F E AT URE ST ORY
Matthew 25:35 & John [Denver] 3:17:
Marking 25 Years of the Founding of the
FORDHAM PREP SERVICE
IMMERSION PROGRAM
By Lou DiGiorno ’88,
School Historian
Living the
call to be
“Men for
Others”
14
RAMVIEW
It shouldn’t be all too surprising that Prep
boys have long been involved in helping
to provide shelter for those in need.
After all, we’re talking about one of the
Corporal Works of Mercy here — that’s like
Catholicism 101.
On February 11 & 12, 1907, for instance,
the Fordham Dramatic Society — in those
days composed of both Prepsters and
College men — put on a comedy in the
New College Theater (soon to be named
Collins Auditorium). The play was called
The Social Aspirant and was described
by a student-reviewer as “three acts of
ridiculous fun.” According to the Fordham
Monthly, all proceeds from the two packed-
house performances went to benefit the
homeless in Jamaica. Involved in the
production were student-actor Thomas
Connelly, Prep Class 1903 (a College
senior at the time), as well as his classmate
and fellow ’03er, J. Fernand Convery,
conductor of the orchestra for the musical
portion of the evenings’ entertainment.
Aside from Tom and Ferd, a number of
then-current Prep boys also likely took
part in the theatrical fundraiser. As was
customary in those days, the Hughes Hall
boys served as backstage crewmen, played
in the orchestra, or worked the house as
ushers. “Large sums” were collected for
the relief effort and sent down the Jesuits
in Kingston.
Now, of course, the 1907 pre-Lenten/Mardi
Gras/Lincoln’s Birthday presentation of
The Social Aspirant was neither the first nor
last time that the Rose Hill community be
involved in works living out Jesus’ Matthew
25 pronouncement on the Final Judgement
— you know: the one with the sheep and the
goats. But it would not be until the 1991-
1992 school year that the many and varied
Christian outreach projects of the Prep’s first
150 years would take on a new dimension.
This was the year that Prep boys would roll
up their sleeves, get hammers in hand, and
get to that providing shelter business up
close and personal.
In February 1992, led by former biology
teacher and swim coach, Mr. Bill Fife, ten
students set out for Nazareth Farm in rural
West Virginia where they spent a week
building and repairing homes for families in
need. Conditions at home base were rough:
no indoor plumbing! But the hard work and
simplicity of life at Nazareth Farm would
prove a transformational experience, both
for the Eleven Proto-Immersioners — the
very godfathers of today’s Prep service trips
— as well as for many in the Prep community
at large who were inspired to serve by
example.
Soon enough, students and faculty alike
were clamoring to follow in the footsteps of
Fife & Company.
With some charitable outreach experience
under his belt from his undergraduate
days, Mr. Brian Carney arrived on the
Prep’s Faculty and Coaching Staff in
1993, and quickly found himself tasked
by the Administration to develop plans
for sponsoring and organizing an ongoing
series of such service trips. And so he did.
By the summer of 1994, funds had been
raised, and eight intrepid young men set out
to Appalachia for a second trip to Nazareth
Farm: Larry Spollen, P.J. Torino, Mike Caputo,
Michael Lee. Wally Nolan, Josh Waldman,
Andy Hinman and Daniel Winchester — all
from the Class of 1995. The Fordham Prep
Christian Service Immersion Program was
officially born. Carney drove. He had a John
Denver cassette: “Blue Ridge Mountain,
Shenandoah River.” And just like that,
the 3 minutes and 17 seconds of “Country
Roads” became part of Fordham Prep
consciousness.
From these beginnings, the Program
would grow. West Virginia trips would be
undertaken every summer for the next
decade — straight through to 2004. Other
sites would be added as well. In 1996,
Often enough,
these service
trips would truly
be schoolwide
efforts, with
both spiritual
and financial
support coming
from far beyond
the students who
would make
the journeys
themselves.
additional groups of students began to
volunteer at St. Francis Farm in Upstate
New York, followed by excursions to
Kentucky in 1997 and 1998. Meanwhile,
on the homefront, fundraising strategies
were broadened in order to sponsor the
growing number of annual projects —
everything from bake sales to get-out-of-
jug-free-card raffles to mite box collections
to alumni appeals. Often enough, these
service trips would truly be schoolwide
efforts, with both spiritual and financial
support coming from far beyond the
students who would make the journeys
themselves.
In 1999, the Prep began its collaboration
with Appalachia Habitat for Humanity in
Scott County, Tennessee. To date, in its
20-year partnership with Habitat, the Prep
has built 30 homes for low-income families
and donated over two million dollars to fund
these constructions, even sponsoring entire
builds since the 2005-2006 school year. In
appreciation, Scott County has named one
of its streets Fordham Lane.
Now under the auspices of Mr. Nelson Ritter
’96 of the Religious Studies Department,
the Service Immersion Program has
expanded to include local sites, such as
the Romero Center in Camden, New Jersey,
as well as international locations including
Rostro de Cristo in Duran, Ecuador since
2003 and the Working Boys’ Center in
Quito, Ecuador, founded by Fr. John J.
Halligan, SJ, Class of 1947.
Over the past 25 years, nearly two-
thousand Prep students, faculty, staff and
alumni have been involved in the repair
and construction of hundreds of homes
and have given their time and energy to
scores of other community projects — all
for the greater glory of God, and in service
of His children.
In the words of Ron Castillo, Class of 1996,
a two-time Appalachian immersioner: “I
remember hearing about Appalachia from
the guys a year ahead of me, and I knew that
it was something that I wanted and needed
to do. The journey did not disappoint.” He
goes on to say, “I would highly recommend
this program to any young man at the Prep.
It embodies what we are all about.”
On behalf of the whole Prep community —
past, present and future — from the Aspirant
cast and crew of yesteryear to the Prep boys
and alumni cohort who’ll head to various
sites this summer: congratulations to the
Fordham Prep Christian Service Immersion
Program! Here’s to the next 25 years and
the next 250 builds! Take them home; take
them home.
SUMMER 2019
15