PARARE Fall 2019

PARARE
Fall 2019
Congratulations Class of 2019

Upcoming Dates
OCTOBER
11 SJ23 Feast Day
11 Raffle Begins
14 Middle School Fine Arts Frenzy
16 PSAT Testing
17 Art Coffee House
30-31 Parent/Teacher Conferences
NOVEMBER
10 Prospective Families Open House
11 Veterans’ and Grandparents’ Day Mass
20 Raffle Drawing
25-29 Thanksgiving Holiday
Administration
JOSEPH NOONAN
Interim Principal
REV. JONATHAN MITCHICAN
Chaplain
BRIAN MULLIGAN
Dean of Students
MATT OELKERS
Assistant Principal, Administration
ANDREA SMITH
Assistant Principal, Academics
DECEMBER
4 Advent Penance Service
10 Admissions Information Night
11 Christmas Concert
12 Our Lady of Guadalupe Mass
16 Fall Semester Exams Begin
20 Christmas Holiday Begins
28 Alumni Social
JANUARY 2020
8 Classes Resume
15 New Student Applications Due
20 MLK Holiday | No Classes
School Board
Bill Neeson, Chairman
Amy Alexander
Robert Bruns
Butch Callegari
Martin Doublesin
Candace Freed
Fr. Tom Lam
Joel Matthews
Dean Schnitzler
John Steffes
* Dates subject to change.
PARARE is a production of St. John XXIII College Preparatory. All material herein is the copyright and product of the school unless otherwise
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Contents
From the Interim Principal
Congratulations Class of 2019
College Prep at its Best
Valedictorians/Salutatorian
2019 Star Athletes
Roncalli Cup
Class Notes: Alumni Updates
Campus Ministry Program
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
12

From the Interim Principal
Dear Parents, Guardians, and Friends,
Thank you for making my arrival at St. John XXIII
College Preparatory so welcoming. This is a
wonderful school, and I am honored to be a part
of the community and look forward to meeting as
many parents, alumni, and friends during this year
as possible. During my orientation over the past
month, one descriptor of SJ23 shines above the
others - family.
Our team of dedicated teachers, staff, and
administration worked very hard, and worked
together, ensuring a positive and enthusiastic return
from summer for our students. Despite the fluidity
that accompanies the start of any school year, and
especially the uncertainty around this particular
launch, I recognize - as I am sure that you have,
too - our faculty are committed to our Lions, past,
present, and future.
Over the next few months, I invite you to provide
your feedback, input, and ideas. In order to develop
a deeper understanding of the St. John XXIII
community, I recognize that your experience of SJ23
can help inform our shared future.
As I read this issue of the Parare, I am reminded in
the class of 2019, that we only have four short years
to make an impact on each young person. This task,
while daunting, is certainly achievable. Our twelve
graduating classes and their alumni updates are a
testament to that fact.
Every program, every class, every competition,
every endeavor of St. John XXIII College Prep plays
a pivotal role in the education and formation of our
future graduates, and is important to our mission –
We prepare the hearts and minds of our students to
serve God and others. As I write to you today, I am
most thankful to be a part of this community’s efforts
to fulfill that mission.
Yours in Christ,
Joseph Noonan
Interim Principal
4 | PARARE • Fall 2019

Congratulations
CLass of 2019
PARARE • Fall 2019 | 5

College Prep at its Best
7.5 Million 101
70%
534
Total Scholarships
Offered to the Class
Graduates
Graduates Received
Scholarships
Total Applications to 176
different Colleges/Universities
42 Instate Schools
134 Out-of-State Schools
4
2
1
3
National Hispanic
Scholars
Commended National
Merit Commended
Scholars
National Merit Finalist
Students Signed to Play
Athletics
List of Schools 2019 Graduates Attend
Baylor University
Benedictine College
Blinn College
Brigham Young University, Idaho
Colorado School of Mines
Colorado State University
DePaul University
Florida International University
Franciscan University of Steubenville
High Point University
Houston Baptist University
Houston Community College
Indiana University at Bloomington
Lone Star College
Louisiana State University
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
Ohio University
Rice University
Saint Louis University
Saint Mary’s College
Sam Houston State University
Southern Methodist University
Southwestern University
St. Edward’s University
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi
Texas A&M University, Galveston
Texas A&M University, Kingsville
Texas Southern University
Texas State University
Texas Tech University
The University of Arizona
The University of Texas, Arlington
The University of Texas, Austin
The University of Texas, Dallas
The University of Texas, El Paso
The University of Texas, San Antonio
Trinity University
University of Houston
University of Houston, Downtown
University of Kansas
University of Missouri Columbia
University of Nebraska at Lincoln
University of North Texas
University of Notre Dame
University of St. Thomas
University of Tennessee
University of the Incarnate Word
West Texas A&M University
Wharton County Junior College
Wyoming Catholic College
Xavier University
6 | PARARE • Fall 2019

2019 Valedictorians
Abigail Faye Hollmann
Abigail Faye Hollmann, one of the St. John XXIII Valedictorians, will continue to pursue
academic excellence at Rice University while double majoring in environmental science
and biochemistry specializing in molecular biology. Abigail has a kind and friendly
manner about her that makes other people feel comfortable. She has a beautiful
heart and a strong spirit. Helping others comes naturally to her and she strives to
contribute to the expansion of a better world and future generation. While at St. John
XXIII, Hollmann exhibited outstanding leadership qualities full of genuine kindness
and selflessness. She tutored children at Neighborhood Kidz and worked with Katy
Christian Ministries in their resale store. Other accomplishments include being accepted
for NASA’s High School Aerospace Scholars program, being a National Merit Finalist,
and being president of Science Bowl and Academic Bowl. Additionally, she served as
NHS President and was a member of Science National Honor Society, Spanish Honor
Society, Mu Alpha Theta, and competed in both TAPPS Academic and TAPPS Art
competitions. Ms. Hollmann exemplifies positivity and brilliance. Abigail Hollmann is
quite an inspiration and makes the world a better place.
Caitlyn Louise Cano
Upon first meeting Ms. Cano, you are drawn to her optimism and authenticity. Her
bright smile and willingness to help others are a testament to her outstanding character.
She excels as a soloist in liturgical and performance choirs and acted in leading roles
in school theatrical productions. She inspires, encourages, and leads her teammates
as a team captain of the varsity girls’ cross-country team. Caitlyn has the ability to
empathize and connect with others. Since her freshman year, she felt called to serve
the special-needs population by volunteering at Brookwood Community Center. Last
summer, she expanded on her experiences and served as a mentor for a 22-year old
special needs camper at Camp Blessing. She is a freshman at the University of Notre
Dame studying chemical engineering and minoring in musical theater.
2019 Salutatorian
Adley Grace Marsh
With an interest in applied mathematical sciences, Ms. Marsh is attending Texas A&M
University, College Station. At St. John XXIII, she carried a challenging course load
of advanced classes, but made time to tutor fellow students before and after school
in math and volunteer in the community. Adley served more than 600 hours in the
community and greater Houston area through St. John XXIII Works of Mercy program
and the National Charity League Ladybird Chapter, serving as president among other
board roles. Her favorite Philanthropy is the Ballard House. Achievements include
membership in National Honor Society, National Science Honor Society, and Mu Alpha
Theta. Adley received academic all-state for swimming, served as captain of the swim
team for multiple years, and was a member of the State Championship Swim Team.
Adley was in National Spanish Honor Society and represented St. John XXIII at Texas
Girls State. She also served as a Lion Ambassador and Link Crew participant; these
two appointments enabled her to be an advocate for St. John XXIII and assist freshmen
as they adjusted to campus life.
PARARE • Fall 2019 | 7

2019Star Athletes
Congratulations to these accomplished athletes who
will Compete in collegiate athletic programs.
OMOZUSI GUOBADIA
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Track & Field
SABRINA HILLYER
The University of Arizona
Soccer
LYNDIE SWANSON
Houston Baptist University
Softball
8 | PARARE • Fall 2019

Roncalli Cup
Awarded to Lisieux House
Each year, the five Houses compete for the prized Roncalli Cup. This year, Lisieux fought for this win, striving
to do their best at every academic and athletic competition, coming together as a team to lift and build each
other up. They hosted an amazing opportunity for our school to join in at Steps for Students, and they went
to other house events in support of their school community. Lisieux never failed to wear the green, chant for
St. Therese, and sport their buffalo caps as they showed House Spirit. Congratulations to Clare Rady and
Will Glueck for being enthusiastic role models for their House and to Mrs. Elizabeth Dronet for always giving
support and encouragement to her students. Congratulations to the Roncalli Cup Winner – Lisieux House!
5th place: Borromeo House – 280 points
4th place: Loreto House – 340 points
3rd place: Aquinas House – 440 points
2th place: Neri House – 450 points
1st place: Lisieux House – 520 points
PARARE • Fall 2019 | 9

Class Notes
Alumni Updates
Andrew Bruce, 2008 Zachary Hearn, 2012
A member of the
first graduating
class, Andrew
Bruce received
his law degree
from South Texas
College of Law in
December 2018.
He recently sat
for and passed
the bar. He is on
staff at Murrah &
Killough, PLLC.
Zachary Hearn resides
in Kansas City, Missouri
where he is a Trainmaster
for BNSF Railway. In 2017,
he graduated with honors
from Texas Tech University
with a degree in Energy
Commerce and a degree in
Supply Chain Management.
Peter Thorseth, 2014 Cameron McHugh, 2014
Peter Thorseth is at the University of St. Thomas and on
the golf team. He has won three tournaments this year.
At St. John XXIII, Cameron
McHugh was ranked the
second-best swimmer in Texas
and the 74th best swimmer
in the country, according to
collegeswimming.com. After
earning her degree in biomedical
engineering from The University
of Arizona, where she received
All-American Honors in the 800
free relay and named a CSCAA
Scholar All-America honoree,
she is attending Stanford for her
master’s degree in mechanical
engineering with an emphasis in
product design. She would like
to work as a design engineer at a sports production company to
combine two of her passions: athletics and engineering. McHugh
ended her senior year in the Engineering Design Program,
working with the University of Arizona Center on Aging and a
team of fellow students to develop the UA Balance App. The app
is designed to help older adults improve their balance, posture
and neuromuscular control, reducing their risk of falling and
serious injury. MedPage Today, an online resource for health care
professionals and physicians, named it a “Must-Have Medical
App.” McHugh said it was rewarding to see the hard work and
research the team put into their project pay off. “I really enjoyed
working on a project that can have an effect on people’s everyday
life,” she said. “Engineering is pointless if it cannot be used to help
people and in some way improve their lives.”
10 | PARARE • Fall 2019

Philip Nijoka, 2015 Taylor Chojecki, 2015
Golfer Philip Nijoka had a great year playing
for Loyola University and recently graduated.
Taylor Chojecki will graduate from Texas A&M, College
Station this December with a Bachelor of Science in
Visualization and with a minor in game design and
development. Spring semester 2018, she participated in
an exchange student program with Victoria University in
Wellington, New Zealand. She lived and studied animation and
design while sight-seeing for nearly five months. The majority
of her time was spent in Wellington; she did travel to both the
north and the south island, hiked Mount Ngauruhoe, which is
Mount Doom in the Lord of the Ring and Hobbit movies, scuba
dived off the Wellington coast, kayaked and camped in the
New Zealand Countryside, saw and photographed a wild seal
at Red Rocks near Wellington, felt her first earthquake, bungy
jumped, luged, saw kiwis and mudpools and lots of gysers!
Torrey Knobelock, 2016
Dana Alexander, 2018
Earlier this year, Torrey Knobelock won the title of
USA National Miss Lone Star State 2019. She writes,
“St. John XXIII truly shaped me into the young woman
I am today and there is nothing I want more than to
share that with everyone.”
Dana Alexander is currently a sophmore at The University of
Notre Dame where she is a member of the cheerleading team.
PARARE • Fall 2019 | 11

Campus Ministry Program
the Heart and Soul of St. John XXIII
We prepare the hearts and minds of our students to serve
God and others.
That is not only our mission statement, but the philosophy
that we weave into each day at St. John XXIII. Challenging
academics, a robust athletics department, student clubs
and organizations, and a remarkable fine arts program
are attributes of any great high school. However, we offer
our students a unique experience that mirrors our mission
statement.
Under the direction of Mrs. Sheri DeMois, The Our Lady of
Guadalupe Center for New Evangelization (OLG Center),
houses both our Retreat program and the Works of Mercy
program. The OLG Center, established in 2015, focuses on
providing opportunities for an encounter with Jesus Christ
by inviting every member of our school community into
a deeper relationship of love for Him. As St. John Paul II
reminds us, “the most beautiful and stirring adventure that
can happen to you is the personal meeting with Jesus, who
is the only one who gives real meaning to our lives.” The
work of the OLG Center focuses on assisting our students
to face the changing and increasing challenges of a culture
which is oftentimes hostile to the Christian faith. As the
source and summit of our faith, the Eucharist is the focal
point of our evangelization efforts with opportunities for daily
Mass and weekly Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. We
also have the Sacrament of Reconciliation available every
single day to allow our students to encounter the gift of the
Lord’s mercy and forgiveness.
Our retreat program is a natural opportunity for us to
continue our mission. Each year, all students attend a oneday
grade-level retreat. One of the most touching aspects
at these retreats is watching students pray over each other.
Often students return to campus with a renewed awareness
of Christ’s love.
Building on the required grade-level retreats, freshmen and
sophomores are presented with an optional three-day, twonight
retreat called Quest. Originating in the winter of 1977
in Quincy, Illinois, Quest means “searching for” or “journey.”
The program is centered around the three circles of love –
love of self, love of others, and love of God. As with most
retreats, sacraments are an integral component of Quest
and include daily Mass, reconciliation, and adoration of the
Blessed Sacrament. In addition, students participate in a
12 | PARARE • Fall 2019

variety of prayer experiences, small-group work, and praise
and worship. To the delight of all, each morning begins with
a dance party. The patron saint of our Quest retreats is St.
John Paul II because his love for the youth made him largely
responsible for the revival in the young church. Retreatants
leave with a St. John Paul II medal and are invited to be
student leaders at future Quest retreats. To be a student
leader requires weekly meetings of preparation with Mrs.
DeMois. Only 10-12 students are selected to be leaders.
Juniors and seniors may participate in the Kairos retreat,
a four-day, three-night retreat that explores the core
values of the Gospel - authenticity, integrity, courage, love,
forgiveness, hope, healing, service and justice. Kairos
means “time with God” and students explore their present
relationship with God and how they will live their Christian
vocation in the secular world. Student leaders, faculty,
and staff provide talks and spiritual experiences that are
grounded and centered around the revelation of God’s love
to all through the people each of us meet. As with our Quest
retreats, sacraments are essential to the Kairos experience
and include daily Mass, reconciliation, and adoration.
Students also participate in a variety of prayer experiences,
small-group work, and praise and worship. Participants
are invited to be student leaders at future Kairos retreats
which requires a weekly commitment for preparation.
Approximately 16 students may be leaders at each Kairos
retreat.
“I came to St. John XXIII as a cradle
Catholic who knew a lot about Jesus,
but I didn’t really know Jesus. The
retreat program here completely
changed that. I went on my first retreat
during my sophomore year and was
infused with love for God, both in the
altar before me and in the people beside
me. This love grew and deepened when
I attended Kairos a year later and it was
molded and shaped at Beach Retreat a
few months after. Through the campus
ministry program, I have been given a
passion for my faith and a fire for Christ
that I had only thought was reserved for
priests and sisters. I learned how and
why I should live as a disciple of Christ
and I’ve seen the impact this holiness
has had on my friends. It has changed
us for the better and for the good.”
– Loran Morello, Class of 2019
The weekend beach retreat, a retreat for any juniors and
seniors who have attended a Kairos retreat, is a favorite.
Students are able to enjoy a walking rosary on the beach,
stations of the cross by moonlight, and plenty of time to
simply meet the Lord in the silence - all with the ocean as a
backdrop.
So what happens after these retreats? As is typical, upon
returning everyone is on a natural retreat high. Students
continue to grow in faith through our daily prayers and
weekly all-school Mass serving as cantors, musicians,
altar servers, lectors, and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy
Communion. Last year, Rise – a weekly student-led Bible
PARARE • Fall 2019 | 13

“When I first started attending SJ23, I
didn’t have much of a faith life. I went
through the motions of going to mass,
taking CCE classes, etc. but I had virtually
no real relationship with God. I heard one
day during my sophomore year, that there
was going to be a retreat called Quest and
I thought I’d sign up just for the heck of
it. Little did I know how that retreat would
completely change me and my faith life.
Quest introduced me to God for the first
time and I’ve been growing closer to him
ever since. I even got to lead on another
Quest retreat, giving others the opportunity
to meet Christ and set fire to their faith.”
– Lizette O’Quinn, Class of 2020
study – was born after a Quest retreat. Rise participants
select a scripture reading and from there a discussion
ensues. It is not uncommon to see 30 or more students
working together in faith at Rise on a Friday morning. You
may also find a group of students singing the Divine Mercy
Chaplet, to the sound of a ukulele, on Friday afternoons.
The other component of Our Lady of Guadalupe Center
for New Evangelization is the Works of Mercy program
that cultivates service hours for each of our students and
encourages a life dedicated to service. Unlike other schools,
our program is based on the Corporal and Spiritual Works
of Mercy as identified in the Gospel of Matthew. Focus areas
are assigned to each grade level and students are given
approved venues in which to complete hours; 100 service
hours are required for graduation from St. John XXIII. The
freshmen must earn 15 hours in the areas of feeding the
hungry, tending to the needs of the homeless, and caring
for the elderly or disabled. Sophomores are required to earn
20 hours in the same areas as the freshmen. As a junior, 30
hours must be completed by teaching the disadvantaged, or
caring for an elderly or disabled person. With more flexibility,
seniors complete 35 hours in an area of their choice.
Through our program, many students discover their gifts for
a particular service opportunity and even choose a college
major based on their Works of Mercy experience.
14 | PARARE • Fall 2019

“I am so thankful for the opportunity to lead retreats at St. John XXIII. From grade-level retreats, to Quest,
to Kairos, I have learned that I am called to be a servant leader to my community here at school and
in the future. I know that this is where Christ is calling me to serve and love Him. Leading retreats has
encouraged me to pursue discerning the priesthood. I feel joy from God, as well as from others, and for
that I am ever grateful.”
– Riley O’Sullivan, Class of 2019
PARARE • Fall 2019 | 15

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