John Shanahan Memorial Award
Ryan Gomez’ 16:“ Inspired to be a Good Man”
What’ s good to one person might not be good to another. Here’ s my best friend’ s definition of a good man: to make sure to not lessen people’ s quality of life and be dedicated and passionate about my work. Here’ s my definition of a good man: to be as much of a gentleman as I can be, to be a person people can rely on. Two very different definitions, but at their cores, they still revolve around the same idea of being or doing good. We both strive to do our best.
Saint David’ s is a unique place where you spend most of your formative years and get an experience that no other place can provide. It’ s a place where you grow, learn, form relationships and start to discover what kind of person you are and what you’ re passionate about, a place where you become a good man together. And though you may not realize it, being a Saint David’ s boy, being a good man is something special that connects us all.
What I really want to do, what my big goal is, is to try and make a world where people can smile and have hope. Many people have told me that I’ m naive or that it’ s silly, but at the end of the day, it’ s the truth. There are so many things that we do at Saint David’ s, big and small, where we come together as a community and embrace happiness and positivity.
Ryan is a graduate of Blair( 2020) and Skidmore College( 2024).
John Shanahan Memorial Award
Ignacio H.’ 27 was named the recipient of the 2026 John Shanahan Memorial Award. The award memorializes John Shanahan, who revitalized and grew the school’ s hockey program, helping to transform it into a varsity sport. It is given each year to the middle school hockey player who best demonstrates personal attributes associated with John: sportsmanship, teamwork, strength of character, and generosity.
Summer 2026 • 81