Medals and Diplomas - May 17, 2008

The following medals for excellence were awarded during the May 17, 2008 Subiaco Academy commencement ceremony: Religious Studies to Joshua Gage of Hilltop Lakes, TX, English to Jordan Pridgin of Scranton, Literary to Hunter Brendel of Corpus Christi, TX, Mathematics to Joshua Reeves of Colorado Springs, CO, Science to Matthew Sharum of Ft. Smith, Latin to Dale Moore of Jonesboro, Foreign Language to William Kern of Scranton, Social Studies to Seung Chul Lee of Busan, South Korea, Choral Music to Nehemiah Stephens of Forrest City, Instrumental Music to Andrew Yuk of Taejeon, South Korea, Art to Harrison Kim of Taejeon, South Korea, Campus Activities to John-Rex Spivey of Rogers, Religious Activities to Seth Buckman of McCrory, Application to Studies to Joseph Post of Morrilton, Coury Athletic Trophy to Jordan Pridgin of Scranton, Highest Scholastic Average to Christopher Trachier of Frisco, TX, Americanism to William Stehle of Subiaco, Good Character to Jacob Didion of Ft. Smith, and Pereyra Award for Unselfishness to Buck Butler of Lubbock, TX.

Deacon Roy Goetz, Academy Headmaster, presented diplomas to 37 graduates in the ceremony in the Abbey Inner Court. The address for the 121st Commencement was given by E.J. Chauvin, M.D., F.A.C.S., a 1977 Subiaco Academy graduate. The Valedictorian of the class of 2008 is Joseph Post, son of Dr. Peter and Bernadette Post of Morrilton. The 2008 Salutatorian is Matthew Sharum, son of Leo and Debbie Sharum of Ft. Smith

What ifs - Fr. Hugh Assenmacher, OSB

One of the famous monks of Subiaco Abbey was Father Gall D'Aujourd'hui whose death anniversary is May 15. He drowned in Six Mile Creek near Paris on the evening of that day in 1902. He was born in Switzerland in 1855. As a high school seminary student, his school was closed by the Swiss government. Then he transferred to the school at the Abbey of Einsiedeln (the mother of Subiaco Abbey). He became a monk in 1876 and a priest in 1882. He was a teacher at this school until he volunteered to come to Subiaco in 1887, bringing with him 8 students who all became monks. Fr. Gall was a very talented man, we would call him a workaholic now, and well-liked.

Strangely, in a day of travel with horses, he did not ride a horse, nor did he drive horses. It was on May 15, 1902 that he and Fr. Othmar Wehrle, his driver, went to St. Mary's in Altus, AR for an outing. That day there were heavy thunderstorms and, in the evening, as they returned to Subiaco, they could not cross unbridged Six Mile Creek. Fr. Gall, in a rare action, began to use the buggy whip to make the horses go into the water. They reared, tipped the buggy and he was thrown into the flood and disappeared. The horses bolted through the stream and could not be stopped until they reached Paris, where the accident was reported. By now it was dark. His body was found the next morning.

In all our lives there are many mysteries, many "What ifs". What if Fr. Gall's high school had not been closed; where would his life have taken him? What if he had not gone to Altus that day, how long would he have lived? What if he had not died in his mid-40s; what would the rest of his talented life have been? We can say the same for ourselves, as sometimes we ponder the "what ifs" in our lives. What if we had not been Subiaco students, what if we had not made the friends we did, what if we had not made such stupid mistakes, etc., etc.? Sometimes we think about these things, as we grow older, and are glad for some "what is" and are ashamed of others.

Grandparents come from afar - Br. Ephrem O'Bryan, OSB

From Wisconsin to Florida, from New Hampshire to Louisiana (and from Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma, Illinois, and Arkansas) --one hundred grandparents traveled for the annual Grandparents’ Day at Subiaco Academy. The May 5, 2008, activities included lunch with grandsons, campus tours, a musical performance, and visits with teachers.

The Class of 2008 - Chandra Rush

The Class of 2008 stands out for several reasons: First of all, 17 of 37 members of the class of 2008 are honor graduates. Lest you think it could be grade inflation: their average composite of 28.6 on the ACT means that they scored better than 93% of the students taking the test nationwide.

Four of the seniors have been designated as Arkansas Distinguished Governor’s Scholars: Joseph Post, Matthew Sharum, Jacob Didion, and Daniel Harrison.

Post and Sharum have both received prestigious Honors College Fellowships which provide funds exceeding the direct costs of tuition, room and board, and fees. Students may use the additional funding for other educational expenses such as the purchase of a computer, study abroad, or travel to professional conferences.

International scholarships are rare but four of the seven International students in this class received scholarship offers. 27 of 37 received at least one scholarship offer.

Sak Lee has established himself as a student of distinction on our campus. His exceptional intellectual talent has already been recognized and rewarded by Colgate University in New York. Sak was given the highest honor ever awarded to an admitted student, the Alumni Memorial Scholar. He will receive a grant that will cover 100% of his financial need to attend Colgate, and he will be studying neuroscience and philosophy.

Seung Chul Lee has also been recognized as a distinguished student through his admission to the biomolecular engineering program Johns Hopkins University. He was also accepted to many other colleges including Rice University. As a biomolecular engineer he will be involved in developing new medicines.