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Guest Blog: FRIARS FOR LIFE

A Fenwick father explains why his highly regarded twin daughters — student-athletes Caroline and Cecilia Jenkins ’19 — are staying put at Fenwick instead of transferring to an elite, East Coast prep school.

By Paul Jenkins ’81

Cecilia Jenkins ’19

I can’t tell you how I felt when the call came in. I knew it was coming, and yet I hesitated to pick up the phone when I saw the number in my caller ID. One of the country’s premier boarding schools* was calling to offer my twin daughters scholarships for their senior year. Juniors at Fenwick, they needed only to say ‘yes’ to be carried away into the ivy-covered embrace of East Coast privilege.

They’re hockey players, and the head coach at the prep school had been recruiting them for years.  We’d been to visit the school several times. The coach had come to watch them play in tournaments around the U.S. and Canada. My wife and I had always said ‘no;’ we couldn’t see sending our youngest off to boarding school.

But the truth is, we all love that school. Imagine Hogwarts, filled with students who open every door; who greet every stranger by looking them in the eye and smiling; who almost uniformly go on to elite schools and then achieve greatness in life. Centuries of intellectual and athletic prowess seem to cling to the old stone walls of the place. The list of alumni reads like who’s who of American politics, literature and industry.

And we love the coach. He’s one of the most impressive people we’ve ever known. His athletes and his students adore him. We’d love to have our girls play for him.

I hung up the phone and told them it was official: They’d been tendered an offer and were on their way east. I was proud. I was sort of shocked. I was a little sad. My youngest would be moving away a year early.

But the girls said ‘no.’

Caroline Jenkins ’19

They couldn’t hold back their tears. They choked on those tears and it took both of them, together, to say, “We want to stay at Fenwick.” The floodgates opened:

  • They named teachers they wanted to thank at graduation.
  • They talked about their teammates — both hockey and water polo — and what they wanted to achieve with them as seniors.
  • They talked about classmates, coaches, carpools, dances, school plays, lunch-table discussions, the German Club, the Write Place and all the little things they’d be leaving behind if they took the offer.

All of those things, together, are the Fenwick experience.

I didn’t need to ask if they needed time to think about it.

In half-year’s time (God willing) there will be a couple of twin girls who will earn their diplomas with their classmates in the Fenwick class of 2019.  Their parents will likely continue to reflect on what might have been, but I don’t think they will. They made a mature, informed decision, and they’ve never looked back.

Fenwick is in their blood.

* The Hill School is a coeducational preparatory boarding school located on a 200-acre campus located approximately 35 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Annual tuition is $59,050 (for boarding students) for the 2018-19 academic year.

 

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Setting the Standard for Excellence

High achievements in academics and athletics have been intertwined at Fenwick for 90 years and counting.

By Ray Wicklander, Jr. ’55

Ray Wicklander, Jr., Fenwick Class of 1955

Editor’s note: Mr. Wicklander gave this speech at the Fenwick Athletic Awards ceremony 26 years ago, on November 30, 1992. From Oak Park and Ascension, Ray was a National Honor Society student who played football for four years for the Friars. He also spent two years swimming and on the staff of The Wick.

On a night similar to this, over 60 years ago in the old Morrison Hotel in downtown Chicago, a new upstart high school from Oak Park, called Fenwick, held its first athletic awards night. Over 900 people attended – in the height of the Depression – for two basic reasons:

  1. They were there to give recognition to the accomplishments of the first senior class – with a football record of 6-1 – who established themselves already as a force in the Catholic League.
  2. And to make a statement: that the standard of excellence on which Fenwick was established would always reflect itself in its athletic programs.

That was the beginning of a tradition – one of excellence and leadership that has made Fenwick what it is today.

Historic Night for Female Friars

Tonight we have an equally historic moment. For it is obvious that we are now a new Fenwick, where the Black and White of the Friars is worn by both young women as well as young men. A new tradition of excellence and leadership is beginning right now. And just as at the first athletic awards night, we are here for two reasons: to recognize the accomplishments of these athletes and to make a statement that the new Fenwick is committed to excellence and leadership in our sports.

We know that sports are not the only thing that makes a school great. None of you came to Fenwick only because of its sports program. But Fenwick would not be Fenwick without these programs. In Father Botthof’s words, Fenwick is unabashedly a college preparatory program. But it is also a life preparatory program, where we come to learn the lessons of how to succeed as human beings, as Christians, as parents or spouses or colleagues, no matter what path in life we follow.

Many of the most important lessons do not come from books. Tony Lawless often reminded us: “Don’t let the books get in the way of your education.” It is on the field, on the court, in the pool – it is in competition that we learn to get up if we have been knocked down, where we learn to handle a loss without becoming a loser. It is in competition that we come to be truly honest with ourselves. For we can fool others, even parents and bosses and even some teachers, but we can’t fool our teammates. We learn that with determination and commitment, anything is possible – so the word “limits” really has no meaning.

What It Means to Compete

The ’92 Fenwick Football Team

It is also in competition that we learn that we really don’t do that much on our own, that we need a team and that is what counts. So words like “Loyalty” and “Trust” have a special meaning for athletes. It is in this competition that we form bonds and friendships that are unique and hopefully will last all our lives. These are the lessons, the elements that create the elusive, hard-to-describe reality called School Spirit or Tradition. And it is this spirit that affects everything around you here at Fenwick.

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A Heartfelt Message of Gratitude, Forgiveness and Love

Families and students in attendance at the 2018 NHS Induction Ceremony heard a rare blend of wisdom and wit from Mr. Tom Draski – with famous quotations ‘peppered in’ for emphasis.

The Fenwick National Honor Society (NHS) recognized 147 seniors at this year’s induction ceremony held Oct. 14th at St. Vincent Ferrer Church in River Forest, IL. Science Teacher and Tennis Coach Mr. Tom Draski was invited to address the inductees and their parents. (Mr. Draski is the 2018 Rev. George Conway Outstanding Teacher Award Recipient.)

Mr. Draski

Mr. Draski prepared remarks mixed around teaching ideas, personal stories and quotations. His speech was themed around the NHS’s four pillars and on a personal message: Seven words that can make you rich.

1st NHS Pillar: Scholarship

Mr. Draski questioned the group on how smart they really were:

  • Are you smart enough to recognize good friends?
  • Smart enough to recognize the wisdom of their parents?
  • Smart enough to recognize what makes you happy?
  • Smart enough to see thru problems?
  • Smart enough to recognize how unique and special God made you?

To highlight these points, he employed quotes from Mark Twain, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Christiane Collange.

2nd NHS Pillar: Leadership

How do individuals inspire others to do more than they thought they could do? Are you a leader in your family, among your friends? Quotes used by Mr. Draski to highlight leadership came from John C. Maxwell, Robin Sharma and Mary Pickford.

3rd NHS Pillar: Service

Mr. Draski stressed remembering service, to each other, to our country, to our planet and to God.

  • Service is our beliefs and thoughts turned into action.
  • Service can happen all the time, not once in a while.
  • Service is sharing peace with others.

Quotes used to highlight this pillar came from Saint Mother Teresa, Sister Mary Macaluso and Mary Kay Ash.

4th NHS Pillar: Character

What is character?

  • If you have character, you always do your best.
  • If you have character, you are a person with a giving heart.
  • If you have character, you know the real secret of happiness.
  • If you have character, you look on the bright side.
  • If you have character, you know what is important to fight for.

Quotes used to highlight character came from John McCain, Thomas Edison, J.M. Barrie, Henry Ward Beecher and Abraham Lincoln.

After talking about the four pillars of NHS, Mr. Draski gave the group a message on how to become rich. It involves investing in the use of seven words. These seven words may not make you rich financially, but your heart will overflow with treasure:

THANK YOU

Mr. Draski emphasized the importance of using these words to anyone who has made an impact on your life in many different ways — from teachers, to coaches, to friends and classmates, to relatives, to people you meet only once in your life, and especially to your parents. (Quotes used in this section by Mr. Draski were by Albert Schweitzer, Georgia O’Keefe, and Confucius.)

I’M SORRY

Mr. Draski mentioned times we put off saying we are sorry. Don’t put it off. Feel a weight lifted from you and gain respect from another. (Quotes: from Louisa May Alcott.)

I LOVE YOU

Practice saying I love you often. Don’t be afraid of saying I love you. Tell your friends you love them. Tell your parents you love them. And tell all the rest of the remarkable people in the world who have made you who you are, “I love you.” Mr. Draski used quotes in this section from Walter Winchell, Jennie Churchill, the Bible-Leviticus 19:18 and Erma Bombeck. “I love you all,” he told the church audience.

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Fenwick Junior Spent Two Weeks as a Cardiothoracic Surgical Intern

The adjective resourceful doesn’t even begin to describe Xonhane Medina, an ambitious teenager who excels in the classroom and in the pool as a girls’ water polo player.

By Mark Vruno

If there’s one thing that Fenwick go-getter Xonhane Medina doesn’t lack, it’s heart.

Most 16-year-olds can’t pronounce the medical term cardiothoracic, let alone know what is means. But last summer, Fenwick student Xonhane Medina ’20 — now a junior — spent two weeks in Northern California as a cardiothoracic intern at Stanford University. (For the record, cardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of organs inside the thorax — generally treatment of conditions of the heart and lungs.)

Fenwick Girls’ water polo head coach Jack Wagner has a hard enough time pronouncing Medina’s first name. He affectionately calls her “Shawn.” And anyone who knows the gruff exterior of Wagner knows that Jack doesn’t brag. Here he was, however, bragging about Xonhane – not about her MCAC All-Conference status as a sophomore last season (his Friars took second in state, by the way). He was boasting about this phenomenal internship she orchestrated.

“This kid, she set up her own funding!” he exclaimed.

Every day, Medina received a new pig heart on which to slice and clamp.

Due in part to being a huge fan of the “Grey’s Anatomy” TV series when she was younger, Ms. Medina was interested in doing some type of a medical-related internship. She began her search online. Her cousin’s fiancée is a pediatric surgeon at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in Palo Alto, CA, so Stanford was on her proverbial radar. A similar opportunity at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, also had captured her attention.

“I knew they were a reach,” Ms. Medina admits. For one thing, Xonhane knew her family could not afford the $6,500 price tag. Yet, as the late advertising guru Leo Burnett once said: “When you reach for the stars you may not quite get one, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud either.” So, Xonhane reached high.

Not knowing how to begin the process, she reached out to Paul Morgan, a director at the Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund, who became her educational sponsor.  Medina is one of the Fenwick students receiving financial aid from the Murphy organization, which for 29 years has been providing high school scholarship assistance and educational support to Chicago students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

She reached higher, next asking for letters of recommendation from Fenwick teachers, including Andy Arellano (speech) and Shana Wang (English) as well as, of course, Wagner, her coach. In early March she received her letter of acceptance. Subsequently, she received $4,000 from the Oak Park-based Farther Foundation. She put that money toward the $3,000 housing fee and air fare. She had enough money left over to buy some Stanford sweaters. “That was literally the only thing I bought,” reveals Medina, who, when she’s not doing homework or working out in the basement pool at Fenwick, works weekends as a cashier downtown at Navy Pier.

Internship Itinerary

The Cardiothoracic Surgical Skills and Education Center Stanford Summer Internship is designed to educate high school and pre-medical students considering careers in science, medicine and public health in basic and advanced cardiovascular anatomy and physiology as well as medical and surgical techniques that will be used in pre-medical and medical school. In 2018 the two-week experience ran from June 24 – July 7.

The typical morning (9:30 a.m. – 12 noon) was dominated by lectures, according to Medina. Anatomy of the entire body was led by a pair of third-year medical students. Then, discussions on different types of surgeries were led by senior scientist Paul A. Chang, co-founder of the Cardiothoracic Surgical Skills and Education Center. She learned that there are two main heart surgeries: 1) valve replacements and 2) coronary artery bypass grafts.

Xonhane clamped onto her two-week internship experience on the West Coast.

After lunch came four full hours of hands-on, laboratory time. “This was my favorite thing,” Xonhane offers, enthusiastically. Each day, she and her lab partner received a new pig heart on which to slice and clamp. They learned how to use several cardiovascular, surgical instruments, such as:

  • forceps: a pair of pincers or tweezers used in surgery or in a laboratory.
  • Debakey forceps: a type of atraumatic tissue forceps used in vascular procedures to avoid tissue damage during manipulation. (They are typically large, and have a distinct coarsely ribbed grip panel, as opposed to the finer ribbing on most other tissue forceps.)
  • Gerald Tissue Forceps: a light- to intermediate-weight instrument with very narrow tips specifically used to handle delicate tissue. They are often used in cardiothoracic procedures. About seven inches in length with serrated tips, Geralds feature 1 x 2 teeth to securely grasp the tissue, but also have a stop peg to prevent an overly harsh grasp that may crush the tissue.
  • Mayo: Straight-bladed Mayo scissorsare designed for cutting body tissues near the surface of a wound.
  • aortic cross-clamps: surgical instruments used in cardiac surgery to clamp the aorta and separate the systemic circulation from the outflow of the heart.

She and her partner even had to apply sutures or stitches to aorta-dissected hearts. “We had competitions [with other interns] to see who could stitch the fastest,” Medina reports. “We also competed to see how fast we could ligate six [blood] vessels on the aorta.” The athlete in Xonhane liked the contests, but the fierce competitor is quick to point out that she came to Fenwick for academics — not for water polo.

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Guest Blog: WHY DONATE TO FENWICK?

As 2018 draws to a close, an alumnus shares his personal story about the importance of all alumni Friars giving back to their beloved high school alma mater.

By Jack Flynn ’51

Jack Flynn, Fenwick Class of 1951

When I graduated from Fenwick in 1951 and moved on to the University of Notre Dame, I discovered that I was better prepared for college than many of my classmates. I also thought that I was at Fenwick during their Golden Years with almost a complete staff of Dominican priests in every position except athletics.

When my son, Michael, graduated from Fenwick in 1977 and went to Michigan, he also found that he was much more prepared for college than most of his classmates. He also discovered that he had such a wonderful group of Fenwick classmates that it was great to get a job in Chicago and be socially engaged with the same pals he had in high school, plus some from grammar school.

“Young men and women with strong learning skills, faith and discipline can succeed even during these difficult times.” – Fenwick Friar Jack Flynn

 

Jack’s son, Michael, graduated from Fenwick in 1977. (Photo courtesy of NAI Hiffman.)

Now I have four grandchildren who have graduated from Fenwick and seem to be on a path to do better than the parents or their grandparents. [One grandson presently is a junior.] Young men and women with strong learning skills, faith and discipline can succeed even during these difficult times. It takes great leadership and strong support from alumni and friends to keep Fenwick at the top of its game.

High school is very important in the development of young people, and I would guess that 80% of the students are indebted to Fenwick for a good portion of their success in college – and that carries forward. Close to 100% of the students that were serious about doing well in high school are probably delighted by the outcome.

We should all step forward to support Fenwick with a meaningful gift. Fenwick is not asking you for a great sacrifice, but at least to do something that indicates you feel good about the education you received.

Please consider making a gift today.

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Advent Has Come!

Bishop Barron tell us, “The only way up is down.”

By Brother Joseph Trout, O.P.

Welcome to Advent! This is one of my favorite seasons of the church year, though it can easily get lost, sandwiched between Thanksgiving and Christmas. That really is a shame because of how odd this season is: We begin by thinking about the end of the world. Yes, the Catholic Church begins its new liturgical year and the build-up to Christmas by pondering the end of time.

Of course, we claim the return of Christ in the last days truly is what we all want because he will put an end to suffering and injustice, so it’s not exactly a doomsday message. However, it is still sobering to ponder where all of life is going and to wrestle with the truth that we don’t live in a particularly just world now. I don’t know about you, but I would love for a world without “harm or ruin,” as the prophets promise. I’d also love to live in a world where I don’t make any mistakes that cause pain around me. Alas, that is not this world yet.

That is why advent is a season of hope — hope for the coming of perfect mercy and justice. It’s a gritty virtue for people in need, not the fluffy one often imagined. It’s the virtue of being on a journey towards God and trusting goodness really will reign one day. It’s for those who don’t have everything they want and know they need something more. We need Christ, the light who shines in the darkness. We also need to ponder the darkness if we want to appreciate the light.

Though it says nothing about advent or Christmas, I find Bishop Barron’s video, “Dante and the Spiritual Journey,” a great way to get this season of hope started. Dante’s Divine Comedy tells of the life as a pilgrim and the ways we can get lost on the journey. Barron’s line that catches me every time I watch the video is: “The only way up is down.”

Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Robert E. Barron

Without spoiling the video for you, Barron reminds us that we have to wrestle with the reality of our sins, the limits of earthly life and finite creation if we ever really want to find joy. We can’t receive the love of God and others this season if we don’t let go of selfishness first. After all, ’tis the season of paradoxes where we begin at the end and embrace the omnipotent God of justice in the form of a defenseless child. So why not go down to go up first?

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Forever Friars: Ronald C. Smith, Class of 1951

Known as “Red Dog,” the U.S. Navy veteran and long-time teacher of the law was 84 years old.

Ronald Charles Smith, Professor Emeritus at The John Marshall Law School, died at about 2:30 a.m. on October 19, 2018, at St. Benedict’s Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Niles, IL, where he had lived for several months while undergoing treatment. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Mary Ann Scherer Smith; his sons, Michael (Liv Rainey) Smith and Matthew (Carolyn Chandler) Smith; his goddaughter,  Margaret Thompson Blumberg, and his cousins Philip, Jonathan and Mark Thompson.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, December 16, 2018, between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. at Loyola University’s Piper Hall, 970 West Sheridan Road, in Chicago.  Free parking is available at the Loyola lot at Sheridan and Winthrop.

The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be made to The Ronald C. Smith Scholarship Fund at the Rickover Naval Academy High School, 5900 North Glenwood, Chicago, IL, 60660. Please make checks payable to Friends of Rickover/Smith Scholarship.  Or donations can be made on-line at www.friendsofrickover.org.  As Ron was a devoted U.S. Navy veteran and a strong supporter of the education, this would be a most fitting memorial.

Ron Smith at Fenwick (1951)

Ron Smith was born in Chicago on December 9, 1933, and grew up mostly in the Chicago area. He graduated from Fenwick High School in Oak Park in 1951, and received a B.S. in Humanities from Loyola University in 1955. In college, he earned several honors and participated in many activities, most notably debate and the student newspaper. After teaching speech at Loyola for a year, he joined the U.S. Navy in 1956 as a naval helicopter pilot and personnel officer. In 1962, he left active duty to enter law school but remained a Naval reservist until retiring as a Lieutenant-Commander in 1977. (While in the Navy, Ron, a “seadog” with bright red hair, acquired the nickname “Red dog,” which he had the rest of his life.)

Ron attended Loyola (Chicago) University Law School from 1962 to 1965, writing for the law review and taking part in law school activities. After graduation, he clerked for Justice John V. McCormick of the Illinois Appellate Court in 1965-1966. During that year, a law school friend, Janice Metros Johnston, said that her husband Gil was running the legal writing program at The John Marshall Law School and suggested Ron apply to be an adjunct.  That post began his long association with John Marshall.

After the clerkship in 1966, Ron was a legal counsel for the Santa Fe Railroad, where he learned about governmental regulation and administrative procedure. In 1968 Dean Noble W. Lee asked him to come to JMLS. Ron taught many different courses but eventually specialized in constitutional law and criminal law.

In 1968, when Illinoisans voted to hold a constitutional convention, Ron decided to run with Elmer Gertz, a lawyer who lived in Ravenswood and Albany Park area near Ron, to be delegates to the convention. Elmer, a noted civil rights lawyer, and Ron ran as a team against two “machine” candidates backed by the regular organization of the Cook County Democratic Party. When the convention met on December 8, 1969, Ron and Elmer took their seats as members of the convention allied to the “independent bloc” of about ten delegates. Ron was a member of the Committee on the Executive, where he sponsored the amendatory veto provision.

Prof. Smith’s bio photo for John Marshall Law School.

In 1972 Ron ran for the Democratic nomination for the Illinois State Senate.  The party regulars conspired to deprive him of the seat by running a candidate who would win, but then resign the nomination in favor of a replacement chosen by the party.  Ron’s lawsuit, Smith v. Cherry, 489 F.2d 1098 (1974), was a notable federal elections lawsuit until legislation changed the situation. Unwilling to leave government life, he served as a member of Governor Walker’s Ethics Board, among other appointed positions, while continuing to teach at John Marshall until 2014.

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The Myth of Science vs. Religion

By Father Richard Peddicord, O.P.

Dr. Stephen Barr visited Fenwick’s Professional Development Day on Friday, September 14.

A recent Pew Research Center national poll revealed that a majority of Americans believe that science and religion are “mostly in conflict” with each other.  In light of this, people may be surprised to learn that the theorist behind the Big Bang Theory (Georges Lemaître), the founder of genetics (Gregor Mendel), the father of modern geology (Niels Stensen), and the discoverer of sunspots (Christoph Scheiner) were all Catholic priests. It’s as if the 17th century Galileo affair is taken as the norm for understanding the relationship between science and religion—when, according to Dr. Stephen Barr, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Delaware, the Catholic Church has been one of the greatest patrons of the sciences.

Fenwick also welcomed Dr. Chris Baglow from Notre Dame.
Dr. Philip Sakimoto, also from Notre Dame.

Dr. Barr was at Fenwick High School on September 14th to engage theology and science teachers from around the Archdiocese of Chicago on the relationship between science and religion. The day-long in-service day was sponsored by the Science & Religion Initiative of the McGrath Institute for Church Life of the University of Notre Dame. It was organized by Fenwick’s Theology Department Chair, Br. Joseph Trout, O.P., and Science Department Chair, Marcus McKinley. Dr. Barr was joined by colleagues Dr. Chris Baglow (above) and Dr. Philip Sakimoto (left) — both of the University of Notre Dame.

According to Br. Trout, like Americans in general, a good number of high school students believe that science and religion are implacable enemies. Their sense is that one must choose one or the other. Moreover, many believe that science has outright disproved religious truth claims. When all is said and done, there is a sense that accepting the theory of evolution means that one must deny the existence of God.

In his presentation, Dr. Baglow admitted that some Christian groups do indeed attack and deny Darwin’s theory of evolution. They hold that it is contrary to biblical teaching. They espouse a literalist interpretation of the Book of Genesis, and deny the overwhelming consensus of the scientific community on the propriety of an evolutionary account of the origins of the cosmos, life and humanity. This is a real conflict; one cannot harmonize the science of biological evolution with a literal read of the first three chapters of Genesis.

A dialog between faith and reason

His Holiness Pope Pius XII

The Catholic tradition of theological reflection, however, is not committed to a literal approach to biblical exegesis. Over 1,500 years ago, St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) espoused a metaphorical and symbolic approach to interpreting the sacred text. St. Thomas Aquinas (c. 1224-1274) argued that the Bible teaches that God created the world, but “the manner and the order according to which creation took place concerns faith only incidentally.” In the 20th century, Pope Pius XII’s encyclical Humani generis paved the way for Catholics to hold that God creates through the process of evolution. Theological propositions can and do develop over time, given the growth of human knowledge and more penetrating insights into reality.

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Summer of Service

By Grace Vomacka ’20

Juniors at Fenwick are required to complete 30 hours of service to fulfill the third year of the Christian Service Project. For freshman year, students participate in a charity initiative in their Theology classes. Sophomores spend a day visiting people in need around Chicago and its suburbs. Junior year is when our service becomes more independent. Although a list of pre-approved volunteer sites is provided, it is really up to us to decide where we want to serve.

The purpose of the Christian Service Project is to serve people who are considered poor or in need. Our ministry experiences introduce us to Christ in unexpected places. Many juniors struggle with figuring out where they want to serve.

Since the year I went into seventh grade, I have spent one or two days a week each summer at Soaring Eagle Academy, a school [in Lombard, IL] for kids with autism and related disorders, which are commonly viewed as a severe disadvantage to a child. The students often struggle with academic and social interactions. (See sidebar.) At Soaring Eagle, students develop interaction and communication skills while achieving higher levels of learning.

Many parents of children with autism decide to enroll their kids in a school such as Soaring Eagle. Therefore, a large number of my peers do not often interact with students who are affected by autism, so these students are often overlooked. Christ spoke for all people while he lived on earth, and he showed intense companionship and love to them. Christ is present in the students of Soaring Eagle in the boundless love they spread.

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