Summer 2016

Honoring
May Crowning
On Monday, May 16,
2016, the birthday
of Blessed Mary
Angela Truszkowska, OLSH
students, faculty, and staff
gathered in the Chapel for a
prayer service in celebration
of the May Crowning. This
year, they were honored to
be joined for the first time
by the Felician Sisters and
several OLSH alumni.
The service began with a
reflection on the significance
of the May Crowning given
by Campus Minister Daniel
“Monty” Montgomery.
Jane (Wojtkowski) Lucci
‘54, author of the OLSH
Alma Mater, then shared a
few words about the origins
of the song and sang it for
the OLSH community as it
was originally written. She
then led the community in
singing the Alma Mater as
Sr. Ralph Maria Piontek,
CSSF ‘38, placed a crown of
flowers on a statue of Mary,
4 • www.olsh.org
assisted by OLSH senior and
St. Timothy Award recipient
Mary Kohser.
Sr. Mary Cabrini Procopio,
CSSF ‘59, spoke about
the significance of our
community’s devotion to
Mary and the importance
of the school community
coming together with the
Felician Sisters to celebrate
the Blessed Virgin. She
called on the students to
look to Mary for aid and
pray for her intercession.
She reminded them of the
strength of Mary’s influence
over her Son, as seen when
she persuades Him to
change water into wine at the
wedding in Cana. She said
that to love Mary is to love
Jesus better, since Jesus came
to us through Mary.
The service closed with the
Litany of the Blessed Virgin
Mary prayed by all present. •
queen
mother
SPOTLIGHT: RYAN WASIL ‘16 & NATHAN NICKLAS ‘17
Scouts Saw Need and Started to Build
Eagle Scout Projects Benefit OLSH
Jessica Cerchiaro
Earning the rank of Eagle Scout
is one of the highest honors for
Boy Scouts. The rank requires
the completion of a variety of tasks,
most notably a large scale project for
the community that demonstrates
leadership and involves other scouts.
While many young men at OLSH have
earned this rank, two Scouts recently
identified needs at OLSH and chose to
have their projects benefit our school.
Ryan Wasil ’16 became a Tiger Cub in
kindergarten and has been involved with
the Scouts ever since. When thinking
about what to do for his Eagle Scout
project, he remembered that he and
fellow OLSH band members stored their
instruments on the floor in the music
room and thought of building shelves
to store instruments and other items.
He shared his idea with music teacher
Mr. Allan Pontiere and the OLSH
administration, and everyone agreed it
would fulfill a need for the school. Ryan
then learned that there was a great deal
of planning that would have to go into
this project. The Sisters had specific
requirements for the shelves – the stain
had to match existing woodwork and
they could not be visible through the
windows. “I learned how much work
goes into the actual planning side of
this (or any) project,” commented Ryan.
“In some ways, the planning was more
important than the actual construction.
I spent several months designing,
budgeting, getting
permissions, and
raising money long
before building
On March 22, 2016 Joe
Weber ‘17 achieved the
Boy Scouts of America
rank of Eagle Scout. Joe
has been active in the
Boy Scouts since the 1st
grade and has held many
leadership roles in his
Troop. The Eagle Project
Joe selected benefited
his parish, St. Margaret
of Scotland in Green Tree and involved the construction and
placement of directional signs around the parish property. •
started.” Ryan
also learned a lot
about leadership,
as he worked with
a variety of people
to help complete
the project. “I was
really surprised (in
a good way) at how
generous people
were with their time
and money,” Ryan
shared when talking
about the help he received. He was
supported by Mr. Pontiere, his scout
troop, his sisters and parents, as well as
OLSH band families and his extended
family, who made monetary donations
toward the project. The Lowes in
Cranberry generously gave a 40%
discount on materials for the project,
which helped tremendously with the
costs. Once he was ready to build, Ryan
received help from The Venture Crew, a
scouting organization, and fellow OLSH
students Matt Tarasovich ’16, Brandon
George ’16, and Nathan Nicklas ’17,
as well as his dad. After putting in
what he estimates as over 200 hours
on the project, Ryan was pleased with
the results – as was Mr. Pontiere and
the OLSH community. The shelves are
a beautiful and functional addition to
the music room –
keeping the space
more organized
and protecting
s t u d e n t s ’
instruments.
Involved with the
scouts for 10 years,
Nathan Nicklas
’17 began thinking
about his Eagle
Scout project and
also saw a need
at OLSH. “As
Ryan Wasil ‘16 and Mr. Allan Pontiere
a theater student, I wanted to come
up with a way to display the school’s
Gene Kelly Awards, and protect them,”
said Nathan. He knew the school was
looking for a new way to display the
theater awards and also learned that
there was a need for a space to display
academic awards, as well. Nathan
came up with a location for the display
case project in the Hall of Community,
allowing anyone who comes to see a
theater performance to see the awards.
He is in the early stages of his project,
hoping to complete it this summer.
“I am learning a variety of different
skills,” Nathan commented, “including
fundraising and budget management,
overcoming material obstacles, and
adjusting my plans with the plans of
others.” He will involve his fellow scouts
as he moves to the construction phase of
his project.
Both young men saw a need at their
school, and took the opportunity to
make a difference. Their efforts not
only helped them to earn the prestigious
rank of Eagle Scout, but also benefitted
their classmates and the entire school
community. •
Be Known
Be Known | Be Transformed | Be Inspired • 5