Though Jesuit students may have deviated slightly from the recording, the final singing of the Jesuit Alma Mater clearly marked a moment of unity in the senior class as it was the last time the entire school would gather to sing it. Getting a bunch of high school guys to sing out loud is definitely an accomplishment in its own right, but to have the entire school overpower the cantors and make the moment theirs is something else altogether. Reverberating off the walls, the words “Brotherhood” and “Friendship” from the Alma Mater stand as a reminder that, though the senior class will be physically separated, they will always stand together as the Jesuit brothers.
- Grant Uy & Sam Veatch receive the Brother Burt Rivet, S.J. Award
Echoing the sentiment, Valedictorian Grant Uy said that the convocations had an “eerie awareness” due to the fact that it “would be the last time [the seniors] all sat together, in uniform, on campus.”
Grant still points out that the convocation is still not too different from the Junior Convocation only one year ago. However, one difference can be seen quite clearly: the type of awards. While the convocations of the years before have been both an end of a year and a step forward into the next, Senior Convocations include only the final achievements of the graduating class.
Grant, who received several awards, says that he is most proud of the recognition he received from his time in the yearbook. Though he had many to choose from, Grant singled out this one award because of the pride he takes in his hard work since sophomore year. However, the part of the convocation that stood out the most to Grant was the recognition of the Robotics Team’s world championship victory. Describing the moment as “surreal,” he didn’t “think anyone would have ever dreamed of [them] winning it all.” After having put their full focus, time, and energy into a project for four months, Grant described the victory and the recognition as “the perfect capstone to our Jesuit careers,” surpassing all other awards that he could have received.
- Editor-in-Chief, Aaron Stonecipher, receives the Bishop Lynch Award.
Senior counselor Mr. Oglesby stated that the most prestigious award would be the Bishop Lynch Award, mostly because it is the award that is “voted on by the faculty” and “is most representative of the Jesuit mission.” To quote from the description of the award given at convocations, the award is a “recognition of scholastic achievement, combined with character, leadership, participation in extra-curricular activities, and service on behalf of the school and the wider community,” so it is clear to see why it holds so much significance.
This year, Aaron Stonecipher, Editor-in-Chief of The Roundup, received this great award. Starting his Jesuit career determined to get a spot on the varsity football roster, Aaron soon found himself sidelined indefinitely with fractures in his back that would prevent him from participating in any further sports. Eventually, he made the transition away from the gridiron, stepping out of his comfort zone and challenging himself, eventually ending up involved in theater, iPanel, The Roundup, and campus ministry. This diaspora into the Jesuit experience, however, was never aimed at winning the award, Aaron says. “There were so many guys that I thought could and would get [the Bishop Lynch Award] because of the awards they had gotten freshman, sophomore, and junior year, so I didn’t think I would.” Aaron believes that he “tried making the most out of [his] experience at Jesuit” and that that was the most significant factor that helped him win the award. Although a difficult journey, he developed characteristics of the graduate and was able to experience all aspects of Jesuit.
Aaron’s heart began to race, his odds quickly increasing as each of the prospecting Bishop Lynch Award nominees’ names were called out for different awards. From initially feeling lucky to be considered before the announcement to finally having his name called out, Aaron says he simply couldn’t believe it. “It was probably the happiest I ever been,” due to the relief from the agonizing month of thinking how honored he would be to receive the prestigious award. Heightened by the fact that Aaron has never received the Men for Others Award or anything similar, the moment was “surreal” and, even now, he has a hard time believing he has been awarded this “true blessing.”
With regards to his journey, he advised that people, “Have an open mind…Don’t just stick to one thing at Jesuit because Jesuit has so much stuff to offer.” A very well-rounded member of the Jesuit community, Stonecipher said “I’ve been in every corner of the school in terms of what it has to offer and I still wish I had done more, and I’ve done a lot.” He mainly attributes his award to his ability and opportunity to form “really strong, personal relationships with teachers” and knowing them on a personal level. Leaving a lasting legacy behind, Stonecipher modeled the traits of the Bishop Lynch Award and will surely go on to do great things in the world beyond 12345 Inwood Rd.
- Michael Barale, Michael Bejarano, Emmanuel Salazar receive the “Man for Others” Award.
After this award, Mr. Oglesby noted that no award ceremony will ever be able to recognize every worthy student, so we must recognize that the awarded students “are worthy but in some ways they also represent all students who work hard to do their best.” He suggests that when it is time to give out awards it is good to remember the Prayer for Generosity. When asked what award he would make if he could, Mr. Oglesby said he believes that Jesuit has just the right amount of awards but he is thankful for the opportunity that the seniors can receive the Magis Award. “[The award] represent[s] those seniors who often do the ‘more’ or who give and truly not seek reward on a daily basis but give in a quiet and steady way.” And finally, unlike Grant, Mr. Oglesby thinks the convocations have a more relaxed and less formal feel to them, at least in comparison to graduation. He especially enjoys that fact the seniors are able to participate in the Special Games and that the “whole Senior Day is a good way to celebrate a class and do a day of service.”
Whether a senior concentrates on the finality of the convocations, the Special Games afterwards, or the awards, this ceremony marks the beginning of the bittersweet end to a major period of their lives. As Grant said, this is the last time the seniors, as a single class in uniform, would congregate at school. While they may be moving away from their Jesuit brothers next fall, it does not mean that the Class of 2014 will ever break apart.
Full list of award recipients:
Computer Science
Visual Basic N.E.T – Matthew Khoury
AP Computer Programming – Mauricio Narvaez
Honors Advanced Java – Grant Uy
English
English 4 – American Literature WW II – Will Farrell
AP Language & Composition – Adrian Bertulfo & Max Miller
Honors English Seminar – Matthew Boss
Fine Arts
Art 2 – Luke Curran
Art 4 – Julian Michiels
Ceramics 1 – Parker Rice
Advanced Ceramics 2 – Buck Lyon
Theater Directing – John Jackson
Stagecraft – Matthew Bedard
Band – Steven Lee & Peter Park
Jazz History & Improv 1 – Stephen Yaeger
Foreign Language
Spanish 4 – Nick Lanpher
AP Spanish – Justin Rubenstein
AP French – Ben Thomas
Honors Latin 4 – A. J. Zaugg
Mathematics
Statistics – Nick Chaffin & Killian Womack
Pre-Calculus – Corey Hazelbaker & Brett Williams
Honors Pre-Calculus – Nick Lanpher
AP AB Calculus – Trevor Johnson & Nick Hayes
AP BC Calculus – Erik Furton & Matthew Khoury
TXML and the AMC12 – Grant Uy
Science
Anatomy & Physiology – Matthew Bender & Parker Wilson
AP Biology – Trevor Johnson
Marine Biology – Jeff Melsheimer
Forensic Science – Nick Garza
Engineering Ace – Dylan Dotter
Engineering PMM – Sam Veatch
AP Chemistry – Matthew Bedard
AP Physics C – Mechanical – Eric Furton
AP Physics C – Electrical – Matthew Khoury
AP Physics B – Ross Minigutti
Genes and Evolution – Pierce Durham
Social Studies
International Relations – Alex Mcintyre
Psychology – Trey Guckian & Max Miller & Joe Wengierski
Historical Concepts of War – Alex Bain
Government – Jason Nguyen
AP Government – Trevor Johnson
Contemporary Issues – Andrew Chittor
Mass Media/Cultural Studies – Rick Honrales
Collapse of Civilizations – Charlie Patrick
AP Human Geography – Nick Hayes
AP Psychology – Thomas Spottiswood
AP Comp Politics – Thomas Salyer
Economics – John Jackson & Matthew Khoury
AP Macro Economics – Sam Rosenberg
Theology
History of the Catholic Church – Mauricio Narvaez
Christian Relationships – Adrian Bertulfo & Jack Ford
Inter-Religious Dialogue – Matthew Bedard & Justin Rubenstein
UIL Academic Competitions
3rd In Spelling and Vocabulary in District – Matthew Boss
Mathematics Team Placing 3rd in District – Grant Uy & Erik Furton
Number Sense Team Placing 3rd in District – Grant Uy
Calculator Applications Team Placing 2nd in District – Grant Uy & Erik Furton
Extracurricular Activities
Junior Classical League – Mauricio Narvaez
The History Club – Jerray Dewa
Jesuit Stage and Film – John Jackson
Medical Society – Patrick Arraj & In Han Hong
The Roundup – Justin Rubenstein & Aaron Stonecipher
The Jesuit Journal – Grant Uy
St. Peter Canisius Award – Aaron Stonecipher
Brother Burt Rivet, S.J. Award – Grant Uy & Sam Veatch
The “Silver Buckle” Award – Jacob Przada
S.A.F.E. – Richey Burns
Community Service Leadership – Robert Brandao & Barrett Granger & Matthew Khoury & Sean Lyden & Miguel Sotelo & Justin Stewart
Hearts on Fire – John Michael Lucido & Aaron Stonecipher
The Student Council Award – Mason Amelotte
The E.L. Hohman Award – Chris Lanyon & Chris Wolff
Jesuit’s Robotics Team – Kyle Wolf
Appointment to the United States Military Academy
Cory Hazelbaker
Senior Magis Awards
Jimmy Buckley
Patrick Finegan
Thomas Salyer
Andrew Pott
Brice Tsao
Joseph Thomas Wunderlick Award
Sam Rosenberg
Ad Astra Award
Chris Mccall
Justin Rotich
Aloysius Gonzaga Award
Matthew Khoury
‘Man For Others’ Award
Michael Barale
Michael Bejarano
Emmanuel Salazar
Jesuit Secondary Education Association Award
Mason Amelotte
The Bishop Lynch Award
Aaron Stonecipher
