More circumstance than pomp

The Class of 2017 will graduate the first Sunday in June. The official kickoff, however, was the fourth Wednesday in May, when the seniors, their parents, and the entire school gathered to celebrate the Baccalaureate Mass and Honors Convocation.

It’s more circumstance than pomp. A family affair.

This is my second year as a senior parent, my daughter having graduated last year and my son graduating this year. Of all the senior-related events, this one is my favorite. It justifies the journey and lays to rest any doubts.

Is Catholic school the best choice? Is it worth the financial sacrifice? Can a small school adequately prepare a child for college and career?

Yes. Yes. And, yes.

This year Bishop Paul Bradley celebrated the Mass. Our seniors entered the church before him, two by two, in their caps and gowns. Students, staff, and alumni smiled, while parents crane their necks and snapped the first of many pictures.

Bishop Bradley gave a beautiful homily to the seniors about remembering where they came from and staying connected to Jesus no matter where they’re going. These are messages they have heard all their lives.

Together we shared the Eucharist and crossed ourselves after the final blessing.

Directly afterward – well, after pictures, pictures, and more pictures – everyone gathered in the parish center for the Honors Convocation. Awards, pins, plaques and certificates lined the tables at the front of the room. The buzz of conversation and congratulations fell only when Fr. Simon Majooran called everyone to prayer.

One by one, teachers and community leaders took the podium. They recognized students for academics and service. They gave scholarships and departmental awards. They offered their congratulations.

This is more than a list of names and polite clapping. This is personal, especially when it comes to awarding the BCACS Foundation scholarships. Often it is alumni or family of alumni who founded these scholarships. Often these families present the award themselves, their dedication to the school echoing through their comments. Often we remember those we lost, putting down our cameras to dab our eyes.

The clapping is heartfelt. Every name, every time.

After Fr. Simon closed with prayer, the buzz returned in earnest, as fresh congratulations were said, not just to one, but to all. There’s no inner circle here.

The Class of 2017 was offered $3.1 million in scholarships, a staggering number on the shoulders of 38 kids. But these kids stand on the shoulders of hundreds, stretching back 100 years to St. Philip’s first graduating class in 1917. Most importantly, they stand on the shoulders of Christ.

It’s a family affair.

Convocation highlights are below. Check out our “Senior Spotlight” blogs to learn more about these amazing seniors.

Class of 2017 Highlights:

All together now

The Class of 2017 was offered
over $3.1 million in scholarships.

That's a new record!

• This class completed over 1,000 hours of community service this year.
• Twenty seniors completed the St. Philip Senior Internship Program, while others completed internship programs at the Calhoun Area Career Center and the Battle Creek Area Math and Science Center.
• Seven seniors dual-enrolled in college classes.
• Fifteen seniors enrolled in AP classes at St. Philip, with more taking AP classes at the Battle Creek Area Math and Science Center.
• This class received an average 1130 on the SAT; 14 qualify for the Michigan Competitive Scholarship (1200 or higher on the SAT).
• The average passing score for seniors taking AP tests in 2016 was 86%.
• All seniors completed a Senior Capstone project, with three moving on to compete in the finals.
• This class has a senior aspiring to be a priest and another senior aspiring to be a nun.
• This class has a Kellogg Community College Gold Key Scholar and a Trustee Scholar.
• Several seniors received athletic scholarships and will continue to play their sport at the college level.
• We have a senior who won a state-level culinary competition. She will represent Michigan in the national competition this June.

“Oh, the places they’ll go!”

Alma College (1 student)

Grand Rapids Community College (1 student)

Grand Valley State University (1 student)

Indiana State University (1 student)

Kalamazoo College (2 students)

Kellogg Community College (15 students)

Michigan State University (1 student)

Mississippi State University (1 student)

Siena Heights University (1 student)

Spring Arbor University (1 student)

St. Thomas Aquinas College (1 student)

University of Dayton (1 student)

University of Michigan (5 students)

University of Nebraska - Lincoln (1 student)

Western Michigan University (3 students)

Military (2 students)

Senior Spotlight: Joey Gallaway, Emily Cutshall, Jacob Janofski, & Chelsea Kubasiak

Joey Gallaway

Joey Gallaway has a heart for service and an eye on the stars.

He served an electrical apprenticeship at the Regional Manufacturing Technical Center working with circuits and transformers. Enjoying the work, he decided to pursue his studies at Lansing Community College.

Why Lansing?

“My cousin is up there,” Joey said. “He has had a lot of surgeries. I wanted to go up there to be close to him and help him out.”

Joey also had his eye on the air force, particularly in aerospace engineering. This spring he took the practice ASFAB, the test the military uses to assess aptitude and future placement.

“I got a really good score on it,” Joey said. “After that, I looked up all the jobs and what my score applies to.”

Aerospace engineering was on the list.

After some consideration, Joey decided to enlist now, serving his country and reaching for the stars.

Emily Cutshall

Emily Cutshall got more than she bargained for while interning at the law firm of Tomak, Podolsky & Hultink.

“I got really lucky with my internship,” Emily said.

Emily helped write judgments and orders. She observed real trials, some of which involved difficult circumstances.

“That experience taught me that I am going to have to learn how to stomach things that make me uncomfortable if I want to become an attorney,” Emily said.

Emily conducted a mock client interview, which included drafting a motion she will argue in front of Judge Yost Johnson.

“I had to be professional but also caring and compassionate,” Emily said. “Lawyers must be attorneys and counselors for their clients.”

Emily did so well the law firm offered her a summer job as a paralegal.

Attending Kellogg Community College this fall to “stay fresh”, Emily will study pre-law at Thomas Aquinas College or Hillsdale in 2018.

Jacob Janofski

Jacob Janofski’s future is wide open.

“I have considered so many careers,” Jacob said. “Real estate was last year. Now I’m leaning towards business. I wanted to be a teacher at one point. There are so many.”

When it came to his senior internship, Jacob heard Kyra Rabbitt, director of student services, talking about the Battle Creek Police Department intern program. He thought it would be interesting.

“It was super fun,” Jacob said. “I really enjoyed it.”

He rotated through the station, accompanied officers on ridealongs, worked in the drug lab, observed trails, and participated in active shooter training.

In the end, it wasn’t for him.

“I don’t think I want to be a cop,” Jacob said. “I think I would be too nice.”

Jacob plans to continue his career exploration at Kellogg Community College this fall.

“I just want to figure out what I want to do,” Jacob said.

Chelsea Kubasiak

Chelsea Kubasiak wants to work in healthcare. She isn’t sure where, but she knows where it won’t be.

“Something in the medical field that is not a doctor but not nursing, but definitely in the healthcare field,” Chelsea said.

Taking her father’s suggestion, this honor roll student entered the Calhoun Area Career Center’s 21^st Century Health program.

“I loved it,” Chelsea said.

While there, she completed clinical rotations in the emergency room, wound care, occupational therapy, neuroscience, and dentistry.

“I hated all of them,” Chelsea said with a chuckle. “I just keep ruling stuff out. Everything I want to do I go job-shadow and it’s not for me.”

Chelsea will graduate in the top ten of her class. She dual-enrolled at Kellogg Community College during high school, taking classes in anatomy and physiology. This fall, she will continue her studies at KCC, looking for her place in the healthcare field.

St. Joe students walk for miles and miles and miles...

Rounding the schoolyard

You can see them during morning drop-off at St. Joseph Elementary School – students as young as five and as old as fifth-graders circling the school grounds, stopping only to swipe a card before taking off again.

You will see them again during lunch recess, racking up hundreds of miles within the friendly confines of their schoolyard.

This is Operation Fit, a six-week, city-wide fitness program for elementary students funded through a Battle Creek Community Foundation grant. Ann Gallagher, St. Joseph preschool aide, heads up St. Joe’s effort.

“Our goal as a school and a community is to get kids moving,” Ms. Gallagher said.

Ms. Gallagher tailored St. Joseph’s Mileage Club to fit the grant criteria. Students walk the schoolyard along a specific route. After each circuit, they swipe a personal bar code into an iPad app, which tracks their progress.

Tracking their progress

Eight laps equal a mile and every mile gets students closer to prizes like mileage tokens, wristbands, T-shirts, water bottles, lunch with the principal, even Full Blast day passes.

Participation is voluntary; so is walking.

“They can run, they can skip – I don’t care how they do it as long as they are moving,” Ms. Gallagher said.

On May 3^rd, St. Joseph hosted an Operation Fit Family Fun Night with Bronson Battle Creek. Healthy recipe demonstrations and taste-testing were followed by more time on the blacktop.

“We ate first and they were able to walk for an hour,” Ms. Gallagher said. “Some kids did 30 laps that evening.”

Ms. Gallagher tracks miles before school and during lunch recess – times that are open to all elementary students. At the end of the six weeks, the top boy and top girl will receive a Razor scooter.

[l to r] Kolten Etheridge, Ann Gallagher, and Ryan Casterline

Second-grader Kolten Etheridge and fifth-grader Ryan Casterline are neck-and-neck for the top boy spot going into the final week.

“As soon as I come out the side doors, they are running,” Ms. Gallagher said. “It’s really awesome to see them compete.”

Although they enjoy the competition, both boys enjoy moving.

“I think it’s a good way to get out and run and be more athletic,” Ryan said.

“I love running and you can just run as much as you want,” Kolten said. “And once you get up into those high levels, it feels good to be up there.

As for the top two girls?

“I don’t know how competitive they are with each other,” Ms. Gallagher said with a smile. “They are running together.”

The elementary school has totaled 1804.78 miles as of Monday night. The real victory for Ms. Gallagher, however, is getting more kids to enjoy exercise.

“If I could get a least one kid who didn’t exercise moving, then I’ve done my job.”

Senior Spotlight: Emma Hayman, Jordan Snyder, Marla Adam & Drew Lantinga

Emma Hayman

Emma Hayman wants to preserve life – animal and human.

An accomplished equestrian, Emma pursued an internship at Southside Veterinary Clinic, where she witnessed a surgery on the first day.

“[Dr. Luoma] told me that most people get super nauseous when seeing the blood during the surgeries,” Emma said. “Blood isn't everyone’s best friend, but I loved watching the surgery and it was a success.”

Emma planned to attend Kellogg Community College before transferring to Michigan State University for her veterinarian degree. A trip to the bathroom during St. Philip’s most recent Career Day changed that.

Passing the gym, Emma stopped to speak with the Marine recruiter. Their conversation sparked Emma’s interest. After more investigation, Emma did an about-face on her college path.

“I decided to go into the military,” Emma said. “I definitely know I want to be a vet and I can still be a vet once I’m done.”

Jordan Snyder

Jordan Snyder’s future begins on the ground floor. Literally.

“It started when I was a little kid,” Jordan said. “I liked rocks. I collected them. My interest in geology has grown since then.”

Jordan recalls bringing rocks home from family vacations, including an assortment of gems from Mammoth Cave National Park. An honor roll student, Jordan has taken plenty of science classes at St. Philip, but nothing specific to geology…yet.

That will change when he begins his studies at Western Michigan University this fall. He picked WMU because, “It’s close enough to home.”

During his time at St. Philip, Jordan ran track and played football. He enjoyed volunteering with his class in the community, especially last May Day at the Alano Club.

“After we were done [working], some of the people talked to us about what they have gone through,” Jordan said. “It was really interesting to hear their stories.”

Marla Adam

Marla Adam wants to enter the family business.

“My dad’s a doctor and my mom’s a pharmacist,” Marla said. “They always talked about it, so I was always interested in it.”

It was Marla’s Math and Science Center classes that sealed the deal.

“I’ve been able to take AP chemistry and anatomy classes and it made me realize I’m actually interested in being a doctor,” Marla said.

How interesting were these classes? Marla delayed her internship to take more.

“I was going to intern with my dad, but I would have to drop two of my classes second semester, which would have been my anatomy class and my bio-ethics class,” Marla said. “We are still doing [the internship], but we pushed it to summer.”

Marla is St. Philip’s National Honor Society president and will graduate in the top ten of her class. She plans to attend the University of Michigan.

Drew Lantinga

Drew Lantinga has played nearly every sport St. Philip High School has to offer – basketball, baseball, golf, cross-country, football, track and field.

When it comes to his future, however, Drew has a one-track mind.

“I applied to one college,” Drew said.

That one college was Western Michigan University. A National Honor Society member and Math and Science Center student, Drew received acceptance into WMU’s Honors College as well as the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

“So I didn’t really need to apply anywhere else.”

Drew is still exploring what type of engineering he wants to do. Currently, he is building a robot he designed for his MSC class, but his interests didn’t start with robotics.

“I liked looking at buildings,” Drew said. “I wondered how they were made, which is civil engineering. Then, I was looking into mechanical engineering, how cars were made.”

This fall his engineering adventure continues.

One family from the battle to the dance

[l. to r.] Katie Reed, Bronwyn Pasche,
and Sara Meyers

Life isn’t always fair, but love is always there.

It wasn’t fair that St. Joseph Middle School student Bronwyn Pasche was diagnosed with leukemia in the fifth grade, but her St. Joseph family was there.

“It was inspiring to witness our students fight Bronwyn's battle right along with her,” Katie Reed, St. Joseph Middle School assistant principal, said. “They assisted her by carrying her books, helping her with her studies, and praying for her when the fight became tough.”

And when Bronwyn completed her final treatment two and half years later, her family was ready to celebrate her victory.

Middle school teachers Don Shafer and Tina Sprague organized a living rosary in the gym, where middle school students and staff were the beads.

Living Rosary for Bronwyn in the school gym

Forty students wore red shirts for the “Hail Mary” beads. Five members of Bronwyn’s seventh-grade class wore black shirts for the “Our Father” beads. And ten of the teachers and staff wore orange – the color for the fight against leukemia – as the last decade of the rosary.

As a school family, they said the Luminous Mysteries in gratitude for Bronwyn’s recovery and sang “Ave Maria”.

Afterward, Bronwyn’s mother Heather Pasche addressed the students.

“The kindness and the love and the caring that you have shown Bronwyn has been the most beautiful thing I have ever witnessed,” Ms. Pasche said. “From helping her on the risers during concerts to carrying her books to praying for her, it was all a very important part of Bronwyn becoming healthy again. I think I speak for all the adults in the room when I say we are all so very proud of you and how you have grown up.”

Bronwyn received a bouquet of orange tulips and a resounding round of applause.

Dance proceeds went to the St. Baldrick's Foundation

The celebration continued that evening, as students returned to the school to dance and give back.

“Bronwyn loves to dance and she loves popcorn, so we decided to celebrate a dance in her honor,” Mrs. Sprague said. ”We talked to her mom to find out what charity she would like the money to go to.”

The theme was “spring” and the cause was the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, which raises money for childhood cancer research.

“It was a spring dance and Bronwyn has new life and spring is the celebration of new life,” Mrs. Sprague said.

Everyone had a wonderful time. Better still, $300 was given to St. Baldrick’s in Bronwyn’s name to assist other children in their battle against leukemia.

“I believe this is a true testament as to why our schools are so special,” Ms. Reed said. “We absorb each other’s challenges and get through them together because we are not only a school, but also a family.”

Senior Spotlight: Lyuan (James) Han, Emily Pearl, Alex Yacovoni, & Michael Scriber

Lyuan (James) Han

Lyuan (James) Han isn’t afraid to take risks.

James was born in China. His father is a business owner. His mother is a school principal. When his mother started a student exchange program, James was the first to go to America.

He spent one year in Utah, where he earned a part in the school musical, despite never acting before. He spent the next three years at St. Philip, where he plays basketball and golf, the latter of which he learned on the links.

When it comes to the future, James is all business.

“I want to be an entrepreneur.”

James has two internships. One is with Trek Bicycle Store, where he is learning from an experienced entrepreneur. The other is with himself, learning from experience. James buys shoes and sells them online to customers in China.

The next stop for James is the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to study business.

Emily Pearl

Emily Pearl’s ears are tuned to God and her heart is built for service.

She planned a Faith Day for her fellow students this year. She sits on the Youth Alliance Committee, a grant-making wing of the Battle Creek Community Foundation. She coordinates the blood drives for the National Honor Society.

And that’s only the highlights of her service resume.

An honor roll student, Emily wants to earn a business degree as well as a masters in nonprofit management. She planned to start her studies at St. Mary’s College, where she could continue to play soccer.

God, however, had other plans.

Strong doubts crept in, resulting in a sudden change of path. Emily will now attend the University of Michigan.

“U of M pushes me out of my comfort zone,” Emily said. “I'm excited to see how I will be pushed to become who God truly intended me to be.”

Alex Yacovoni

Alex Yacovoni is the kind of student colleges want.

He has a sparkling GPA. He attends the Math and Science Center and belongs to the National Honor Society. He is a varsity football player and a member of the 800-meter relay team that went to the State Finals last year for Track and Field.

When it came to picking a college, only the University of Dayton caught his eye.

“I visited a lot of colleges and something just clicked with me when I was at Dayton, so I decided to go there,” Alex said.

Alex plans to study electrical or computer engineering in the fall. AP Computer Science was his favorite course at the MSC, and he enjoyed writing programs for his robotics’ class.

Working with computer codes can be complicated, but Alex embraces the challenge.

“It is fun to figure out what went wrong and try to solve it.”

Michael Scriber

Michael Scriber is discerning a call to the priesthood, and he is willing to travel to California for the answer.

“I’ve been thinking about the priesthood for several years,” Michael said. “[Director of Vocations] Monsignor Osborn suggested Thomas Aquinas College to me because they had a really intense curriculum. He thought I would do better there than with eight years at seminary.”

Monsignor wasn’t the only one to recommend this path. Father Jose Haro, Father Francis Marotti, Deacon Jeffrey Hanley, and Deacon Maximilian Nightingale also encouraged him to study at Thomas Aquinas.

“They all say the same thing,” Michael said. “They are so passionate about it.”

“Their curriculum is geared to philosophy and theology,” Michael said. “If I didn’t become a priest, I can still graduate from there with a really good degree.”

There is only one drawback – distance.

“It is far away,” Michael said. “I wish it was closer.”