Editor’s note: The following article has been re-posted. We apologize that the original article did not quote the faculty accurately, but have taken steps as a newspaper to prevent future errors in reporting.
Every May, Jesuit students gather in the Terry Center for the year-end convocations to honor their classmates receiving awards for various accomplishments bestowed upon them throughout the school year. Similarly, every year faculty members at Jesuit also are honored at their own banquet for creativity, service, and other accomplishments that help to make Jesuit so special.
First, faculty members are recognized for the number of years they have served the Jesuit community and this year a few milestones
were hit. Most notably, senior counselor Mr. Jack Fitzsimmons celebrates his 25th year of service at Jesuit, saying, “It’s been an honor and a privilege to help form the students here at Jesuit. Jesuit has been a big part of my life. I’m a graduate here and I’ve done many different things and having the opportunity to guide the guys here has been very fulfilling.” Additionally, Ms. Elise Stewart was honored for her 20 years of service at Jesuit.
Spanish teacher Mr. Greg Nielson and Mr. Fritz Asche celebrate 15 years here at Jesuit. “I feel privileged,” says Nielson, “to work
someplace where teachers are allowed to foster learning rather than teaching to a test.” Honored for their 10 years of service are Ms. Ann Morton, Ms. Michele Williams, assistant principal Mr. Mark Knize, Mr. David Wright, and Mr. Erik Burrell. “I’ve been blessed to work in many capacities,” says Knize, “I’ve been really excited to be around all four grade levels with the jobs I’ve had to do and the job right now is very rewarding.”
The last honorees for their years were the 5-year faculty members including basketball coach Chris Hill, baseball coach Sean Gavin, Mr. Chris Blackwell, Mr. Joe Nava, assistant principal Mr. Ben Kirby, assistant basketball coach Jonathan Alexander, Dr. Todd Gruninger, Ms. Kelli Mattachione and Ms. Lisa Thompson. Chris Hill remarks, “I feel very lucky to have been here for five years. I think it’s a great place to work and I like the people I work with I like the kids. I have one of the best basketball coaching jobs at the high school level in the country.”
In addition to being recognized for their time spent at Jesuit, every year some faculty members are awarded special honors for excellence in education. This includes awards for innovation, connecting with students, overall service, and much more.
This year, the faculty member recognized for best representing a Jesuit education through the Hal F. Tehan Family award is Michele 
Williams. Williams, a math teacher, is most well known for her technology expertise in dealing with any iPad problems. History teacher Mr. Mark Batik was honored for his creativity and innovation with the Grimshaw Award, mostly for his work with the new iPads this year. “I was very honored by receiving the award. I felt that it was a validation of all of the work that I had invested in the use of iPads in the classroom. It has energized me for the next year to try continue to integrate the use of iPads in the classroom,” says Batik. Additionally, The Tynan Award was given to Ms. Tracy MacFarland, who was recognized for her closeness gained with students through extracurricular activities, specifically her work with the debate team.
Finally, the best-known award at Jesuit is the faculty award for excellence in overall service, the Patrick Koch Award. This year, the honor was given to theology teacher Mr. Keith Reese, who has consistently connected with his students and gone above and beyond to serve the Jesuit community. “Father Koch was the most loved priest to ever come through this school and to get an award that’s named after him is really important to me. He was just a holy, spiritual man and was very rich at heart,” says Reese, “and when I consider the quality of people who teach here and to know that it was because of student nomination that I was even nominated for this award was just an incredible experience. To hear what students wrote about me, those are moments that you live for.”
