender 

and caught a 17 yard touchdown pass from 

Healy. With the score 33-7 at the end of 

the third quarter, the Arrows felt confident 

that victory was at hand, and when Patrick 

Healy ran for his third touchdown of 

the game, the Arrows took a 40-7 lead 

late into the fourth quarter. King’s last 

attempt to score was fittingly taken away by 

another big play by a St. Sebastian’s senior. 

Linebacker Henry Kennedy ’13 dropped 

into coverage and intercepted the ball to 

finish the game. The fifth fan field storming 

of the season followed shortly thereafter as 

the Arrows celebrated their program’s first 

ever NEPSAC championship. While most 

football seasons end in tear filled hugs and 

goodbyes, the Arrows had no tears that 

day, only beaming smiles and full hearts 

from accomplishing every goal they set for 

themselves that year. 

After 35 years at the helm of the storied 

St. Sebastian’s football program, Coach 

Souza led the 2012 team to a perfect 9-0 

season, the best record in the program’s 

history and the best record possible for 

future Arrows teams. Throughout the 

season Coach Souza referenced the past 

undefeated Arrows teams to help the 2012 

Arrows understand what it would take 

to reach that mark, and he also shared 

correspondences he received from several 

alumni including those from the 1977 and 

1994 teams wishing the 2012 Arrows luck. 

Souza predecessors Tom Green and Ed 

Sweeney also shared their support through 

word and attendance at games, further 

showing how important this season was 

to the entire program past and present. 

The Arrows felt the support and love of all 

of the alumni, fans, trustees, faculty, and 

families, and happily share the excitement 

of their ISL and NEPSAC champions with 

all who came before them and were with 

them throughout the season. The 2012 

Arrows will live on in the School’s record 

books, and the seniors on that team will 

always be remembered and appreciated 

for their leadership, outstanding play, and 

unity. The senior-led defense finished 

with the fewest points allowed in the ISL, 

limiting opponents to 12.1 points per 

game, and the offensive powerhouses were 

all from the class of 2012 as well. The 

Arrows will miss the entire senior class 

and congratulate Brian O’Malley who was 

named one of the two MVP’s of the ISL and 

Brendan Daly who rushed for 1,092 yards 

in only four and a half quarters of playing 


ATHLETICS 

FALL SPORTS 

time – two outstanding achievements 

among many from the unshakable, 

undefeated, unbelievable 2012 Arrows. 

Coach Richard Connolly 

Varsity Soccer 

If a soccer season could be evaluated like 

a short story, as the varsity team’s two 

English teaching coaches would enjoy, 

the Arrows’ 2012 effort would have read 

like something from the desk of Raymond 

Carver or Ernest Hemingway: gritty, 

fearless, and often poetic. Of course, The 

Beautiful Game remains judged by the 

frequently Kafkaesque scoreboard, and 

our warrior-poets must live with a record 

largely unbefitting of their play: with three 

wins against nine losses and three ties 

in Independent School League play, St. 

Sebastian’s finished with twelve points and 

in a tie for twelfth place. 

Nevertheless, at St. Sebastian’s we 

celebrate the student-athlete, and we 

similarly appreciate the inherent narrative 

of an athletic season: the multitude of 

players who drive the plot forward; the 

memories baptized in blood, sweat and 

tears; and the emotional highs and lows 

that define what it means to put on your 

school’s uniform and compete every day. 

With fifteen ISL games, the 2012 season 

divides itself nicely into three, five-game 

chapters, so we now present to you the 

most complicated genre in the world of the 

writing, the review. 

This year’s tale begins with a short 

prologue involving non-league powerhouse 

Worcester Academy, whose combination 

of eleven seniors and post-graduates, 

complemented by skillful underclassmen, led 

the Hilltoppers to a 3-0 win over the much 

younger, but equally hungry, Arrows team. 

We next meet our heroes not in a dog 

fight, but in a battle with Bulldogs, down 2-0 

on the road with fifteen minutes remaining 

against backyard rival and defending 

ISL champion Nobles. Showcasing 

characteristic resiliency, the Arrows strike 

twice within two minutes on goals from 

junior sweeper John O’Leary ’14 and senior 

captain John Real ’13 to earn an auspicious 

tie in the League opener. A disappointing 

loss at eventual New England Class B cochamps 

Rivers is followed by a dramatic 

homecoming match with BB&N, as junior 

Austin Lewis ’14 scores in the 86th minute 

off a feed from senior captain George Price 

’13 for another well-fought draw. Senior 

captain and goalkeeper Ben Piersiak ’13 

orchestrates his first shutout of the season 

against Governor’s in a 3-0 win, punctuated 

by freshman Alejandro Soto’s ’16 first career 

strike. As the opening chapter comes to a 

close, the team is riding something of a hot 

streak after battling Milton to a scoreless tie, 

improving to 1-1-3. 

A brief footnote follows in the form 

of a 2-1 victory over Tabor, a non-league 

foe that has quietly become a fierce rival in 

recent years. 

The second chapter might best be 

likened to a Russian tragedy, with St. 

Sebastian’s losing five games in a row, often 

in heartbreaking fashion. At Belmont Hill, 

an unlucky handball in the box results in a 

penalty kick and 1-0 defeat. A mid-October 

driving-rain storm follows the Arrows 


ATHLETICS 

FALL SPORTS 

to North Andover, where despite what 

some consider the team’s best effort of the 

season, the Arrows lose 2-0 after a pair of 

late goals by League co-champs Brooks. 

Days later, Lawrence’s powerful attack 

propels the Spartans to a 4-1 victory, and 

St. Sebastian’s then reaches a depth Dante 

may have drafted in a 3-1 loss on an eerily 

warm day at Middlesex. The Arrows are 

cruelly pierced by misfortune at St Mark’s, 

losing 2-1 while surrendering an own-goal 

and another penalty kick, but decidedly 

outplaying the host, offering a glimmer 

of hope as we turn the page for the final 

chapter. 

Against St. George’s, St. Sebastian’s is 

sparked by goals from sophomores Kenny 

Vallace ’15 and Matt Guarino ’15 in a 3-1 

slaying of the Dragons, which is followed 

by a Halloween treat in New Hampshire: 

a 1-0 victory over St. Paul’s with a late goal 

from Real off a magical back-heel flick by 

Lewis. In early November, Groton comes 

to Needham with a six-game winning 

streak, and while the Arrows create fine 

scoring chances, the Zebras prevail 1-0 

largely because of several excellent stops by 

their keeper. In a scene worthy of a Robert 

Frost poem, over an inch of snow blankets 

the field while senior manager Mickey 

Adams ’13 shovels clear the sidelines when 

Roxbury Latin visits Greendale Avenue. 

Hitching their sleigh to two of the Leagues’ 

top-three scorers, the 2012 New England 

Class B co-champs prove capable of strong 

play in all weather, returning home 4-1 

victors, with senior Joe Coughlin’s ’13 first 

career goal providing the lone highlight 

for St. Sebastian’s. On the final day of the 

season, traditional rival Thayer hosts the 

Arrows, and the Tigers claw their way to 

a 1-0 win off another late penalty kick in 

a game so well-fought by both sides that 

Thayer’s 25-year coach decides he can now 

happily retire. 

This year’s epilogue celebrates the 

achievements of both Price, who earned 

First-Team All-League recognition and 

a spot in the senior all-star game on 

championship weekend, and Real, who 

garnered Second-Team All-ISL accolades. 

Four-year letter-winners Price and Piersiak 

are named recipients of the Peter Kerr 

Award for “sportsmanship, dedication to 

the team, and commitment to the soccer 

program.” And offering a preview of what 

to expect in the 2013 edition, the team 

elects rising-seniors Austin Lewis and John 

O’Leary as co-captains. 

All St. Sebastian’s students know a 

simple summary never does justice to great 

literature, and this review fails to paint 

a picture reflective of the hard-work and 

brotherhood that defined the 2012 varsity 

soccer season. In a results-driven world, 

many athletes throw in the proverbial 

towel when times are tough and then 

get tougher, but any member of the St 

Sebastian’s Community would be proud of 

the way these 19 young men maintained 

composure, remained positive, kept 

improving, and embodied all that it means 

to play sports with your friends and for 

your School. 

Along with the three captains, seniors 

Joe Coughlin ’13, Alex Moore ’13, Teddy 

O’Hara ’13, and Andrew Sullivan ’13 will all 

be missed not just for their contributions 

during games but also for their passion, 

loyalty, and friendship in practices, on bus 

rides, and in the hallways. 

O’Leary and Lewis are joined by Niko 

Fischer ’14 as a talented and eager trio of 

seniors who will lead the team next fall. 

Two-year letter-winner Doyle Silvia ’15 will 

be joined by Matt Bell ’15, Charlie Gordon 

’15, Matt Guarino ’15, Billy McCarthy ’15, 

Paige Sanderson ’15, James Sylvia ’15, and 

Kenny Vallace ’15 as the game-tested and 

motivated returners from the Class of 2015, 

and rising-sophomore Alejandro Soto will 

certainly help next year’s underclassmen 

adjust to the speed and physicality of soccer 

at the varsity level. 

The best stories are the ones that leave 

us pleased with what we just experienced 

and curious for what’s to come, and the 

2012 varsity soccer team should be proud 

of the tale it told and the legacy it leaves. 

With such an experienced group returning 

in 2013, and a strong feeder system in the 

JV and third teams, next year’s narrative 

is highly anticipated, and one cannot help 

but hope our heroes have their efforts more 

overtly rewarded by the great reviewer of 

them all, the scoreboard. 

John Ryan ’15 

Varsity Cross Country 

Runners set…GO!!! With these 

words every cross country race 

starts. Whether the “Go” is marked by 

a voice, an air-horn, or a gun can differ, 

but with these signals, the runners are 

off. From there, pain sets in and will set 

in indefinitely. During a cross country 

race, there is no time to rest. For the next 

17-23 minutes of the runner’s life, all he 

will know is pain. Yet, the cross country 

runner guts it out and still lines up to 

repeat the process the next time, enduring 

the same amount of pain in the next race. 

No other sport will ensure this much pain 

on the athlete, which is why cross country 

runners should be recognized for their 

bravery and courage, putting their bodies 

on the line during every single race. 

This year, the cross country team was 

led by their multitude of seniors on the 

team, including captain Mike Haley ’13, 

Peter Breslin ’13, Matt Fachetti ’13, Peter 

DeMatteo ’13, Luke Scotten ’13, Anthony 

McIntyre ’13, Matt McGuire ’13, and Eddie 

McCarthy ’13. The rest of the team was 

filled by five juniors and sophomores, Cam 

Kelly ’14, John Bartlett ’14, John Flatley 

’15, Peter Olson ’15, and John Ryan ’15. 

With last year’s head coach, Mr. Jenkins, 

off to attend Yale Divinity School, the cross 

country team was led by Mr. Ryan, aided by 

a new assistant coach, Mr. O’Brien. 

After the fabled Homecoming race in 

which Mike Haley sprinted past a Nobles 

runner on the last turn, Mike continued 

his dominance, winning the Governor’s 

race and finishing in the top-10 in every 

race after, consistently running with fast 

times of low 18s to mid 17s. When asked 

to comment on his performance, Haley 

said, “I’m just glad that my hard work 

has helped. And I received help from the 

workouts in practice and fellow runners. 

As a senior I realized I didn’t have many 

races left, so I tried to make the most of 

it.” Going down a score sheet, you would 

find Cam Kelly and John Ryan behind 

Haley, almost always finishing within 20 

seconds of one another, flip-flopping the 

positions of second or third on the team. 


ATHLETICS 

FALL SPORTS 

Close behind them was a new runner, Peter 

Breslin, who arrived to the team this year 

after several years of playing soccer. After 

recovering from a knee injury, Breslin ran 

extremely well, finishing fourth on the 

team with impressive times. In his first 

race, Breslin ran an impressive 19:41 on 

an extremely hard course at St. George’s. 

After Breslin, the typical order was 

Fachetti, DeMatteo, and Flatley, all close 

to one another. They were followed by the 

hardworking Luke Scotten, who improved 

his running and ran a new personal record 

almost every time he crossed the finish 

line. Following Scotten were John Bartlett, 

Peter Olson, Matt McGuire, and Eddie 

McCarthy, rounding out the squad. 

On Friday, October 5, the Arrows 

traveled to St. Mark’s for a quad race 

against St. Mark’s, Belmont Hill, and 

Groton. While the runners had good 

races, all three of the other teams defeated 

us; a bright spot, however, was that Haley 

finished with a time of 17:59, while Cam 

Kelly ran a time of 18:56. Then, on the 

Saturday of the following week, the team 

drove to St. George’s for a race, sadly 

missing the Seb’s-Belmont Hill football 

game. Expecting another rain-swept day 

like last year, the Arrows were surprised 

to find a sunny day in Newport. Once 

again, the Arrows ran well, posting good 

enough times to beat Portsmouth Abbey, 

yet not good enough to beat Tabor and St. 

George’s. Peter Breslin, in his first race, ran 

extremely well—possibly due to his honey 

consumption right before the race. On the 

next Friday, the Arrows went to Roxbury 

Latin to run on their new course, one 

which was a bit longer than their previous 

track. On a wet day, the Arrows ran well, 

with Mike Haley running a great race once 

again, finishing in 4th with a time of 18:35. 

John Ryan, Cam Kelly, and Peter Breslin 

then took the 10, 11, 12 spots respectively, 

all finishing within 30 seconds of one 

another. 

Then came the final regular season 

race at Rivers’ course at Elm Bank. There 

the team raced Middlesex, BB&N, and 

Rivers. While the Arrows were shutout 

by Middlesex and beaten by BB&N, they 

pulled out a win against Rivers because 

of impressive runs by Mike Haley (17:08; 

6th), Cam Kelly (18:21; 16th), John Ryan 

(18:28; 19th), Peter Breslin (18:31; 22nd), 

Peter DeMatteo (19:50; 35th), Matt Fachetti 

(19:55; 36th), and Luke Scotten (19:56; 

37th). 

On Friday, November 2, the Arrows 

traveled to Nobles. The hope was for Mike 

Haley, the captain, to have a magnificent 

run, a run which would land him in the 

top-15, rewarding him with a medal. 

Unfortunately, Haley had been battling 

through shin splints for a few weeks. After 

thoroughly icing his shins, Haley took the 

line, but after a quick first mile, he began to 

feel a heightened discomfort in his shins. 

Haley still valiantly gave it his all, coming 

in 30th with a time of 18:07. Other notable 

runners were Cam Kelly (65th) and John 

Ryan (67th), who were the second and 

third Arrows’ runners to place. As a team, 

the Arrows came in 13th in the ISL. 

While the year may not have ended as 

well as the Arrows would have hoped, it 

was still a great year. On behalf of the team, 

I would like to thank Coach Ryan and 

Coach O’Brien, as well as Mr. Fitz and the 

trainers who kept us healthy, and anyone 

who helped the team or came out to cheer. 

We look forward to next year, in which 

captain-elect Cam Kelly will lead a team full 

of rising sophomores, taking the spots of 

the graduating seniors who made this team 

so much fun. So, finally, thank you seniors 

for a great year, and I hope to see everyone 

else out there next year. • 


ARROWS IN MEMORIAM 

In Memoriam 

We extend our deepest sympathy to the families of the graduates 

and friends of St. Sebastian’s School. 

Rest In Peace 

“Happy are those who have died in the Lord! 

Happy indeed the Spirit says; 

Now they can rest forever after their work, 

Since their good deeds go with them.” 

Revelation 14:13 

Daniel Callahan 

— September 3, 2012 

Father of Joseph Callahan ’01 and uncle of 

Stephen Ward ’96. 

Henry Doten 

— December 26, 2012 

Father of Alex ’05. 

Margaret Ferguson 


Mother of faculty member James. 

John Galloway 

— October 25, 2012 

Grandfather of Brandon ’13 and Bryce ’15 

Jones. 

Daniel Kelly 

— October 14, 2012 

Grandfather of Peter Julien ’18. 

Alice Kenefick 


Mother of Paul ’87. 

Maud Kirk 

— August 28, 2012 

Sister of Paul ’56 and Ed ’62. 

Virginia Korzeniowski 


Grandmother of David ’16. 

Patricia Malagari 

— October 7, 2012 

Grandmother of Cam ’14 and Ian ’16 

Kelly. 

Patricia Maney 

— November 11, 2012 

Wife of Bill ’81. 

William O’Hearn 


Father of William ’86. 

Maureen White 


Grandmother of Martin ’18. 

Jeremiah Sullivan ’56 

Mr. Sullivan passed away on October 18, 

2012. While at St. Sebastian’s he played 

varsity football, basketball, and baseball 

(captain of all three teams his senior year). 

He was also Class President all four high 

school years, was the Class Salutatorian, 

and was a member of the Junior and 

Senior Prom Committees, Dramatic 

Society, Walrus and Arrow staffs, and the 

Altar Society. Sullivan was a graduate of 

Harvard University and the New England 

Law School. He is survived by his children, 

Jeremiah and Sarah, and his longtime 

companion, Lynnda. 

Anne Mulroy - Past Trustee 

Mrs. Mulroy passed away on October 

8, 2012. As a former Guild of St. Irene 

President, she had been a member of the 

School’s Board of Trustees. Mulroy is 

survived by her six children, their spouses, 

and many grandchildren, including fellow 

Arrows (sons) Richard ’73, John ’74, 

James ’76, William ’78, and Robert ’82 

Mulroy, (son-in-law) John DiGiovanni 

’84, (grandchildren) John ’02, Patrick ’06, 

Brendan ’07, James ’08, and Richard ’10 

Mulroy, and Desmond DiGiovanni ’14. 


Should I consider a 

Charitable 

Gift 

Annuity? 

A gift annuity is a simple contract with St. Sebastian’s where, in exchange 

for a gift of cash, appreciated securities, or other assets, the School agrees 

to pay an annuity to the beneficiaries (up to two individuals) for life. The 

payout rates are a function of the age and number of beneficiaries and follow 

the guidelines established by the American Council on Gift Annuities. 

Rates are highly competitive. 

As an Example 

Brian ’50 has been very successful in “laddering” certificates of deposit. 

Lately he has found the payout rates and terms to be less than he would 

like. He decides to donate his low-yielding stock for a St. Sebastian’s charitable 

gift annuity, which offers a higher yield, increased security, and the 

opportunity to support St. Sebastian’s. 

In making his gift Brian ’50 has locked into a guaranteed lifetime of income, 

generated a substantial tax deduction, and has avoided the capital gains 

tax that would have been due had he sold the stock to seek a higher yield 

investment. 

Thank you, John Hodgson GP’12 

As his grandson Sam ’12 was preparing 

to be graduated this past spring, John 

Hodgson gave a Charitable Gift Annuity 

to St. Sebastian’s School. 

According to John: 

“The gift was to thank Seb’s for providing 

three enjoyable years watching 

my grandson Sam playing football and 

lacrosse.” 

St. Sebastian’s thanks John Hodgson and 

all those who have supported the School 

through Planned Giving. 

To learn more about Charitable Gift 

Annuities and other Planned Giving options, 

please contact Linda Panetta in the Alumni 

Office at 781-247-0187.

1191 Greendale Avenue 

Needham, Massachusetts 02492 

Nonprofit Org. 

US Postage 

PAID 

Boston, MA 

Permit No. 19943 


Headmaster 

Richard F. Arms 

Director of Alumni & Development 

Dan Tobin 

Director of Communications 

Phone 781-449-5200 www.stsebastiansschool.org Fax 781-449-5630 

Bill, Bill, and Mia Benjes accept a plaque honoring Mia’s brother, the 

late William Cloney ’64, from Headmaster Bill Burke and Captain Ed 

O’Connor ’88 during this year’s Alumni Dinner on October 25. See 

page 44 for more information.

ST SEBASTIAN’S

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