Teacher’ s Reflection
Dr. Patricia Morris, Mathematics / Modern Languages Department
New Yorkers are inured to the thousands of small stories they hear each day. But when that story plays out in front of St. Patrick’ s Cathedral, even the gruffest of gothamites will pause to take in a spectacle, and might smile and join in a celebration, even for just a moment. Such was the case on June 15th as members of the Class of 2021 gathered on those hallowed Fifth Avenue steps. In this year of adversity, bringing a smile to the faces of hard-hit New Yorkers is surely a sign that God can be found in all things!
The generosity of Cardinal Dolan and the easing of COVID-19 restrictions allowed for the entire Class to be together for this grand, climactic ceremony. Graduates, resplendent in their traditional white dinner jackets, sat on the aisle edge of pews, next to their parents and relatives. Administrators, Board Members and Faculty took their places on the altar, looking out over a sea of faces of young men ready to join the ranks of esteemed alumni. After Dr. Joseph Petriello,’ 98 declared the ceremony open and the invocation by Mr. Joseph Lorenz, S. J., Alec Bastone,’ 21, the graduation speaker elected by his classmates, addressed his brothers with passion and humor. He spoke of the road leading from being classmates to brothers, the bonds forged in shared experiences in class, in athletics, in service and in retreat,“ in moments of pause and recollection.” He recalled Mrs. Rosanna Estrella’ s reflection from the Immaculate Conception Mass his freshman year, and quoted her description of her coming reunion with God: I know I will put my hands on His, look Him in the eye and, with a twinkle in mine, I will ask,“ How can I help you today, my Friend?” Alec spoke of the intersection of faith and service he and his brothers found in a small town in Tennessee working for Habitat for Humanity. Lastly, he quoted in a beautifully personal way St. Ignatius’ prayer for generosity, and how his brothers taught him to be generous, to be of service, to fight, to labor and not to seek reward, and to go forth to set the world on fire.
Dr. Ernest Patti, Prep parent of Ernest Patti,’ 20, and Senior Attending Physician of Emergency Medicine and Director of Medical Affairs at St. Barnabas Hospital, served as guest speaker, and reflected on his experiences as a father and doctor. He urged the graduates to be humble, to seek counsel, to learn from mistakes, to always treat others with respect, to listen first, to put themselves in the shoes of others, to help without expecting reward, to be grateful, to know that“ days are long, but years are short,” and to always give thanks to God.
Seniors then came forward to the altar to receive their diplomas from Fr. Christopher Devron, S. J. in a beautiful procession. Some seniors were accompanied by alumni fathers and grandfathers, and some by members of the Fordham community. The Cathedral statues seemed to smile as they looked down at this time-honored Prep ritual taking place in this brand-new setting.
Amid the difficulties of this year Fordham Prep has been blessed: the continued support of loyal and generous alumni and parents, the ability to hold in-school classes, the resilience of the students, faculty and administrators, to name only a few. The Graduation ceremony for the members of the Class of 2021 was yet another blessed moment for the Fordham Prep community. Exiting the Cathedral, there was, once again, a wonderful New York moment, the scene now filled with the smiles on the faces of passersby, clusters of friends posing for photographs, and the hugs and kisses of family. Walking down Fifth Avenue sometime later with a few colleagues, we were asked by a stranger if we knew who those“ kids” were. When we answered that they were our former students, now Fordham Prep graduates, he nodded, and said,“ I hope you weren’ t too hard on them!” I hope we weren’ t, as the road to this night was hard enough for them. I do know that this class has proven itself ready to go set the world on fire.
Student’ s Reflection
Nick Vianna’ 21
Though this has been the only major graduation ceremony I have been an active participant in, I can confidently say that the event was not only a momentous occasion, but an excellent ending to my four years at Fordham Prep. The occasion had a sense of solemnity throughout, which was not hampered whatsoever by the prospect of us graduates reuniting with each other one final time. Our student speaker, Alec Bastone, delivered a relatable speech that called back to many of the best moments in his high school experience. Even if all of my peers may have different highlights from our last four years, we all shared Alec’ s takeaways on brotherhood, leadership, community, and faith expressed while he was at the microphone. Dr. Patti’ s address was particularly insightful, with students and parents alike nodding their heads to the morals of his numerous personal anecdotes. I am sure that as I grow older, I will be able to find new meaning in his words regarding this challenging year as well as life as a whole. Even if graduation was much different from Fordham Prep’ s traditional commencement exercises, I found the ceremony to be anything but awkward: my expectations were exceeded from beginning to end, and I will certainly look back upon this day fondly.
10 RAMVIEW