4
P RESIDENT’S M ESSAGE
what strikes me most about our graduates, year in and year out, is
their desire to step into a world where they can make a difference.
For us as their teachers, this is the greatest celebration of all!
The tolling of those bells each year also serves as a reminder of the
angels our students have in their lives who have challenged them
and prepared them to be Christian leaders and people of influence
in this world, namely, their parents, teachers, coaches, counselors,
mentors, and the staff at Bishop McNamara who give of their time
and talent in the interest of building up the Kingdom of God here on
Earth. From the prophet Daniel we read, “Those who teach justice
will shine like the stars in the heavens for all eternity.” The men and
women who make up the Bishop McNamara faculty and staff are
truly stars in the heavens who provide light for this world. They
did so for me when I was a student at Bishop McNamara, and they
continue to do so to this very day! Great teaching means loving,
caring for, and living daily with a passion that inspires young people
to do more, be more and become more. That has been a constant
hallmark of Bishop McNamara for the past forty-eight years and will
continue for decades to come.
Dear Bishop McNamara High School Family and Friends,
A favorite movie of mine that I watch at least two or three times a
year, particularly when I need a boost, is the classic Frank Capra
film, It’s a Wonderful Life. An American favorite, Capra shows the
impact we have on one another and the difference one person can
make in the lives of many. At the conclusion of the movie is the
line, “Teacher told me that every time a bell rings an angel gets his
wings." As an educator and a person of faith, I am moved by that
line every time!
Each May at our annual Commencement Exercises, just as our
graduates finish singing the school Alma Mater and are offered their
final blessing before proceeding out of the Basilica, the clock strikes
noon and the bells from the Knights of Columbus Tower chime.
The booming sound of these bells reminds me not only of that
line from It’s a Wonderful Life, but also serves as a celebratory cue
acknowledging that we as parents and as a school community have
given wings to another group of graduates to soar into this world to
even greater heights.
On May 25, 2013, Bishop McNamara graduated 224 students, 100
percent of whom were accepted to over 200 of the finest colleges
and universities in the world, including Columbia University,
Georgetown University, Carnegie Mellon University, Cornell
University, Duke University, and many, many more. Like so many
classes of the past, this class received in excess of $16 million in
scholarship money for college. Some will attend prestigious music
and art schools such as the Eastman School of Music, Berklee
College of Music, and North Carolina School for the Arts. Others
are studying to be engineers, business men and women, lawyers,
doctors, and, led by the influence of Bishop McNamara, many will
pursue careers in ministry and education. Besides accomplishments
in their academic pursuits, in the athletic arena, or on the stage,
The celebrations of this time of year also bring some sadness. As
we say farewell to our graduates, we hope that they wi