Catholic school scholarships boosted by golfers, including bishop

[adinserter block=”1″]

By Tom Maguire, Associate editor

He nails a 4-iron, much like he navigates his career at Bishop Ludden Jr./Sr. High School.

Phil McGarvey, who will be a senior in the fall, expressed his love for his education at the Light a Child’s Future Syracuse Diocese Catholic Schools Golf Tournament on June 19 at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona. For two years now, the event has surpassed its fundraising goals for scholarships for financially disadvantaged families.

McGarvey, a member of the National Honor Society, attended Holy Family School up to the sixth grade before starting at Ludden. “Both of them have taught me really great qualities about how to live, how to act,” he said. “And the cardinal virtues.” Everything you would ever want, he added, “has been taught to me by the Catholic schools, from Holy Family and Bishop Ludden. There’s nothing more I could ask for; the teachers have been great. I’ve met lifelong friends” who share the same values.

Sitting on the patio after his round, McGarvey, a golf and soccer captain at Ludden, said the Shenendoah golf course “was a hard course, it played well, played long. But you know I had a really great time.” On one of the par-5 holes, he took an allowed mulligan and “hit a great flyer” that put the ball up there for a chip shot. His captain-and-crew team finished the day at 17 under par. Asked about a comparable challenge in school, McGarvey cited a rigorous Ludden class that he has taken: International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Mathematics: analysis and approaches. “That’s probably the hardest class I’ve ever taken but it was a lot of fun,” he said.

So the Catholic schools do offer fun along with other qualities cited by McGarvey and the other student ambassadors who spoke at the post-golf banquet: small class sizes; personable teachers who will stay after school and answer emailed questions; Masses; religion classes that public-school kids don’t get; a better school life; a better basketball career; a sense of connectedness and togetherness; and prayers in the morning and at the end of the day. “Just a great environment to be in,” said the evening’s MC, Adrienne Smith, NewsChannel 9’s Weekend Morning News Anchor and a general assignment reporter during the week. She is a 2016 graduate of Utica Notre Dame. She credited her parents and the “sacrifices that they made for not just me but my two older brothers, who are also graduates of Notre Dame.”

Nate Abernethy, a basketball player who has two years left at Bishop Grimes in East Syracuse, said transferring from Cicero-North Syracuse to Grimes “was definitely the best decision I’ve made.”

Another student ambassador, Joe Tiderencel, attended St. John the Evangelist in Binghamton and now attends Seton Catholic Central. He said: “I believe that growing up Catholic was a big part of my life because it brought everyone in our school together. … I wouldn’t have gotten a similar experience anywhere else.”

A lot of kids who come from public schools say they like the small class sizes and the “atmosphere that everybody knows everybody,” said student ambassador Sean Noon from Utica Notre Dame. “And the teachers are super helpful. And we learn a lot in religion class.” He added that the kids’ ministry helps in his community.

McGarvey is the youngest of five boys who have all attended Holy Family in Fairmount and Bishop Ludden in Syracuse. In addition to his golf (first team all-star for small schools in Section III along with teammates Max Boyea and Steve Hall) and soccer, he has worked the spotlight for Ludden shows and probably will do so again in the fall, and he will probably perform in the spring musical in his senior year. “I’m no singer or dancer by any means,” he said. “But you know, I can get out there and fumble around up there for a little bit. So, we’ll see. It’s exciting. I’m very excited for it, should be really fun. Hope to learn a lot and hope to meet some more friends.”

Feeling fortunate to attend a “fantastic Catholic school,” McGarvey knows the importance of thanking parents, grandparents and teachers. “Thank everyone for helping you with a question,” he said, “staying after, responding to an email, making dinner, making sure the school uniform’s ready for the next day. I appreciate every one of you for your contribution” to Catholic schools, he told the banquet audience. “It has helped me and all of us here today tenfold, and we won’t be able to thank you guys enough.”

“We have so many families who would benefit from a Catholic school education” but just cannot reach that plateau, said William Crist, the Catholic schools superintendent who retired days after the golf fundraiser, which he said is a way to make a Catholic school education affordable for families. The golf entry fees and sponsors help the cause.

Bishop Douglas J. Lucia played in the golf event and said, “I gotta get better.” He noted that investing in the Catholic schools is an “investment in our young people, so that they can make the world a better place.” What Catholic schools do, he said, is “to show the face of God.”

GOLF RESULTS

Closest to the Pin #3
Brennan Kelly, 7”

Longest Drive #10
Men: Tyler Button
Women: Sarah Falgiatano

Mixed First Place: 53 (-19)
Charlie Falgiatano
Vinny Falgiatano
Sarah Falgiatano
Colleen Falgiatano

Men’s First Place: 64 (-8)
Peter Capponi
Anthony Falgiatano
Alex VanTassel

Random Team: 63 (-9)
Lynn Chapman
Deb Enders
Nikki Fowler
Pat LaBacz

Skins
3 on #8
George Armond
David Malone
John Mirabito
Ross Mirabito