Development
“A Priceless Investment”
The McCarthy family with Board Chair Jim Rowen
To say John and Catherine McCarthy P ’17, ‘19 are deeply
rooted in Jesuit education and tradition would be an
understatement. “The Jesuits were a huge influence on
my grandfather, Thomas Leavey,” says John McCarthy.
“His parents met on the boat from Ireland and were
married at the Church of the Immaculate Conception on
14th Street. As it happens, Fordham’s founder Archbishop
Hughes founded Immaculate Conception in 1855.”
“My great-grandparents immediately headed west—to a
dairy farm near Eureka in Northern California, where my
grandfather was born in 1898. The family could only
afford to send one of them to college, and my
grandfather was chosen.”
After completing his undergraduate studies at Santa Clara
University, the Jesuits urged Leavey to attend Georgetown
Law School. “And so in 1923, armed with his law degree,
my grandfather Tom Leavey settled in Los Angeles and
built his business, Farmers Insurance. He and my
grandmother established the Thomas and Dorothy
Leavey Foundation in 1952, which continues to be a
benefactor of Jesuit institutions,” states McCarthy.
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John and Cathy are no strangers to Jesuit education
themselves. John attended Loyola High School in Los
Angeles, and both he and his wife attended Georgetown;
Cathy’s parents attended Fordham University, and her
uncle and several of her closest childhood friends attended
the Prep. “We recently learned that Cathy’s great-great
uncle—Michael Corbett, SJ—is buried in the Jesuit cemetery
on Fordham University’s campus,” recalls McCarthy. Imbued
with this background, Fordham Prep was always high on
their list of potential schools for their sons.
“Given this history, it was an easy decision for us to send
our two sons—Tommy ‘17 and Matthew ‘19—to Fordham
Prep,” says McCarthy. “I should add: it was their first
choice as well. But the decision wasn’t driven by history or
tradition alone. We were all drawn by the same qualities
that have inspired thousands over the years.”
“Fordham Prep’s combination of academic excellence,
faith and service…plus great sports and co-curriculars…is
tremendous. Throw in the fact it’s located on a college
campus in the Bronx and you have a rare—perhaps
ideal—set of circumstances... Fordham introduces kids