Memorial Day Weekend

As we prepare to open the summer season this Memorial Day weekend, let us take a few minutes to stop, reflect and honor those who have given their lives so that we might pursue the American dream.

One such Stanner was Louis Willett. Louis received the Medal of Honor for his valor in Vietnam. I took a few minutes to visit with students in Mr. Gallagher’s history class about his story and to place a rose by his picture on the Stanner Hall of Fame wall. His story, listed below describes every element of our Stanner Crest.

Medal of Honor Citation
Private First Class LOUIS E. WILLETT

U.S. Army, Company C, 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division.

Place and date: Kontum Province, Republic of Vietnam, 15 February 1967.

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Pfc. Willett distinguished himself while serving as a rifleman in Company C, during combat operations. His squad was conducting a security sweep when it made contact with a large enemy force. The squad was immediately engaged with a heavy volume of automatic weapons fire and pinned to the ground. Despite the deadly fusillade, Pfc. Willett rose to his feet firing rapid bursts from his weapon and moved to a position from which he placed highly effective fire on the enemy. His action allowed the remainder of his squad to begin to withdraw from the superior enemy force toward the company perimeter. Pfc. Willett covered the squad’s withdrawal, but his position drew heavy enemy machine gun fire, and he received multiple wounds enabling the enemy again to pin down the remainder of the squad. he again engaged the enemy with his rifle to allow his squad to continue its movement and to evacuate several of his comrades who were by now wounded. Moving from position to position, he engaged the enemy at close range until he was mortally wounded. By his unselfish acts of bravery, Pfc. Willett insured the withdrawal of his comrades to the company position, saving their lives at the cost of his life. Pfc. Willett’s valorous actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces.

If, during this weekend, you see someone on a street corner or intersection in a VFW service hat or uniform selling poppies, buy one, and thank them for their service to this country. Without our service men and women, we would not have the freedoms we treasure.

Around Molloy this Week

Last week the Faculty soundly defeated the seniors in a spirited basketball game attended by more than 500 players, entertainers and students. The Dance Club and Step Teams performed at the breaks and there was a good old-fashioned sock-hop after the game. Funny, how I did not recognize any of the dances that night… I am not sure there were any, really. But, suffice it to say that there was a good time had by all. And the money raised will go to support Marist Missions. Chris Dougherty reported that approximately $2100 was raised in this effort. Thanks to the volunteers who stepped in to make this evening possible. Oh, and by the way, the faculty won… did I mention that?

As if that was not enough…

As resident gluttons for punishment, our faculty took on the seniors in a recreational game of Volleyball on Wednesday afternoon. The “Fab Five” came out strong right from the start. The “Senior Six”, for the first time in the history of this game was all female for the first of a “best of seven” series. In spite of everyone’s best efforts, St. Marcellin was smiling on his Marist educators and they won in four. According to faculty member Liz Young, “the women of Molloy did a great job”.

Academics

Tests, tests and more tests… ‘tis the season for finals and regents’. The tension is palpable. And most of that is coming from the faculty. As you reflect on your own studies at Molloy, you might want to set aside a moment and “pray for each other” that the knowledge that is in their heads finds a way to the test papers this season.

Athletics

Junior Brittany Dombrowski set a girl’s Mayors Cup record in the javelin at 121’ 1” the coverage in the TimesLedger® was excellent. The women of Molloy are making their mark in all areas of sports and the program continues to build each year. Congrats Brittany and all of the Women’rsquo;s Track and Field athletes letting the world know we are a power to be reckoned with. Five of the Six finalists were Stanners! Other outstanding performers included Nicole Bonilla who finished second in Javelin with a personal best of 102’ 2”. Adara Simonelli, Megan Fuchs, Andrea Martinez all contributed to the event with their personal best performances.

Jarenn Stewart set another Mayor’s Cup Record in the long jump of 22’ 10 3/4’. It is truly amazing to watch him perform his magic.

Athletic Awards Night

Mike McCleary addressed a packed house this week as the annual Athletic Awards night took place in the Curran Gymnasium. His comments tell a great story and provide a summary of our athletic prowess this year.

“A lot can happen in a year. Hours of preparation and competition brings us close to the conclusion of another year. Thanks to the student-athletes and coaches that are here tonight Archbishop Molloy won 6 City Championships, 14 Diocesan Championships, participated in 6 State playoffs, 3 Diocesan Finals and 3 semifinals, with 9 teams still competing.

It has been another great year here at Molloy and we should all feel fortunate to have nights like these to celebrate everyone’rsquo;s accomplishments.

Earlier this year Molloy lost one of its own when Kaitlyn Grogan died in an automobile accident. The girl’s soccer team would like to rename the MVP trophy the Kaitlyn Grogan MVP Award. We would like Mr. And Mrs. Grogan to come up now and present The Kaitlyn Grogan Most Valuable Player for Girls Varsity Soccer to Stephanie Posa.

The Outstanding Senior Athlete Award is presented to the best male and female athletes in the senior class. This a difficult award to determine because of the outstanding achievements of our senior class. This year’rsquo;s finalist include a playoff MVP, a league MVP, 4 All League Players, 8 times they were members of All Tourney teams, 9 times they were All Queens, 2 times they were All City, they were League Champions 12 times, and State Champions twice, together they hold 13 school records, one was a Honorable Mention All-American and one was a Scholastic All-American. Together they have won 11 Diocesan Championships, 7 City Championships and participated in 6 State Tournaments. A truly remarkable group of athletes. Presenting these awards will be our Principal Bro. Roy George.

This year’s female recipient is a four year varsity athlete, She was the captain of a team that won 2 league championships and 3 Individual championships. She currently holds 5 school records and was the winner of the 500 freestyle in this years swimming championships the first event won by a Molloy swimmer since we started girls swimming. She is the best female swimmer in Molloy history and she is also a Scholastic All-American with a 92.33 average. She will be attending Loyola of Maryland on a swimming scholarship.

The Outstanding Female Senior Athlete is Caitlin Winkler

This year’rsquo;s male recipient is a two - sport athlete. He was team MVP of both sports he played. He was the League MVP, Playoff MVP. He was 1st team All League and finished the season as the 3rd leading scorer in the division. He led Molloy to its second City Championship in Hockey. In baseball, he is the leadoff hitter and starting shortstop for our baseball team which is still competing in the playoffs.

The Outstanding Male Senior Athlete is Patrick Brown.”

Spiritual

I had a great chat with Michael Germano, Director of Campus Ministries last week about the retreat program and activities of his office. We will be getting a year-end briefing in the next few weeks to catch us up on all of the wonderful activities our newest Stanners have done this year.

Non Scholae Sed Vitae — Class News, Notes and Events

Save the Date — Reunion time in Briarwood - November 1st 2008

The date is set for all classes ending in 3’s and 8’s.

The class of 1958 celebrating their 50th Anniversary, and the class of 1983 celebrating their 25th Anniversary Classes will receive their class medals.

The Class of 1958 has a lot of work to beat the class of 1957 who worked hard to find their St. Ann’s / Molloy Classmates… Class lists are available for anyone interested in becoming a class captain for this event. Call Charlie Flood in the Alumni Office and he will send you out the information to start your campaign. Registration is open on line and the class lists for 1983 and 1968 are already in circulation. Let’s make the reunions of 2008 the most memorable ever.

Class of ’03 — Brian Honeyman, pitched the Queens College baseball team to victory over University of Bridgeport recently. Listed as a “former Molloy stand-out” it seems as though he continues his development in college.

Class of ’04 — Chris Kaible was in the news recently for his prowess on the field as a pitcher, catcher and plate performer leading the team with 4 homers, 41 RBI and seven saves. Congrats, Chris for a job well done. Coach Curran is certainly proud of that performance.

Class of ’06 — Jenna Gilligan stopped in to see her former teachers and mentors and to walk the halls of Molloy prior to starting her summer vacation. Jenna attends the University of Scranton where she is majoring in English and Journalism. She is seeking a summer internship in Publishing. If there are any great summer opportunities for her in your publishing company or the publications department of your company please contact our office and we will forward her resume. Jenna was the recipient of the Alumni Award as a senior at Molloy. Her dedication to the school is obvious by her willingness to support the school with her time and visits.

Class of ’07 — Kasia Topczewska stopped in on her vacation from St. Joe’s in Brooklyn and shared some of her first year experiences with the newspaper, yearbook, Dance and service as a student ambassador for the school. She is pursuing a degree in Business and Marketing, and hopes to work in the world of fashion marketing when she gets her degree. She has worked as an intern at Donna Karen, and was glad to be “home” at Molloy this week.

Tom Kulig ’05 was also in the building this week and stopped by to make sure we were all behaving.

Class of ’76 — Fr. James Krische serves as pastor of St. Cecelia’s parish in Brooklyn. As with so many schools in the diocese, St. Cecelia’s school will be closing its doors at the end of this school year due to declining enrollments and increasing costs. This is a difficult time for any parish, and for the families and alumni who have supported this school for so many years. Please keep Father Krische and his parishioners in your prayers as they go through this anxious time.

Class of ’52 — St. Ann’s Academy — We heard from William Martin ’52 by way of his response to the annual fund. It seems as though he was reflecting on his time at St. Ann’s and realized that there was some unfinished business with the school. He worked through the alumni office to clear up the confusion and we were happy to locate and send him his original diploma from the archives.

Note to all St. Ann’s Graduates — This is your Alumni Association and we seek to obtain stories and memorabilia from the Academy for our display and archives. We will be updating the display case this summer and will have it in great shape for the November reunions — We will celebrate the classes of ’43, ’48, ’53 and ’58 graduates along with all of the classes ending in 3’s or 8’s with the exception of this year’s class.

Faculty Notes

Former Brother Edward Doran now Father Edward Doran celebrated his 25th Anniversary as a parish priest. He served Molloy as a teacher and continues to serve Molloy as a priest celebrating Mass here at various Alumni and School events. Before ordination, he was a member of the Marist community and taught at Marist H.S., Bayonne, N.J.; was a guidance counselor at Archbishop Molloy H.S., Briarwood, 1966-76. Father Doran earned his doctorate in counseling from St. John’rsquo;s University in 1973. Father Ed is pastor of St. Gerard Majeila parish, Hollis, will celebrate a Mass of thanksgiving at the church on the Feast of St. Gerard, Oct. 18, at 5 p.m.

Mrs. Teri Burke’s husband has experienced some health set-backs this week. We ask that you keep Teri and her family in your prayers as they work through these challenges.

Thought for the Week

Always make your future bigger than your past.