ST SEBASTIAN’S

My Second Family
By James O’Brien ’06
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.”
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